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 2/9/24 The Wilderness Place 2/9/24

Let Your Honor Overflow

(7 minutes)

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus had to pass through Jericho. There lived a very wealthy man named Zacchaeus, who supervised all the tax collectors. He was very eager to see Jesus and kept trying to get a look at him through the massive crowd. Since Zacchaeus was a short man and couldn't see over the heads of the people, he ran on ahead of everyone and climbed up a blossoming fig tree to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. When Jesus got to that place, he looked up into the tree and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry on down, for I must stay at your house today! So he scurried down the tree and found himself face-to-face with Jesus. As Jesus left to go with Zacchaeus many in the crowd complained, "Look at this! Of all the people to have dinner with, he's going to eat in the house of a crook." Zacchaeus was amazed over his gracious visit to his home and joyously welcomed Jesus. Zacchaeus stood in front of the Lord and said, "Half of all that I own I will give to the poor. And Lord, if I have cheated anyone, I promise to pay them back four times as much as I stole."

Jesus said to him, "Your repentance shows that today life has come to you and your household, and that you are a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to see out and to give life to those who are lost." (Luke 19:1-10)

Zacchaeus isn't displaying honor just by running ahead and climbing up the blossoming fig tree. Zacchaeus displays honors when he brings Jesus to his home. Can you see how Zacchaeus isn't settling for the casual pace of the crowd? Following Jesus at a distance isn't enough for Zacchaeus. He wants Jesus to come into his home and put things in order. And with this next degree of intimacy, comes Zacchaeus' next opportunity to honor. Zacchaeus doesn't have to be told what to do; he simply lets his heart overflow with gratitude. He uses what he has to match the value of the encounter he is having with Jesus. So Zacchaeus stood in front of Jesus and said, "Half of all that I own I will give to the poor. And Lord, if I have cheated anyone, I promise to pay them back four times as much as I stole."

Honor says, "This relationship is too valuable to me for it to cost me nothing." This is what Zacchaeus must have been thinking before he stood up and declared his intentions to Jesus. Like Pastor Tim told us on Sunday, Zacchaeus is giving us a template to have an appointment with Jesus by way of our honor.

Pastor Tim made this comment on Sunday: "A lot of times, even in our relationships and in our marriages, we only stare at what we don't have and we stop looking at the valuable-ness of it. We take it for granted."

This translates so well into our relationship with Abba. What are we staring at? And is what we are staring at producing honor in our lives? Are we responding to the presence of Jesus with honor? Or are we taking Him for granted?

Honor must be our compass in this Kingdom. Honor is how the Kingdom operates - it's the currency of Yahweh's government. It is the only way to go deeper into the encounters we're having with Jesus. Do you want more? Zacchaeus would tell you, "Honor him."

After Zacchaeus runs ahead of the crowd and climbs the fig tree, after he welcomes Jesus into his home, and after he expresses radical generosity Jesus makes a statement - a very important statement.

Jesus said to him, "Your repentance shows that today life has come to you and your household, and that you are a true son of Abraham." What shows us that Zacchaeus' thinking was transformed, that he experienced metanoia, or repentance? What shows us that life has come into Zacchaeus' home? Yes, his honor. His honor that overflowed into unrestrained and, some would even say, reckless generosity. What Zacchaeus had always seen as his identity, his wealth, became a tool with which he could honor the Lord. What he was once unwilling to part with, he was now overjoyed to give away. Why? Because he finally found something that was more valuable - a pair of eyes that looked at him unlike anyone ever had - with perfect love.

The Kingdom was established in Zacchaeus' life: intimacy, honor, and order. It unlocked a fiery fellowship and union with Jesus that not everyone had access to - not because Jesus wasn't willing, but because few people honored Jesus to the degree that would usher them into that place. You want to go deeper into any relationship? Honor. You want to go deeper into the encounters that you're having with Jesus? Honor.

Your honor can make you an appointment with the King.

Beloved One, the intimacy that you were designed for can only be found in Yahweh. The affection you long for can only be discovered in the light that surrounds Him. You have come this far already, and you are experiencing His presence like never before. Would you believe that there's even more than this available to you? You can go deeper still. This next level of intimacy with Him is locked up in your ability to honor the degree of intimacy that you already share. Stop staring at what you don't have and the places you have not reached, and get insanely grateful for the intimacy that has already been produced between you and Him. Your honor for what is will be the gateway that ushers you into what is to come!

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Worship: "We Make Space" 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 2/8/24 The Wilderness Place 2/8/24

You Need An Honor-Appointment

(7 minutes)

Zacchaeus made an appointment with Jesus by way of his honor. Our honor truly is the currency of the Kingdom. Our honor can attract the Kingdom into our lives, and our lack of honor can repel it away.

Jesus said to them, "A prophet is treated with honor everywhere except in his own hometown, among his relatives, and in his own house." He was unable to do any great miracle in Nazareth, except to heal a few sick people by laying his hands upon them. He was amazed at the depth of their unbelief! Then Jesus went out into the different villages and taught the people. (Mark 6:4-6)

Dishonor and unbelief go hand in hand. The Son of God was "unable" to perform any work of power due to the dishonor in the people. Dishonor stripped the influence and impact of the Kingdom away from the town of Nazareth. Do you see it?

Our honor can attract the Kingdom into our lives, and our lack of honor can repel it away. Zacchaeus made an appointment with the King by way of his honor. In a crowd of 15,000+ people, Zacchaeus stood out to Jesus. He was highlighted. Why? Pastor Tim said, "Understand this, Zacchaeus is showing a heart of honor that the 15,000 casually walking with Jesus did not. You can make an appointment with the Lord based on your honor."

Three things are important in the Kingdom: intimacy, honor, and order. They make up the ladder of love that Abba is building inside of us in the wilderness. One side of the ladder is intimacy. The other side is honor. And the rungs in between are order. This ladder establishes Kingdom life in a man and woman. It's the structure that supports the weight of glory, presence, and anointing that we are designed to carry in the earth. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, there are degrees of intimacy we share with Yahweh. You can see those degrees in the story above. Thousands of people were okay to casually walk at a distance behind Jesus. But there was one that desired a deeper level of intimacy called face-to-face. Your honor is the gateway into that next degree of intimacy. Zacchaeus breaking away from the crowd, running ahead, and climbing up into the blossoming fig tree was the increase in honor that paved the way for a deeper measure of intimacy. It brought him face-to-face with Jesus.

Is your honor making appointments with the King?

Some of you have been craving a deeper measure of intimacy with the Lord, and the only thing standing in the way is your honor. When your honor matches the value that you're placing on that deeper measure of intimacy, it will be unlocked in your life. It has no choice. The Kingdom is attracted to honor. It will make you stand out in a crowd.

Tomorrow we will talk more about honor and what it looks like, but for now, let's allow Abba to talk to us about how honor is showing up in our lives today. The first form of honor in a relationship is honesty. Our ability to be honest with Yahweh about where we are lays the foundation for higher degrees of honor to come. Maybe your first step towards honor today can be your honest conversation with Abba about where you are, about what honor looks like in your life right now. Be prepared, your honor may not match the value and worth of the Kingdom right now. But that's why Abba is talking to us about it. When Abba comes to walk with us and have a conversation about something, He's not coming to bring shame or condemnation. He's coming with the grace and permission you need to step out of the old and into the new. The fact that He's talking to us about it shows me that there is a special grace in this hour to be transformed by His love into the image of the One we are called to look just like - Yeshua the Christ.

Beloved One, you have a heart of honor inside of you. Past hurts and rejection may have dammed up the flow, but Abba's love can restore everything that's been broken. When your heart is lit up by His pure light and perfect love, honor will be effortless for you, because honor is a part of your original design!

