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

The Presence-Conscious Posture

(5 minutes)

During those days, another massive crowd gathered to hear Jesus, and again, there was no food and the people were hungry. So Jesus called his disciples to come near him and said to them, "My heart goes out to this crowd, for they've already been here with me for three days with nothing to eat. I'm concerned that if I send them home hungry, some may faint along the way, for many have come a long, long way just to be with me." His disciples replied, "But could anyone possibly get enough food to satisfy a crowd this size out here in this isolated place?" (Mark 8:1-4)

“Storms, and lack, and disappointment, and hopelessness cause amnesia.” (Pastor Tim) Just a couple chapters earlier the disciples witness the miraculous feeding of a very large crowd, but here they are again and they have lost confidence. You see, it's the goodness of God that brings us back into these situations so the truth can go even deeper into our hearts. One time around wasn't enough for the disciples. They needed another trip through this situation so they could be convinced of God's goodness. Abba does the same for us, so we can be convinced that He is pure light and there's no trace of darkness in Him.

He [Jesus] asked them, "How many loaves of flatbread do you have?"
"Seven," they replied. (Mark 8:5)

Why is Jesus asking the disciples this question? Does God not know the amount of food that's available on the scene? Of course, He knows. "He's asking them to stop and ask the question, 'Do we need to even ask this question?' We've got the presence of God here. What does it matter how many loaves we have? He's trying to tell them, 'You're still need-conscious, and you need to be presence-conscious. You're still too focused on what you do have and what you don't have.'" (Pastor Tim)

The "and again" keeps happening because we haven't learned to trust Him. Abba's not bringing us through these situations to bring shame and condemnation. He's simply trying to wake us up to the fact that we still don't trust Him. And we don't even know that's the case until we walk through something, again. He wants us more focused on presence, not resources. What we need is irrelevant when we're in the presence of the King.

Jesus instructed the crowd to sit down on the grass. After he took the seven loaves, he gave thanks to God, broke them, and started handing them to his disciples. They kept distributing the bread until they had served the entire crowd. They also had a few small fish, and after giving thanks for these, Jesus had his disciples serve them to the crowd. Everyone ate until they were satisfied. Then the disciples gathered up the broken pieces and filled seven large baskets with leftovers. (Mark 8:6-8)

Why does Jesus instruct the crowd to sit down? "Because you can't receive anything from the Kingdom while you're running around, stressed out about what you don't have. Jesus refuses to do a single thing until everyone has the posture of peace." (Pastor Tim) He takes what the disciples are willing to surrender to Him, He breaks it, and then He uses it to feed thousands of people.

"It's the goodness of God that keeps giving us opportunity after opportunity to respond the way He's wanting us to respond." (Pastor Tim) It's the goodness of God that keeps ushering us into these situations, again and again, until we are so settled and seated in trust that we respond differently than we ever have before. That's healing. That's complete wholeness. You're free when you can go into the same situation, and respond from a place of peace and trust.

This is the process of healing and wholeness that Abba is taking us on. And He's not resentful, shaking His head in disapproval, annoyed that we are taking so long to come around. No! He's enjoying every moment of this process. He's enjoying walking His children through the process of maturity. He's concerned with every single detail of this journey. It's not a marathon, it's a dance. And He's enjoying every moment of it. He's inviting us into the same level of enjoyment!

Are we running around, stressed over our lack? Or are we seated in a posture of peace ready to receive from the King's table? Are we more conscious of our own needs? Or are we conscious of the presence of Yahweh? Every "and again" moment that we walk through is an opportunity to trust Him more.

As we take the walk with Abba today, let's allow Him to speak to us concerning our posture in His presence. There are things we're walking through right now and we have the distinct honor and privilege to respond with a heart of trust and pour out an extravagant worship on His feet that will transform us. There's a grace for us to walk through this "and again" much differently than we have in the past.

Beloved One, take My hand, and let's sit down in this moment. Stop worrying and questioning the details of your life, and wake up to the fact that you're in this place again because My goodness won't allow you to settle in the land of the brokenhearted. My beloved sons and daughters deserve so much more. I'm committed to showing up every day and walking with you into the healing, wholeness, and freedom that you were made for. I love you too much to leave you!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "Love Note" 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 2/29/24 The Wilderness Place 2/29/24

And Again

(5 minutes)

"I want to show you the goodness of God to continue to bring us back, even to spots where we failed." (Pastor Tim)

When it comes to this process of healing, wholeness, and maturity, Abba is going to bring you the best way, which is not always the path of least resistance. He knows exactly what we need to be brought into wholeness. He knows exactly what we need to walk through with Him.

Jesus has already fed the 5,000. We've already been in this situation before. The disciple failed miserably the first time around and now we find ourselves in the midst of another massive crowd, and again, there is no food to eat and the people are hungry.

"Jesus is not afraid of your failures. When you fail, He doesn't avoid it. He wants to take you right back to that place and say, 'Let's do it again!'" (Pastor Tim)

But we're not like this! Pastor Tim always says that storms cause amnesia, we suddenly forget how the goodness of God brought us through similar situations. Storms also cause us to become expert forecasters so we never find ourselves in another storm ever again. There is nothing in us that desires to relive past failures...again. We never want to be put in that uncomfortable situation ever again. Not so with Jesus!

"Religion will tell you that God will cause you to avoid your mistakes, but He says, 'And again.' Let's do it again. Let's set the scenario up again. Let's put you in the situation of vulnerability, again." (Pastor Tim)

This is why we keep finding ourselves in the same situations, at the gate of our worst failures. He's bringing us through an "and again" moment so He can take us by the hand and walk us through it.

"If you go into this thinking that God cares more about your comfort than your character, that's when you're going to lose who God really is. He has promised that we're going to look like Him at any cost." (Pastor Tim)

What is Abba wanting to say or do, again?

What are we trying to avoid and not deal with that Abba wants us to face, again? What area of our life are we saying, "Not again!," that Abba is trying to bring us through, again, so we can look more like Him?

Listen, He's not wanting to produce fear in you; He wants to cast the fear out of you by way of His perfect love. If we're not careful we can get so good at avoiding past failures that we believe we're walking in a measure of freedom, when that's not the case at all. We're just not letting ourselves be put in a situation that exposes our brokenness. That's not true freedom. That's decorating the jail cell. That's the best that religion has to offer, but it's not the best that Abba has for us.

