God Is Pursuing You. Do You See? My Experience

Bless you, LORD, Your Majesty and Your Love. Thank you for always Loving me, and reminding me of that Love when the accuser comes after me and I hold hands in agreement with him, unknowingly. Thank You for never tiring of pursuing me!

Source:

lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.com/2014/08/god-is-pursuing-you-do-you-see-my.html

Today, LORD, for the first time in a while, I completely surrendered to You, again, and leaving that Church to find alone time with You, You Would Not Let My Spirits Sink! As only You can, LORD:

1. You gave me sunshine, in the midst of a freezing summer.

2. You gave me worship songs during Communion and at the end of service, despite my missing it at the beginning.

3. You gave me Communion and new insight into it's bonding power in You, LORD - into why we say "Grace before meals" - not just to Thank, buy to Invite You to join us! Thank You!

4. You sent me Scott to talk Entrepreneurship, when I thought he'd find me difficult.

5. You sent me www.MellowDeeCanada.com to say Hello and sing "Hallelujah", to remind me of Your omnipotence and unyielding grace.

6. You sent me Smart Set's very cool window display/creative advertising to make me smile and, in the midst of that

7. You sent three (3) 'clowns' who were trying to photo-bomb my Smart Set shot to make me laugh heartily (instead of my usual scowl in response).

8. You showed me the Bible verse (Psalm 34:4 ESV "I sought the LORD and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears") - on the subway.

Items 3-5 happened in the space of maybe 30 minutes! And I know that You simply changed my heart and opened my eyes! You are amazing!

Professional Artiste:

www.MellowDeeCanada.com

God, literally, even my mistakes, You've used for good, and my steps of faith, you have blessed.

Remove the fear that holds me hostage, LORD, and replace it with boldness to walk in the freedom You died to give me; that I might walk in the " flow" that is the Holy Spirit, free of the burden of circumstances, as only You can make possible. Let Your glory be seen in Every aspect of my being, even as You turn my flaws (in Your grace) to healing for others, and draw me into more Conscious Relationship with You.

Smart Set

, Eaton Centre - Jeans-in-a-Tube Display Campaign

I repent, as Your Love overflows in me, of my blindness and my unbelief, and Thank You for the simple yet unimaginably Powerful, gift of Your Presence. I revere You now, and always, LORD Jesus Christ, God My Father, Holy Spirit, and Thank You for being the wind that makes me, Your Eagle, soar for Your glory.

I will be exactly who I am, fully, in each moment, conscious and aware, so that Your work may be done in me, and in those I encounter, in Truth, in Love and in Holiness, so that we will all experience Freedom on You.

Starting Today. Love You, God! Amen.

How has God hugged

You,

today?

Following God & Loving Others

On April 14th, 2014, I wrote

"

Letting Go - Serving God Not Mankind

"

because I'd realized that I'd gotten stuck in making sure everyone is happy. There's a difference, however, between being responsible in your treatment of others and being responsible for the happiness of others.

Source:http://lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca/2014/06/following-god-loving-others.html

Yesterday, I posted something on Facebook (I tend to post only encouragement, so this was rare):

"

I fell for that age-old trick. No more. I will not compromise. My ability to do what is right is not an affront to you. Be where you are, I will celebrate your successes, but don't ask me to be less so you can feel validated.

"

I was having a rough day - a downward spiral in my mind of everything I've done wrong and how my mistakes may have made others' stumble. I sometimes think I'm alone in this, but yesterday, so many people related so strongly to this post, that I started to realize that this is an issue many others probably face. We have to find a way to stop. Happiness is not perfection; it is being in Christ.

Right now, thanks to my Church,

The Well on Bayview in Toronto, Ontario

, I'm doing the

Leadership Development Program, Level 1 (LDP1)

developed and delivered in Christ by the

Bethel Church in Redding California

. This month, we're building a

culture of Prophecy

into our lives, built on the foundation of God's Love - and never on condemnation. We meet monthly to share how the culture is showing up in our lives. Yesterday's session, which preceded that Facebook post, was really amazing. The whole meeting was about the myths that hold us back from speaking God's positive truth about people's lives into being, and it made us face a lot of our obstacles.