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Worship: "You Restore Everything" by Rick Pino & Abbie Gamboa

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 2/7/24 The Wilderness Place 2/7/24

A Casual Approach Just Won’t Do

(5 minutes)

Unlike the rich, young ruler, Zacchaeus just wanted to see Jesus. That's it! All he wanted was a face-to-face encounter with the King. This was his only desire. And the massive crowd surrounding Jesus was not going to deter him from doing just that. Are you passionate about seeing and hearing Jesus for yourself today? Or will you settle for hearsay?

Sometimes we let the casual pace and distance of the crowd around us affect our own intimacy with the Lord. Sometimes we settle for what we're hearing others say about Jesus, instead of going after a closer look ourselves. You have access to the Bridegroom King, and you can have as much of Him as you desire. Zacchaeus would not settle for the casual pace of the crowd and he wouldn't settle for the description of Jesus that was being passed throughout the crowd. Zacchaeus decided in a moment that he was not going to let the crowd determine the standard of his own intimacy with Jesus. Pastor Tim brought us such a significant question on Sunday that we should be pulling into the secret place with Abba this week: "Who is setting the standard of intimacy in your life?"

Who's calling the shots when it comes to how close you're getting to Jesus? Who is setting the pace?

Zacchaeus breaks away from the crowd and doesn't allow them to deter his passionate pursuit. As he's desperately trying to see over everyone's shoulders he doesn't get discouraged by his small stature and go home. He doesn't even let his own shortcomings disqualify him. Pastor Tim said it this way on Sunday, "He's not going to let his stature or his standing in the community keep him from face-to-face."

So what does Zacchaeus do? He runs ahead. He does the most foolish thing the chief of tax collectors could do. He lets his heart of intimacy and honor lead him, and he runs ahead. Can you imagine what the crowd was thinking and saying as they saw this short, sinner of a man start running full speed ahead of all of them? But Zacchaeus felt no shame in looking like a fool. This is what a heart of intimacy and honor produces: an unwillingness to settle for the casual approach of others.

Am I passionate about seeing and hearing Jesus for myself today?

Who is setting the standard of intimacy in my life?

How long will I let my standing in the community, my stature, or the casual pace of the crowd determine the depth of intimacy I have with Jesus?

Am I ready to break away and run ahead to get my own eyes on the King?

Am I willing to do whatever it takes to see and hear Him for myself?

Your honor may look foolish to everyone else, but it will make you an appointment with the King. There's no shame in looking like a fool if it gets you face-to-face with Yeshua. What it costs you will be laughable when you’re experiencing unbroken, uninterrupted companionship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Beloved One, you were not made for the casual pace of the crowd. You were made as a perfect match for the pace and frequency of the Kingdom. Trust your heart of intimacy and honor today as you passionately pursue face-to-face, mouth-to-mouth fellowship with your Bridegroom King. He delights in every step you take towards Him!

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Worship: "King Of My Heart" 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 2/6/24 The Wilderness Place 2/6/24

What’s The Least I Can Do?

(6 minutes)

We must learn how to embrace repetition. Repetition is how we learn anything valuable and how anything is solidified in our lives. As lovers who are being called out of religion and into the wilderness place, repetition is all the more important. Why? Because one of the lies that religion told us was that "hearing" the truth was all that was needed. So we made it our mission in life to consume and be hearers of the truth. But it's not simply hearing the truth that sets you free. Listen to Jesus' words again:

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "When you continue to embrace all that I teach, you prove that you are my true followers. For if you embrace the truth, it will release true freedom into your lives." (John 8:31-32)

The Message Paraphrase says, "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you...," and other translations say, "If you abide in My word...," then we will truly be followers of Jesus. Repetition is another word for abiding. We're camping out and making the words of truth that we're receiving our dwelling place. Abba is producing in us an unwillingness to move on until we see the truth we've already received beginning to manifest in our everyday lives. Repetition, our sticking with something, is a mark of maturity in the Kingdom man and woman. The Kingdom man and woman know that every truth embraced brings a release of true freedom. So they don't stop at simply hearing a thing, they only stop when they've seen that release of true freedom come into their lives because of the truth they received.

Let's visit the story of the rich, young ruler (who would later in life become the broke, old slave) one more time and see what Yahweh has to say to us.

As Jesus started on his way, a man came running up to him. Kneeling down in front of him, he cried out, "Good Teacher, what one thing am I required to do to gain eternal life?" Jesus responded, "Why do you call me good? Only God is truly good. You already know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give a false testimony, do not cheat, and honor your father and mother.'" The man said to Jesus, "Teacher, I have carefully obeyed these laws since my youth." Jesus fixed his gaze upon the man, with tender love, and said to him, "Yet there is still one thing in you lacking. Go, sell all that you have and give the money to the poor. Then all of your treasure will be in heaven. After you've done this, come back and walk with me." Completely shocked by Jesus' answer, he turned and walked away very sad, for he was extremely rich. (Mark 10:17-22)

Notice the question that the young man asks Jesus. "Good Teacher, what one thing am I required to do to gain eternal life?" Let's rephrase this question in a way we can understand. This would be like sitting down with your spouse and saying, "Honey, what's the one thing that will keep us from getting divorced?" This is basically the same question, because escaping hell, like escaping divorce, shouldn't be the focus of your intimacy with Jesus. Religion started with heaven or hell, to lay the solid foundation of the fear of punishment in your heart. But intimacy with Jesus isn't focused on where we're ending up, because it can't take its eyes off of the One who is with us right here and now. The Kingdom defines eternal life as knowing Abba, so you'd be hard-pressed trying to convince a lover that they're not already enjoying eternal life right now. (John 17:3)

"Good Teacher, what one thing am I required to do to gain eternal life?"

Jesus, what's the bare minimum I would have to give in order to access everything You have?

This week we're going to be exploring honor. But we will never fully embrace honor if we're holding on to this kind of "bare minimum" thinking. The Kingdom doesn't operate like a slot machine where pennies go in and thousands come out. The Kingdom operates like a marriage. The currency of the Kingdom happens to be the same currency we use in our relationships... honor. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, our honor will make us an appointment with our Bridegroom King. The Kingdom is attracted to honor, and honor is never looking for the least amount that it can give. Honor sees the value of the Other, and says, "I will rise and match the value and supreme worth of this One because I see how significant He is and I know that He has been life to me."

Let's prime our heart of honor today by letting go of any "bare minimum" thinking that we're holding onto. Let's let go of the fear of punishment that was planted in us by religion, so we can begin enjoying eternal life right now as we know our Abba. Let's speak over ourselves and our families, that we will be Kingdom men and women of honor, who can see the value and worth in every Kingdom seed and honor it into maturity. Let the standard rise above "What's the least I can do?" Let the love of Abba grip us to such a degree that anything it would cost us would be laughable compared to what we have received and are receiving in His love!

Beloved One, take His hand and He will show you the ways of the Kingdom, the way of honor!

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Worship: "Since Your Love" 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 2/5/24 The Wilderness Place 2/5/24

You Can Trust The Father

(4 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. If we claim that we share life with him, but keep walking in the realm of darkness, we're fooling ourselves and not living the truth. But if we keep living in the pure light that surrounds him, we share unbroken fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, continually cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

Believing that Abba is pure light and that you'll never find even a trace of darkness in Him is about trusting Him.

Can you trust the Father?

We were always told that God was trying to get us out of our comfort zone. There's only one problem with that statement... one of God's names is Comforter. Pastor Tim shared this truth with us: "He's not trying to get you out of your comfort zone, He's trying to get you out of the lie that you're comfortable." He's trying to usher us into real comfort, that can only be found in Him, the Comforter. Pastor Tim shared this on Sunday: "Some of us are in situations and circumstances where we feel 'comfortable,' but it's keeping us from being who He has called us to be. It's keeping us from taking the chances that God has designed us to take." Abba is calling us out of the lie, the illusion, that we're comfortable so we can find true comfort in Him.