You've been asking yourself why you keep encountering the same issues or problems over and over again. Abba is giving you the answer in this word. He wants to take you by the hand and walk through it with you, again. But this time...He wants you to come out healed, whole, and completely free.

Muscles don't get stronger by being left alone. They require resistance to grow. The first thing that must change is our perspective. Can you see these "and again" moments differently today? Can you see them as opportunities instead of offenses? Can you run toward them instead of away from them? Can you see them as invitations from Abba into a greater degree of healing?

Beloved One, your confidence in every situation is this: you are not alone! Abba doesn't abandon you to walk through these "and again" moments by yourself. He prefers to walk through them with you, hand in hand. Hear His voice whispering to your heart, "Let's do it together this time."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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 2/28/24 The Wilderness Place 2/28/24

I’m Done Pretending, I Want The Real Thing

(4 minutes)

"Let me tell you something about the Kingdom: nothing changes as long as you continue to pretend that there's nothing wrong." (Pastor Tim)

Too often we fall into the trap of pretending. We hide our ashes, decorate our lives with Christianity, and pretend that there is nothing wrong. We make our whole life about looking right and sounding right, instead of actually being right. This is the fruit of religion. Religion can't actually deal with any of our problems or the issues of the heart. We're just taught to become experts at hiding. And we're taught to run far away from anything that would seek to uncover and expose these areas. We live our lives being offended around every turn, and it's just our way of protecting ourselves from dealing with the deepest, darkest parts of our hearts. Those places are crying out to encounter Abba's love.

What brings the change we long for? What brings the wholeness that we were made for? "It takes a constant, consistent, at His feet, exposing of your heart so that your heart gets healed." (Pastor Tim)

We can't run from the revealing of these areas and be healed. They must be exposed to Abba's presence and encounter His goodness and perfect love. We must submit to His "wheel."

The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh saying, "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will make you hear My words." Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he was making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was ruined (marred) in the hand of the potter, so he turned around and made it again, into another vessel, according to what was right in the eyes of the potter to make. (Jeremiah 18:1-4)

"You can't be remade into God's image if you still like your image." (Pastor Tim)

Surrendering to Abba's "wheel" requires the laying down and letting go of what we want so we can be remade again into another vessel. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, some of us prayed a prayer and some of us got on a wheel. You have to ask yourself which one you did. Is Jesus surrendering to your desires and the life that you want for yourself? Or are you surrendering to His desires and the life that He has for you? Being remade again into another vessel requires that we trust the hands of Abba. The spinning feels like you're losing control, but that means that He is in control.

Another thing is true when it comes to surrendering to Abba's wheel: the costs are laughable compared to the reward. What you inherit is far greater than what you lose. Abba's goodness will usher you into abundant life and you'll be made into the person you were always meant to be. Don't be fooled: you're not becoming a different person, you're becoming the most authentic and real version of yourself that you've ever seen - and that version just happens to look exactly like Jesus. You were made for unbroken fellowship with Yahweh. You were made for loving and being loved. You were made for complete faith and trust in Abba. You were made for a whole heart, healed in every way. You were made to find utter enjoyment in every moment because of your being joined to Jesus.

Beloved One, there's more for you! Will you surrender to Abba's hands and the spinning of His wheel? Will you allow Him to sit on the throne of your heart and lead you into wholeness and freedom? Will you let go of your image, so you can be remade into His image?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "Once and For All" by Lauren Daigle

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 2/27/24 The Wilderness Place 2/27/24

The Process on the Potter’s Wheel

(5 minutes)

Sometimes we can get discouraged that we're not further along, or we're not where we think we should be. There's a beautiful thing that Abba has built into the cosmos and it's called "process." Pastor Tim mentioned on Sunday that "God created everything in six days, but He planted a garden." Abba enjoys the process of growth and seeing something come to maturity, whether it's a seed in the ground or a seed in the womb. He doesn't view our walk with Him as a marathon. It's less about the destination, and more about the dance along the way. Why? Because He enjoys the process, and He wants us to enjoy it, too.

"Every single one of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior has instantly been saved from something, but the church has neglected to tell us what we've been saved for. You were designed to be whole. You were designed to have your heart healed. You were designed to have the ashes removed from your head and a bouquet of beauty put on. You were designed to carry joy. You were designed to be planted in the ground where the city has been completely destroyed, and because you get planted by the Lord there you see the city transformed and changed. But this is a process of allowing our hearts to soak in the goodness of God." (Pastor Tim)

In Esther's story, we catch a glimpse of the process. She submits herself to 365 days of daily soaking. This soaking removes the hardness of the heart caused by hardships. This soaking removes the ashes. This soaking removes the distrust and suspicion caused by our being mishandled in the past. This soaking mends the broken places of our hearts. Esther submitted to the process of healing.

Can you see process in the picture of the potter's wheel? There is a remaking of the vessel that's happening on the potter's spinning wheel. As Pastor Tim said, we have become expert avoiders of all spinning, but the most transformation happens to the clay when the wheel is spinning and the potter's hands can reshape and remold the clay into what he desires.

This begs the question: are we enjoying the process like Abba is? He delights in seeing the seed transform into the mighty oak. Are we equally delighted as we walk with Him through that transformation in our own lives? Do we see the spinning as something He's doing for us? Or do we still see the spinning as something we should avoid at all costs?

Let's go deeper with that question. Do we trust that Abba is good? Do we believe that His hands are the safest place we could ever be? Our hesitancy and recoiling away from the process of healing is a witness that there are still areas of the heart that must be convinced that He is pure light, having no trace of darkness in Him. We will only submit to the process of healing when we trust Abba and believe that He only has good for us. Soaking in His goodness is what leads us into transformation.

Beloved One, what step can you take towards trusting Abba today? Allow His goodness to lead you into the healing waters - first to the ankles, then to the knees, up to the waste, until we're completely overtaken by the perfect love of our Father!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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 2/26/24 The Wilderness Place 2/26/24

Clarity vs. Trust

(5 minutes)

"When John Kavanaugh, the noted and famous ethicist, went to Calcutta, he was seeking Mother Theresa...and more. He went for three months to work at "the house of the dying" to find out how best he could spend the rest of his life.

