Jesus, Our Doorway To Bliss

Here is the post that I wrote for Phil Drysdale's blog. I wanted to share it on my own page as well because I feel that this encompasses so much of what the Lord has been speaking to me about lately.

Jesus, Our Doorway To Bliss:

Blood gushes from the wounds of a scorned King and stains the wood on which his tender body hangs. The curtain tears violently, along with His flesh. Through his wounds, lost children run into the open arms of their Father, Creator. Through the torn curtain a Royal Priesthood shamelessly enters the Holy of Holies, their eternal dwelling place.  A divine exchange. Separation for union. Striving for rest. Desert for Eden. He became the new and living way, the Ancient doorway unto the Everlasting God, and invited all to step through the curtain of his broken flesh into a new life, real life. As I lifted my feet in faith and walked through the cross-shaped door, who I once was gave way to who I was created to be.

A few years ago I had a head-on collision with the real Gospel that had been hidden under the illusion of freedom that was once my reality. This marked the start of a radical pendulum shift in every avenue of life, every thought process and every once warped view of Father God and myself. As if I had been born-again, again, I began to see everything with new eyes through the lenses of Grace.  I traded in my do-it-yourself morality program for a life of embracing all that he had already done for me. His blood purchased in a moment what a lifetime of human sweat and tears never could.

Ever since, Jesus has swept me off on an adventure of discovering the sweet and intoxicating dimensions that lie like secret passageways behind the cross.

For the most part of my Christian life, the cross meant forgiveness of sins and this was the pinnacle of its purpose, until Holy Spirit opened up the world behind the John 17 prayer for union. Jesus prayed “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am.” At the core of God clothing himself in humanity, was an unquenchable desire to not only be with the ones he loved, but to have them inside him, and he in them. As the sinful nature was the only thing that stood to prevent this, through his death, he changed the genetic code of everyone who would come to him by faith and through a divine transaction, replaced our sin with his own holiness. Like the mixing of two colors, we have become one new substance in Christ, and the Father cannot tell where we end and Christ begins. “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

The mystery of “Christ in me” is one I have been blissfully freefalling into since the day he revealed this to me, and I know I will never see its end. Life as a new creation means that we not only have access to Christ, but we have his DNA and have been grafted into the bloodline of the trinity. Wherever we go, the holiness in us diffuses out into the darkest parts of the atmosphere that are most thirsty for the reality of true light.

As new creatures in Christ, we are his dwelling place, the contact point between heaven and earth. We live with one foot in time, the other in eternity whilst our entire being is saturated in his presence. Christ doesn’t live in one compartment of our hearts, but all of Him dwells in all of us. Every cell, every atom filled with all the fullness of God. We haven’t merely come into the tabernacle, the tabernacle has become us. Living, breathing vessels of the presence of God, a bride that with one glance of her eye captivates her beloved. He has created us with the ability to take his breath away, to mesmerize Him with our flawless beauty as we sit at his banqueting table adorned with jewels of purity and draped in robes of righteousness. The King swept us off our feet and carried us into the bridal chamber, the innermost place of intimacy where he is eternally delighting in us. Whether our consciousness realizes it, we are ever being adored by the King, ever feasting on the bounty of His house, and ever drinking from the torrent of divine pleasure. His presence is not something we come in and out of as the ancient priests once did, but is a constant state of being that is both in us and around us. Whether in solitude and on our knees, or in the midst of chaos and confusion, we are the target of all the Beloved’s affections and all his delight is in us, his bride. (Song of Solomon 7:10).

“The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation, the Kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21). Our walk of faith is not about lifting ourselves up onto our tip-toes trying to reach to the top of heaven’s closet and pull the nearness of God towards ourselves. The Kingdom has been placed within, this is where the King is enthroned, and this is where he can be found. Distance from his presence exists only between the ears. To assume we are still separate from the King and can know distance from his presence is to assume Jesus failed on the cross. Intimacy is the height of his desire. Oneness was His mission. Union is the trophy of the cross. He in us and us in him. We walk to the rhythm of the beating of His heart. Our spirit dances with His to the Song of Songs. This life is a marriage of wills, a harmony of desires and an infusion of two things, that have become inseparably one.

Some people travel the world to find themselves. I find myself hidden in him

Support My Dream

My vision for 2012 is that I have a vision that goes beyond myself, my own needs and wants and my own haves and have-nots. 

This year my vision is to see my life change the lives of those around the world through the power of genuine love, honor and service. 

Life is too short to live it just for yourself, and this year I am choosing to lend a helping hand to the world at large, in the big and small things alike. 