This truth is so important for us to embrace because part of the reason we don't have boldness in our obedience to His voice is that we don't really trust Him. If you believe that Abba is pure light, you'll be able to trust Him when He says, "Go in this direction," or, "Take this step." When you believe that He is Comforter, you won't feel like obeying Him is a risk. You will be fully convinced that Abba is perfectly good and following His voice will only lead you to a greater measure of comfort, confidence, and rest.

This is all about how we view God.

The "realm of darkness" that John the Beloved is referring to in this scripture is not sinful behavior, it is our darkened perspective of God. Do you still see things that happen in your life as God's judgment? That's the "realm of darkness" that John is talking about. Do you still see unfortunate events as God punishing you for some sinful behavior? That's "realm of darkness" thinking. And John is telling us that if we claim to know Abba but still have that dark thinking, we're fooling ourselves and still not living in the truth. What is the truth? ABBA IS PURE LIGHT, AND THERE IS NO TRACE OF DARKNESS IN HIM AT ALL.

What is your perspective of Abba when bad things happen? Do you still believe that He is pure light? Is He still perfectly good even when you encounter hard things? He is still overflowing with love for you? Or is He an angry, distant father who has no choice but to punish you and put you out of His presence?

I guess the real question that we must ask ourselves is this: what kind of father is He?

This is the deep work that Abba is doing in our hearts in The Wilderness Place. He's once and for all removing the darkened, broken perspective that we have concerning His nature. He is showing up every single day to walk with us because He is committed to convincing our hearts that He is Pure Light and Perfect Love. He's a Good Dada!

Beloved One, take His hand today and let His tender voice speak to your heart. Let Him whisper into your ear how He really feels about you. Intimacy with Him will change everything in you. You can trust your Father!

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Worship: "You and You Alone" 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 2/2/24 The Wilderness Place 2/2/24

You Were Made For His Eyes

(4 minutes)

Completely shocked by Jesus' answer, he turned and walked away very sad, for he was extremely rich. (Mark 10:22)

"This young man had an opportunity to have the adventure of a lifetime, but he was unwilling to let go of the very thing that garnered him applause, wealth, and influence." - Pastor Tim

Religion was the sophisticated trap that assisted this man in living disconnected from the heart of God. Can you see how dangerous this sophisticated trap is to the intimacy we're supposed to share with Jesus? It distracts us with to-do lists, serving, ministries, causes, callings, wealth, status, and numbers. All the while Jesus is simply an addition, a side dish, to the life we're creating. And when asked to sit down and simply love Jesus, we feel like we're being robbed of our entire identity. Pastor Tim said it like this on Sunday:

"We fall in love with forms, systems, and methods instead of the heart of God, instead of the face of Jesus. We make it about everything else instead of Him. Because we've been caught in a sophisticated trap. It's decorated like Jesus, like Christianity, but it's not Jesus and it's not Christianity."

Have we found our identity in something other than Abba's love for us?

Is there something that would make us walk away from Jesus if He asked us to give it up?

When Jesus comes to put His finger on the area that we're unwilling to give up, it's an invitation, not condemnation. Remember, Jesus had a fixed gaze and was filled with tender love as He spoke to the rich, young ruler. The invitation is to let go of the false identity that is robbing us of the real thing so we can step into our original identity, our beloved identity.

There's an amazing thing that happens when we let this false identity go. We discover what we were really made for - His eyes. We were made to be lovers of His presence. And when Jesus becomes our one and only priority, everything else that we need is added to our lives.

So above all, constantly seek God's kingdom and his righteousness, then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly. (Matthew 6:33)

He wants your heart - your whole heart, like any lover would. He wants to be your One and Only.

Are you ready to let go of that false identity and step into who you really are? It will be the adventure of a lifetime. He's coming after everything that hinders love. It's not just bad things - it's good things that we still put before Him. He's coming after those too, because they are getting in the way of the love He wants to share with His bride.

Hear the Bridegroom's words today: "Beloved Bride, you are not what you do. You are not what you have. You are not what others say about you. You are mine and only mine! Can you sit down and simply fall in love with me? I would never ask you to do anything I'm not willing to do myself. I gave up everything for you. You mean that much to me. Come away with Me, and discover what you were made for - born for. Gaze into My eyes until you see what I see."

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

Everything That Hinders Love

(5 minutes)

The rich, young ruler is a product of what religion told him to do. On Sunday, Pastor Tim said, "Religion is real good at cleaning the outside of the cup, but it has no power to clean the inside of the cup." Religion had not prepared this rich, young ruler to encounter the presence of God in a way that would produce intimacy and honor in his heart. Religion only produced regret as he walked away from the very presence of God, in the flesh.

Jesus, getting to the heart of the matter, asks this rich, young ruler to go and sell all that he owned and give the money away to the poor. Why does Jesus ask him to do this? Because He needs the money? No! He doesn't even want the money. He wants the heart of this rich, young ruler and Jesus knew exactly what he was prioritizing over intimacy with Him. He was absolutely shocked to hear Jesus ask this. Why? Could it be that the accomplishments that religion pointed at as successful in his life, the faithful law-keeping that he probably believed was the root of his wealth and status, were really just things that were getting in the way of him having a real relationship with Yahweh? The things that religion propped up his entire life, Jesus is suddenly asking him to remove. What would your response be?

Pastor Tim said this on Sunday: "Imagine your whole life, religion told you that your identity is in your influence, in your money, and how you keep the commandments. Completely shocked by Jesus' answer, he turned and walked away sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus just put His finger on the one thing that he was unwilling to walk away from."

For years at The Wilderness Place, we've heard that "Yahweh is coming after everything that hinders love." This is what we are talking about. This is Jesus coming after something that was hindering intimacy. Just like the rich, young ruler, it will likely be things, people, ideas, and opinions (even some really great things like ministries and causes) that we are putting before Him. Things that we may not even be aware of before He comes with tender love to address it. He knows exactly what we prioritize above Him and His tender love and compassion will not rest until those things are removed. His love is a consuming fire. He is jealous for His own.

Let's take an honest question into our conversation with Yahweh today.

Abba, is there something in my life that, if you asked me to give it away, would cause me to walk away from Your presence shocked and sad?

Abba, would you come and take me by the hand? Would you lead me out of everything that hinders our love affair, that hinders our intimacy? I've gotten close enough to you to know that you are good. You are perfect love. You are pure, radiant light with not one trace of darkness in You at all. I can trust Your goodness to lead me out. I want my heart to be fully convinced, until You are my One and Only. We say, "Yes, and I do!"

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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 1/31/24 The Wilderness Place 1/31/24

The Outside of The Cup

(5 minutes)

Religion can only wash the outside of the cup.

The rich, young ruler asks Jesus what the one thing is that he's required to do to gain eternal life. So Jesus lists the commandments that religion was most familiar with: do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give a false testimony, do not cheat, and honor your father and mother. Notice that all of these commandments are external. They all deal with the outside of a person. And the rich, young ruler managed to carefully obey these commandments since his youth. He didn't have a problem with cleaning the outside of the cup. Religion gave him a to-do list, and with a little self-effort he was able to clean up his external life, the life that people could see.

But Jesus fixes his gaze upon the man, with tender love and compassion, and says to him, "Yet there is still one thing IN YOU lacking." Religion can clean the outside of our lives, but what about the inside? What about the heart? The sophisticated trap of religion is that we could clean the outside of the cup so well that we are convinced that the whole thing is clean, failing to realize that, although religion could fix some external behaviors, it never produces in us a heart that loves God more than anything else. It adds Jesus to our own ideas, dreams, and life plans, but it never allows Jesus to become the ONE THING. That's the trap. It's the illusion of true love. This is what Pastor Tim describes as the "delusional thinking" that religion produces in us. The trap is so sophisticated that we can't even see it.