When he met Mother Theresa, he asked her to pray for him. 'What do you want me to pray for?' she replied. He then uttered the request he had carried thousands of miles: 'Clarity. Pray that I have clarity.'

'No,' Mother Theresa answered, 'I will not do that.' When he asked her why, she said, 'Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.' When Kavanaugh said that she always seemed to have clarity, the very kind of clarity he was looking for, Mother Theresa laughed and said: 'I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.'"

How many of us are crying out for clarity, when Abba is calling out for trust? Are we seeking to understand, or are we seeking the peace that only comes from trusting God?

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:7)

"This scripture is telling us that your clarity and His peace are in a race...He's saying, 'You can wrestle with understanding and clarity or you can rest in My peace and trust me.'" (Pastor Tim)

All of us want to be this person. Every one of us wants to respond with trust and have the peace of God in every circumstance. Like Pastor Tim said, it's the situations that catch us off guard, that we didn't see coming, that cause us to react with little to no faith or trust in Yahweh. But it's these moments that become the rare opportunities for us to give God an offering of worship that is much different than the ones we give Him when everything is going okay. It's when negative situations arise that our trust in Him is tested. You don't need trust when everything is smooth, and going your way, when you're in control and have clarity.

Pastor Tim mentioned a very practical and tangible way for us to begin leaning into trust and peace. He told the story of a Navy Seal Commander who determined that no matter what happened in his life, good or bad, he would only have only one response: Good! Lost your job? Good! Got divorced? Good! Got no money? Good! You see, once he developed the habit of responding this way, all of a sudden his brain started helping him come up with all the reasons it was good. The enemy's advancing and broke through the lines - Good! We lost - Good! We get to train harder, and the next time it happens we'll be ready.

Our mind will always find evidence for what our heart wants to believe. The truth is, we focus so much on worse-case scenarios because we aren't fully convinced of the goodness of God.

This week, Abba is going to teach us how to trust Him in every situation and circumstance. This word is going to be tested with opportunities to lay our clarity and understanding down and pick up trust and peace. As we walk with Abba today, let's open up to Him like Kavanaugh opened up to Mother Theresa and allow Him to show us what we need to let go of so we can start enjoying more of Him and His presence.

Beloved One, I give you permission to see everything that happens today through the lens of My goodness. It's all being worked out for your good because you love Me!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "Palm of Your Hand" by TRIBL

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 2/23/24 The Wilderness Place 2/23/24

Soaking In The Spirit

(5 minutes)

Before each young woman was taken to the king's bed, she was given the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments--six months with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments. When it was time for her to go to the king's palace, she was given her choice of whatever clothing or jewelry she wanted to take from the harem. (Esther 2:12-13)

Now that we've seen the favor that Esther gained by being fathered, there is one more truth we need to highlight in this story - soaking in the Holy Spirit.

"A healed heart only happens in soaking in the Spirit of the Lord. We went straight to your behavior because we didn't have time to let you soak." (Pastor Tim)

Before Esther goes before the king, she is taken through the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments - soaking six months in the oil of myrrh, followed by another six months of soaking in special perfumes and ointments. She submits to 365 days of soaking.

Soaking in the Spirit is about letting the love of Abba tenderize our hearts, making them whole again. Soaking in the Spirit allows the calloused areas of our hearts, the areas that have been hardened by hardships, to be dealt with and completely healed. This only happens if we slow our pace and allow ourselves to be undressed in vulnerability and honesty as we soak in His love. "Here's the issue: most of us don't want to be that vulnerable in the presence of God. We don't want to talk about how we were abused and misused, and how trust was broken the first day. We don't want to talk about how most of us had no present fathers or present mothers. We don't want to talk about how we've messed up in this area or been rejected in this area. We don't want to talk about it." (Pastor Tim)

But a healed heart only happens in soaking. We will not love or be loved to the degree that we're designed to until we submit to soaking in the Spirit. Esther decided that she wasn't going to go before the king, calloused. She was going to take the time to be made tender, to be restored to her original design - innocence.

After the soaking process was over and her heart was soft, it was time to prepare to go into the king's presence. Esther was allowed to pick whatever clothes and jewelry she liked as she planned for the occasion. Later in the story, we find out that Esther made all her decisions based on what Hegai, the picture of the Holy Spirit, suggested. After the soaking had done its work, she was free to focus on the king instead of herself, so when others were picking based on their own preferences and desires, Esther was able to make decisions based on what the king would enjoy. What happens after you submit to soaking in the Spirit? You're able to go into every situation and circumstance, not led by fear, insecurity, or past hurts that cause you to only be concerned with yourself, but you can finally be directed by one question: what does the King like?

Abba, what do You want? What is Your heart concerning this matter? What do You want me to do today? What do You want me to say in this situation? What is Your heart towards this person? How would you like me to worship You and host Your presence today? Only a healed heart can ask these questions. The broken heart will only bow to what protects it from being hurt. But the healed heart can bow to the King and others in perfect love.

Are you ready to submit to soaking in the Spirit? This soaking requires you to be fully immersed in Yahweh's thoughts about you. This soaking is a commitment to being exposed in His presence so He can lavish His love on every area, especially the ones you're not proud of and do your best to hide. This season of soaking is about learning to be loved by Abba. We were made for His eyes...every part of us!

Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. (Esther 2:16-17)

Beloved One, bring your heart to Me, your whole heart. You can trust Me with it all. There's not one part of you that I don't adore. Come soak in My goodness! Let me heal your heart, so you can love and be loved like I created you to. Let My perfect love cast out all your fear!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "You Say" by Lauren Daigle

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 2/22/24 The Wilderness Place 2/22/24

Fathered Into Favor

(6 minutes)

At that time there was a Jewish man in the fortress of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair. He was from the tribe of Benjamin and was a descendant of Kish and Shimei. His family had been among those who, with King Jehoiachin of Judah, had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. This man had a very beautiful and lovely young cousin, Hadassah, who was also called Esther. When her father and mother died, Mordecai adopted her into his family and raised her as his own daughter.

