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)
You Are My Beloved
“When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22
The MOST IMPORTANT thing we can hear and believe is YOU are my Beloved son and Beloved daughter. If you have been a believer for a long time and was told repeating a prayer was the most important so you know where you will spend eternity - you were lied to by American Christianity. Our example of ALL things is Jesus. How His life transpired is what we follow. In Luke 3 Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit rested upon Him- the next thing is the voice of the Father from heaven speaking audibly so everyone could hear-
YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON; IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED!
Remember yesterday we talked about Jesus being pulled back at 12 because the Father would not allow Him to do any ministry until He was affirmed with Beloved Identity. Up until this moment Jesus has not done any miracles. In fact, in Luke 2:52 after Jesus returned to Nazareth with his parents it says, “As Jesus grew, so did his wisdom and maturity. The favor of men increased upon his life, for he was loved greatly by God.” We must be willing to surrender to Abba and allow Him to pour His affirmation of Beloved Identity over our thinking, our hearts, and our motives. If Jesus needed to be affirmed before He did any ministry how much more do we need the voice of Abba saying over us - You are my beloved. When you do not know who you are in Him you find yourself being used by Christianity. In almost every church in America outside of this knowledge you will hear the leadership tell people God wants to use you in this area. You can use your gift in children’s ministry, worship team, sound booth, door greeter. Abba NEVER wants to use you. EVER. He wants to love you so your heart can be healed.
Pastor Tim shares the truth of the Kingdom of God when he says….
You can’t receive your identity while you are in ministry. You can’t know how God feels about while you are serving other people. I don’t know why but it’s not possible. It took me ten years in the wilderness to become a beloved son. Not doing a thing for ten years. Ten years in the wilderness out from under American Christianity to learn who He was and to learn who I was.
What does Beloved Identity look like? Let’s look at Jesus. When Jesus was being beaten and crucified what was he saying to the people who was doing this to Him? Nothing. He said nothing to them. He prayed for them. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. When you go through the Gospels and see how he responded to people when they questioned Him or mocked Him- he always responded in wisdom, kindness, understanding.
Yesterday, I was speaking to a friend, and she made a comment about getting to a place where we have no buttons to push by other people. Jesus did not have buttons for people to push. Why? He had BELOVED IDENTITY.
We can become so healed, so centered on Jesus, so FULLY ALIVE in Him, we can no longer have any buttons for people to push. We then not only look more like Jesus, but we act more like Jesus in the earth. Which leads us to on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Practical application today: Close your eyes. Ask the Father to reveal His love for you. Let Him smother you with kisses. You are His beloved and you don’t have to do a thing but rest in His goodness.
Jesus Surrendered His Will
“His parents were shocked to find him there, and Mary scolded him, saying, “Son, your father and I have searched for you everywhere! We have been worried sick over not finding you. Why would you do this to us?” Jesus said to them, “Why would you need to search for me? Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be here in my Father’s house, consumed with him?” Mary and Joseph didn’t fully understand what Jesus meant. Jesus went back home with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother treasured Jesus’ words deeply in her heart.” Luke 2:49-51
12 years old. He’s in the Temple. THE Temple. He’s using His gifts and His anointing in the temple.”
Jesus’ parents show up after searching frantically for Him for three days. They are amazed by what they hear from Jesus as He is teaching. It says Mary scolded him. Although amazed, she and Joseph was the authority Abba had placed over Jesus has a child. In her wisdom she knew it was not time for him to be teaching in the temple. In verse 51 it says Jesus went back with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them. In the NKJV it says was subject to them. Jesus, the Son of God, Lord of Lords, King of Kings wasn’t critical of his parents’ decision. He had all rights and anointing to do otherwise.
Jesus learned to surrender his will at an early age. Even though Jesus knew He was designed to do what He was doing in the Temple- teaching and amazing people with His words and anointing- it was premature. He was pulled back to sit and wait for the voice of Abba. We do not hear anything else from Jesus until He was 30 years old.
Why? He had not been baptized in Beloved Identity. We will talk more about Beloved Identity this week.
What’s important NOW? In this passage, what is He showing us? Surrendering to authority. If Jesus has to surrender His will to the authority Abba placed over Him, how much more do we?
Everything we know about the Kingdom has an order to life and life more abundant and one of those is honoring the authority Abba has placed over you.
Practical application today: Ask Abba what authority has he placed over you. At work, it is your boss. Wives, it’s your husband. Husbands, your authority is Him. What about spiritual authority? Spend time with Abba today. Take the walk and listen for His voice. Where can you surrender like Jesus.
Your Will Must Be Mine
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup of agony away from me. But no matter what, your will must be mine.” Luke 22:42
Jesus knew what was about to happen to Him. The most horrific, agonizing pain imaginable. In this moment, He says- NO MATTER WHAT! He is surrendering unto death. He knew the Father loved Him. He trusted Abba’s will. He only did what He seen the Father do.
Surrendering your will can be a profound experience, it is an intentional decision to let go of control and embrace uncertainty. This act may involve relinquishing personal desires or preconceived notions, allowing Abba to guide your path. Surrendering isn’t weakness; it’s the fruit of trusting in Him.
A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Planning is a good character trait and important in daily life but when we refuse to allow Abba to direct our steps in how things should go we can find ourselves in a dangerous situation. Sometimes how we think it should go, what seems to be the most sensible way is not how He chooses to do it. Why? He can see the BIG PICTURE. These are the moments we say- Lord, help me to see it how You see it.
