I Believe!

Saturday, 23 Nov 2002

Do you know where God lives?
Have you beaten down the path to His door?
Is it worn smooth from your constant back and forth, going from this world into His Inner Sanctuary?

I've had a busy week, and this morning as I found that quiet time again with God, I realized how much I was missing that uninterrupted time with Him. I listened to a song this morning that helped bring me back to the place I needed to be, with my Father. Let me share a few lines with you...

Like a ship on troubled waters
many sail alone
Mothers weep for sons and daughters
and pray they will come home
Soon it will be harvest time
and all the storms will pass
Oh, what joy I'll find when I see you at last

You are my resting place along the narrow highway
You are my bridge across the open sea
You are my Savior and my passage way to heaven
Oh Jesus I believe in you
Oh Jesus, I believe
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While in Cancun recently, we saw the thick jungles on the Yucatan Peninsula. I thought of that jungle this morning and how it resembles the world we live in. It seems when we go too long without spending time in solitude, it takes a machete to cut through the jungle of this world and find God's resting place again. The machete of perseverance that says I WILL FIND YOU LORD, because I know You are seeking me also. The machete of perseverance that says I know You exist, I know You are waiting for me, I know that when I cut all this garbage out of the way, You are my passage way to heaven.

And so it goes, each day of our lives the "jungle" continues to grow at a rapid rate, trying to cut out any sunlight from our Father that will lead us to Him. The "jungle" of busyness and relationships and distractions and even pleasures that start to entangle us and lead us astray until we get so lost in the thick of it we can forget there even is a sanctuary of peace in the middle of the jungle. That's what the enemy wants. That's what makes him happy, but are we?

Hebrews 6:19
This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God's inner sanctuary.
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I have beaten down a well worn path to God's door, to that curtain of heaven into God's Inner Sanctuary. I know it well, and yet still, how quickly that path can be overgrown with "stuff" and become hard to find. How quickly. Sometimes it takes only a day...and we can get sucked right back into the jaws of the "snake", waiting to inject us with his poisonous venom of fear and confusion. The enemy is hoping that it will "take" this time, and we will never again find our rest in God. The enemy is hoping that we will lose the confidence we have attained, and our anchor will dislodge, washing us out to sea only to drown in the storms. Oh, how the enemy wants that for us...because he hates us.

And yet, there is a warm and welcoming light that shines through that jungle. A beam so strong that all we need do is turn and look for it, no matter how far off we have roamed, and we will be found by it. It will beckon to us in the most loving way, never forceful, but then we will have to decide if we will go towards it or away.

This morning, I turned back to that light and found that passage way to "heaven" again. The "narrow highway" where true peace is found in this busy world, to the clearing in the jungle where the throne of God is.

The Most Holy Place.

In the Old Testament you had to be a Priest to go into that place, but for us, Jesus' death on the cross split that curtain and opened up that place to all those who will believe and enter in. It IS a Most Holy Place, and we are allowed to go there any time we choose. What a privilege!

We are able to go and spend all the time with our Father we want. He is never too busy for us.

The song continues:

Father you have seen my struggles
and you have known my fears
and Lord you've been so faithful to wipe away my tears
So when the world laughs at me and says I'm just a fool
I will bow my knee and worship only you!

You are my resting place along the narrow highway
You are my bridge across the open sea
You are my Savior and my passage way to heaven
Oh Jesus I believe in you
Oh Jesus, I believe
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We are powerless without God. We may think we control something, are in charge of something, can manipulate something, but we can't. God is in control, and He will have the final say. To be able to rest in that is wonderful.
Why? Because we don't have to carry the burden. We simply need to follow where He is leading and He will never lead us astray.

The world may laugh at us and say we're just a fool, but it's because they are lost in the density of the jungle and don't know the way out. That's because the world strangles the breath out of those who don't believe, cutting off the supply of "oxygen" to their spirit, and it seems foolish to a spirit that is not alive in Jesus Christ.

Spending time in the "clearing" of the Most Holy Place, is the most refreshing place we could ever be on this earth. It is the place where we connect with God one on one. There is no one else there. It is where the relationship is built. The relationship that will carry us through when the jungle calls to us again because life does go on. The world does keep spinning and we are part of it. The difference is, we can return to this Most Holy Place any time we choose, and when we leave it to rejoin the world, we are not the same. We carry with us the peace that was found there, the wisdom that it contains and the joy that was embedded in our heart by simply spending time alone with God. We are rested.

When Jesus comes back in the twinkling of an eye and He gathers those He knows, those who have gotten to know Him, it will be a grand reunion. I think of it as a pen-pal, or a friend that lives far away and the only communication there can be is conversation with one another. We cannot meet face to face because the distance is too great and yet, we long to remain close to one another. How do we do that? By remembering one another, by talking with one another until the time comes when we can meet again, or maybe for the first time.

