The Lord is offering us His Face to gaze into like a Father looks into the eyes of His children that we would see Him and He would see us.

Kelly Koshatka of Denton, Texas wrote that, “God’s heart is crying out through the scriptures that we would see Him. This is not about “imagining or visualizing the face of Jesus”; rather it relates to a heart searching to know God, “face to face” by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Only God Himself, by His Spirit, can open the eyes of our understanding to see the Lord in this way. What is something if it does not have a face? Anything that is faceless is without identity. What is our relationship with the Lord like if it is with a faceless God? What kind of walk do we have if we relate to God below eye level?” Who or what is your focal point and where is your horizon? Do you see the Lord through a veil which hides your face from the very One who desires with all His heart to live everyday life face-to-face with us?

Many years ago i was involved with a street level ministry. It was a real hands on thing, as with any street level ministry….there were many who seemed unwilling to be anywhere else doing anything different …. some had physical problems, many had mental issues….a lot of folks just seemed wedged in a crack and couldn’t seem to climb out….it was a great opportunity to practice compassion, grace, and often a real exercise in keeping good boundaries. Over time i had gained an attitude that “i” was “in ministry”, that “i” was the “helper” and “they”, yes….. the infamous “they”, were the ones being helped….“I” (with a captial “I”) was stooping down to help the “little ones”. Mind you, i didn’t consciously see it that way, but being where i am now and looking back at myself, my attitude, and past actions i can see my secret posture. Not only do i see what was in my underlayment, i also remember the significant moment when the Lord challenged me and my attitude, and how, in that one moment, the Lord struck and cracked my outer shell. One day i met an old black fellow, skinny, nearly toothless, cataract in one eye, he was homeless and liked it that way….. yet there was something real about him. He went by the name Tabb Roberts…who knows if it was his real name…. either way, once a week i’d buy a couple cups of coffee and go by Tabb’s place (which consisted of a tarp with some blankets) and we’d talk about Jesus, laugh and carry on for a while till he would usually announce he had some stuff to do. One day he was telling me about another guy who was so lazy that if the man had a job tasting pies at a pie factory he wouldn’t show up. It was a pretty good laugh, but then he got all serious, turned to me and said, “You know Capt’n (his nick name for me was Capt’n), we need to be careful what we say and how we act because we never know out from under who’s eyelids God is lookin’ at us from.”

It was a defining moment….i thought i was getting “Eye Level” with those who were “street level”, but really i was more hovering over them, forcing them to be in something less than a “face-to-face” relationship.

“Eye level” means getting next to people where your eyes and their eyes are on the same level, physically, metaphorically, and spiritually…. just like the Lord did with mankind through Jesus Christ…He got eye level with us. Up until the advent of Jesus Christ, the Lord was not “eye level” with us, but when Jesus came to town, God got right where He could look straight in the eyes of mankind. God gave us His face.

Some would simplify the whole concept down to saying it is “meetingpeople where they are”, which truly is a good idea, but i believe the Lord has something more in-depth in mind. The idea of “eye level” has everything to do with where your horizon is and what exactly is your focal point…..being able to see our horizons helps us put objects, both near and far, in proper scale and perspective in relation to where we are.

As in all good art, having no clear view of the horizon or focal point tends to skew and distort everything….little things are too big, distant objects are too near, irrelevant positions and postures seem too detailed, and the important things are set at a distance and made too small and insignificant. It seems that everything is just…..”too” something. Too big, too little, too far, too near……just “too” something.

Can you see the twisted world view that can happen when something as simple as having an obscured horizon and confused focal point occurs? The world around us is no longer “eye level”. The value of things change as our “eye level” changes.

When Jesus came to town, our potential relationship with God was miraculously changed. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” God came to us as Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, crucified under Pontius Pilate, died and was buried yet rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty. He is Emanuel, God with us.

God got “eye level” with those who were “street level”. He looked them eye-to-eye, walked and talked with people face-to-face; He heard their voices and they heard His, ear-to-ear; He touched people, skin-to-skin; and He felt with them, heart-to-heart. When Jesus came to town, His very presence changed their horizon and focal point, drew the universe into right perspective and sharpened the focus on all things relative to the Kingdom of God.

In the world we live in today, there is such a fight going on for what is on the landscape of our lives…..the more walls and obstructions we allow to block ourframe of reference, the easier it is to have a confused horizon and difficult to keep a righteous perspective. Leonardo di Vinci said, ‘Perspective is to painting what the bridle is to the horse, the rudder to a ship‘. Jesus, Messiah, the Christ of God became our horizon and focal point, He is our frame of reference, the righteous bridle for our perspective. The closer He gets to all things, the more all things become like Him.

John 1:16-17, “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Jesus had some guys He hung out with….early on in Matthew 5 they are referred to as disciples and by Matthew 10 they are called apostles. God didn’t stand over them and hold Himself aloof and untouchable….He was there, “eye level” with the world and anyone who was willing to hold His gaze.

Jesus and the guys went places together, sat and ate together, and had conversations late into the night. They were more than just at “hand level”, meaning they didn’t hang out with Him for what they could get from Him. They were more than just “mouth level”, meaning they didn’t hang out with Him for the cool stuff He said; instead it was a day-to-day “eye level” life, meaning they hung out with God because of who He is. They went on camping trips, like in Luke 9 when they went out to a desert place, or in John 6 when it says they went up on a mountain, and “there He sat with His disciples”.