“But no matter what- no matter how hard it is; no matter how difficult it is; no matter what it cost- YOUR WILL MUST BE MINE!” Pastor Tim
How do we get to a place where no matter what the landscape looks like, no matter how I feel, what I am thinking, how hard it is, I can still say your will must be done? It all goes back to our secret place with Jesus. He must be the center of your life. We must ask Him what He says about a matter. Hearing His voice for ourselves will keep us on the path He has for our lives.
IT IS AND WILL BE THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS AND INCREDIBLE PATH WE CAN IMAGINE!
Practical application today: Look at what is happening in your life right now. Ask Him to show you how He sees it. Wait for His answer. Rest in His goodness. Ponder what He says.
WORSHIP: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=kXc3dNDLeEI
Put The Sword Down
“When the other disciples understood what was happening, they asked, “Lord, shall we fight them with our swords?” Just then, one of the disciples swung his sword at the high priest’s servant and slashed off his right ear. Jesus stopped the incident from escalating any further by saying, “Enough of this!” Then he touched the right side of the injured man’s head and the ear grew back —he was healed! Luke 22:49-51
Let’s finish this week digging deeper into the meaning of the sword. In this text of scripture they are in the garden, the mob has come to arrest Jesus. One of the disciples asked do we use our swords? While waiting for the response from Jesus another disciple (Peter) swings his sword and cuts a man’s ear off.
Can you imagine the emotions of every person in this moment? Put yourself in this place. What would you do if you were there with Jesus? I think if we are all honest with heightened emotions we tend to respond just like Peter, NOT like Jesus.
Let’s consider the disciples. Go back to Luke 22: 35 TPT
Jesus said, “But now I say to you: Take what you need. If you have money, take it —and a knapsack and a sword. Danger is imminent. For the prophetic Scripture about me ‘He will be accused of being a criminal’ will now come to pass. All that was prophesied of me will be fulfilled.” The disciples told him, “Lord, we already have two swords!” “You still don’t understand,” Jesus responded.
I believe this is why they NEEDED to be praying with Him on the Mount of Olives. They needed to connect their hearts to His in order to know how to respond in this situation. Because they failed in intimacy in the garden they misunderstood what He was telling them.
Why would Jesus tell them they needed swords for violence? He never carried a sword- EVER! He was their example for every situation and circumstance. We know today the Words of Jesus and scripture are considered a two-edged sword that reveals true thoughts and motive of our hearts. In this moment, they responded in emotions. They reacted to the situation with violence and in haste.
Jesus will never tell you to use your sword (His words of truth) to cut someone’s ear off. When you see something happening in the world against your faith how do you respond?
Do you go to social media to make your stance against what you’ve seen, or do you pray? Praying in these moments is not asking God to reign judgement down either. It is connecting our hearts to His.
Jesus, how do you see this person? this circumstance? How do you want me to respond?
I feel I can hear Jesus saying to us today- “Stop. That’s enough of this.”
We have to have His heart. Once we have cut people’s ears off, they don’t want to give Jesus a chance to change their lives. In these moments we have misrepresented Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven. No one who loves Jesus would ever want to misrepresent Him. Not intentionally. Our intentionality must be to hear His voice.
We have discovered this week in order to be more like Him we must build habits connecting our hearts to His throughout the day in moments of time. Slowing down, ponder what he is saying to you. We do not have to be in a hurry. We miss the most beautiful parts of our day and the beautiful people he wants us to love when we are. Take a deep breath this morning, breath Him in and listen for His voice.
Put the sword down. Pick up kindness and love. This is what will change the world around us.
We would love to hear how Holy Spirit has helped you this week in connecting your heart to His and how it is changing your life. Share with us by clicking the button below.
Ponder This
“There he told the apostles, “Keep praying for strength to be spared from the severe test of your faith that is about to come.” Luke 22:40
We have talked a lot about intimacy and prayer this week. We have learned how prayer is intended to be an invitation to an intimate relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In the Wilderness, we are endeavoring to redeem words that have been misinterpreted in American Christianity. One of these words is PRAYER!
Let me ask you what your first thought is when you hear the word prayer? Pondering moment
We have been instructed by religion that prayer is asking the Lord for something. Inquiring Him to act on our behalf. We have an idea of how we see our lives playing out. We make plans and decisions outside of intimacy then ask (demand) God to bless it. Really, we want our will, if we are honest.
Abba invites us to bring our desires to Him but with a posture of surrender. Not my will. What are you currently praying for? Have you asked Him if this is His plan for you?
Prayer is connecting our hearts to His. What is He saying?
In order to hear the Lord, we must learn to quiet our thoughts and allow him to reveal His heart to us. Knowing Him- HEAR and OBEY brings the best of life, the most joy, and the most peace you will ever experience.
TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM- TO LOVE HIM IS TO BE LIKE HIM
His Invitation
'There he told the apostles, “Keep praying for strength to be spared from the severe test of your faith that is about to come.”' Luke 22:40
Jesus knew what lay ahead. He invited His disciples to be in prayer with him. He invited them into intimacy. Intimacy connects their hearts to His. They had walked with Him for three years every day. Yet, they still didn’t understand what was about to happen. Pastor Tim shared a description of what Jesus was facing.
“Imagine someone’s coming to take you and you’re fixing to go through the worst torture of your life. You’re perfect. You’re sinless, and you have done nothing wrong.”
