The Art of Loving God

I’ve considered writing a book by this blog’s title: The Art of Loving God. It sounds rather mystical and religious. I don’t think I’ve grown too worldly, however I know I’m more down to earth than I’ve ever been. Maybe it’s our culture. We western Christians, especially in America, are practical, dress comfortable, and speak directly and plainly.

We keep pace with our changing world  while keeping close to God. He’s made me tech-savvy. I lost my cell phone last night and realized how dependent I am on it. One can feel lost without it–without the ability to connect with others. There most certainly is a parable here.

We change with the times and seasons as God relates to us differently as we to Him. I’m in my sixties, so I’ve experienced a lot.  I’ve passed through many seasons with the Lord, and Holy Spirit movements that not only affected me, but the Church. The Kingdom of God is here and still coming.

Evangelism was the main focus going on worldwide during much of my childhood years. Christian missions translated languages into written form and spread the Gospel I believe to every nation during my life. As a child, I grew up in a traditional church and adopted what my family had for generations been born into. When Jesus showed Himself to me personally at age 30, that’s when my heart became new and alive in God. These were the days when Jesus swept through our families, churches, and communities. The Jesus Movement.

The printing and production of Bibles and translations exploded to peoples and tongues. God was reawakening the church in my young adult years, and all kinds of denominations and traditions of Christian faith caught the fire. Yes, surprise! The Holy Spirit began baptizing people anew. Speaking in tongues and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the manifestation of spiritual gifts, became a sweeping movement across all denominations. I was in it. I think it rather unified us but not without some controversy. For me, it was about 36 years ago–right at the height of what God was doing to many.

Soon after, I discovered the Lord’s love for His people, the Jews, and I dove head first into the Messianic “movement” that included trips to Israel, Davidic/Israeli worship dancing, and I learned much about the early church and the roots of our Christian faith. This was a worldwide movement of the Holy Spirit and Messianic congregations popped up in most major cities wherever Christians gathered, not to mention many in Israel. This was strategic in God’s eyes because now the church was coming full circle–at last!

That was not all–God had more for me and the Church. There began a rebirth of mystical love. This is best described as His revelation of a deeper relationship with Him and involved the prayer of love, devotion, contemplative meditation, and a rather mysterious, wonderful bridal love for Jesus, the Great Bridegroom. Many of us came to know Him as the Lover of our souls and of the Church–and it was, and still is, blissful and beautiful.

These days now, what is God doing? Well, I think He is giving us time to grow in faith, to realize we’re part of a larger Story, to be wise in Him, steady in patience, ready for the second coming of Jesus. I mean, the world is spinning out of control. Mega churches are coming to life globally. I’m in one and it is all God! See www.elevationchurch.org. God is using our talents and our passion for Him more fully than I’ve ever witnessed. Also, persecution and martyrdom is rising. The dark grows darker while the light grows brighter. We need to seek first God’s kingdom now more than ever.

Communication technology is reaching the far ends of the earth with the Word of God. Surely we are living in the end-time harvest and the days of the preparation of the Bride.

Jesus told us to be aware of the signs of the times. So, when I look what He’s done in my lifetime, including the birth and gathering of the Jews to Israel, and the ways He’s revealing Himself to us, well, we must be nearing the last days and his return. We are at last becoming a Bride in love with Jesus, knowing all God has done to win our hearts.

God is the Artist of our lives, the Author of our days. But it is also a collaboration; we need to respond to Him. I guess if I could describe the Art of Loving God it would be to pay attention and let God love us the way he chooses and return love for love.

As A.W. Tozer beautifully put it: “God is a Person, and in the deep of His mighty nature He thinks, wills, enjoys, feels, loves, desires, and suffers as any other person may. In making Himself known to us He stays by the familiar pattern of personality. He communicates with us through the avenues of our minds, our wills and our emotions. The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thoughts between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion.”