As a result of the king's decree, Esther, along with many other young women, was brought to the king's harem at the fortress of Susa and placed in Hegai's care. Hegai was very impressed with Esther and treated her kindly. He quickly ordered a special menu for her and provided her with beauty treatments. He also assigned her seven maids specially chosen from the king's palace, and he moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.

Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so. Every day Mordecai would take a walk near the courtyard of the harem to find out about Esther and what was happening to her. (Esther 2:5-11)

The story of Esther has so much to do with our own intimacy with Jesus and the healing that Abba wants to bring to our hearts. It's the journey from shameful slave to beautiful bride, and this is the same journey we're on in the wilderness. Yahweh lures us into the wilderness and by His love, He transforms us. The declaration that He makes in Hosea 2:16, is we will no longer call Him "my master," but instead we will call Him "my husband." Esther's story is so significant because we can see this process of healing in her that Abba wants for each of us.

As soon as Esther gets to the harem, Hegai, who is a picture of the Holy Spirit - "the keeper of the women" - is very pleased with her. She begins to find favor, unlike the other women who are in the house. Hegai quickly provides her with cosmetics and the choicest food there is. He gives her seven choice maids directly from the king's palace and transfers her to the best place in the harem.

The question we must ask ourselves is, "Why?"

Why is Esther receiving this kind of treatment?

Right after reading about Esther's favor in the harem, we get a seemingly out-of-place verse that may give us some insight into why she is getting special treatment. It says, "Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so." This verse isn't out of place at all. This verse shows us that Esther is finding favor because she is allowing her father to give her directions about how to navigate this journey inside the king's kingdom. Even though she's in the harem and under the charge of Hegai, she is still listening to the voice of a father.

We can't overlook this. At our gathering on Sunday, Pastor Tim said, "Most of us have neglected to come into submission to fathers."

We are living in the most fatherless state in our nation. We are living in the most fatherless time in history. What if this is the root of many of our problems? The absence of true fathers. What if our confusion, anxiety, insecurities, and questions concerning our identity are wrapped up in our not coming under the covering of a father?

This is one of the hardest things for us to do. The whole idea of submitting to a father triggers us to no end. This is why we recoil at the idea of submitting to anyone. Why? Because of the mishandling of past leaders who abused our hearts. Now, we've shut ourselves off from all authority.

Esther had the same experience. Her father died when she was just a girl. But somehow she didn't become calloused, but instead chose to open her heart again to a father. I'm not sure where Esther ends up if she had not been submitted to Mordecai. "Esther doesn't get favoritism in this house unless she's allowed herself to be fathered. She has no access to where she's fixing to go unless she's allowed herself to be fathered." (Pastor Tim)

What healing and wholeness are we not experiencing because we haven't come under a true father? What if we weren't designed to do it on our own? What if we're confused, lacking confidence, and riddled with anxiety and fear all because we haven't submitted ourselves to being fathered?

This is an area of our life that Abba wants to talk to us about. He doesn't want us to be directed by the pain of the past anymore.

Beloved One, don't let the brokenness of the past keep you from experiencing the real thing today. Let Me heal your heart, so you can open up again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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 2/21/24 The Wilderness Place 2/21/24

Abba, I Trust You

(5 minutes)

The mighty Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is wrapped (upon, in on over, above by, for, through, throughout, around, beside) around me because Yahweh has anointed me, as a messenger to preach good news to the poor. He sent me to heal the wounds of the brokenhearted, to tell captives, "You are free," and to tell prisoners, "Be free from your darkness." I am sent to announce a new season (eon) of Yahweh's grace and a time of God's recompense on his enemies, to comfort all who are in sorrow, to strengthen those crushed by despair who mourn in Zion -- to give them a beautiful bouquet in the place of ashes, the oil of bliss instead of tears, and the mantle of joyous praise instead of the spirit of heaviness.

Because of this, they (you, me, us) will be known as Mighty Oaks of Righteousness, planted by Yahweh as a living display of his glory. They will restore ruins from long ago and rebuild what was long devastated. They will renew ruined cities and desolations of past generations. (Isaiah 61:1-4)

"The church dealt with behavior; God deals with your heart." (Pastor Tim)

Have you ever wondered why you drift back into the traps that you were set free from? Have you ever asked yourself, "Why do I keep ending up here?" What makes us so susceptible to falling back into brokenness?

It's because we didn't allow Abba to heal our hearts. We started staring at our external behaviors instead. When we don't allow Abba to heal our brokenness, we put all of our energy into modifying our behavior, and we end up becoming expert pretenders because the brokenness never really goes away. We learn to manage, mask, and hide the parts of us that haven't experienced the freedom that Jesus paid for. Just like the Pharisees forced the lepers to live in dark caves out of the public eye, our religious facade learns to keep our brokenness hidden from others. Pastor Tim said, "This becomes a more sophisticated trap, and we're further from Abba than we ever were." Why? Because we did not surrender to the process of having our brokenness healed in the presence of Jesus.

This life of pretending slowly moves us right back into the place of captivity, where we're merely living in a dressed-up jail cell that's decorated with Jesus, but lacks any real freedom and wholeness at all.

Your heart has to be made whole! Why?

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV)

So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23 TPT)

Everything we're dealing with in our lives is flowing from our heart.

"You're worried about your behavior, but I'm telling you that your behavior is a symptom of a broken heart." (Pastor Tim)

Pastor Tim asked this question on Sunday, and it's the question we have to ask ourselves today: are we okay to settle for a far-off, distant heaven or do we want to experience heaven on earth? Would we like to have our own Tree of Life right here and right now?

Where do we begin?

We begin by letting Abba heal our hearts. And to do this we have to open ourselves up to trusting again. Because of our past, we've become excellent at being suspicious. Because of our being mishandled in the past, we're leery of getting close to anyone called, "Father." But we're not going to have our hearts healed if we're not willing to be vulnerable and open with Abba. Our distrust doesn't allow us to get close enough to experience healing. We have to trust again.

As we take the walk with Abba today, let's have a conversation with Him about our hearts and about trusting Him with healing our brokenness. Maybe at some point today we can whisper, "Abba, I trust you with my heart."