You have read the Garden of Gethsemane prayer by Jesus, but have you really stepped into the understanding of the agony He was feeling. He cried out to Abba- yet He knew this was His place of laying it all down to do the will of the Father. He was showing His disciples how to face the trials ahead for them but when He was finished praying he found them asleep.
“When Jesus finished praying, he got up and went to his disciples and found them all asleep, for they were exhausted and overwhelmed with sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “You need to be alert and pray for the strength to endure the great temptation.” Luke 22: 45, 46
How could they be sleeping at this moment? What if the temptation we face is falling into hopelessness, sorrow and grief when things are not going the way we thought they would or should?
This is the very reason Jesus asked them to pray with Him because when I pray, I connect my heart to Him for His purpose, not mine. His will; not mine. When our heart is connected to Him, we walk in what Jesus describes as “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Jesus always knows what is ahead for us and invites us in moments each day to connect to His heart because when we are connected, we respond differently to situations and circumstances as opposed to when we are not. This is where building habits to connect with Him comes into play.
How is Jesus inviting you to pray in this moment right now?
Your Mount of Olives
“Jesus left the upper room with his disciples and, as was his habit, went to the Mount of Olives, his place of secret prayer. There he told the apostles, “Keep praying for strength to be spared from the severe test of your faith that is about to come.” Luke 22:39,40
Pastor Tim instructs our kingdom family all the time about being attentive in our reading of scripture because if detail is mentioned, there is reason for it. Here it mentions Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus spent a lot of time at the Mount of Olives. Why?
The Mount of Olives is first mentioned in King David’s time. When David came to Jerusalem, he dedicated a spot on the Mount of Olives to Yahweh. The place had a long history of sacredness and beauty. An olive branch is a symbol of peace.
What is Jesus showing us by spending so much time on this mount? Our secret place is where we go to draw peace, hope, strength, and hear His voice. Our days can have times of struggle, trials, disappointments and challenges. When we connect our hearts to Him in this secret place we are not just learning to hear his voice, we are learning how to respond to what lies ahead in our daily walks with Him. What if we responded with peace instead of turmoil? Joy instead of anger? Hope instead of despair? What if we look for the good in those disappointments and trials?
Every moment you turn your heart to connect to Abba you become a little more like Jesus each time.
Remember this secret place- your mount of olives will bring peace in your days ahead. Are you committed to forming your habit of going away to your secret place?
The Secret Place
“Jesus left the upper room with his disciples and, as was his habit, went to the Mount of Olives, his place of secret prayer. There he told the apostles, “Keep praying for strength to be spared from the severe test of your faith that is about to come.” Luke 22:39,40
We get a picture of what Jesus valued in His life. Over the course of thirty-three and half years he cultivated a habit of daily engaging His heart in intimacy with the Father. We know this is the last few hours of Jesus’ life and he still chooses to get away to his secret place for prayer. He even invites His disciples into this habit of connecting in intimacy. The dictionary defines habit as a settled or regular tendency or practice.
Take a moment: Think about your habits. What do they say you value?
In this passage, Jesus’ habit clearly tells us what is most important to Him. Over the course of his life, he had settled the question about what his heart valued. It was hearing and obeying the voice of Abba.
As we go deeper in our walk with Abba this week let’s look at our practical daily habits….
While you wait for your coffee to make connect your heart to Abba
Getting ready for work set your thoughts on Him only
When you’re washing dishes have a conversation with Him
In your car driving talk to Him
These are just a few examples of how we can connect our hearts in the secret place with Him in moments daily.
Delighting in Him
A surrendered life produces intimacy, and intimacy produces legacy. Pastor Tim made a statement Sunday, whatever is accomplished in your life through intimacy will out live you. Psalms 89:4 “Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.” The seeds we sow, the sacrifices we make, the surrendering for Him will change everything around us and for many generations to come.
“And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” 2 Kings 4:9,10
The Shunammite woman made a decision when she encountered the Man of God. Her decision was to order her life to make him a priority when he showed up. She made sacrifices to have more of him in her life, in her home. She and her husband were business people. They were well known. I am sure they had a lot going on but whenever the Man of God showed up they stopped everything to have a meal with Him.
When the Man of God, Jesus shows up in moments of your day to have a meal with you do you stop what you are doing to eat the bread He is offering? He is beckoning us to pay attention to moments in our day to have conversations with Him. Fascination will reorder its life to have more of Jesus. Determination says- let me do this one thing on my list first, Lord, then I can talk to you. No one wants to be Martha. She struggled with wanting everything just right and everyone to do what she had assigned them to do. Jesus says- THERE IS A BETTER WAY!
Every time Jesus shows up to have a conversation with us we must choose in that moment to say Yes, Lord. He gets our full attention even if its inconvenient. He gives bread to the eater. Each time he offers bread and we stop to eat we will get more bread. More of His presence. More of His voice. More of His joy. More of His goodness. More of His mercy. More of His love. I can’t think of anything more important than these things.
Are you enjoying the moments you have carved out for Him? I can’t grow in fascination if I’m not growing in the enjoyment of the moment.
The word says, “Delight yourself.” Some of you miss the delight part because you are in a hurry. Pace matters. Listen you can let some things go undone to delight yourself in your family…have fun.
She (Shunammite woman) enjoyed the moments she has had with him to such a degree that she is willing to tear her house down and rebuild it.
Delighting in Him will cost you. There will be sacrifices made on your part. The process of her preparing this room did not happen over night. It took time. Jesus does not want you to skip steps in the ladder of devotion. He only wants to know you. This requires slowing down, paying attention to the bread he is offering and eating it!