God reaches out to us individually, strategically, globally, spiritually, supernaturally, naturally, and continuously. We are the object of His desire and purposes. Let’s be aware and respond. That’s the Art of Loving God.

 

***

I’m finally on Chapter 31 in the writing of Come and See.  I’ve reached the last days of Jesus’ earthly life. I’ve posted the current manuscript on a page here if you wish to read it. I’d love any feedback.

 

 

 

 

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What Delights God the Most?

I am writing COME AND SEE and decided this last chapter might make a good blog. My last blog is like this one; I am still thinking about how much David and Peter’s heart affected God. This chapter, while following the chronology of events in the Bible, mirrors the same theme.

Hope you enjoy. If you feel like commenting, please do . . . Others might enjoy what the Lord shows you through the many thoughts that might come through the retelling of this amazing relationship Peter and Jesus shared.

(By the way, the background of this website is the Sea of Galilee at the place where this story is strongly believed to have taken place. I stood on the highest rise of the shore when taking this picture, and behind me is a flat plain near Capernaum, at the foot of the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus fed the multitude and, later that night, likely walked on water from here.)

***

 

Chapter 16

“Do as You Have Seen Me Do.”

 

When Jesus had called the Twelve together,

he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons

and to cure diseases, and he sent them out

to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Luke 9:1-5

 

Simon Peter

 

Once I walked on water. Everybody talks about my faith, and doubt, regarding it—and the songs, poems, and who but the Lord knows the amount of art it inspired since then? It’s been preached, sung, and painted countless times. Of course, the part of my near-death by drowning is well-established.

Most agree, it took bold faith on my part to step out of the boat onto tossing waves, never mind the doubting and sinking part for now.

When I recall the experience, I see something quite the opposite. I see only one thing: Jesus’ reactions to me.

Imagine, Jesus believed in me—that I could do the same supernatural thing he was doing. It took more trust on his part to receive me onto those dangerous waves than it did for me to trust him. He knew I could do it.

That, I tell you, amazes me. You see, my faith in him so often failed me. My downfalls are historical facts of renown. I sank after a few steps only because I stopped believing I could do it. I worried the waves would be too much; I thought he would need to save me or I’d drown. And, that part was true; he did end up having to save me.

When I first saw him coming to us on the waves, I was thrilled. I called out to him, asking him to let me come to him. Seeing him, I felt invincible. He called back, “Come!”

I will never forget his look of delight in me when I leaped out of the boat.

Even though this miracle lasted only a few steps, I can’t begin to describe the exhilaration I felt.

The others in the boat could not understand what caused the preposterous thought to come into my head. Although such a foolhardy idea as climbing out of the boat seemed sudden, let me explain how it gradually came about.

Prior to my walking on the water, Jesus told us we were ready to minister to people in his name. This is what he said on the mount in Galilee, as he touched each one of us: “I give you authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, and proclaim God’s kingdom. Do as you have seen me do.” Then he sent us out two-by-two. According to his word, we accomplished signs and wonders and returned to him full of excitement, with testimonies of having done all he said we could do.

Shortly after, Herod beheaded John the Baptist. After learning of it, Jesus wished to be alone and so we set off in our boat to find a solitary place.  But the crowds watched us from the shoreline and, seeing him in the boat, they trailed along with us along the water’s edge. Seeing this, Jesus changed his mind, and we brought the boat to shore so he could minister to them—teaching and healing them until it grew late. He fed all of us with five loaves of bread and two fish. We ended up with twelve baskets of leftovers after he had fed thousands of people.

After all of this, he sent us twelve off in our boat to cross the lake and he sent the entire crowd to their homes. He still wanted time alone with his Father.

In the middle of the night, seeing our struggle against the wind and waves, he came to us, walking on the water.

Seeing him then, I knew he could do anything. He had just fed a multitude from practically nothing. The fact that he had no boat was not a problem for him. He’d come to our rescue.

