“I have walked so many miles to discover things I already knew, things that all of us know but that are so hard to accept.”
Paulo Coelho
When I think about my walk with Christ I quickly realize the truths that have brought me closer to the Lord and given me a greater understanding of the world have been revelations of things I already knew. I find myself reflecting upon the pilgrimage of this year and recognize the most prominent things God has worked in me are my understanding of Grace, Love, Peace, Identity, Dependence, and most recently God as the Father. These are simple foundational truths I have understood since my rebirth into eternal life. Anyone who has been around believers or church much at all has heard of God’s love and grace. Most people who have received Christ into their heart have heard that God is all he or she needs and that they should depend on El Shaddai for their every need. The majority of new believers have heard at least to some degree how God identifies them in scripture, i.e…. Saints, Son/ Daughter, Heir to the King, the apple of his eye, bride of Christ, temple, seated in heavenly places, conquerors, and victorious etc.. (This is far from an exhaustive list). And any person who has read a significant portion of the New Testament has heard of God as the Father.
Something I found myself saying over and over as we spoke about education to hundreds of youth in Kenya, in a month God gave me grace upon grace accompanied by power, was in paraphrase; “I am telling you these things because I know what it will mean to you someday. Someone told me and it has meant everything; it has made difference in my life. If you will open your hearts and just hear me now, you will understand down the road.” Perhaps it was a foreshadowing of the perspective God would eventually grant me in that as you walk the journey of life pursuing “deeper” things in Christ, what you thought you knew, you did not truly know, but through experience and trial it becomes confirmed in your heart. What a fickle organ that it would require confirmation beyond logical reasoning, right?
“We know truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.”
Blaise Pascal
“Until you know the whole truth, any partial truth is a lie.”
Art Katz
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1: 14
The stubbornness of the heart boggles my mind, which is a bit ironic because I would submit to you that the heart has a mind of its own. We may hear things from a trusted source and it become knowledge, something we believe in our mind, yet to become heart knowledge it must be experienced. The heart must “see” (figuratively speaking) and feel to believe. Have you ever asked your heart why it has such little faith in the brain? We often chalk up the perplexity of heart as to it being the internal source of the supernatural force known as love; however let us not discredit the hearts complexity and mark all its mystery off to love. No the difficulty found in this biological phenomenon produces the loftiest of conundrums.
“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
Proverbs 20: 5
“The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.”
Proverbs 14: 10
I suppose I am rambling at this point, but my intention for this blog is to set the stage for the one to come. I want to share about the most recent thing God has been working inside of me, which is something I have heard my whole Christian life, the revelation of God as the Father. We will have to journey a little into my past, but as God urged me to share in a message this past Sunday and is now upon this blog site, I will be as transparent as possible.
—- I will try and post it next time we get internet, possibly before next week, but in the meantime check out my previous blog, which is a video of my rafting experience on the Nile River. Also it would bring me great joy to hear your thoughts on this blog in the comment section.
— Speaking of the heart enjoy some pictures of God’s little ones, alongside a few random quotes from a favorite philosopher/ theologian of mine. Much Love, Dex.
“The supreme function of reason is to show man that some things are beyond reason.”
Blaise Pascal
“We conceal it from ourselves in vain – we must always love something. In those matters seemingly removed from love, the feeling is secretly to be found, and man cannot possibly live for a moment without it.”