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4
Rest in Him. Eat the bread at His table. Surrender the throne of your life to Him and allow Holy Spirit to lead you. This is the life of devotion this woman in 2 Kings is describing for us. You will learn about Him and he will learn about you.
Are you ready to rearrange your life to give Him priority?
The Standard of Jesus
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:8-10
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23
Yesterday in The Walk we talked about meditating on scripture, and how it should challenge the way we think and believe about what we have always heard concerning kingdom matters. Today is a day that will challenge everything you have ever been taught. Let’s revisit the scriptures above. We have been taught all you have to do is confess with your mouth and believe in your heart and you will be saved. (Romans 10) What did Jesus say is the standard for entering the Kingdom of God? Jesus says, “he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7)
Their response was, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. They have died and now stand in the presence of Jesus and he is saying I don’t know you. This is scary. How could he not know us? We did the will of the Father. We prophesied, prayed for others, gave our time, talents and resources, went to church, and read our bible. Jesus is saying this is NOT about DOING things listed in the scripture. It is about HEARING and OBEYING!
You copied the life of someone who hears and obeys- But you did not hear and obey for yourselves. This is what it means by “you who practice lawlessness.” The will of the Father is to hear and obey for our own lives.
When he says I never knew you, the word know is the same word in scripture where it says Adam knew Eve and they had a son. Jesus is saying I never had intimacy with you to the point where it produced anything of value in you. I never knew you. Understand, Jesus is saying there’s a level of intimacy I’m talking about only preserved between a husband and wife. That statement is important because Jesus says this relationship is supposed to look just like a husband and wife. Think about before you got married. Did you have to ask anybody about anything you wanted to do? You spent the money you want to spend. You go where you want to go. You do what you want to do. You were in control of your own life. (Pastor Tim)
To be able to hear and obey the Father we must surrender every part of our lives to Jesus. Just like a husband and wife surrender their lives to each other. If you haven’t had a good example of what this looks like, ask Him to show you.
Questions to ponder:
Have you surrendered your life to the point of hearing his voice and then obeying His words?
Do you watch what others do and just copy and paste to your own life?
Meditating on God’s Word
“Most of the time what we think doesn’t ever change because we don’t give space for God to change what we think. This is how we do it. We go into the word of God looking , go into the Bible looking for things to confirm what we already believe. That’s not how you read the word of God. The word of God is intended to be read in a way that challenges the way you think. I go in there looking for things that challenge how I think. That calls me to the carpet and says, hey, wait a minute- you are not looking at this properly. And if, I’m honest there was a large portion of my life I only read the bible through the lens of what I already believed. When you’re reading God’s word through the lenses of what you already believe you’re bending God’s word to what you already believe instead of saying- Abba, anything I read that’s not lining up with what I think you have my permission to change the way I think”
Are you allowing the Words of Jesus to challenge you?
Pastor Tim mentioned Jesus’ message on repentance. Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” NKJV
We have learned in the past the Greek word for repent is metanoia. This means a change of mind. It denotes a change of mind, a reorientation, a fundamental transformation of outlook, of man’s vision of the world and of himself, and a new way of loving others and God.
Meditating on the scriptures with an open-heart gives Abba permission to change the way you have always believed. Beloved One, you will begin to reflect the person of Jesus to everyone around you. Isn’t this the ultimate goal, to look like Him on the earth?
Giving Abba permission doesn’t just change you. It changes your children, it changes your grandchildren, your great grandchildren. The promise of Abba is that it affects a thousand generations. It can change your workplace, your neighborhood, your city and state.
Have you given him permission? How is this changing your life? We would love to hear your testimony.
Share with us: We encourage you to share with us how you are encountering Abba in your intimate walks each day. You can email us at info@thewildernessplace.com
Making Room For The King
(7 minutes)
Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” (2 Kings 4:8-10)
It was honoring an encounter that made this Shunammite Woman invite Elisha into her home for a meal. But it didn't stop there. She didn't settle. It was honor that compelled her to invite Elisha to her home for many meals. And did it stop there? Did she settle with many meals? No. At some point, she looks to her husband with another idea that was born out of her heart to honor Elisha. One meal wasn't enough. Many meals wasn't enough. She needed the presence of this man to be in her home continuously. But in order to do that, her and her husband needed to rearrange things and put things in order. Do you see this Shunammite Woman and her husband maturing, growing in their devotion? It starts with an intimate encounter, and then that is followed by honoring those intimate encounters over and over again.
And now we've arrived at the next place in our Ladder of Devotion, order. Authority is so important and incredibly undervalued and neglected within American Christianity. America is pushing for independence, but the Kingdom is trying to pull us into order and authority. We can see order in the life of this Shunammite Woman when she submits her ideas to her husband. We can see order in both her and her husband when they rearrange their home so that there can be spiritual authority covering them at all times (they made space for Elisha in the upper room that covered their house).
And let's look at the furnishings of this room and the order in which they come. Pastor Tim mentioned on Sunday that even these furnishings are important.
