Art for Jesus - in Japan

The storm that rages in your life is nothing
compared to the love that rages in His heart
for you, His bride.

He is our life. He is the AIR we breathe. Apart form Him we have no being... We have no life. He is the fresh wind of the Spirit and He wants to blow over us and heal our sickness of heart. Our Bridegroom/Redeemer wants us to honor and love one another as He sees us NOT as we see ourselves. His assessment of us is based upon different information from what we see. God is gazing upon us as His Bride whose life is hidden in Christ... a Bride without spot of wrinkle. That condition is not something we will become someday. No! It is who we are NOW in Christ. It will always be IN Christ. It will never be our correct behavior that God is smiling at and pleased with. No! The just shall live by faith in Christ's finished work--NOT our finished work! We will always be dependent on HIS life lived through us by faith.

I believe the many diseases that afflict the body of Christ (hardly much difference between the church and the world as far as cancer statistics go) is because there is a spirit behind some of these sicknesses that can only be healed as we repent of our hardness of heart and our stubborn refusal to trust God... trust His timing and His ways of doing things. He is faithful and He is good and that is why He disciplines those He loves.

Perhaps God is calling us to stand in the gap and repent on behalf of those who have no heart to repent until the body comes into alignment with the spirit of God and fulfills it's destiny by coming into community with one another and with Him... If our identity is IN Christ isn't our identity made certain by our heritage in Him? Isn't He awakening within us a desire for greater intimacy with Him so that in His presence we can dance upon the waves of difficulties and fears and disappointments?

I know for myself at times it is easy to turn away from that call to intimacy with Him because I do not want face all that "stuff." I just can't bear the thought of facing my own shortcomings and failures and deferred hopes and dreams. So I say, "No, God... not today... not right now... some other time I'll come away with You."

But God invites us to come to Him in the midst of the storm as He comes walking towards us on the turbulent water. He invites us to leave the safety of the "boat" and do something that we know we can never do in the natural. He wants us to trust in the strength of our Bridegroom/King. He invites us to join Him to walk on the waves. He invites us to dance with Him on the mountains of fear that seem to easily overwhelm us. He invites us to trust Him to take care of us while we choose to obey His invitation to supernaturally walk on water. He will support us as we keep our eyes focused on Him and not the tidal wave of fear that seems ready to swallow us up.

We are at the center of His heart. We are the apple of His eyes... the focus of His utmost attention. His greatest suffering was also His greatest joy, because the cross released the power necessary for us to follow Him forever. Joy and suffering go hand in hand because out of it are born priceless pearls... We are His priceless treasure.

God I want to know more fully the fellowship of your sufferings and the power of your resurrection so that I may know on a deeper level the kind of love that rages in your heart for me—your Bride. I want to comprehend the truth of this staggering love that sees me without spot or wrinkle. Yes... even now in Your heart and mind you see me/us in that completed stage... spotless and with no defects. But I must trust your love and power because you know all things and you know that the desired result will be brought about by your love and power. Your right hand and strong arm have won the victory. The zeal of the Lord accomplishes what You have already seen in eternity past. I come into agreement to be drawn into your arms and heart forever as Your Bride. You see me in the Spirit, not as I am in the natural... Let me see Your Bride in the Spirit so that I may join you in intercession for the One whom your soul longs for.... Help me to understand that when the "north wind blows" and I cower and hide, my failures are not fatal, and that through them You are helping me understand the unconditional nature of Your love for me. I want to be smitten and undone by Your love so that I can be a carrier of the glory of Your love to others.