One of the beloved sons at The Wilderness Place shared this picture after our gathering on Sunday. Imagine a person sitting in a jail cell, the door is wide open, and Jesus is standing on the outside inviting us into freedom. But we are so convinced that we BELONG there that we never accept His invitation and walk through those doors. Trevor, thank you for this picture!

Beloved One, you don't have to pretend to be free, you can have the real thing!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "Palm of Your Hand" by Harvest & TRIBL

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 2/20/24 The Wilderness Place 2/20/24

The Poverty of the Past

(7 minutes)

This scripture, penned by Isaiah, is a prophetic announcement about Jesus, himself, and every beloved son and daughter of Yahweh. Our destiny and calling are wrapped up in this scripture.

But how much of it have we experienced? As Pastor Tim said on Sunday, the church seemed to stop after the part about being messengers to preach good news to the poor. Our own history could testify to that fact, more than likely. After the good news was preached, well...that was all there was. We were off to the religious races. And since we had not been exposed to the real healing and wholeness that the rest of this scripture talks about, we simply had to pretend that we had it all together. We had the good news, but we didn't have healed hearts. The areas of our lives where we were in captivity and being held prisoner were not experiencing freedom and abundant life. We were just decorating our jail cells and calling it freedom, like Pastor Tim said. We became great pretenders.

So what comes after the good news? According to this scripture, God starts with healing the heart. He heals the wounds of the brokenhearted. It's the healing of the past seasons of brokenness, pain, regrets, shame, loss, guilt, and fear. All the illegal fingerprints that were put on us by others. All the wrong beliefs and mindsets that were planted in our hearts by people we trusted, that didn't know any better. All the bad decisions we made that we still believe we have to pay for in some way. The rejection that we experienced that caused our hearts to be closed off to others. The fatherlessness that we grew up in, the lack of covering and protection, that made us fearful, distrusting, and suspicious of our surroundings. This is where Abba starts - with healing our broken hearts.

Pastor Tim said something extremely important on Sunday. It is a key to moving forward in the healing and complete wholeness that the Kingdom has for each of us.

"You can't get healed until you're willing to admit the poverty of what you actually had before. It's not going to happen. You can't save face and get to His face."

We have a hard time admitting defeat. It's something we all try to avoid as best we can. But in every testimony of true transformation, you hear about a moment of surrender. This moment of surrender is the moment that you're finally honest and open about the poverty of the past. You stop trying to dress it up and make it seem better than it actually is and you admit that it's not producing the freedom that Jesus paid for. It's the moment where you get honest and open about how your way didn't work.

I experienced a moment like this almost three years ago on my back porch. I couldn't run from the past anymore. I was too tired and worn out. I couldn't hide it - all my pain and shame were hovering at the surface. Everything was falling apart. I had run out of all my good ideas to make things work. I was riddled with anxiety and hopelessness. My boat had officially run ashore with nothing to show for all my striving. This was the moment that Abba was waiting for, and He made sure that I had the safe, loving arms of a true father on that back porch with me who already had the words that my heart needed to hear. I spent nearly four hours on that back porch with Tim Ladner, and my life has never been the same. Abba's declaration of beloved identity pierced my heart and put it back together. Do you know what met me as I admitted the poverty of my past? Perfect love. If you are wondering what's on the other side of surrender, let me tell you. This moment saved my life. It saved my wife's husband. It saved my children's father. It saved an entire church family. I wouldn't trade what I have now for anything! And more than that, I'm thankful for every single moment that led me to that back porch. Had I experienced any measure of success I might have stayed where I was, but the poverty and pain led me right to His feet.

Abba is not stopping at good news. He's coming after healed hearts. He's coming after beloved sons and daughters who walk in complete wholeness, who have truly been set free, until we become Mighty Oaks of Righteousness planted by Yahweh Himself. Abba is not stopping at good news, because you were made for so much more.

Are you willing to surrender the poverty and pain of the past so Abba can give you the royal ring, robe, and sandals that you were designed to wear? The poverty of the past and life of pretending pales in comparison to the perfect love and freedom you experience on the other side.

Beloved One, don't settle!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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 2/19/24 The Wilderness Place 2/19/24

You Deserve Better!

(5 minutes)

Pastor Tim had two significant words for our Kingdom family on Sunday that we need to hold close and remember.

The first one is this: "Sunday, we are making another shift. We attempted to go into where we are going once before, but we were still too out of order to make the journey. This is going to be an incredible year of healing. The shift is this: a Father is sending us into Healing Waters."

The second word is this: "Some of you are going through things right now, and will go through things this year, that will be hard. And this is the word of the Lord to you in that situation: 'You settled for something that you were never intended to settle for.' You got comfortable with it. You built your life around it. And you tolerated things God never intended for you to tolerate. You went through things, you went through rejection and abuse, that you were never called to go through. And the reason it's coming up now is because God says, 'You deserve better! Your family deserves better! Your kids deserve better!' So when you're in the midst of that you need to look back to this word and stop saying, 'Why is this happening?', and, 'Why is it so hard?', and understand that this is God's goodness, too."

Now, let's go back and allow the words of John the Beloved to go deep in us. Of all the things that John could bring up, he chooses this one truth to highlight and call our attention to:

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 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)

God is pure, radiant light and you will never find even a trace of darkness in him. Why is this message so important?

Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, certain situations arise in our lives that cause a deep question to come to the surface - Why? Why me? Why us? Why is this happening? Why am I struggling so much? I thought I dealt with this. Why is this hurting so bad? Did I do something wrong? I must be wrong!

If we aren't fully convinced that God is pure light, we will think we're being punished for some bad behavior. We'll trace every hard situation in our life back to our failures and what we're going through is God's judgment in our life. Pastor Tim has said this before, "There are people in the hospital right now, on their death bed, and they think it's God punishing them for their bad decisions." This is why John the Beloved brings up this singular truth as the one that needs to be ringing in our ears in the same way that it was ringing in his - because if we're not fully convinced that the Father is good, we'll live our life always looking over our shoulder, expecting punishment from an angry, distant God. When a hard situation arises we'll secretly believe that God is getting us back for something we did, said, or thought. And this is NOT the God that Jesus introduced to the cosmos.

Remember Philip, the disciple, who had been walking with Jesus for years. Philip was okay with Jesus, but he was still leery of the Father.