First, they put a bed in Elisha's room. This represents rest. "Nothing in the Kingdom happens if you can't rest. Let me put it another way, nothing in the Kingdom changes if you don't trust. We thought running around hysterically while we pray is how we get God to do what we need him to do and nothing is done while we are hysterical about what's happening. That means: where are you at in the situation? Can you rest? Can you get into a posture of rest no matter your circumstances?...The reason the bed is first is because until you learn to trust Him, you're going to struggle in intimacy." (Pastor Tim)
Second, she puts a table and chair in Elisha's room. And this is no ordinary table and chair. Pastor Tim told us on Sunday that this is a King's table and a throne. This represents the table that Yahweh prepares for us. "Here's the other thing about the table: the more you eat from the Kingdom of God, the more you understand His heart for every situation in your life." (Pastor Tim) And the chair is a throne, which represents the authority that Yahweh has, the Lordship that He has, over the issues of our lives.
Thirdly, she puts a lampstand in Elisha's room. "John writes in Revelation 2, that Jesus is the One who walks in the midst of the lampstand. Why? A lampstand has to be tended. Your passion, your fascination, the captivation with His face...these are things that must constantly be tended and they are tended in the lifestyle of devotion." (Pastor Tim)
"Can I tell you something about intimacy with Abba? I believe every single person in this room wants more of Him. I believe that you know He's in the room. But He does not kick down doors that He's not invited into. Let me put it another way, He does not enter spaces of our life that we do not make room for Him. If we're honest, there are some things that Jesus would like to say to every single one of us that we have not made room for Him to say." (Pastor Tim)
The Ladder of Devotion.
Maturing, growing in intimacy, honor, and order.
It truly does transform everything.
Determination can't engage with this devotional lifestyle, because it requires the heart. It requires fascination. Some of the things we do in our relationships with the people we love, some of the ways that we show honor, and come under authority, are not always easy, but the fascination makes the costs seem so incredibly small. Plenty of us have denied ourselves and sacrificed our future plans when we said, "I do," at an altar, and for the majority of us, it was the easiest decision we've ever made in our lives. Why? Fascination. Fascination doesn't stop long enough to count the cost.
It takes fascination with the face of Yahweh to build this Ladder of Devotion. It takes fascination with His face to engage in intimacy, honor, and order with an open heart.
Are you fascinated?
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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!
Honoring An Encounter With The King
(5 minutes)
Pastor Tim shared an Old Testament story on Sunday that is the perfect illustration of the Ladder of Devotion and growing in intimacy, honor, and order. As we read this story it's important to remember that every Old Testament text we read is a foreshadowing of Jesus. We may be reading an Old Testament story, but Abba wants to use it and parallel it with what Jesus wants to do in our own lives. This is the story of a very notable and prominent Shunammite Woman's encounter with Elisha, who represents Jesus.
Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” (2 Kings 4:8-10)
"I want to start right here. She persuaded him to eat some food. That is, she engages with Elijah and she says, 'There's something different about you. I need to invest in this relationship.' This is how we all get started. We encounter the King and all of a sudden our hearts are so stirred and we want to do something else. Let me put it another way, she doesn't let the encounter stop at bumping into him on the street. She doesn't let the encounter stop with just hearing about him, seeing him. She says, 'What I have encountered is so valuable to me, I want you to come to my home and have a meal with me. This is honor." (Pastor Tim)
The Shunammite Woman has an encounter with Elisha, and she honors that encounter by inviting Elisha to her home for a meal. This may seem like nothing to us, but meals took quite a bit longer in Elisha's day than they do now. There was a good bit of preparation that went into preparing a meal. This is a picture of honor. This is a picture of us and Yahweh. How do we respond when we bump into Yahweh and have an intimate encounter with Him? Do we let the stirring of our hearts overflow into honoring that encounter with something that costs us a little more? How much preparation are we putting into our acts of honor? Can you see this Shunammite Woman growing in her devotion? Intimacy, honor, order.
Pastor Tim mentioned this important truth at Linger House this week: every time we have an encounter with the King, we have two choices. We can either honor that encounter and invite Him and His word to go deeper in us, or we can dishonor the encounter and not let it affect our lives at all. These are the only two choices we have after encountering Yahweh. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, thousands of people encountered Jesus. Thousands of people bumped up against Him. They encountered the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and they didn't get anything out of the encounter. Why? Because they treated something incredibly valuable, casually. They didn't honor the encounter, so they never saw the seed of the Kingdom grow past that encounter.
How are you honoring your encounters with the King? Honor is how we see the seed of the Kingdom become a tree of life to us. We have to honor the seed into maturity. It begins with letting your heart become stirred after encountering Yahweh and then honoring that encounter in a way that costs you. And to say it costs you is such poor language, because you're so delighting in the Lord at this point that the costs don't seem like costs at all. It simply becomes the desire of your heart to pour your love on Him. That's all honor is after all: a heart getting so full from an encounter that it has no choice but to pour something out. It's a heart that says, "This was so valuable to me, I refuse to let it cost me nothing."
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Worship: "Pour My Love On You" 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 Ladder of Devotion
(5 minutes)
"This example has revolutionized by intimacy, my devotion...This ladder represents three words. In any relationship, if you want to be successful, you need these three words. You can't have one without the other two. I'm going to introduce you to those three words. You can find them in every detail of the Bible. You can find them in your devotion." (Pastor Tim)
They are intimacy, honor, and order. Imagine these words making up every part of a ladder. We'll call this the Ladder of Devotion. If any part is removed, the ladder is worthless.
Intimacy - this is the love affair. It's your heart for Yahweh. It's the intimate, face-to-face moments that you share with Him in His presence. It's the times when we open our hearts to Him and become vulnerable with Him. Intimacy speaks of love.
Honor - this is when you begin to value the other person's life, what they say, what they value, and what they think. You begin to prioritize them and devote more of your time, talent, and treasure towards the relationship. Honor speaks of value.