The one thing that religion can't touch is the one thing that Abba is after - your heart.

Listen to God's word to Samuel as he enters Jesse's home, looking for the next king of Israel. Samuel is tempted to look at the outside of the cup, but Yahweh reminds him of what's most important.

But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

Religion only looks at the outward appearance. Yahweh looks at the heart.

Jesus fixes his gaze upon us, with tender love and compassion, and asks us about our hearts, not about how well we can check off the to-do list of American Christianity. The rich, young ruler was everything that the church would want in a member, but there was one thing in him that was lacking, and that one thing kept him from face-to-face fellowship with Jesus. He was probably celebrated, even envied, when he went to the synagogue later that week - but what about his heart?

As we take the walk with Abba today, let's go beyond external behaviors and to-do lists. Let's open our hearts up, as wide as possible, in His presence. And let's allow His love and goodness to usher us out of every lie we've ever believed about Him and about ourselves. It's His goodness that leads us out of the sophisticated trap of religion and into perfect love. Don't forget... His gaze is fixed on you today, with tender love and compassion. Take His hand, go on the walk with Him, and let Him produce in you what religion never could - a heart of intimacy and honor that values His presence more than anything else in the world.

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Worship: "I'm A Lover Of Your Presence" 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 1/30/24 The Wilderness Place 1/30/24

Caught In A Sophisticated Trap

(4 minutes)

Pastor Tim has said this often, "No one sets out in the morning to become a Pharisee." None of us leave the house in the morning hoping that we will become an expert pretender. We don't intend on getting caught up in delusional thinking. We all start with pure motives.

This rich, young ruler is just the same. He loved God. At the beginning of this story, we catch him running to Jesus. He's not casually strolling. He's running with purpose towards Jesus. He displays a heart of honor as he kneels down in front of Jesus. And the scripture says that he "cries out." This man is passionate about God. He's passionate about the things of the Kingdom.

As the man goes on, he reveals that he's been carefully obeying the Old Testament laws since his youth. He's been in church his whole life! We're not dealing with a horrible person. We're dealing with someone that American Christianity would prop up as the ideal church member. He's rich. He's young. He's successful. He's faithful. He was probably a prize possession to his local synagogue, just like he would be in the local church today. I can hear the pastor commenting on this young man in the weekly staff meeting, "We can use him! What a blessing!"

Why is this important? Why is it important to see that this man loved God? That he wasn't a horrible person?

Because if we write this young man off too quickly, we'll fail to see ourselves in this story. This rich, young ruler is a lot like us. So many of us have been the prize possession of the church at some point. We were the ideal church member. American Christianity took us in because they saw so much potential in us. We loved Jesus and we were faithful, so the church took an opportunity to use us to serve "the vision." We started off with pure motives, wanting to learn more about God. We never set our sights on becoming a religious Pharisee.

We had what every kid has when they're growing up: immature sincerity.

But instead of falling into the hands of a spiritual father who could lead us into intimacy with Jesus, we fell into something else.

Pastor Tim said it best this past Sunday. We were "caught in a sophisticated trap."

Let's not rush through the story. Let's stop here and let Abba talk to us about this part of the journey. Can you see yourself in the life of the rich, young ruler? Can you see the pure heart that you started with? Can you see in your own story where it shifted from immature sincerity to being abnormally used in the sophisticated trap of American Christianity?

If you haven't listened already, please go back and watch the message from this past Sunday. Pastor Tim goes into his own story of being the rich, young ruler. This message is resonating in the hearts of our family because we can see ourselves in the story.

Abba, give us ears to hear.

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Worship: "Real Thing" 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 Wilderness Place 1/29/24 The Wilderness Place 1/29/24

No Darkness, Not One Trace

(4 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)

This year at The Wilderness Place we're letting this verse go deep in us. Like Pastor Tim said this past Sunday: "Every decision you make, every thought you have, everything you decide to do, and everything you decide not to do hinges on this verse."

At first, it sounds like you're hearing something obvious. It strikes you like someone is simply telling you that "water is wet." Of course, God is light. Yes, I know that He is good!

I know that it's easy to believe when everything is going well. But do we believe it when life gets hard? Do we believe it when we have to walk through something difficult? Do we believe it when we run into an inconvenience?

It's when we walk through the difficult things that this truth gets tested in us. When hard things arise in life, do we still believe that Abba is pure, radiant light or do we begin blaming Him and questioning His goodness?

When something negative happens in your life, do you secretly believe that it's judgment from God concerning your bad behavior? Do you anxiously begin to trace the bad things that happen back to a past failure?

Listen... Abba doesn't treat His beloved sons and daughters this way.

Do you know of any parent who would give his hungry child, who asked for food, a plate of rocks instead? Or when asked for a piece of fish, what parent would offer his child a snake instead? If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what's best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him? (Matthew 7:9-11)

It's like Jesus is asking us, "When will you stop making Abba out to be some cruel, vindictive parent who is always ready and waiting to punish His children?" It's quite the opposite. John the Beloved tells us that Abba is trying to dispel every ounce of fear you have of punishment. He's trying to drive far from your heart, so you can fully enjoy His presence and perfect love.

Our blaming and questioning of Abba is simply a lack of trust in His goodness. This is why we are staying with the words of 1 John 1:5. We need this truth to go deep, so even when negative things happen in our life, we are still sure and fully convinced of Abba's goodness. We need to sit with it until there's no more blaming, no more questioning, and no more suspicion left in us concerning His nature. Until our heart can say in the face of every circumstance, "Abba is pure light. And there is not even one trace of darkness to be found in Him."

As we take the walk with Abba today, let's allow Him to come and convince us of this truth. He wants the transformation to happen in the light of His presence. He wants to convince us of His nature in a face-to-face encounter. Spending time with Him in intimacy will change how we see Him. And as we begin seeing Him rightly, it will change how we see everything else.

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Worship: "When I Lock Eyes With You" by Harvest & John 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 1/26/24 The Wilderness Place 1/26/24

The Obsession of My Life

(5 minutes)

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus had to pass through Jericho. There lived a very wealthy man named Zacchaeus, who supervised all the tax collectors. He was very eager to see Jesus and kept trying to get a look at him through the massive crowd. Since Zacchaeus was a short man and couldn't see over the heads of the people, he ran on ahead of everyone and climbed up a blossoming fig tree to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. When Jesus got to that place, he looked up into the tree and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry on down, for I must stay at your house today!" So he scurried down the tree and found himself face-to-face with Jesus. As Jesus left to go with Zacchaeus, many in the crowd complained, "Look at this! Of all the people to have dinner with, he's going to eat in the house of a crook." Zacchaeus was amazed over his gracious visit to his home and joyously welcomed Jesus. Zacchaeus stood in front of the Lord and said, "Half of all that I own I will give to the poor. And Lord, if I have cheated anyone, I promise to pay them back four times as much as I stole." (Luke 19:1-8)

This week we've been looking at the story of the rich, young ruler and the story of Zacchaeus. Both of them were wealthy men. Both of them ran with eagerness to see Jesus. But we see a very different heart posture in the two of them. As we read the end of each story, we can see the heart posture rise to the surface.

Zacchaeus allowed his obsession with Jesus to reorder everything in his life. Zacchaeus doesn't just want to visit Jesus where He is; Zacchaeus is overjoyed to bring Jesus into his own home. Zacchaeus allows the grace of God to come in and change his priorities. Pastor Tim mentioned this on Sunday: "Our obsession with Jesus teaches our priorities how to act." When Jesus is enthroned as King in our hearts, He brings order to our lives and our priorities. Our obsession will always dictate our priorities. The question for us here is this: who is calling the shots? What or who is our obsession? And how is that obsession prioritizing our lives? Our obsession tells us what to focus on and what is most important to us. The obsession of the rich, young ruler is clearly seen in the end...and so is Zacchaeus'.