By the time I'd gotten home, however, I'd started to see how many people in my life I've fallen into "holding myself back" for, so they can feel better. Whether that's a sin they're still struggling with, that I don't struggle with anymore, or my drive and discipline around work and quality, that they either don't care about or haven't achieved yet.

The opposite is also true, though. There are things I still struggle with, that others have probably never struggled with, and they really look down their noses at me for it. Often, the same people I don't come down on for being weak in my strengths.

Yesterday afternoon, I felt like I was drowning. The burden of walking on eggshells:

holding myself back because of other people's need for validation, and

beating myself up because I make mistakes and I'm afraid I've corrupted others by sharing,

is simply too much. Recently, however, I've been repeatedly reminded that that is not my burden to carry. God gets my attention, however He does it (bless Him) and says

"stop! You answer to me. Not everyone's needs/expectations."

It's still hard to move that knowledge from my head to my heart, but I caution those of us who spend all of our time in community and carry this burden, that this is a big part of why we all need some time alone with God. Lately, I've been hearing a lot of teaching about "community in Christ", and that is very important, but the message on "personal time with Christ" has been dangerously silent.

For your sanity and your relationship with Christ, make the time to simply

sit with God and 'BE'.

Share all those those inner thoughts you have never shared with anyone, release all of those emotions you never release because they're "bad/wrong/evil/not self-controlled", in your moments alone with God. Only then, when these things are all brought into the light, that God can heal them in you. Community offers support, yes, but faith comes from your own personal

Love Encounter with God in Christ

.

Make the time.

If you're on Facebook, feel free to follow me on the

"Love covers All . God is Love" Facebook Page

,

for daily or at least weekly, encouragement. Bless you in the Love of Christ! Amen.

A Glimpse at the Price of Surrendering to Christ (Mark 8)

This morning, on "

God is Love - Love Covers All (Facebook page)

, I posted

Mark 8:35 (NIV)

 and said, "I'm starting to see this in so many different ways..." If you read it in context (

Mark 8 NIV

), there's so much in that chapter.

The Feeding Miracles

Miracles:

He fed 4,000 with 7 loaves and collected 7 baskets of leftover. He reminded them that he fed 5,000 with 5 loaves and 12 baskets leftover.

Interlude:

A few minutes later, He warned the disciples to "beware the yeast of the Pharisees, and that of Herod". As with most of us, who keep seeing our sin, forgetting that we have a Saviour, they though 'oh no! It's because we left the baskets of bread! We just have one now!' Jesus had to spell it out. He said their eyes were closed and their hearts hardened. What keeps your eyes on your circumstances instead of on Christ? Do you remember why Peter was able to walk on water? (

Matthew 14:22-33 NIV

) Do you remember why he started to sink?

Lesson:

All after He'd given thanks and broken the bread. God's math surpasses our logic. Give thanks and walk in faith and He'll move everything to meet your needs (came to mind that if all you have is bad food, He can make even that, nourishing!). There is nothing He cannot do. More, there is nothing we cannot do when we walk in Him, in Love.

The Healing Miracle

Miracle:

He took the blind man out of the city to restore his sight. He put His spit on the blind man's eyes to restore His sight.

Interlude:

Do you have that kind of faith? In his shoes would you have said "what the hell?!" and walked away without ever knowing what you missed because of pride? Or would you have surrendered your pride (riskyyy) and stepped out in faith to 'watch Christ work'?

Lesson:

(obviously) if you walk with God in Christ through the intercession of the Holy Spirit by faith, then regardless of how ridiculous the task you're called to, you'll do it. That is what says you know the God you serve.

The Point

Then He closes with 'if you fight for your life you'll lose it, but surrender it to me, and you will gain all'. Those were examples of what we could do, if we trust Him, walk in Him! This doesn't even scratch the surface of all the meaning in, the depth of, this chapter. (The Word is so awesome.)

Source:

www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Inspirational-Images/large/Mark_8-36.jpg

 for this post - 

lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca/2014/06/a-glimpse-at-price-of-surrendering-to.html

Everyone reads

Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

, and says lightly that they'll drop everything to 'seek first His kingdom', so they could have everything. Well, that means laying down all of your idols to make God in Christ Jesus first. Pride, power, stability, control, money, some friends and relatives - all that you hold above God - lay it down. Ready?