Order - this is when you trust the goodness of Yahweh so much that you can submit your life to Him and His plan. Order happens when He becomes Lord over an area and a new level of freedom is released in your life. Because wherever the Spirit is Lord, there is freedom. Order speaks of authority.
It takes all of these things, working together, to elevate any relationship. And it's not just establishing these things one time. Notice that the words appear at every rung, because "just like in every relationship, you grow as you grow in intimacy, honor, and order." (Pastor Tim)
Every level requires another investment in intimacy, honor, and order. This is how we go from complete strangers to saying, "I do," at an altar. Every rung costs us a little more. But as the costs grow, so does the reward. With every investment in intimacy, honor, and order, comes a new level of freedom, abundance, and life.
This example is so significant when it comes to your devotion to Yahweh. Honestly, it's significant for every relationship in your life that Abba has planted you in. This is how we see growth and fruit spring up in the garden of our relationship with Yahweh, our relationship with our family, and our relationship with the Kingdom family around us.
Consider your relationship with Abba today. Has intimacy been established in your life with God? If intimacy has been established, ask yourself whether or not you've allowed honor to be cultivated. Maybe intimacy and honor have been established, and now it's time to fully submit to Yahweh's Lordship in a certain area of your life. Once that area is brought into order, you will experience a new level of freedom, joy, and peace that you have not known. This is the journey to becoming fully alive. This is the pathway to having our Garden-status restored. This is the way we walk with Yahweh in closer union.
Intimacy, honor, and order.
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Worship: "Closer" 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!
Recovering Devotion
(6 minutes)
"I want to recover another word that has been stolen by American Christianity, and I'm here to snatch it from their grubby hands. That's devotion. I want to restore the word, devotion. Devotion is not fifteen minutes with Oswald Chambers while your mind is distracted by a million things, and then you can tell people that you had your devotion. Devotion is, 'I'm willing to burn everything else down in my life just to have one thing, His face.' Devotion is me tearing everything else down that's biting for my attention. When we talk about devotion, we're talking about what drives your heartbeat, what drives and motivates you, what causes you to run after it." (Pastor Tim)
We're going to have to recover the word, devotion. It has been so watered down that we've lost the heart of the whole thing. We've reduced devotion down to something we do half-heartedly for a couple of minutes a day, mostly out of a sense of obligation instead of fascination. Devotion is when we become so passionately in love with someone or something that we devote ourselves exclusively to that person or thing. What we're devoted to will always rise to the surface. We will have a great amount of enthusiasm for the things that we're devoted to. Devotion is the dedication of our lives to pursuing and being loyal to one thing.
Let's face it, that's a very different definition than the one that we were handed. When we look at devotion in this light, what are we truly devoted to? What do we burn everything else down to the ground in order to obtain? What have we given our lives to, exclusively?
Pastor Tim mentioned that this word, devotion, is very similar to the Greek word, peripoiesis. It's one of Pastor Tim's favorite Greek words. It literally means to live exclusively for another. In English, we would translate this word to be weird, because exclusivity is strange in our world. "When you do belong exclusively to Jesus, you will look weird to other people. If you work 60 hours a week, we'll applaud you. You can work 60 hours a week in our society, your friends and your family will say, 'He's a hard worker,' and they will applaud you, but if you were to pray two hours a day, you are a fanatic. If all you ever talk about is your love affair with Abba, you are a fanatic." (Pastor Tim)
"Peripoiesis is the Greek word and it means one who belongs exclusively to another. We see this in marriage all the time. We demand it in marriage, but we don't bring those principles over into our relationship with Abba, with the King, the Lord of lords. We demand our spouses to belong exclusively to us, but we buck when someone says, 'Yeah, but Jesus requires the same from us.'" (Pastor Tim)
The truth is that American Christianity lowered the standard when it comes to devotion, and Yahweh wants to raise the standard back to where He intended it to be. He wants devotion to be seen in the light of a covenant marriage, not a fifteen-minute-a-day exchange that never touches our hearts.
As you take the walk with Abba today, let Him redefine devotion. Let Him speak to what He means by devotion. Let Him paint the picture of what devotion looks like on His end of the relationship. Remember, whatever Abba is inviting us into, He is already feeling towards us. We love because He first loved us.
Abba, show us what devotion looks like in Your heart towards us, and let that be the standard for devotion in our lives.
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Worship: "Build My Life" 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!
When “Have To” Gets Removed
(5 minutes)
"We're learning to be fascinated with Him because He's taught us that He's fascinated with us. Understand, anything that happens in us, anything that we learn, anything that's happening first starts with Him because He's fascinated with us. That's what's going on here!" (Pastor Tim)
As we continue to meditate on Abba's words this week, we must do it through this lens. The reason Abba is inviting us into this level of fascination is because He is fascinated with us. Anything He's asking us to be a part of is already a reality for Him. He's been fascinated with us before the world ever was. His heart was set on us from the very beginning. Do you believe that He is fascinated with you? Do you believe that He set His heart on you from the beginning of time? Do you believe that He sent His Son to die because He already loved you?
The foundation of everything we will build upon starts here: He first loved us.
"Last week we talked about determination and fascination, but determination only gets you so far. We will move heaven and earth for the things that we love. The things that we really want to do, we'll make it happen." (Pastor Tim)
This word is doing significant things in our Kingdom family.
