My Humbled, Learning Heart

From Brendon: Well, the first week is over. We've seen laughing in the Spirit, singing, praying in the Spirit, healing, weeping and repentance. I love it all. If I were to highlight my favorite moments this week my blog would be much, much longer than Kara's (which I highly recommend you read if you haven't).

God is opening my eyes and my heart more to Him each day. Before I came here I rested much of my relationship with God on what I KNEW, with my mind, He wanted and what He had taught me in the past along with my current knowledge base. I've learned that does not matter to Him so much as my present state of relationship to Him. He wants me NOW, and ALL of me. Jesus wants to (present-tense) be in relationship with me and keep me close. God the Father is wanting to bless His children, WANTING to pour out vast amounts of His love upon us if we would only position our hearts in a way to receive it from him. Before this I thought my 30-45 min. every morning of "quiet time", being patient, reading Christian Literature and not raising my voice, made the Father happy. Not so much. The relationship was stagnant and my joy in Him was rare. HOW AWFUL! He is waiting, just WAITING to pour out His fullness over us! Instead of receiving that, I would comfort myself or choose to be entertained. Sometimes I wouldn't really choose either, but just sit surfing the internet with mind numbing material.

This is only the first week and I have experienced more of the sweet love of Jesus and the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit than I have in my lifetime. All I have done is received it and said "yes" to whatever the Lord had. There is another critical factor here and it is that we are in a community of people who have said "yes" to the fullness of His will. Such a thing would not have been possible without such a community.

I'll end with a verse I've been meditating on: Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; the knowledge of the Holy One is revelation." Do we fear the Lord? Really? Or just know we should? Knowledge is not academic, but intimate, as a husband knows his wife. It is this knowledge of Jesus that leads us to revelation of Him, because it is in that place that he is willing to reveal it to us.

I love you all and I pray that you would experience Proverbs 9:10.