My expectations of Jesus soared; I had worked a few miracles in his name, just days before. If he told me I could heal the sick, I could, and did. If he told me I could preach the kingdom in his name, I did so. The idea struck me that, if he was willing, I could do the same things he did and I wanted to test my theory.

When I sank, he reached for me, and scolded me with a laugh. “Why did you doubt?”

But I saw his face beaming at me—he was delighted that I’d given it a try.

Once, I did something worse than sink. It nearly destroyed me when I betrayed him. But, as it was on the water, he pulled me up from the threatening depth that nearly took my life. His look of sorrow for me became my worst memory of him.

I’ve learned an important thing: He trusts me to trust him. Even when I denied him, he trusted me to return to him and love him more than ever.

***

Jesus had found, in Peter, a man willing to believe and do the impossible.

In Peter’s letter to the churches in 64 A.D., he wrote, “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Peter saw himself and every believer as living stones. Considering Jesus’ nickname for him, the Rock, Peter certainly was that. He became a foundation stone placed directly upon the chief Cornerstone. Peter, the first to recognize Jesus for who he was, his proclamation of faith the first. Peter was first to receive keys to the Kingdom of heaven—and he found himself in a key place in the Lord’s plans, in his Spiritual House—the Church.

Are we to believe Peter’s faith was what so endeared him to the Lord in the first place?

Let’s look closely. Jesus liked being with Peter. You see it throughout all the gospel events. He was one of the three in Jesus’ inner circle. Peter, spontaneous and emotional Peter, was honest, authentic, and dedicated. Outspoken about his feelings for Jesus, he was also the first to preach the Good News of Jesus in public, convincing a couple thousand festival pilgrims to believe in Jesus and be baptized.  Peter was a man of faith-in-action. Is this what captured the Lord’s heart?

Perhaps it’s what Jesus first saw in Peter. Like King David—Peter’s heart was a heart after God’s own heart. Peter sought and found the wonder of God’s particular love for him.

Peter responded to his Lord like a wick to the flame. He returned love for love, which brightened all around him. Known for his bold, relentless faith and utter dependence on Jesus, Peter took hold of the keys Jesus gave him to the Kingdom, keys of Jesus’ own power and authority.

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It’s Something Only God Sees

“I had always felt life first as a story—and if there is a story there is a storyteller.”

G.K. Chesterton.

We are characters living out subplots, our life-stories, within God’s Story.

I began this morning considering Simon Peter and King David. Their stories are alike. David lived before Christ’s time, Peter lived during and after Christ’s time.

Both of them were known for delighting God.

They were nobodies when God chose them. David, a youth tending sheep had been overlooked and discounted by his own father and brothers when the Prophet Samuel came looking for God’s future king to anoint. Peter was an outspoken, impulsive fisherman the day Jesus made him one of His closest friends. To Peter Jesus handed the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.  Accepting a leading role, Peter helped Jesus usher in God’s Kingdom on earth.

What made God choose such unlikely characters anyway?  David became the most beloved king of Israel, the nation claimed by God to be his own people. He was such a significant person in God’s larger story.   Jesus identified himself as the expected “Son of David.”

Peter, whom Jesus nicknamed “the rock” was the first stone (the first to believe Jesus was Messiah and Son of God) to be laid in the foundations of the Spiritual Temple of God made up of all believers in Jesus.

David and Peter were put in leadership roles. Both carried the kingdom of God forward. And, yet, both of them were a mess at times. They sinned. They disappointed God. They were unworthy of the favors given. Sometimes they walked beside God in the Light, other times they chased shadows.  They didn’t merit the Lord’s love, calling, or gifts. But God saw something about them that much affected Him.

God chose them because of something only God sees.

The Lord chose David and Peter because of their hearts. That was the real attraction. God proclaimed that David was a man after His own heart. Jesus said many endearing things about Peter.  He is the only man who walked on water with Jesus and was the first to use Jesus’ healing powers with words of his own mouth.

What affects God most when He sees us? Our hearts.