When "have to" gets removed, what's left of you and Abba? When determination loses steam, are you finding that you are still fascinated with His face? Determination wanes; fascination perseveres. Determination gets tired; fascination keeps burning. Why? Because determination is fixated on "doing," but fascination is fixated on His face. And lovers always get more done than doers.
What happens when "have to" gets removed? What happens when determination goes away? What happens when there's nothing left to do? These are important questions that must be answered. Martha never stopped long enough to find out, but Mary did. She found her treasure at the feet of Jesus, gazing into His eyes. We truly will move heaven and earth for the things that we love. Martha and Mary, both moved heaven and earth to do the thing that they loved. What are we moving heaven and earth to do?
Abba is inviting us all into a life of fascination, and this week we'll discover a key part of making that happen. But first, let's stop long enough to answer these questions. Wherever we find ourselves, Abba is ready to meet us there. But if we never stop long enough to hear His voice speaking to us about these things, we will just continue chasing things with determination that we were never meant to chase after. We'll spend our whole life chasing things that would have been added to us in a life of fascination.
So above all, constantly seek God's kingdom and his righteousness, then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly. (Matthew 6:33)
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Worship: "Build My Life" 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!
He’s Fascinated With You
(5 minutes)
The most amazing son of all, by King Solomon.
Let him smother me with kisses - his Spirit-kiss divine. So kind are your caresses, I drink them in like the sweetest wine! Your presence releases a fragrance so pleasing--over and over poured out. For your lovely name is "Flowing Oil." No wonder the brides-to-be adore you. Draw me into your heart. We will run away together into the king's cloud-filled chamber....
Jerusalem maidens, in this twilight darkness I know I am so unworthy - so in need. (Song of Songs 1:1-5)
"We know the right answers, we know God is good, we know He loves us and He smothers us with kisses and His caresses are good. But here's the issue: we keep staring at our brokenness. We try to convince Him how unworthy we are to be loved. This is why some of us are still hiding from His smothering kisses because we don't believe we deserve them." (Pastor Tim)
Pastor Tim went on to say that this fixation on our unworthiness is not humility. We've been taught that humility is our wallowing around in the dirt, calling ourselves unworthy and undeserving. That couldn't be farther from the Kingdom's definition of humility. "Kingdom humility is saying what the Kingdom says about you. " (Pastor Tim)
What lies are you believing about yourself that the Kingdom doesn't speak over you? That you're not creative? Not talented? Not good enough? Not smart? That you can't keep up? That you're not gifted enough? "It's not humility to confess delusional things about yourself. That's not humility. Humility is you coming into agreement with what God says. Want to know what He says?" (Pastor Tim)
The Shepherd King: Yet you are so lovely!
The Shulamite: I feel as dark and dry as the desert tents of the wandering nomads.
The Shepherd King: Yet you are so lovely--like the fine linen tapestry hanging in the Holy Place. (Song of Songs 1:5)
Yahweh calls you lovely. This is what the King and the Kingdom believe about you at all times. He does not agree with the delusional thoughts that you have about yourself. He says, "Yet, you are so lovely." We have to let His thoughts about us deal with delusional thoughts we have about ourselves. And this happens by letting Him love us the way that He wants to love us. By letting Him smother us with kisses.
"I'm sorry that someone didn't see how important you really are...but there's an Abba that does. There's an Abba that does. And you need to let Him prove to you how valuable you are, because He's willing to. For God so loved you, He gave His prized treasure, His only Son, for you." (Pastor Tim)
Where are we still feeling unworthy and undeserving of Yahweh's love? Those are the areas we need to expose to Abba in His presence so His love can deal with them. When we're in this state of unworthiness and delusional thinking, we can't really trust what we feel because our feelings have been trained to agree with things that are not true about us. We have to bring these feelings straight to Abba, not dwelling on them for a moment longer, and let Him speak His truth over us.
Can you even fathom the thought that Abba wants to spend time with you today just because He enjoys you? You and your heart are incredibly valuable to Him. He wants to shower you with His thoughts and how He sees you. He wants to overwhelm you with His love and He wants to smother you with kisses until you start to believe what He believes about you.
Beloved One, don't resist. Learning to be loved is a process. But it begins and ends with getting into the secret, intimate place with Yahweh and getting fascinated with His face, the same way that He's fascinated with yours.
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Worship: "Lean Back" by Capital 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!
Am I Fascinated With You?
(5 minutes)
"Let's just stop for a moment and just step into the secret place and say, 'Lord, does my life reflect someone who is fascinated with you?'" (Pastor Tim)
We don’t have to be afraid to be vulnerable with Abba. It's these tender moments in His presence that lead us into transformation. Pastor Tim asked another powerful question on Sunday: what's left when "have to" is removed? What are we when there's no church, or no worship songs, or no preacher? What are we when it's just us and Him?
It takes courage to bring those questions to Abba and allow Him to speak to your heart. You really have to trust Abba's goodness to open up to Him in this way. This is what true intimacy is - allowing someone to peer into the deepest places of your heart. Intimacy sounds like "in to me, see." Are we opening up to Abba in intimacy? Are we letting Him smother us with kisses?
The most amazing son of all, by King Solomon.
Let him smother me with kisses - his Spirit-kiss divine. So kind are your caresses, I drink them in like the sweetest wine! Your presence releases a fragrance so pleasing--over and over poured out. For your lovely name is "Flowing Oil." No wonder the brides-to-be adore you. Draw me into your heart. We will run away together into the king's cloud-filled chamber. (Song of Songs 1:1-4)
"Letting Him smother you with His kisses is the only thing that elevates the standards in your life. Fascination gets elevated by the way you let Him smother you with kisses." (Pastor Tim)
We need to be convinced of this: only letting Yahweh smother you with kisses will elevate your fascination. The only way to exit determination and enter a life of fascination is to surrender to the extravagant love of Yahweh. There's no other way, but intimacy.