If you would like to get on board and help me fulfill this vision, here's how:

Here's the link to my Bethel profile in which you can donate towards the mission

https://www.ibssm.org/?action=donate&target=missions&student_id=214279

Birth Determines Identity

"Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's  disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased,grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 5:18-21

How many sins does it take to become a sinner? None.

We were once called sinners not because we committed a sinful act but because we were born into the bloodline of Adam. Through one man's sin, all who would be born upon the Earth would possess the same nature as their forefather, a nature prone to sin. It was not what we did that made us unrighteous but who we were. Birth always determines identity. You are given your father's last name and it is His blood that pulses through your veins. You didn't become a part of your family by mimicking their actions and gestures, rather you were born with their DNA, and just as you did nothing to receive their genetic code, so you can do nothing to change it.

How many good deeds does it take to become righteous? None. 

We have been made righteous not because we did any amount of good deeds but because we were born again into the bloodline of Christ, the last Adam. Through one man's life of righteousness, holiness has been imputed to all who simply believe that he died for us, and with us, so that he could ascend to the Father carrying us in Him. Birth always determines identity. We were not adopted into the family of God by trying to mimic the life of Jesus and climb the ladder of the law hoping to someday make it up to heaven, but by our simple faith in Christ's accomplishment's on our behalf, he gave us his DNA, for we died with him, a death to the nature of Adam, and were raised with him to a life of righteousness. We did nothing to deserve this, nor can we do anything to change this.

Now that's amazing grace. 

Guest post for Phil Drysdale Ministries

This week I had the honor of writing a guest post for my friend Phil's blog entitled "Jesus, our doorway to bliss." Click here to read it.

The Holy of Holies: Our Eternal Dwelling Place

If the bible says "For He raised us with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms" (Eph 2:6 NLT) yet we are not experiencing this reality through the medium of our senses, can we then conclude that we in fact do not have a stake in the eternal realm?

Thoughts like these along with others have been swirling around in my mind as Holy Spirit has been schooling me on 'the presence of God.' I have come to realize that we live in a world that is a playground for the senses, so much so that it seems as if it's easy to neglect the most important 'sense' and component of our Christianity, that being Faith. If our eyes do not perceive it, it does not exist. If our ears cannot distinguish it, it is not real. If our hands cannot reach out and touch it, it isn't truly there.

"We live by faith and not by sight" is a verse that has been playing over in my mind for weeks and the more I meditate upon it, the more I realize that the best things in this Christian walk cannot be seen but must be perceived through the lenses of Faith. I hear it time and time again amongst believers how distant they feel from God during certain seasons or how they wish they could just draw near to Him and feel Him as they once have in the past. Could it be that we are searching for Him where he isn't instead of believing where we are (Seated in heavenly places. In the holy of holies. Hidden in him)?

Practicing the presence is a 'discipline' if you will, that Holy Spirit has been little by little showing me the ropes on. The constant and continual awareness of His presence by faith is what I want my every day to be based upon. He is always there, regardless of whether I perceive him or not. I am always in heavenly places regardless of whether I 'feel' it or not. We are always together, in the holy of holies, caught up in a each other's loving embrace, regardless of whether I deem this to be true or not.
I have been learning that my quiet times and blissful moments in the secret place need not differ from when I am taking out the trash, reading a novel or even fast asleep. The awareness of his presence is as simple as the shifting of your gaze and 'looking' to that which is unseen as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 4:18. Ancient mystic and author of "The Practice of the Presence of God" (A book I read on Tuesday) Brother Lawrence captured the essence of what a life in the presence was designed to be. This father of the faith knew God in the mundane just as well as he knew him in the secret place. He refused to let there be a distinction between the prayer closet and the workplace. God is in everything and so by faith he chose to see him in everything. Simple, yet profound.

I once carried around the theology that entertained the thought of it being possible to move in and out of God's presence at will, because my 5 senses seemed to support this idea. The thought of the presence being a continual state of being, an eternal habitation was slightly more elusive because my sensory perception could not grasp it, and so I dismissed it. He is bringing me back to a place of realizing that I don't have the ability to turn what Jesus accomplished on the cross on and off whenever I please. His work is an eternal work. He became as are so we could become as he is. Constant, continual abiding in the Holy of Holies, by faith.

God is as much in Heaven as he is upon the Earth, for we know that all things are held together by the word of his power. In science it is a known fact that tiny vibrations hold all particles of matter together. Could the very words of God spoken at the dawn of creation be the glue that holds it all together? Of course. As much as we are upon the earth, caught up in the realm of the senses, so we are positioned in a world, God's presence, that transcends this. Knowing him every millisecond of every day is as easy as taking a breath because it's no longer a place we are working to enter, but a place we live in and live from.

