If you haven’t noticed it yet i have made some changes around this place. First, i have given this old house (blog) a new coat of paint. In the past this blog has had many looks but my current look is probably my favorite so far. There are still a few interface changes that i would like to make and lots of content that i would like to add but all of this will be a progression of sorts.
My desire is to be more consistent in blogging and sharing my thought on different topics and what the Lord gives me in an edifying way.
A New Name
Upheld by His Power was the name I previously had for this blog and I believe that that blog title with it’s subtitle, “Walking with the Father” served as a description of an emphasis that is the foundation of my life for good. MY walk with the Father will never end and it is the starting point of the current theme of what this blog will be. However, a theme i believe that the Lord put in my heart a few months back was that of “wonder”. This theme has continued to grow in my mind and heart and for the sake of brevity has become a guide for my thinking on many lines in life.
Why Wonder
I don’t remember the specific day but one morning several weeks back before the sun had risen i was out on a walk with my Heavenly Father spending time with Him and I could sense Him speak to my heart, “Many have chosen weariness over wonder.” as this thought reverberated in my mind, several other connected thoughts began to arise, most having to do with how easy it is to get distracted from the Wonder of God.
I began to see that fighting to keep a heart of wonder is the primary thing that i have been needing in my life. The scripture speaks:
“The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding.” ~ Prov 9:10 AMP
That word used for the fear of the Lord can also be translated into reverential awe in other scripture verses:
“And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles (the special messengers).” ~ Acts 2:43 AMP
The fear of the Lord evokes awe and goes hand in hand with wonder.
Drawing near to God.
God’s ultimate purpose for each of his children is that they be conformed into His image. His overarching purpose is to, “…bring many sons into glory.” ~ Heb. 2:10 b . The fear and reverential awe of the Lord is not like the fear of a snake in that it causes the one affected by it to draw near to God. Why? Because of wonder. The wonder of His Person. Wonder at His marvelous works!
The opposite of wonder is dullness. In the last chapter of The book of Acts Paul warned the Jews about the dullness of their hearts in that they refused to hear the message of Christ. In the church today and in my personal walk i feel that the battle is a fight to continue to be alive with wonder, to keep my heart tender to the voice of the Holy Spirit and continue to be motivated to search out the depths of who God is.
Casting off familiarity
One of the things i have also noticed is that the current state of Christendom encourages one to survive on spiritual nuggets, sayings & maxims and yet the depth of patience that it takes to be affected by truth through meditation is cast aside. Even though this type of life has very little depth of touch with the eternal there is a smug familiarity with the Eternal One. I am guilty of this.
Wonder is lost because of this smug sense of familiarity with God. Though we may lack the fruit of what the scriptures say should be the daily experience of the believer who truly knows God we settle for the meager because we falsely believe, through a mental awareness of certain facts, we know God in a way that has not yet been verified by life.
God is knowable. Yet throughout the eternity of eternities we, the redeemed, will continually grow in knowledge of & awe of Him and never lose wonder.
The blindness of a smug existence that settles upon past experiences and mental awareness will forever disappear the moment that we put off the corruptible flesh and step through the threshold of temporal life. Yet it is not necessary for us to wait till we die physically to truly stand in awe of God and keep a heart full of wonder for who He is.
A Resolve to remain
“I have loved you, [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love [continue in His love with Me].” ~ Jn 15:9 AMP
In conclusion i have renamed this blog because keeping a heart full of the wonder of who God is has become the theme of my life. The warfare is to not allow myself to be moved from the place that he has already given me. Rest in Him produces wonder in me. The blog entries will simply be a record of what i discover while remaining in the Rest of God.