By then the relationship has become so special, we are excited to be together, though we may never have met face to face. We know each other so well that we will take off "running" the minute we meet, feeling as if we had always been together. There will be joy and laughter and fun to be shared because the waiting is over.

That is how it will be with Jesus, and I want to be ready. I want to know Jesus so well that our meeting will be the most comfortable, the most exciting, the most glorious thing I have ever experienced in my life! It can be too, if we KNOW one another.

If not, I may cower in fear. I may wonder if I will be rejected by Him. I may even question my salvation, my future of eternity with Him. By not knowing Jesus intimately, not only will I have missed out on the very best this life has to offer, but I won't look forward to the day of His return as I should.

Can you imagine that you are getting ready to go to the airport and meet your pen-pal, or your distant friend, and they are cowering there in fear because you might reject them when you finally meet face to face? When all you want to do is get to know them even better, to spend lots of time with them, to show them all that has been prepared for them when you take them to your home, and they are afraid?

Can you imagine being Jesus, and how much He is looking forward to coming back to take all the believers home with Him? To show us the place He has prepared for our eternity in heaven, and then when Jesus arrives, we might cower in fear because we don't know what to expect? How disappointing that would be for Him, and yet, Jesus is never disappointed because He already knows what to expect. He already knows our hearts and our relationship with Him. There will be no surprises for Jesus. But if we think we might disappoint Him on that day, or that we might be the ones disappointed, then maybe we need to think about that now. Maybe we need to spend more time with our Lord and Savior now, getting to know Him better each day.

The song continues...

I believe you are the only answer to life's questions
Lord help me keep my heart in the right direction
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1 Corinthians 4:20
For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God's power. Which do you choose? Should I come with punishment and scolding, or should I come with quiet love and gentleness?
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Now, this is Paul talking to the church in Corinth, but what if it was Jesus? Don't you think He wants to return to this earth with all the love and gentleness of a Best Friend, of the Best Friend   you have ever known? Don't you think Jesus wants to let us know all that He can do for us if we will only spend time in that Sanctuary in the midst of the jungle, and live by the power of God, not by the power of our own strength which vaporizes so quickly?

He does have all the answers to life's questions, but we so rarely ask Him. What makes us think we are so wise that we don't need His help? It's the stuff that blinds us to all that God is offering us! It's the jungle...the world.

I have gotten to know my emotions well this past year. I know when the life is being strangled out of me and I know there is a Sanctuary waiting to refresh my soul anytime, and anywhere I might need it. Yes, it is easier to find when the house is quiet and I am the only one home, but God knows those times for most are few and far between. He meets us where we're at.

Once, I was at a concert at DisneyWorld waiting for the music to begin and I was sitting on the ground in a sea of people, head bowed, and "alone" in the midst of the jungle. God met me there and refreshed my spirit which was running low on strength.

Maybe this is only possible when the path to God's "door" has been traveled so many times, it is known in your heart. When you know beyond a doubt that when you call to Him, He will be there, because He has answered that call more times than you could ever count.
Maybe, and then again, probably not, because God can do all things at all times and it is not up to us and our own strength. He will be found on our first call to Him, and on our billionth call to Him!

It is so good to know that He is our Friend, and He is waiting for us when we need Him. His Sanctuary is always open, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without fail, even if it takes a machete of perseverance to find our way there because the jungle can become so overwhelming so quickly. Let's cut away anything that has come between us and our Friend. God longs to spend time with us, and He loves us so much, He will wait for us.

There is no place better on this earth to be than in the Most Holy Place!  The enemy knows that, and he will do everything he possibly can to keep us from spending time there because the enemy knows when we are there, he cannot get to us. The world drops away and we are alone with God. We can discuss anything we want without condemnation, we can pour out our heart about what hurts most, and we can ask Him for guidance and answers to all of "life's questions". God has the answers.

Be still and know that He is God! (From Psalm 46:10) I did this morning and the time disappeared so quickly I could not believe how long I had spent with my Friend. It was such a pleasure!

Hebrews 9:11
So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come.
He has entered that great, perfect sanctuary in heaven,
not made by human hands and not part of this created world.
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His Sanctuary is out of this world!! And we can join Him there by going to Him in prayer and spending time with Him there. Let's not miss out!! It's the best vacation we could ever take, and we can go there every day we live. No charge! No reservations! In good weather and in bad!

The jungle is for the masses.
The clearing place of peace is for us when we believe in Him.

I believe!!

Living in His peace,
Diane