These thoughts are helping me to put my priorities in order at the start of this new year. I pray the Lord will look at my heart and help me put the foolish things behind me in order to enjoy walking in the Light beside Jesus, and to even walk on water with Him this year.  My desire is to realize that my little life can be like David’s or Peter’s—this is my time in history to do my little bit for Him and His Kingdom. But, mostly, it is my time on earth to appreciate the Lord’s love, care, and favor.  I want to live the Story God sees for me. If I live out of my heart, it’s what only God sees, but it is what He likes.

Priority One: Delight myself in the Lord.

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Once Upon A Time – The Fullness of Love was Born

At first sight, Miriam shares her joy . . . 

I loved Yeshua so much I cried. He was mine. He came from God, and he was mine.

I studied his fingernails, each one so tiny and delicate. I marveled at his eyelashes, so beautiful against his face. His nose, his chin, everything about him was perfect. Curled little fists, I easily opened them to examine baby-soft palms. His mouth, a flower bud, puckered while he slept.

How many times I kissed his head I don’t know. I couldn’t deny my lips from his crown of fine hair.

His newborn smell was like no other scent. I had heard my women relations speak of it, of how a new babe’s smell steals the mother’s heart and binds her fast. I was his long before this. But, by all that is holy, holding him in my arms, well, I never knew love could feel so wonderful and strong.

He brought his finger to his mouth and began sucking it so hard it made smacking sounds. This thrilled me and I realized I should nurse him. When I tried, he preferred his finger. This, too, amazed me; he had a mind of his own, even while he slept, and only minutes old.

I thought to wake him so he would properly nurse. “Come on, little one! Come on, precious, open your eyes! Come on.” I moved him this way and that way until he began to stretch his small body, arms reaching above his head. His voice squeaked and he squeezed his eyes tighter, all of this part of the stretch. Then his eyes fluttered open and he was awake.

Are you looking at me? I gasped with delight, but the words were silent in my head. “Shalom, little one. Shalom. I’m your mama.” I touched the tip of his nose with my finger. He blinked.

My mind filled with joy. Adonai, Elohim, he is straight from heaven, straight from heaven! You are the Holy One of Israel and you have done a wonderful thing to me.

I brought him to my breast and his head trembled in search for the nipple. Then, with sudden discovery, he hungrily latched on. I was been made for him. I gazed at him and listened to his sucking sounds. I held more than a miracle close to my heart; he was Heaven’s surprise and promise.

He – is – wonderful.

***

Scriptures to Meditate upon this Season of the Year:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him,
and without him nothing was made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:1-5

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with
justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

“Do not be afraid, Miriam; you have found favor with God.
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Yeshua.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Luke 1:29

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Fools for God

Sometimes my beliefs seem crazy. What Christians believe have the surface appearance of really farfetched tales of fiction. I sense this sometimes when speaking to one of my grandchildren about heaven and hell, creation, angels and demons, and more. Stranger than that are the people of biblical record. One man built an ark before the world was purposely flooded by the Creator. A reluctant preacher spent three days inside a whale because he refused God’s call to warn the people in a certain city. A donkey talks to a prophet while an angel nearly runs him through with a sword for being uncooperative. Really?

If any of these examples were in headline news today, we’d scoff. What would you think if you heard an undefeated, famous weight lifter with a long ponytail say that he’d lose all his strength from a haircut? We’d call him a nut case for sure.

And, what about the BIGGEST one of all? Jesus, the only man-God to grace our planet. You’ve read the Scripture that forewarns this one as a fool’s Reward, right?
[ Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom ] For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Therefore, we “fools” can be ecstatically thankful that God left His throne to live among us before He died on a cross to save us. We claim His shed blood makes us as white as snow. We hear God’s voice and are members of a spiritual family with a King and a Kingdom to belong to. One day we plan to celebrate a wedding feast with the majestic, glorious Bridegroom, the Love of our hearts and lives. Yes, this is what it means to be a fool for Christ.