Yesterday we saw what church history tells us about the end of the rich, young ruler's life. He eventually became an old, broke slave. But have you ever heard the rest of the story for Zacchaeus? Some church fathers believed that Matthias, the 13th disciple called after Judas' departure to be a part of the Twelve, was actually Zacchaeus. Some stories tell us that Zacchaeus went on to become the first bishop in Caesarea. Zacchaeus' face-to-face encounter with Jesus changed everything. It redirected his entire life and established him as a Kingdom man who brought transformation to a very important city.

Zacchaeus' name means "pure" and "innocent." This was the heart posture he brought with him as he ran to Jesus. This was the heart posture that allowed him to climb up into devotion and intimacy with Jesus and have his life completely transformed. One man is defined by his wealth, his age, and his social status. But Zacchaeus is defined by Abba's declaration over him: pure and innocent. Zacchaeus was radically defined by his beloved identity. What he lacked in stature and social recognition, he more than made up for in being known as one beloved of the Father. This is what happens when we allow Abba's grace to come in and deal with the darkness that we have concerning the goodness of God. When we see the Father rightly, we see ourselves rightly. And nothing else matters!

Will you allow Jesus to come into your home and become the obsession of your life? Will you allow Him to lavish you with His goodness and grace to the point where your priorities are changed? Will you let Him be the Bridegroom King that brings order to every part of your life? Can you hear Abba's voice calling out to you, "Pure and innocent one, hurry into My presence today, for I desire to be with you? Will you let me make your home My dwelling place so we can live together in uninterrupted, unbroken companionship?"

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Worship: "Never Going Back" 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 1/25/24 The Wilderness Place 1/25/24

The Old, Broke Slave

(5 minutes)

It is clear that the rich, young ruler found his identity in his wealth and status. When asked to leave it behind and come follow the Son of God, he simply could not let it go because losing it would be losing himself. This is why we must be radically defined, only as those beloved of the Father. Because this is the only thing that can't be taken away from us.

What happens when we put our identity in something other than Abba's love for us? Some of us have already seen this happen in our lives. You put your identity into your work ethic, and then you lose your job. You put your identity in your social status, and then you lose your dream house. Pastor Tim shared his personal testimony this past Tuesday of the season that his identity was in his sports career, and then he suffered an injury that ruined any chance at playing professional football. You put your identity in being a good father or mother, and then your relationship with your children becomes distant and strained. What happens when you put your identity in something only to have it stripped away? You crash. You lose hope. Like the rich, young ruler you are "completely shocked" and you walk away sad.

This is what Abba is coming after in our lives. These areas where we find our identity in things other than Him. Why? Because He doesn't ever want us to lose our identity, and as long as we're finding it in these other things we're susceptible to hurt, pain, and a fear that He doesn't want us living in. Imagine watching your own child become so attached to something that it becomes their life, the air they breathe, their reason for getting up in the morning. And imagine what you would feel if you had to witness them losing that thing. Abba's burning love for us is what motivates Him to come after these areas in our lives. If our identity is in Him and how He feels about us, we never lose our identity ever again. Things may come and go, but this always remains the same - Abba and His love for us.

Church history tells us about the unfortunate end to the rich, young ruler’s life. Forty years after his encounter with Jesus, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem, the rich, young ruler ended up being the broke, old slave. He lost his riches to the Roman empire. He was no longer a young man. And his position and status fell to the bottom rung of the social ladder. The thing he found his identity in and walked away from Jesus in order to keep, he ended up losing anyway.

I want to believe that Abba met him in that moment because He has a way of waiting us out. He's patient with us. And sometimes it takes losing what you thought you wanted to truly see what you can't live without.

This reminds me of some song lyrics:

"Cause there's no shame
in looking like a fool
When I give You what I can't keep
To take a hold of You"

Jesus' offensive words to the rich, young ruler were an invitation. "Son, will you give up what you can't keep, to take a hold of Me?" Jesus was opening a door for this young man to experience a deeper level of trust and intimacy, and an identity that he would never have to lose. He's offering the same thing to us. It's an invitation to step into something greater, a higher dimension, an unbroken fellowship with Yahweh.

Are we willing to give up what we can't keep to take a hold of Him?

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

Abba’s Priority Is Intimacy

(5 minutes)

Why would Jesus pinpoint this one thing in the rich, young ruler?

Remember what Pastor Tim said about this on Sunday: "God's judgments are aimed at everything that hinders intimacy with you and Him. His priority is not comfort. His priority is intimacy."

Jesus goes straight to the heart of the issue with this man because He desires a deeper relationship with him. It's the same with us. Jesus, moved by tender love, is coming after everything that is getting in the way of our intimacy with Him. Sometimes we are not even aware of these things, but as we keep walking with Abba, He addresses them and gives us grace to enter into a new level of trust and intimacy in our relationship with Him. That's exactly what these moments are...opportunities to go deeper in our relationship with Him.

The rich, young ruler loved God. He would not have run towards Jesus and asked this kind of question had he not loved God. He was concerned about the wrong things because he still had a broken image of the Father, but there was still a love for God. What happened in this moment was the rich, young ruler had the veil pulled back on something that rivaled and was competing with his love for God. There's a quote I remember that deals with this very thing: "We give up things we love for things we love even more." The rich, young ruler walks away sad because he has just been shown by Abba's grace that there was something ruining the vineyard of his love for God. There was another love competing for first place. A love that was such a strong contender to his love for God that it caused him to question everything.

Are we convinced of Abba's goodness to the degree that we could ask Him a really honest, vulnerable question today?

Abba, what in my life, if You asked me to give it up, would cause me to walk away sad?

Abba, is there another love in my life that is competing for first place with You?

Remember, Abba's priority is intimacy. Abba's priority is that your sole source of comfort would be Him, and nothing else. He doesn't want your identity in the hands of anything else. Because He knows that your identity is not safe in the hands of anything else. So His judgments are aimed at everything that is hindering your deep love for and trust in Him.

Where do these lesser loves fall away? How do they get dealt with? In the light of His presence. Our abiding and remaining in the light that surrounds Him is the thing that will deal most effectively with the dark thinking that still remains in us.

As we take the walk with Abba today, we are saying "Yes!" to living in the pure light that surrounds Him. And it's that light, the radiant light of His presence, that will deal with the lesser loves that still remain in our heart. And know that if Abba chooses to expose that thing in our hearts, it's His open invitation to walk in a deeper measure of intimacy with Him. He would never expose something and not give you all the grace and permission you need to exit that way of life, so you can enter into the abundant life that He has for you. You can trust Him!

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Worship: "First Love" by Josh Baldwin

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 1/23/24 The Wilderness Place 1/23/24

A Man Named “Pure”

(4 minutes)

How we approach the King determines what changes in us.

Yesterday, we saw a picture of a rich, young ruler trapped in religion. Everything seemed right on the outside. By the world's standards (and the church's) he was considered successful. His physical posture even seemed right as he ran to Jesus and knelt before Him to ask his question. We learned through their conversation that this wealthy, young man carefully obeyed the law. This man's life would likely cause others to marvel and think to themselves, "This guy has God's favor all over him. He really loves God."

But as we continued to read the story, we saw something entirely different unfold. The thing that religion produced in this man was fear. He was successful and carefully obeyed the law, yet he was afraid of eternal punishment and had absolutely no assurance in his spirit of God's love for him. When fear rules your life, you do everything you can to protect yourself. And the rich, young ruler's encounter with Jesus, from beginning to end, was flowing from a place of self-protection and self-love.

Pastor Tim highlighted another story on Sunday that you may be familiar with, but throw away the old lens that you've used to read this story in the past. Ask the Spirit to give you new eyes as you read it again. It's the story of another wealthy man named Zacchaeus, which means "pure."