Philip spoke up, "Lord, show us the Father, and that will be all that we need!"

Jesus replied, "Philip, I've been with you all this time and you still don't know who I am? How could you ask me to show you the Father, for anyone who has looked at me has seen the Father." (John 14:8-9)

Even Philip was still dealing with the lie that there might be a trace of darkness left in the Father. Philip grew up with the same distorted, darkened perspective concerning God that some of us grew up with, and Jesus came to destroy this lie and our delusional thinking concerning the nature of the Father. He's nothing but good! He is pure, radiant light and you couldn't find a single thread of darkness in Him if you tried!

We have to believe this no matter what happens in our lives, no matter what we walk through. Abba wants us to know (intimately, not intellectually) His nature so well that nothing could cause us to question it ever again. He wants us to trust Him and His goodness in every situation and circumstance.

Let's soak in these words that Abba is speaking over our Kingdom family. Let's soak in what Abba has to say about us. It's the only thing that matters now! Let's soak in His goodness and allow His love to remove everything that's hindering our ability to pour out the extravagant love that we were designed to pour out. Are you ready to wade out into the healing waters?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "Jesus What A Savior" 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 2/16/24 The Wilderness Place 2/16/24

Starved For Affection

(7 minutes)

When Simon saw what was happening, he thought, "This man can't be a true prophet. If he were really a prophet, he would know what kind of sinful woman is touching him." Jesus said, "Simon, I have a word for you."

"Go ahead, Teacher. I want to hear it," he answered.

"It's a story about two men who were deeply in debt. One owed the bank one hundred thousand dollars, and the other only owed ten thousand dollars. When it was obvious that neither of them would be able to repay their debts, the kind banker graciously wrote off the debts and forgave them all that they owed. Tell me, Simon, which of the two debtors would be more thankful? Which one would love the banker the most?"

Simon answered, "I suppose it would be the one with the greater debt forgiven."

"You're right," Jesus agreed. Then he spoke to Simon about the woman still weeping at his feet.

“Don’t you see this woman kneeling here? She is doing for me what you didn’t bother to do. When I entered your home as your guest, you didn’t think about offering me water to wash the dust off my feet. Yet she came into your home and washed my feet with her many tears and then dried my feet with her hair. You didn’t even welcome me into your home with the customary kiss of greeting, but from the moment I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You didn’t take the time to anoint my head with fragrant oil, but she anointed my head and feet with the finest perfume. She has been forgiven of all her many sins. This is why she has shown me such extravagant love. But those who assume they have very little to be forgiven will love me very little.” Then Jesus said to the woman at his feet, “All your sins are forgiven.” All the dinner guests said among themselves, “Who is the one who can even forgive sins?” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith in me has given you life. Now you may leave and walk in the ways of peace.” (Luke 7:39-50)

"Did you know you could invite Jesus into your life just to make it all about you? What you can get from Jesus... what He'll add to your life." (Pastor Tim)

It's clear in the second part of this story, that Simon has invited Jesus into his home only to make it all about himself. Simon quietly begins to judge Jesus and this woman because she has taken the attention off of him. I love Brian Simmons' footnote in The Passion Translation: "Religion focuses on the sinfulness of a person, but faith sees the glory of the one who forgives and heals." Simon can't see the glory of the One who is standing in front of him. Why?

Why can't we see Jesus and honor Him accordingly? Why is it so hard? Pastor Tim answered this question on Sunday and this statement alone is worth sitting under the entire day: "When we're starved for the affection that we're made for, we'll demand to be the center of attention. We are made to be loved by God, and when we're starved for the affection that we are made for, we'll substitute any attention in place of the only thing that our heart truly desires...His affection."

Why can't Simon see Jesus and honor Him the way He deserves to be honored? Because Simon is starved for affection. This is the emptiness that religion produces in us. This is the thing that religion can't satisfy because it is completely incapable of touching the heart. When you're starved for affection, you can't make it about anyone else but yourself. The Son of God can be standing in the same room, and when you're starved for affection your heart is unable to give the intimacy, worship, and honor He deserves because it is starved, famished, and has nothing to pour out onto anyone else. This religious heart can only be nourished by the love of Abba.

There were customary, common acts that Simon did not extend to Jesus as a guest in his home. Because Simon could only see...Simon. But someone else was more than willing to do what Simon didn't bother to do.

The entire time this conversation is happening between Jesus and Simon, the woman continues to kneel at Jesus' feet weeping. It's clear that she did not come casually, to make it all about her. She came to get the affection her heart was made for, from the only One who could actually satisfy her deepest longings. She came to make Jesus the center of attention. And because she engaged in this extravagant worship, she inherited something that no one else in the room did - complete wholeness. See, there were areas in this woman's heart that still needed healing. She had already experienced a full measure of forgiveness in Jesus, but she knew there was still brokenness inside of her - maybe an unwillingness to forgive herself for decisions she had made. But she responded unlike anyone else - with honor and extravagant worship, and that act of worship paved the way for her to hear something from Jesus that her heart needed to hear - "All your sins are forgiven." She needed to hear that ALL of them, even the ones she was unwilling to forgive herself, were forgiven. Now she was completely whole - and could walk away with something she didn't possess before the encounter - peace.

Are we making it all about Jesus, or are we making it all about ourselves? Are we engaging in extravagant worship where our hearts can find what they were made for, or are we having a hard time seeing anything but our own needs and problems?

Pastor Tim wrapped up on Sunday with this thought: "I don't care how far along in maturity you are, there's still aspects of you that you don't like about you when you stare in the mirror. There are still things you wish you would've done differently. There are still things you wish you would've said differently. There are decisions you wish you would've made differently. And they are still chasing you today."

The temptation is to stare at the problems, to stare at the regrets and mistakes, to stare at the issues. But like Pastor Tim said, "When we chase after solutions that make us the center of attention, we cut ourselves off from the ability to be truly set free...it's His affection that heals every insecurity - it's His affection that heals every 'if only it was different' - it's at His feet that heals every decision that you've made that still haunts you day in and day out."

It's extravagant worship at the feet of Jesus that sets you free.