Exerts from "The Practice of the Presence of God" which I adore:

I began to live as if there was none but He and I in the

world.

{written about Brother Lawrence}
His very countenance was edifying; such

a sweet and calm devotion appearing in it, as could not but affect the beholders. And it was

observed, that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, he still preserved his recollection

and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its

season, with an even uninterrupted composure and tranquillity of spirit. “The time of

business,” said he, “does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and

clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things,

I possess GOD in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.”

And I make it my business only to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I keep myself

by a simple attention, and a general fond regard to GOD, which I may call an actual presence

of GOD; or, to speak better, an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with

GOD, which often causes in me joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes also outwardly,

so great that I am forced to use means to moderate them, and prevent their appearance to

others.

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual

conversation with GOD: those only can comprehend it who practise and experience it; yet

I do not advise you to do it from that motive; it is not pleasure which we ought to seek in

this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because GOD would have us.

He is always near you and with

you; leave Him not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone, who came to

visit you: why then must GOD be neglected? Do not then forget Him, but think on Him

often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him; this is the glorious employment of a

Christian; in a word, this is our profession, if we do not know it we must learn it.

The Vision. The Army.

I found this on a blog called The Eden Hijack and later found out that it originated here. This struck my core so powerfully. It's so profound and speaks directly into so much that Jesus has already set ablaze in my heart. Enjoy. 

"The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.

You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons. They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice. They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won. They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence. They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying. What is the vision ? The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation. It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games. This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause. A million times a day its soldiers choose to lose that they might one day win the great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground The whisper of history in the making Foundations shaking Revolutionaries dreaming once again Mystery is scheming in whispers Conspiracy is breathing… This is the sound of the underground

And the army is discipl(in)ed.

Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms. The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ? Can hormones hold them back? Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?

And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking, with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter! Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.

Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside.

On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide. Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.) Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus. Their words make demons scream in shopping centres. Don't you hear them coming? Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon. How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed."

Under the shadow of His wings

I inhale Him. I exhale peace. I've lost myself. I am found hidden in the chamber of his heart.


If anyone is searching for me these holidays, I'll be nestled under the shadow of His wings. Resting under the apple tree of divine refreshment, where his fruits are ever sweet to my taste. The Prince of Peace is teaching me to rest. Abide. Linger.


Silent night. Peace on Earth. He is leading me by the hand, taking me back to the pure essence of the holidays that has been buried under the chaos of tradition. Forget the presents, I'll be delighting in the presence.


Looking over my shoulder, I see three months of holy, blessed chaos. Learning much. Getting to know many. Exploring myself. Letting go. Embracing change. Shifting paradigms. Redefining meaning. Question marks fade. Promises fulfilled. Flames kindled. Hope awakened. This is has been my daily reality as a ministry school student, and a partaker in a season of more bliss, enjoyment, and fulfillment than was ever painted on the canvas of my imagination.
But, whilst being swept away by the winds of change, He reminds me to keep breathing. Keep resting. Always abiding.


As the Christmas Holidays have embraced me with open arms, I realize that their timing couldn't have been more opportune. Like Adam, who knew nothing apart from day seven's sacred rest, woven into my DNA is a longing for Eden, a desire for ease, silence, stillness and ceasing to do anything but know that He is God and He is good. Busyness and chaos wasn't as much His idea as it was society's. I am a vessel of peace, I was born to lie down in green pastures, while his voice like rushing waters flows over me, flows through me. As the curtain tore, my Shepherd led me back to Eden, which is now within me. Rest is internal. The wellspring of life is in me. He has made himself at home in the tabernacle of my heart, and I recline on the sofa in His. My God designed rest, and then created me with the longing and ability to enjoy it. Adam knew peace outside of himself, I have the Prince of Peace abiding within. Adam walked with God at twilight's dawn. I walk with him unceasingly in my garden, my heart.
Rest is internal. Rest is His essence. As I sit under the shade of the Almighty, I feast on the fruit of his works, and my heart beats to the rhythm of the song singing "it has been done."


He calls me. "Come away my love." We sit beside the River of life. "Jump in," He calls. I trust. There is no fear in His love. We float in the colorful waters that flow from the throne. His embrace reminds me of what he has done. Those nail pierced hands testify of a better way. The way of peace. The way of life. "What could you do that my blood has not already done?" He whispers. "Rest my child. Lay your head on my chest, so I can sing salvation's lullaby over you once again."

Revelations on the Song of Songs {Part 1}

In studying the sermons of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux on ‘Solomon’s Song of Songs,’ it has been like the unveiling of great treasures as the dimensions behind this biblical poetry have unfolded. What lies beyond each sentence and each word, far surpasses anything my imagination could conceive, and has left me captivated and reveling in the mystery of the fierce force of love that the inspirer of this book has for the subject to which it was written.