Praying for you to have such a strong love-encounter with God, that it would be inevitable that you put Him first. Amen.

Your Love Encounter with God (Part 1)

Right now, thanks to my Church,

The Well on Bayview in Toronto, Ontario

, I'm doing the

Leadership Development Program, Level 1 (LDP1)

developed and delivered in Christ by the

Bethel Church in Redding California

. This month, we're building a

culture of Risk and Faith

into our lives. Today, I'm listening to Chris Gore's session, 

"Today is a Great Day for a Miracle"

. He really confirmed what God has been saying to me, and it’s given me the courage to share it with you in this 2-part series: 1 – Your Love Encounter, and 2 – Others’ Love Encounter through You.

What Keeps You Busy?

Part 1

of this blog post is focused on

Your Love Encounter with God.

We can't share an overflow of something that isn't in us. How many of us are caught up in the "action" of loving God? We’re

results-oriented

or

task-oriented

in our prayer lives – that is, if our tasks even give us time for prayer. I mean,

“the laborers are few and the harvest is plenty”

, and that’s our job – right? How satisfied would you be with a prayer life where you just had to spend time

saying "God, I Love You" and hearing that back?

Source: 

http://lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca/2014/05/your-love-encounter-with-god-part-1.html

Full Disclosure

This is the walk that God has called me to. I have spent my whole life in a

performance-based relationship

with my God in Christ, the Lover of my Soul in the Holy Spirit, my Redeemer. For the past

five (5) years,

however, God has been pulling out all the stops to try to get me to understand that (

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

I know it in my head, but when all around you (even at Church) the call is "Do", "Do", "Do",

that head knowledge is never translated to reality.

For the past 2-3 years,

however, My Beloved Father in heaven has begun to, in a number of ways,

tie my hands

so I would not be able to do anything.

Literally

 – anxiety attacks that made me unable to move even my tongue,

financially

 – where I have nothing to tithe or pay my bills,

emotionally

 – where I am unable to forgive or manage my anger or fear. My mind, naturally, ran to, "where have I sinned to cause this", but God reminded me that I had forgotten that I have to

put first things first

(

Matthew 6:33 ESV

).

Funny, even as I'm writing this, God is reminding me to put first things first, again – His Love. This is the

verse of the day

on BibleGateway.com (

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

)

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."

Love is the Gospel.

What is a Love Encounter with God?

It looks different for everyone.

When you wake up and God says quite simply

"I Love You",

and you hear it and feel it in your bones. When you walk down the street and God interrupts your thoughts with

a flower, a cloud shape, a smiling face

in a sea of serious ones - just to remind you that

He loves you "just because".

When in tough circumstances you're so filled with the certainty of His Love that you know in your every fiber that

"all is well".

You know that

you're walking in His Love – it's never just one (1) encounter.

That is what God wants from You – Love Relationship with Him. That's what He wants from everyone, and so that is what we're all called to share. Everything else will come after we know His Love.

Healing, encouragement, getting others to come to Christ, all those

results

are God's responsibility. Yours is to bring His Love to people, but

only once you know His Love,

yourself

.

We all know the

1 Corinthians 13

definition of Love, but

do you know verses 1-3

(

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV

)? No matter how much you

Do,

if you do not first overflow with Love,

whose work are you doing? Yours or God's?

My Prayer for You

I pray that you have a powerful encounter with God's Love today, all week, and that every void in your heart is filled with this Love, to overflow! This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our LORD, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

(See

Part 2

for Others' Love Encounter through You.)

Moved by Love - A Prayer for Nations

Not sure why, but after watching this movie,

The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)

, and bawling like a baby,

I couldn't even stop myself from praying incessantly

for all the hearts wrestling with similar decisions. I repented for allowing the enemy to distract me, with my own problems, from

praying for nations

that have to struggle with these kinds of decisions.

I am grateful to God for His awesomeness in using this movie to shed new light on the meaning of

the Great Commission (

Matthew 28:16-20 ESV

).

 Sharing the love of God, honoring free will, I pray for wisdom.

Young people, men and women,

American, Pakistani, Iraqi, Afghani, Israeli, Chinese, North Koreans, Palestinian - countries torn by war,

by the politics and ambitions of a select few who use their power to manipulate the masses - and

even for these men who lead so many sheep astray,

I pray.