Are we willing to lay down the ores of determination so we can flow into fascination? Are we willing to open ourselves up and be exposed in intimacy so Yahweh can overwhelm us with His love? Only staring in His eyes will produce the fascinated lifestyle. But determination won't stop long enough to catch a glimpse of Him.
Abba, who am I when everything else is removed? Am I fascinated with You?
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Worship: "Lean Back" by Capital 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!
Fascinated With His Face
(5 minutes)
"We're still measuring our value based on what we can accomplish, not the love affair with the King. We like to point to the things that we're doing, instead of the One we're doing them for." (Pastor Tim)
Determination is fixated on measuring and keeping up and making sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to be doing, and it's always quick to see what's wrong. Determination is infatuated with doing. But fascination is fixated on a person. Fascination is staring into the eyes of Jesus and isn't concerned with measuring performance anymore, yours or anyone else's.
"Determination says, 'Am I the only one that's going to do anything around here?' Fascination can't see what other people are doing because you're so in love with the eyes of the King. Determination causes you to complain about how tired you are and how worn out you are. Fascination says, 'I could do this forever!' See, fascination gives you a fuel cell that determination will never give you. How hard is it to love something you really love?" (Pastor Tim)
Are we in love with a person or are we in love with what we can do, and how well we can keep up? These are so different. One is self-centered and transactional, and the other is King and Kingdom-centered, and relational. Are we fixated on doing, or are we fixated on loving someone? Are we a lover or a doer?
"The question is, are you fascinated with His face? Are you in a love affair or are you just working on determination and sweating yourself into what He thinks He wants from you?" (Pastor Tim)
If we take these questions into the secret place today, Abba will speak to us and we will see things changed. If we were willing to open up to Abba and ask Him if our lives are defined by fascination or determination, He would have a conversation with us that would lead us into seeing our lives transformed by His goodness. Intimacy with Yahweh is the only thing that produces a fascinated heart. Opening ourselves up to Him in the secret place is where the seed of fascination will be planted and begin to grow.
Beloved One, are you willing to sow in intimacy so you can begin to reap a fascinated life? Stop your measuring and start chasing His face.
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Worship: "Come and Behold" 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!
Fascination Takes You Places Determination Never Will
(6 minutes)
"Lovers always get more done than doers. I want to add something to that statement: Fascination will always take you places determination never will. The question today is: are we fascinated with Him?" (Pastor Tim)
Pastor Tim compared the lives of two men on Sunday: John the Beloved and Peter. John the Beloved being a picture of fascination. And Peter being a picture of determination. Yesterday we looked at the difference between the two at the Last Supper. But there's another instance where we see a stark contrast between fascination and determination.
On the way to the cross, Jesus tells His disciples that they will all desert him and scatter (Matthew 26:31). Peter speaks up in that moment and interjects, "Even if all the rest lose courage and fall away, I will still be beside you, Jesus!" Jesus goes on to inform Peter that before the rooster crows he will deny Him three times. Peter objects with, "I absolutely will never deny you, even if I have to die with you!" And all the other disciples echoed these same words to Jesus. What a picture of determination!
But just like Jesus said, He was taken away, and all of the disciples fled. He goes all the way to the cross. Out of all the twelve, there was only one disciple there. Only one disciple made it to the cross.
Mary, Jesus' mother, was standing next to his cross, along with Mary's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. So when Jesus looked down and saw the disciple he loved standing with her, he said, "Mother, look - John will be a son to you." Then he said, "John, look - she will be a mother to you!" From that day on, John accepted Mary into his home as one of his own family. (John 19:25-27)
"Fascination takes John the Beloved all the way to the foot of the cross when determination could not be found. Fascination, the one who has his head on the breast of Jesus, makes it all the way to the foot of the cross because he sees the cross as valuable as the supper table. Peter is running for his life. The determined one is running for his life. It says Peter followed from a distance, a safe distance. Let me put it another way, Peter followed at a distance that didn't cost him anything. Let me put it another way, in Christian terminology, he followed at a distance that was acceptable to him...But determination doesn't get you to the foot of the cross. Only fascination gets you to the foot of the cross. Only the love affair with Him." (Pastor Tim)
There are some things that only lovers make it through, and to. With the right amount of pressure, determination will fade away. But love, and fascination, will carry you through things that determination can't even face. Fascination carried John the Beloved to the cross, to be with Jesus in one of the most painful moments of His life. Meanwhile, determination seems to fall apart under the pressure. While John the Beloved is staring at Jesus’ face, Peter is weeping bitterly by a campfire.
Do you see that determination isn't enough? The heart must be engaged, in love, and fascinated with Jesus in order to go where He goes.
"Determination is not going to be enough to walk you through some of the hardest trials that you will go through. You will have to be fascinated with His face. Determination will not change your family, only fascination will." (Pastor Tim)
Abba is inviting you into a life of fascination. Abba is inviting you into a life where you'll only ever be defined as a Lover of Yahweh. He's inviting you to go places that determined followers are never allowed to go. And it starts right here - with becoming fascinated with His face.
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Worship: "When I Lock Eyes With You" by Harvest
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!