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus had to pass through Jericho. There lived a very wealthy man named Zacchaeus, who supervised all the tax collectors. He was very eager to see Jesus and kept trying to get a look at him through the massive crowd. Since Zacchaeus was a short man and couldn't see over the heads of the people, he ran on ahead of everyone and climbed up a blossoming fig tree to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. When Jesus got to that place, he looked up into the tree and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry on down, for I must stay at your house today!" So he scurried down the tree and found himself face-to-face with Jesus. As Jesus left to go with Zacchaeus, many in the crowd complained, "Look at this! Of all the people to have dinner with, he's going to eat in the house of a crook." Zacchaeus was amazed over his gracious visit to his home and joyously welcomed Jesus. Zacchaeus stood in front of the Lord and said, "Half of all that I own I will give to the poor. And Lord, if I have cheated anyone, I promise to pay them back four times as much as I stole." (Luke 19:1-8)

We have another wealthy man, eager to see Jesus, running in the same way that the rich, young ruler ran. What's different about Zacchaeus' encounter?

I believe the true meaning of Zacchaeus' name gives us a good picture. His heart was pure in his pursuit of Jesus. He wasn't being fueled by fear of punishment, and he had more reason to fear than the rich, young ruler did because this man's wealth was established on the backs of the people in his town. He was the man in charge of all the tax collectors. He had way more reason to fear punishment and be afraid, but his heart was pure. Pastor Tim noted on Sunday that the blossoming fig tree is a symbol of devotion and intimacy. Zacchaeus' heart wasn't stooping down in shame... it was climbing high in devotion and intimacy, just wanting to catch a glimpse of the Son of God. Zacchaeus was after a face-to-face encounter with Jesus, and that is exactly what he got.

There's so much more to say, but for now, let's hold these two stories in our hearts and listen to what Abba is wanting to say to us. How are we approaching the King? This matters. The posture of our hearts as we encounter Jesus determines so much of the outcome. After reading these two stories, it seems like the posture of our hearts will determine whether we walk away sad from Jesus' presence or amazed over His grace. It's the same Jesus in both stories. But it's two different hearts.

Abba, as we climb high in devotion and intimacy, would you speak to us about the posture of our hearts?

We want a pure heart, restored to innonence, that doesn't fear You but is fully convinced that You are pure light, having no trace of darkness at all. We want to enjoy this face-to-face union with You and be utterly amazed at the grace You pour out on us until it fills us to overflowing with joy. Religion walks away sad from Your presence, but You have lured us out of religion, into perfect love. In this wilderness place, we're learning to be loved by You. Abba, take us by the hand, and let's descend even deeper today into Your goodness!

What bliss you experience when your heart is pure! For then your eyes will open to see more and more of God. (Matthew 5:8)

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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 1/22/24 The Wilderness Place 1/22/24

The Posture of the Heart

(7 minutes)

"How you approach the King determines what changes in you."

This phrase carried so much weight at the end of our gathering at The Wilderness Place yesterday. Pastor Tim paralleled two familiar stories to show us how our heart posture in our relationship with Jesus matters. It's a sobering question, but one that's worth asking: how am I approaching the King? What is my heart posture like in my own encounters with Abba? As we meditate on these scriptures and thoughts from Sunday, can we be vulnerable and open with Him? Can we be honest about where we are, so He can usher us by His goodness into where we were always meant to be?

The first story that we looked at was that of the rich, young ruler.

As Jesus started on his way, a man came running up to him. Kneeling down in front of him, he cried out, "Good Teacher, what one thing am I required to do to gain eternal life?" (Mark 10:17)

Our first glimpse of this young, wealthy man seems promising. Unlike others who were casually following from a distance, we see him running towards Jesus. His physical posture was one of humility as he kneeled down in front of Jesus, but listen to what comes next. The rich, young ruler cried out, "Good Teacher, what one thing am I...required...to do to gain eternal life?" There is so much in this question that reveals the heart posture of this man, and the heart posture of so many people who are caught up in religious thinking. The first problem is in his perspective of Jesus and this is the first thing that Jesus speaks to.

Jesus responded, "Why do you call me good? Only God is truly good." (Mark 10:18)

Do you see me as a teacher, or do you see me as God? This is a huge question that must be settled in the heart. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, "If all I am to you is a teacher, then I'll give you a teacher-answer to your question. But if you see Me as God, then I'll give you a God-answer to your question." God gives us the "right of way" in these conversations. He allows us to have our own beliefs and will, and then He responds to us in the place where we are. So Jesus gives the rich, young ruler the teacher-answer to his question.

"You already know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give a false testimony, do not cheat, and honor your father and mother.'" (Mark 10:19)

But this checklist was already one that the young ruler was familiar with. He had already mastered these items, and still, his heart needed assurance of where he would spend eternity. Because checklists do not have the power to give us confident assurance and hope. Religion only has one message: "Try harder." And that is precisely what the rich, young ruler is here to do. His only goal in this encounter with Jesus is to figure out what else he must do to get the favorable outcome that he desires for his life.

The man said to Jesus, "Teacher, I have carefully obeyed these laws since my youth." (Mark 10:20)

The teacher-answer did not suffice. The unsettled soul of this young man was searching for something new he could check off the list, hoping that it would be the final piece of the puzzle. But the puzzle that religion sells you is never complete. So he tells Jesus that he has already carefully obeyed these laws since he was born. Jesus, what else do you have for me? Then Jesus gives him the God-answer that pierces through the religious facade, straight to the heart of the man.

Jesus fixed his gaze upon the man, with tender love, and said to him, "Yet there is still one thing in you lacking. Go, sell all that you have and give the money to the poor. Then all of your treasure will be in heaven. After you've done this, come back and walk with me." (Mark 10:21)

We need to recognize the sophisticated trap of religion in the life of this rich, young ruler. His physical posture of running towards Jesus and humbly kneeling at his feet seemed right. His careful obedience to the law, all wonderful things, seemed right. He did all of that and still lacked one thing: a heart that valued Jesus more than money. And it's the tender love and kindness of Jesus to put His finger on this thing - the thing that was hindering this man's intimacy with the King.

How did the rich, young ruler respond? When Jesus puts His finger on the thing that was hindering this man's relationship with the Son of God, how did he react? It's in these moments where the heart posture rises to the top and is exposed in us.

Completely shocked by Jesus' answer, he turned and walked away very sad, for he was extremely rich. (Mark 10:22)

This wealthy landowner was finally introduced to the thing he loved most in the world...and it wasn't Jesus. Until this moment, religion made promises to him that never soothed his soul. He lived the majority of his life up to this point believing that he loved God, but all he really loved was himself. This is why Pastor Tim references religion and American Christianity as the most sophisticated trap. Because it convinces you that you love God when the reality is...you only love what God can do for you. God is so much more than a "get out of hell free" card. He desires so much more than that. He's after a fiery love affair - a covenant marriage - a Bride who wants to be made like Him through union with Him. He's after uninterrupted, unbroken companionship. The ones who are not ready for this unconditional, others-centered, self-sacrificing love will always turn back and settle in the land of religion. It bears the appearance of something real but lacks the fruit and restful trust of an authentic relationship with Jesus.

These moments where Jesus puts His finger on something that's getting in the way of our union with Him are beautiful opportunities. These moments where He offends our mind to reveal our heart are significant crossroads in our relationship with Him. They can lead us into an authentic, real relationship with Abba if we let them.

But it requires honesty.

Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, "You can know the right answers and not know Jesus. You can say the right answers and still not know Jesus. You can build kingdoms and campuses and garner numbers but still not know Jesus."

It all comes down to the heart posture. Is the heart open or closed? Is the heart willing to lay down self, to grab hold of the truth? Is the heart willing to walk away from opinions, theories, and ideas in order to have a real, authentic relationship with Jesus?