I ask that you join me in prayer:

Image Source: 

www.imdb.com/title/tt2032557

I pray that in Christ Jesus, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, people stuck in these difficult situations, faced with difficult decisions and conflicting loyalties, are moved not by man, but by the divine power of God to think, say and do God's will - knowingly and unknowingly, in all that they do. Just as in Joshua 1:1-9 (ESV) God told Joshua that wherever his feet tread He would give to Him, I pray now that as my heart has gotten wind of their hurt and pain, that "I receive" those hearts to give to God. I thank You, LORD, for Your unending, unconditional Love, and ask that You move mightily, even now, through those nations to restore their hearts to You - Only by YOUR Love, not through fear or manipulation, as has happened in the past. Thank You, God. Amen.

I posted this on my

Facebook page (

Love Covers All - God Is Love

),

before I posted it here, but

I had to make it more permanent

than simply Facebook.

Love You, LORD.

Bless you, All,

and may you never be faced with decisions such as those. If you are,

may you conquer evil thoughts with victory and Love,

always,

in Christ Jesus, Amen.

The Sin of Enabling Wickedness

The Sin of Enabling

Being honest is something we regard as righteous, in Christ, but somewhere along the way, we got lost.

For some reason, we're

afraid to be honest with ourselves

about ourselves, and so this is a realm in which our enemy gets to frolic... a lot.

The

"sin of enabling bad behaviour (

BE, not AE

) in the simple act of not being true to ourselves"

refers to

sin that abounds because we are not being ourselves,

acting as we naturally would when someone acts/treats us in a particular way, positive or negative.

Look at babies - there's a reason Christ said be like them.

Boundaries, setting and upholding them, are a feature of wisdom that comes from right relationship with God.

The Genuine Compliment

• Natural response: Smile, feel uplifted and say thank you, even notice a positive in the messenger.

• Faux-Godly response: refuse the compliment, highlight a million items of evidence proving it's not true.

Why? We misunderstand the true nature of modesty, humility.

We now believe confidence is arrogance. In doing so, we've created a society of confused people who never know when/how/if to pay compliments and honoring each other has become... "Awkward". We're deceived! We played right into the enemy's hands.

The Hard Slap

• Natural response: Flee, slap them back or speech them off, noticing weaknesses to pounce on.

• Faux-Godly response: "Please, don't slap me. I realize you (excuses, rationalizing bad behaviour), but...".

Why? We misuse the verse "turn the other cheek",

we've distorted our response. In doing so, we've taught that person that it's okay. Again, look at children. the first time they realize biting hurts, they stop... mostly.

Source:

lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca

In God's Image

I'm not sure why so many in the Church have decided that nature is evil - the Word says "the power of death and life lie in the tongue"

Proverbs 18:21

. We only see, "out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, ..."

Mark 7:21

, but

miss that it is our very hearts that God wants (

Psalm 37:4

, ). Not to destroy it! To heal it!

Because everything stems from your heart. Where we got lost, however, is in trying to do it ourselves.

By design, the natural responses we have, are their for a reason,

given by our Creator, God, in Christ. We help each other to grow by

being exactly who we are. No, not by making them be who we are.

 God in His Holy Spirit, or through these types of experiences with others, refine us into His image - it is not us, trying in our own strength to be that. So please be true to you, and take the displeasing parts to God, so He can change them. Amen.

Honoring Others

It is then, overflowing with God's love, through our intimate experience of His Love,

grace, mercy - His joy and hope, His honor - that we can truly love and honor our neighbours, and our enemies, and not help them along a path of eventual self-destruction by misleading them to believe it's okay to hurt us.

P.S.

For those of us who have decided that

all environmentalists are pagan,

think again.

You might want to re-read

Romans 8

and even

Genesis

. God didn't make the earth and say abuse it - what in God's character is like that? No.

We are to be good stewards i.e. take care of it.

Make Time for God - Avoid the Traps of the Enemy

There is no freedom apart from Christ.

You can't please people. You can't do everything perfectly. You can't always make the right decisions. You cannot ever always plan for every circumstance. So if your joy or freedom comes from "once I..., then I'll be happy/have peace/rest",

then you labor in vain.