Beloved One, stop staring at yourself and get to His feet with the most expensive, extravagant worship that you can afford. Pour it out on Him! The reality is every one of your sins, bad decisions, past mistakes, and regrets are completely forgiven, but your heart needs to hear His voice say the words it longs to hear. That only happens when you lay aside your self-examination so you can stare at Him, and give Him the honor and worship He deserves. Make it all about Him, and the things you've never been able to shake will begin falling off effortlessly in His presence.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "Beautiful Jesus + Jesus Changes Everything" 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 2/15/24 The Wilderness Place 2/15/24

When Extravagant Love Crashes the Party

(5 minutes)

Afterward Simon, a Jewish religious leader, asked Jesus to his home for dinner. Jesus accepted the invitation. When he went to Simon's home, he took his place at the table.

In the neighborhood there was an immoral woman of the streets, known to all to be a prostitute. When she heard that Jesus was at Simon's house, she took an exquisite flask made from alabaster, filled it with the most expensive perfume, went right into the home of the Jewish religious leader, and in front of all the guests, she knelt at the feet of Jesus. Broken and weeping , she covered his feet with the tears that fell from her face. She kept crying and drying his feet with her long hair. Over and over she kissed Jesus' feet. Then, as an act of worship, she opened her flask and anointed his feet with her costly perfume. (Luke 7:36-38)

Just like Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler that we've spent time with over the past two weeks, we're getting another picture in this verse of two people's encounter with Jesus.

Simon, a Jewish religious leader, is so intrigued by Jesus and the words that He is speaking that he invites Him into a more personal space, his own home. He doesn't settle for the occasional sighting in the street but wants more of Jesus so he invites Him back to his house for dinner, and Jesus accepts the invitation.

Not too long after Jesus is seated at the table, an "immoral woman of the streets, known to all to be a prostitute" barges into the meeting that she wasn't invited to, locates the feet of Jesus, and proceeds to weep profusely, covering His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. Over and over she can be seen kissing Jesus' 1st century feet that had been walking all day long. More than that, before she interrupted this gathering she found the most expensive, ornate flask that she owned and filled it with the most expensive perfume, bought with money that she earned from selling her own body. She prepares this gift before she arrives and "as an act of worship," she opens her flask and anoints Jesus' feet with the expensive perfume.

Can you believe what this woman had to go through, mentally and emotionally, before getting to the feet of Jesus? Can you imagine the obstacles that were in her way because of her own choices in life? The risk she takes in entering a religious leader's home, uninvited, surrounded by a huge crowd filled with judgmental stares and raised eyebrows is bold, to say the least. But she doesn't flinch. She doesn't allow anything in that room to keep her from the feet of Jesus.

Before we move on to the outcome of this story, I feel the need to stop here and allow this woman's intentional intimacy and extravagant worship to do its work in us.

How intentional are we in our intimacy with the King? What strikes me about this story is the fact that this woman made some decisions long before she got in this room with Jesus, the religious leaders, and the disciples. She set her intentions while she was at home. She set her heart on finding the most expensive flask she owned while she was at home. She set her sights on the best perfume money could buy before she ever stepped into this gathering at Simon's house. Again, how intentional are we in our intimacy with Jesus? This thought is challenging me. Here's another question I have: how much of the depth of her encounter with Jesus in the room was owed to her intentional honor outside of the room? How significant were those decisions leading up to her arrival at His feet? My heart is saying, "Very significant!" What is your heart saying?

Pastor Tim said this on Sunday, "Did you know you could invite Jesus into your life just to make it all about you? What you can get from Jesus... what He'll add to your life."

How intentional are we in our intimacy and honor towards the King? Let's allow Abba to speak to us today about how we're approaching Jesus. Everyone wants an encounter with the King, but few people are being intentional on the path that leads up to that encounter. And it may have more impact on our experience than we even know.

Beloved One, spend every moment of your day making it all about Him, and He will not fail to turn around and make it all about you. Your eyes were uniquely designed to gaze at Him, and His eyes are already fixed with tender love on you. This is the key to covenant marriage - keeping your eyes always on the other, and not on yourself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "When I Lock Eyes With You" 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 2/14/24 The Wilderness Place 2/14/24

The Spirit of Yahweh is Upon You

(5 minutes)

This is the very first thing that Jesus reads from the scriptures in the temple, announcing what Yahweh had sent Him to accomplish on earth. Pastor Tim made this statement on Sunday: "Isaiah is speaking this about God, he's speaking it about himself, and he's speaking it about you." We have to see this scripture as a prophetic announcement about our own life, too.

We have been wrapped up in the mighty Spirit of Yahweh. He is calling us to be messengers of the good news. He's sending us to heal the wounds of the brokenhearted, to set captives free, to announce the age (or eon) of Yahweh's grace and a time of God's judgment against His enemies, everything that is hindering love in His beloved sons and daughters. We're called to comfort those who are drowning in sorrow and hopelessness. And we're anointed to strengthen those who are being crushed by despair. But we're only able to do these things when we allow Abba to release this same measure of wholeness into our own inner garden! Have you ever wondered why the church hasn't been able to impact and influence the ruined cities like this verse says we should? It's because we haven't allowed Abba to produce these things in our own lives.

Pastor Tim spoke more about this verse last night at Linger House. He explained that we can't do any of this until we allow the Spirit of God to produce it in us first. If our inner world is still ruled by chaos, we won't be able to bring wholeness to the ruined cities. If we're still governed by a darkened perspective of Abba, we won't be able to show others how good He is. If we're still walking around with a broken heart, we won't be able to usher others into healing. We can only give away what we have. This is what Abba desires to do in the lives of those that He lures into the wilderness place. The wilderness is the place where He establishes these things in our hearts, so we can be released into the world, anointed to produce the same thing in others.

This must be the starting place for every beloved son and daughter.

Have you allowed Abba to produce this measure of wholeness in your own life?

Have you allowed the Spirit of Yahweh to speak good news over you, to heal your broken heart, to set you free from captivity and the dark perspective you have of Abba? Have you experienced Yahweh's grace and His jealous love coming after everything that has hindered you from enjoying this love affair with Jesus? Have you allowed Him to comfort you and strengthen you? Have you made the great exchange with Abba where you trade in your ashes for His beauty, your tears for His bliss, your heaviness for His joyous praise?