Abba is looking at the heart. He's gazing into the deepest parts of us with tender love and He desires to have the most intimate, unbroken fellowship with His beloved sons and daughters.

As we take the walk with Him today, let's open up about our heart posture. Let's be honest with Abba about where we are. We won't be met with wrath and punishment but with perfect love. It's only His goodness that can lead us out and change how we think. But if never allow ourselves to get close to Him in intimacy, what chance do we have of encountering Abba's goodness?

O taste and see that Yahweh is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! (Psalm 34:8)

Abba is extending a personal invitation to you today. Come taste and see for yourself that He is good! He is pure light, and there is no trace of darkness in Him at all. King David is assuring us that Yahweh is a safe place to hide!

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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 1/19/24 The Wilderness Place 1/19/24

The Fruit of Becoming Beloved

(5 minutes)

Beloved children, our love can't be an abstract theory we only talk about, but a way of life demonstrated through our loving deeds. We know that the truth lives within us because we demonstrate love in action, which will reassure our hearts in his presence. (1 John 3:18-19)

There is a beautiful fruit that is produced in a person when they begin to trust Abba's point of view concerning themselves. Abba's love tenderizes their heart and they begin to lower their guard and lay their weapons down.

As you embrace that Abba is pure light, with no trace of darkness in Him at all, then you stop being concerned with protecting yourself. And not protecting yourself frees you to love other people the way Abba has loved you. As His love begins to nourish your heart, you become more open to giving and receiving love from the people that He has planted in your life. This is what begins to happen when beloved identity goes from being merely words to becoming a way of life.

Listen to John the Beloved's words in 1 John 3:16-17, translated in The Mirror Translation:

Love is known in its other-centeredness; just as Jesus laid down his life for us to free his love within us for others. The indwelling love of God compels one to live sensitively aware of people around us, and not to exclude those in need.

Hear those words again: Jesus laid down his life for us to FREE HIS LOVE WITHIN US for others. As we encounter the goodness of Abba in the secret place of His love, that intimate place that we share together, we will begin to overflow with what we're beholding in Him, and that will eventually begin to splash all over the people we come in contact with on a daily basis. This agape love - this unconditional, self-sacrificing, other-centered love - is meant to be the differentiator in the lives of Kingdom men and women. The thing that sets them apart as being exclusively His, because only He is capable of loving in that way.

Are you seeing this Kingdom fruit being produced in your life? Is the declaration of your beloved identity causing you to love others with the love that has been lavished on you?

I appreciate how John the Beloved approaches this conversation: Beloved children, our love can't be an abstract theory we only talk about. It's his way of saying, "Don't be fooled into believing that a new vocabulary is the pinnacle of this Kingdom transformation." It must go deeper than words. It must affect the way we live life. The Mirror Translation puts it like this: "My darling children, let's not deceive ourselves by paying lip service to love while we can truly live the dynamic of love in our practical daily doing."

Abba, we long for this truth to go so deep that it transforms our heart for the people that you've planted in our lives. It's clear to us now that we know Your heart that You've always wanted a loving family - a house full of beloved sons and daughters who see You and themselves correctly. You are fixing our broken perspective of You and ourselves and others, and it's finally freeing us to give and receive love the way You designed us to. Abba, we lay down the weapons that we've used to protect ourselves. We lower our guards. Give us tender hearts that can connect with others the way You've connected with us. Let the tender affections we've received from You in intimacy, teach us how to love the Kingdom family we're joined to. More than words...more than good ideas, let this love we've found in You become our way of life as we walk with others.

Those who are loved by God, let his love continually pour from you to one another, because God is love. Everyone who loves is fathered by God and experiences an intimate knowledge of him. The one who doesn't love has yet to know God, for God is love. The light of God's love shined within us when he sent his matchless Son into the world so that we might live through him. This is love: He loved us long before we loved him. It was his love, not ours. He proved it by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins. Delightfully loved ones, if he loved us with such tremendous love, then "loving one another" should be our way of life! (1 John 4:7-11)

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Worship: "Made for More" by Josh Baldwin

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 1/18/24 The Wilderness Place 1/18/24

Exclusively From Abba’s Point Of View

(5 minutes)

As we are letting Abba's declaration of our beloved identity go down deep into our hearts, I wanted to come back to the verse that we've been focusing on the last few weeks. One of the most valuable scriptures we have. Years after Jesus ascended to the Father and the church was being established in the earth, John the Beloved writes this letter and opens it with these words, the life-giving message of Yeshua that was still ringing in his ears, causing him to overflow with joy. God is radiant light, the purest light of all, and in Him there exists no trace of darkness at all.

I love the words that the author of The Mirror Translation adds in his footnotes concerning this verse. "Without exception, God's gifts are only good; its perfection cannot be flawed." Without exception, Abba is nothing but good and does nothing but good. His goodness cannot be flawed. There is no shifting shadow in the light that surrounds Him. There is no trace of darkness; nor any hint of a hidden agenda. We have to believe this! Not believing this will keep us from growing in intimacy with Yahweh. If we are suspicious of darkness in Him, be it just a trace, we will withhold ourselves and not get as close to Him as we're designed to be - face to face. Remember... uninterrupted, unbroken companionship. This is what Abba wants for us.

If we claim that we share life with him, but keep walking in the realm of darkness, we're fooling ourselves and not living the truth. But if we keep living in the pure light that surrounds him, we share unbroken fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, continually cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)

What does it mean to live in the pure light that surrounds Him? John the Beloved is not talking about behavior; he's talking about our perspective. How we see Abba and how we see ourselves will determine how we behave. The author of The Mirror Translation puts it like this: "To walk in the light as he is in the light means to see your life and everything that concerns you, exclusively from your Father's point of view." Do you see your life and everything that concerns you exclusively from Abba's point of view? Do you filter everything that happens in your life through the Father's goodness? I know you and I see SOME things through the Father's goodness, but do we see ALL things that happen in our life filtered through His goodness?

In Romans 8:28, the Apostle Paul says, "So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose." Abba is nothing but good and does nothing but good. Are we convinced that He's weaving every detail of our lives into something good? Every detail? This is what it means to see your life and everything that concerns you, exclusively from your Father's point of view. You don't get to think anything about yourself or your life that Abba isn't thinking.

As intimacy with Yahweh becomes a priority in our lives, we will begin to grow in our union and unbroken fellowship with Him. And that union will change how we see everything. His perspective will become our perspective. His thoughts will become our thoughts. His heart will become our heart. We will come into complete alignment with Abba's way of seeing. We will begin seeing all things, every detail of our lives, filtered through His goodness. We will find ourselves basking in the radiant, pure light that surrounds Him. Our perspective will be washed of that old, religious paradigm that painted the Father with darkness, and we will be living immersed in the truth - He is good, and we are beloved.

As you get close to Him in intimacy today, begin asking Him for new eyes to see as He sees.

Abba, we want to see You rightly - in the radiant light that surrounds You. Abba, we want to see ourselves rightly - as beloved sons and daughters of God. Abba, we want to be fully convinced that every detail of our lives is being filtered through Your goodness. Let our old, darkened perspective be washed away by Your love.

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Worship: "Surrounded (Fight My Battles)" 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 1/17/24 The Wilderness Place 1/17/24

Nothing To Prove

(4 minutes)

One day, Jesus came to be baptized along with all the others. As he was consumed with the spirit of prayer, the heavenly realm ripped open above him and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a dove and landed on him. Then God's audible voice was heard, saying, "My Son, you are my beloved one. Through you I am fulfilled." (Luke 3:21-22)

Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was being led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had finished, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." (Luke 4:1-3)

How important is it to be fully convinced that you are beloved of the Father? So important that when the enemy shows up to tempt Jesus, the first attack he launches is against Jesus' identity as Beloved Son. This was the same attack he launched against Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Don't be mistaken, the enemy is out for your identity. If he can get you to doubt Yahweh's goodness and your own beloved identity, the hard work is done. Remember Pastor Tim's words from Sunday: "Every decision you make is about these two things: what you believe about God and what you believe about yourself."