True Freedom

God invites us to come to Him in Christ;

His yoke is light

(

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

). The yoke of the world is heavy - you're always 'behind', there's always one more thing to do, and living in the moment is a concept, but none of us are truly present for most of the moments in our lives. God invites us to that, and to answer only to Him.

Quite simply, God:

1. Invites you to seek, know, build relationship with Him. It is here that God's love heals, restores and leads to overflow. Wherever you go, you can't help but let that love overflow.

2. Doesn't hammer you for your flaws. He reveals as much as you can bear to see in yourself, so you can bring them to Him. God already knew every sin you'd commit, before he made you. (Psalm 139 ESV).

3. Calls you to be present in the moment, so you're not overburdened; "today's troubles are enough for today" (Matthew 6:34 ESV)

Three (3) Traps of the Enemy

The enemy's goal is - quite literally - to

steal, kill and destroy

(

John 10:9-11 ESV

;

1 Peter 5:7-9 ESV

). Anything that takes you away from God, is simply a tool that disarms you (removes all the armor of God -

Ephesians 6:10-17 ESV

) so that the enemy can play with you. Trust me; apart from God, you're putty in his hands.

His three (3) main traps:

1. Sin: he lures you into sin, then taunts you with shame and guilt, then you hide from God.

2. Busy-ness: he gets you too busy to focus or make time for God; thus you're “unaware”, ineffective.

3. Offence: he gets others' sin to offend you, so you judge others, instead of praying for, blessing them.

The Truth

1. God sent Jesus to die for your sin. Avoiding God (the only protection from sin) when you sin, is an obvious mistake. God doesn't want you to come to Him only when you're perfect. In fact, He uses what is weak to do great things! Before Christ, God's grace allowed Him to use Moses who murdered the guy, David who power corrupted and Paul who was killing Christians! David was a "man after God's own heart" because he went back to God! If you sin every 3 seconds, get up and go back to God every 4 seconds!

2. God gave you enough time in the day to do what HE calls you to. If you're "too busy", some of what you're doing is not what God's called you to. Certainly, there are times in life that are busier than others, but to consistently live that way... examine yourself. Is it God or man that you serve? God's yoke truly is light.

3. Once it hits you that the wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23 ESV), and that all sin is sin i.e. your bad thought = breaking all 10 commandments (James 2:9-11 ESV), you see what Jesus paid for on the cross. Once we realize that it is Only because we walk in Christ - not because we're 'good' - that we haven't done the bad things 'those people' do. God said, "you will be forgiven in the measure that you forgive" (Matthew 7:1-2 ESV) to remind us of all of this; not to make us feel badly.

Forgiveness - Only Possible in Christ

NOTE: We cannot forgive apart from Christ.

On our own strength, we understand why forgiveness is hard. We pray and ask God to give us forgiving hearts. [Important:

Forgiveness is NOT Reconciliation

- 

http://marshill.com/2010/09/27/10-things-forgiveness-is-not

. Please

don't put yourself in harm's way

in the name of forgiveness. Christ is wisdom incarnate - stay wise.]

Stay alert, stay in Christ, and stay free. Relationship with God sets, and keeps, you free.

Scriptures to Encourage Series (1) Proverbs 3:1-10

Source: 

http://wallpaper4god.com/wallpapers/proverbs-35_5567_1024x768.jpg

On days when it is challenging to stay focused on Christ because nothing seems to be going right, you doubt your actions or you're seeing yourself falling and can't stop, I hope this can be a bit of rope to hang onto in the midst of the storm.

My friend, and occasional prayer partner, Aleea, inspired me to write this series on the 6th March 2012.  Thank you, Aleea!  I hope this series inspires you the way it did us.

Proverbs 3:1-10

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

1  My son, do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commandments,

2  for length of days and years of life

and peace they will add to you.

3  Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;

bind them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

4  So you will find favor and good success

in the sight of God and man.

5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

6  In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

7  Be not wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

8  It will be healing to your flesh

and refreshment to your bones.

9  Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

10  then your barns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Source: The Bible, Book of Proverbs, Chapter 3, Verses 1-10

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%203&version=ESV

(Note: This version of the Bible may be different from that used above. Each version phrases scripture differently.)