Praise our wonderful God, the rewarder and Reward of our faith, for He has given us unquestionable proof and EVIDENCE for all we believe.

Earth’s past, present, and future is a book God is writing; it’s a Divine Drama of love, romance, adventure, conflict, sacrifice, complete with a Hero and happy ending.

When I was in third grade I heard my first lesson of faith. The teacher wrote on the chalk board the following:

Question: Why did God make you?
Answer: God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

I didn’t know at the time that God would pursue me relentlessly the rest of my life. It would be a while before I would learn about His relationship and plans for people on earth, with Israel in particular as a major part of the plot, of the unfolding revelation of Himself and His desires. He wants our hearts.

Faith was never meant to be rules to follow or doctrines and truths to grasp. It’s a crazy, wild love affair. It’s funny how God operates. He confounds those who are wise in their own eyes and gives depth of wisdom to the simple. So, fools rush in!

 

I tried to upload a document for EVIDENCE of our faith: THE JEWISH MESSIAH- Prophecies of the Bible and How Jesus Fulfilled Them. However, it didn’t work on this blog site. If you go to http://www.mmontreuil.wordpress.com – you’ll see the same blog post “Fools for God”  and at the bottom of the page is a link to a pdf file.

 

Or, send me an email and request it from me.     [email protected]  

Then pass it along to anyone or everyone you know. It is especially convincing for Jewish people that Jesus (Yeshua)  is the long-awaited Messiah.

 

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Surprise! Unwrapping God’s Presence

God came to us as a stranger. Nobody expected to see the Messiah come in the way He came. God fulfilled the prophecies about Himself but not in ways anyone could grasp. Really, not even those closest to Jesus understood who He really was, not until after the resurrection. Even then the realization came slowly.

 

God in a manger was a scandal. But, what glory it was in reality. If one could fully grasp the significance of the event, the wonder of it . . . well, of course, we cannot.

He hid Himself for our sakes.

And, today, in our personal lives and stories, it seems the same is true. Jesus can, anytime He decides, unveil His awesome power (that glorious Divinity), to prove His presence with us in similar ways He did during the days He wore sandals. He showed His glory through miracles and loving wonders and still does. We long for those times, don’t we?

He lived 30 years without any sign of being anything but an ordinary man. And, for about 3 years only did He unveil the beauty, the wonder, the mystery, of His presence.

I think He lets us miss Him, lets us yearn for answers, watches us grope in the dark for His will—all for good reason. I think it is so that He can surprise us. The favors come on His timetable, though, not ours. He sets us up in situations and circumstances that make us need Him. It is unavoidable, this dependence we have on Him. Yet, in this way, He is continually changing us and wooing us closer. Our faith grows. We begin to see Him more clearly, in places we hadn’t expected to find Him.

 

God became a crying baby in diapers, for Heaven’s sake. He was truly the Creator of the universe, don’t forget. This is in keeping with His character.

 

No doubt about it, Jesus enjoyed shocking His friends. He did it often. His first miracle was in the production of an extravagant amount of wine. Imagine the glee on Jesus’ face as he watched the wedding guests laugh and dance. He healed everyone He came across and showed generosity at every turn. His anger surprised folks, too. He turned to stone occasionally—because He couldn’t surprise the religious leaders with His generosity, with His desire to forgive and dazzle people. No, Jesus wanted people to enjoy His presence, not shun His kindness. He wanted to steal hearts, after all—that’s why He came.

 

I think Jesus graces us with similar miracles today—ones He often never gets the credit for. I have personally experienced quite a few. Even so, I often feel like my prayers are not being heard because I don’t see immediate results. Or I feel confused and unable to make decisions, with what seems like no direction from above. But, if we ask for guidance and we hear crickets, does it mean God isn’t listening? No, I don’t believe that for a second. I have to remind myself, He answers at the perfect time and in the right way. He has always been this way. Above all, He wants us to know He is truly with us. He is present.

 God loves to surprise us.

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