The enemy comes to Jesus while He's in a vulnerable state and questions His belovedness. "If you are who you say you are, prove it!" These same accusing words come to us when we're vulnerable, too. It's in the midst of the struggle, the difficult moments, that the enemy comes to attack your identity. Honestly, we don't even need his help most times because we become our own accuser and question ourselves before he even has a chance. "If I am really beloved, why am I struggling with this? If I am really beloved, why is this happening to me?" The temptation is always to leave our place of restful trust in Abba's goodness and start striving to prove that we are who we say we are.

Pastor Tim had some truthful words to share about striving to prove ourselves. He said, "When we strive to prove that we are beloved sons and daughters, we don't really believe that we are beloved sons and daughters. You and me feeling like we have to prove ourselves speaks to us that beloved identity hasn't gone as deep as it needs to go." When you are fully convinced of Yahweh's goodness and your own beloved identity, you will lose every inclination to prove yourself. The fully convinced, beloved son and daughter has no need for striving, earning, and proving anymore. They have been kicked out of the camp to make room for peace, joy, and the uninterrupted, unbroken companionship that we're enjoying with Abba.

What areas are you still trying to prove that you are a beloved son or daughter? Can you see that proving and measuring yourself is actually partnering with unbelief concerning your beloved identity? Abba is calling you to be seated, to rest in what HE says. Being seated is simply believing Abba's words alone. Abba's words concerning you are the only validation you need. The fact that He has said it, settles it in you.

Abba, let my beloved identity go deep in me today. Let nothing move me from being seated in what You have spoken over me. When the enemy or my own accusing thoughts come to tempt me to prove and measure myself, let me find confident rest in Your words. Abba, You are nothing but good and Your words are enough for me!

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Worship: "Promises" 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 Wilderness Place 1/16/24 The Wilderness Place 1/16/24

Baptized In Beloved Identity

(5 minutes)

How important is it to be fully convinced that you are beloved of the Father?

Before Jesus performs any miracles, before He heals anyone, before He resurrects anyone from the dead, the Father is peeling back the heavens so everyone can hear His heart loud and clear. One of only two times that we hear the audible voice of the Father in the New Testament and He is saying, "This is my dearly beloved Son, in whom I take the greatest delight!" Another translation interprets these words, "You are my much-loved Son who makes my heart glad!" Abba is declaring His unconditional love and pleasure for the Son. Of all the things that Abba could say... of all the things that He could talk about... this is what He chooses to say.

Immediately after Jesus is baptized in beloved identity, the Spirit leads Him even deeper into the wilderness. And in His most vulnerable moment, the enemy comes and tempts Jesus saying, "If You are the Son of God..."

It seems that the devil left something out.

Pastor Tim has said this before, "The enemy is fine with you believing that you are a son of God, but he does not want you to believe that you are beloved."

The enemy fails to mention Jesus' state of beloved-ness in the Father's eyes. He leaves it off completely. He then tempts Jesus to prove His sonship and anything you feel the need to prove, you are not fully convinced of in the beginning. In the same wilderness where the Israelites struggled to be seated in Yahweh's goodness, and confronted by the same serpent that deceived Adam and Eve about their divine identity in God, Jesus finds victory simply by believing Abba's words over anyone else's. This is the victory that's possible when you hear Abba's voice for yourself, thundering through the heavenly realm and into your ears, "You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I find the greatest delight. You make my heart happy!"

Pastor Tim made this statement on Sunday: "Every decision you make is about these two things: what you believe about God and what you believe about yourself." The bedrock of Jesus' victory in the wilderness, the very foundation of His faith in those moments, hinged on what He believed about Abba, and what He believed about Himself. It's the same with us. Our response in our most vulnerable moment will be shaped by what we believe about Abba, and what we believe about ourselves. Trials have a strange way of revealing what has been brewing in our inner world all along. Storms cause our true beliefs to come to the surface. Head-knowledge, intellect, and a new vocabulary will not sustain you in these vulnerable moments, but Abba's voice will. He has hidden these treasured words in the light that surrounds Him, waiting for us to come to the secret place, called intimacy, to hear them for ourselves.

Have you been baptized in beloved identity? Have you been immersed in that which is flowing down from Abba's heart? Are you seated in Yahweh's goodness and your belovedness in His eyes? Have you heard Abba's declaration of love for yourself? This moment marked Jesus. And when we are baptized in our beloved identity, it will mark us, too.

Come and discover what the enemy and the lie of religion never wanted you to know: that you are His beloved, and before you ever lifted a finger... He found His greatest delight in you. You don't have to strive for it. You can cease all of your efforts to earn it. And you don't need to prove it to anyone. Only one thing is asked of you: will you believe it? Will you be fully convinced, like Jesus was, that Abba is pure light, and there's not even a trace of darkness in Him? Will you be fully convinced that Abba loves you with the same nature and measure of love that He has for Jesus?

Come and be baptized, beloved.

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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 1/15/24 The Wilderness Place 1/15/24

Uninterrupted, Unbroken Companionship

(4 minutes)

From the moment of his baptism, Jesus overflowed (was fully infused) with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 4:1)

At the start of this week, let's fix our eyes on Abba's heart for us. He's showing up every single day to walk with us.

Pastor Tim showed us this past Sunday that Jesus "overflowing with the Holy Spirit" means that He was experiencing uninterrupted, unbroken companionship with Abba. Abba was accompanying Him wherever He went.

Today, Abba's heart is to be with you in every moment. He wants you to experience the same uninterrupted, unbroken companionship that Jesus did. Nothing less! He wants to accompany you and walk hand-in-hand with you wherever you go. Unlimited access to an intimate relationship with Yahweh.

To walk in this depth of presence, we must see Him as good, pure light, and we must see ourselves as His beloved. These two things, if not seen rightly, will keep us walking at a distance instead of walking hand-in-hand with Him. Seeing Him as perfectly good and seeing ourselves as Beloved of the Father will allow us to enjoy the face-to-face relationship that we were designed to share with Him.

This is what Abba is inviting you into today. Abba wants you to constantly be living in the light that surrounds Him. Can you imagine walking this closely with Abba? Can you imagine having a continual conversation with Him throughout the day? Can you imagine His presence being woven into every moment, no matter how small?

Two questions that you must ask yourself and answer honestly:

Do you believe He really wants to be this close to you? This question reveals how you see Him. We have to settle this question in our hearts. Is He good… to me?

Do you believe that you are worthy enough to experience this measure of His presence? This question reveals how you see yourself. This question is about your identity. Am I really beloved?

It's okay to not feel 100% settled in these things. This is exactly what the walk is for. These are the things that He wants to talk about today as we host His presence. Bring your heart, fully open, into the light that surrounds Him. Be vulnerable with Him about where you are. And allow His love to wash you, to nourish you, to revive you in these areas. His voice speaking tenderly to your heart can change everything. One moment with Him in intimacy can change everything. All He needs from you is your willingness to be open with Him.

Your future is full of uninterrupted, unbroken, unlimited companionship with Abba, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. He has lured you into the wilderness to produce this in you. The work has already begun! And Abba is always faithful to finish the work that He has started.

I pray with great faith for you, because I'm fully convinced that the One who began this gracious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ! (Philippians 1:6)

You're predestined to look just like Jesus, having the exact same face-to-face relationship that He has with Abba. This is the work that He has started in you! And until Jesus is unveiled in you, He is faithful to continue the process of maturing His beloved sons and daughters.

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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 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