Below are some of the revelations that have captured me whilst on this journey into the interpretive depths of this book:

On the title of the book:

There are many psalms, hymns and spiritual songs recorded throughout the length of the bible written by numerous authors on varying points in the timeline. However, there is one song that stands out from the rest, and who’s author has been so bold as to award it with the title of “The Song of Songs.” Even before moving into the luscious substance of the book, we already know that it’s subject matter is that of highest importance and to be valued above all other ’songs.’ This is a book of mystery, a book who’s words and phrases can induce a state of spiritual intoxication within the reader, and a love story that has been exhaled from the mouth of the source of love itself. As Saint Bernard so states, this is not merely a song of the lips, a harmony of voices or the resounding of a melody, but it is the music of the heart and a harmony of wills. “It is a tune you will not hear in the streets, these notes do not sound where crowds assemble; only the singer hears it and the one to whom he sings - the lover and the beloved. It is preeminently a marriage song telling of chaste souls in loving embrace, of their wills in sweet concord, of the mutual exchange of the heart's affections. “

On Chapter 1:1 - “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth”

This book tells the intimate tale of a flourishing romance between two virgin souls: a bridegroom and his bride. In reality, it was written about King Solomon and the Shulamite woman who captured his heart, but in essence, it reveals the heart of the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ towards us, his church and his beloved. A bride and bridegroom have been carefully selected to depict Jesus and his church for many symbolic reasons that give us further understanding of our relationship with him. “A man must leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife,” and so Jesus, in leaving the Father and Spirit in heaven and coming to earth in the likeness of humanity, is much the same as a bridegroom coming for his bride. She, the beloved, then leaves the place of her birth, her native land and becomes one flesh with her husband. No longer separate entities, the two are joined together in perfect and inseparable union. They dwell together in the same house and feast at the same table. All he has belongs to her, and all she has belongs to him. So it is with us in relation to Christ. We have become flesh of his flesh, and in this place of union with the bridegroom King, we partake in the abundance of his house and dwell forever in his courts of luxury. 

The bride is the first to open her mouth and sing out the desires of her heart. Her words are the first recorded, and the book begins with a request that she has of her beloved. She does not name him, for she presumes that what her heart could not for a moment forget or cease to desire, must be plain to those with whom she speaks. She presumes that they must surely know his name, for He is all she ever cares to speak about. 

She is a bride, and she is a lover. One who seeks a reward is a worker. One who hungers for victory is a warrior. One who desires an inheritance is a son, but one who seeks a kiss a lover. She, certain that her beloved’s affections for her are true, does not attempt to seduce him or convince him of her worthiness to be loved, but out of the unquenchable overflow of her heart, she abruptly bursts into speech and boldly asks for a kiss. 

The bride does not desire Moses or the prophets, for what proceeds from their mouth only leaves her feeling unfulfilled and in search of the one of whom they speak. She doesn’t lust after dreams or visions, revelations or doctrines, nor does she peruse angels or heavenly delights, for she knows that Jesus, her beloved, far surpasses the entire combination of these, and therefore she asks of him what she asks of no man or angel, that he would kiss her with the kisses of his mouth. 

Now the kiss in itself is altogether a mystery. What is intriguing is that the bride does not merely ask him to kiss her, but she specifically asks to be kissed with the kisses of his mouth. A kiss is something that has it’s being in the coming together of the giver and the receiver. It is not something that is possessed entirely by one or the other, but as both draw close to each other, a kiss is formed. A kiss is something that unites two things together, in this case, God and man. A kiss is a symbol of both union and peace. Jesus, in his nature is representative of the kiss. He is an expression of the union between divinity and humanity, and he stood as the mediator and bond of peace between God and man. The mouth denotes The Word, which is God “In the beginning was the word, and the word was God.” In the same way, that which proceeds from the mouth of God, the very breath of God, symbolizes the nature of Holy Spirit. In the scriptures, when God breathed upon man, he was breathing his very spirit upon them. So here, in the bride’s request, we see the triune nature of God expressed. 

The bride’s desire is union and intimacy in it’s deepest form. She also yearns to know her beloved. As she asks to be ‘kissed with the kisses,’ she knows that she will be filled with both the love and the intimate three-fold knowledge of her beloved. “No one knows the Father except the son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him,” because of this, the bride knows that if she is kissed with the kiss (which is Christ), she will receive the knowledge of the Father, for she knows that if he will reveal himself to anybody it will  surely be her. 

These are just a few of my revelations on the first verse of the Song of Solomon, and as I continue to delve deeper into this book, I will be posting more of the treasures I find.