This is what He wants to do in your life today as you walk with Him. He wants you, His beloved sons and daughters, to walk in the wholeness and freedom that Jesus purchased for you on the cross. He will not settle for anything short of abundant life. His wraparound presence has enveloped you, and it's working in every moment to produce the fruit of the Kingdom in you. Have you surrendered to the process of becoming whole? Like any relationship, it takes the commitment and intentionality of two people! And as Pastor Tim says so often, "He will not be the weak link in this relationship." Abba is fully committed to showing up every single day to plant, water, and tend your inner garden, but He wants to do it together.

Open your heart up to Him in the secret place today, and let His love nourish your heart. Surrender to Yahweh's process of becoming whole. You don't have to strive or earn this freedom, you just have to open up your heart in extravagant worship, and "let Him" produce it in you... for you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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 2/13/24 The Wilderness Place 2/13/24

The Lie of The Wicked Heart

(4 minutes)

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9 Masoretic)

If you've been in religion for any length of time, you've probably heard this scripture. It has shaped so much of the theology of the West - the bedrock belief that we are rotten to the core from the moment we emerge from our mother's womb. We even pepper this theology in the songs we sing - a constant reminder of how filthy we are on the inside. This verse is the reason so many of us grow up in religion not being able to trust ourselves, even when we've become new creatures in Christ. This belief that our heart is desperately wicked still lingers in our relationship with Yeshua. The things that we are helpless to change in our lives, the things we still struggle with, have been explained away using this verse - our heart is wicked. But what if this verse meant something completely different? What if this whole time we formed an entire belief system on the wrong perspective? It turns out that there's more than one interpretation of this verse. Read the verse as it is interpreted in the Septuagint tradition:

The heart is deeper than all things; a person is also. And who will understand him? (Jeremiah 17:9 Septuagint)

Here's another translation:

The heart is deep beyond all things, and it is the man. Even so, who can know him? (Jeremiah 17:9)

How does it make you feel to see such a huge difference in these two interpretations, considering that we've hung some pretty significant theological hats on the first translation?

We've been walking around cursing the very core of who we are, because of this first perspective. What if your heart was never desperately wicked above all things? What if it was just incredibly deep, so deep that only Yahweh could truly know it? One perspective sends us into insecurity and confusion. The other perspective propels us into the arms of Abba, the only one who truly knows us!

Now, Pastor Tim mentioned this on Sunday - some people will read this and immediately become offended, thinking that this kind of talk leads people to believe that the word of God is wrong. We must understand this - the word of God, in its original form, is infallible and completely inspired. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, "The fallible part is the men and women who interpreted it." The people who translated these original scriptures in their original languages all had unique perspectives concerning God, and that perspective was bound to leak out onto the pages of these translations. This is why we always read Scripture with the Holy Spirit, through the lens of Jesus. Jesus is perfect theology! Jesus is everything the Father has to say about Himself. It's dangerous to read the Bible without Him!

As you take the walk with Abba today, allow Him to give you His lens and His perspective. You are a new creature in Christ, the new has come and the old has passed away. You can trust Your heart. It's not wicked, it's incredibly deep, and Yahweh has made it brand new. And now that you are walking hand in hand with the Heart-Knower, you can trust every step that is being taken. When you are intimately connected to Jesus, you can be confident that He is weaving every single step into His good and perfect plan. You can't mess this up! Tell yourself that again, "I can't mess this up! Abba has wrapped me up in His presence! His goodness and mercy are following me everywhere that I go."

Beloved One, let go of the lie and embrace the truth. You have been made new!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Worship: "Have My Heart" by 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 2/12/24 The Wilderness Place 2/12/24

You Will Know The Truth

(5 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)

What does it mean to live in the pure light that surrounds Him? If this is the most important thing that John the Beloved thought he could share with the church years after the resurrection then we must lean into it and discover what it means. How do we live in the pure light that surrounds Him and stop walking in the realm of a darkened perspective about Abba?

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 8:32)

We've all heard this scripture before - "you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." The only problem is that a lot of us have chased the truth, we've heard it and now know so much that we can recall it and recite it without hesitation yet we haven't seen the transformation, the freedom come into our lives that the truth is supposed to bring. Pastor Tim helped us with this on Sunday when he told us that the same word that Jesus uses for "know the truth" is the same word that is used in Genesis when God said "Adam knew Eve, and they produced a son." So we're not talking about simply knowing factual information - we're talking about knowing by way of being intimately connected to the degree that it produces life inside of you. Have we known the truth in this way? Have we gotten so close, so vulnerable and open to the truth that it was able to release true freedom into our lives? Or have we kept it at the level of hearing and knowing facts?

Living in the pure light that surrounds Him is going to take more than hearing and knowing things on an intellectual level. Living in the pure light is going to take our continual embracing and sitting under the truth that Abba is speaking. The goal is not memorization, but transformation. It's our unwillingness to stop until the word produces the abundant life in us that Jesus promised it would. John the Beloved said that we're fooling ourselves if we're not experiencing the true freedom that comes from embracing the words that He's speaking over us.

Yahweh's word is true and it carries life to every place where it's planted. The question is this: is it truly being planted in our hearts? Are we letting it go deep enough?

Pastor Tim said it this way: "In order to live in the pure light that surrounds Him, you have to invite Him into every step that you take."

You have an opportunity to invite Abba into your life - every aspect of your life - even the small, seemingly insignificant parts. He wants to walk with you through it all. He wants to be invited into it all. Just start a conversation with Him right now that has no ending or "amen." Let it span the width of your entire day. Your mind may get pulled away, but let your heart continually drift right back to the conversation with Him. "Abba, what are your thoughts concerning this matter? How do you see this? How would you handle this? What direction would you go? Abba, what do you want to do today?"

He's showing up to walk with you today. His presence is wrapped around you and it won't take any striving or earning on your part to enter into the pure light that surrounds Him. It will only take your intention to become aware and stay connected to His presence which is already closer to you than your next breath.

Beloved One, you will embrace and become intimately connected to His truth today and in a moment you will feel the sudden release of true freedom come into your life. It will be effortless as you simply enjoy His wraparound presence and perfect love.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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 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!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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:

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!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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 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