They even went on some short term mission trips, like in John 4 when they went to Samaria and an entire town heard the gospel. God, Jesus Christ, was “eye level” with the stumbling, the floor sweepings of society, the distraught, wounded, sick and dying. He even….are you ready?…. He even touched the diseased. It was against the rules for anyone to put their hand on a leper, but God touched a leper in Mark 1:40. Jesus broke the rules and actually touched the ones who were, according to society, below “eye level”, or even below “street level”…maybe just “gutter level”.

i find that the Lord addresses the motivations of our hearts, our attitudes and posture far more than our actions, and getting “eye level” with the Lord is about the motivations of our hearts. i figure if we really want to know someone we look into their eyes, hoping for a glimpse of character and intent. When Jesus got “eye level” with this world He was pressing past all our external junk, all our agenda’s, all our props and poses to meet with us, eye-to-eye, that we would encounter His face, that we would look into the eyes of God and see His true heart, and get lost in the star systems and galaxies of who He is. i really believe something amazing happens when we have an encounter with God’s Presence….the Hebrew for “presence” literally means “to encounter The Face”….it is a life changing encounter, a world and destiny changing event. Our faces identify us and reflect our attitudes, passions and opinions, and i believe the Lord wants to be known by us, for we are the object of His affection.

The Lord chose to come and be “with us” that we would know Him. So much of the world chooses to live below “eye level” with God, a place where there is always a short supply of passion, truth, and honesty.

Less than “eye-to-eye” with the Lord, relationships seem to eventually lack persistence and solid content, but when He is the focal point of our horizon and we take Him up on His offer of living at “eye level” with Him, it is amazing how life simply seems to roll smoothly together.

In Mark 8 Jesus healed a blind man. Verse 25 says, “Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.” In the man’s “looking up” he looked into the face of Jesus, he got “eye-level” with God, and in the moment things changed forever; when He looked into the face of the Lord, in the instant …..he was restored and, i like this phrase, he “saw everyone clearly”. Now wouldn’t you really really like to have a big dose of seeing things clearly?

Ephesians 1:17-18, “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18  the eyes of your understanding would be opened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,”

When the Lord is our horizon and focal point it draws all things into right perspective. Job 42:5, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” How many of us are only on “ear level” with God, hearing but never seeing?

Don’t get me wrong, being able to hear Him is both wonderful and imperative, but according to Job’s statement, there is more of God to be had by going beyond “ear level” to beholding His face at “eye level”. It seems that Job’s circumstances were very perplexing to him. What’s worse, he had some friends who tried to clarify it all for him, but truth be told, they made even less sense in the end. In fact, and this is just what i think, Job and his buddies suffered from their faces being veiled. But at the end Job has a radical change of heart  from “ear level” to “eye level”.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18, “Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13  We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14  But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15  Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. 16  But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17  For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” Some of the key words there are “see” and “reflect”. With our eyes on the Lord and being “eye level” with Him, we are changed.

2 Corinthians 4:3, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,”

People who’s eyes are veiled seem to easily slip into bitterness, and confusion…..their forward momentum only runs just so far. They know God, they hear Him, and there is a relationship, but there is often something missing for lack of a face-to-face relationship….. they aren’t “eye level”. When we rest our eyes on the face of the Lord, old things pass away.

With an unveiled face we are consistently pursuing the things above where Christ is seated on the right hand of God Almighty, we are steadily setting our minds on the things above, which is “God level”, not the things on the earth, which is “earth level”; for we died, and our life has been hidden with Christ in God.

If we’ve got an “eye level” relationship with Jesus, He is being made visible and we are being made like Him.1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

The words of my mouth have long been, “Jesus is the answer, He is always the answer, and there is never a time when He is NOT the answer. ”If Jesus is our answer, then we will seek His face, becoming “eye level” with God, that we might reflect His image in all our bearings and postures. Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. ”Who or what IS your horizon, your focal point that influences your perspective on everything? Think about it.

Secrets build fences, confession builds bridges. Early in lifei didn’t know the Lord, i lived with a veiled face below “street level”…..as a resulti had to learn to live within my own fences. When i was younger, there were things…. secret things in my life that i was so ashamed of i simply couldn’t look some people in the eye.It may have appeared i was looking at them at times, but honestly their gaze was just too penetrating for me.  Not until i got “eye level” with Jesus, and learned to behold His gaze were any bridges built across my fences. My veiled face changed because i did more than hear, i beheld his face. Ahh….to behold His gaze has more in it than just glancing at Him when we think He isn’t exactly looking at us. To behold Him, meaning to consider, to contemplate and discern…. it is not only a looking upon, but clear discerning. Living “eye level” with God is more than just a momentary seeing but is a way of having and keeping our communication and affiliation steady; it is more than just a passive thing, it is alive and active…… the more we look at Him, the more we want to look at Him, and the more we see Him, the more we want to see Him. Paul had a burning desire above all things and that was “To know Christ”. He was “eye level” with God…..and you?

When Jesus walked among the crowds of people in Matthew9, He was at “eye level” where they could look straight into His face. He wasn’t sitting somewhere way over yonder beyond the blue, unseeableand untouchable….God was amongst men, they could see Him and He could see them….He lived this life as we live this life in all it’s goods and bads. There is no affliction in the realm of men which our High Priest cannot sympathize with, for in all points He was tempted as we are, but yet He is without sin….. When the disciples were in a boat in a storm and Jesus was resting in the bow, He was “eye level” with them, they lived and breathed in the gaze of God. In Matthew26:6, when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, he was “eye level” with who was considered in that day as the “scum of the earth”…. the leper didn’t get on Jesus, Jesus got on the leper, darkness didn’t get on Him, He got on darkness. He was “eye level” with the floor sweepings of the world. As Andy Squyres writes in his song “Not In My Strength”, “Has He not called the disqualified, the poor and the prodigal sons; scum of the earth, the bankrupt and blind, the lost and unfortunate ones.You know me well, i’m all of these things, yet He still calls me His own. He’s washed me in blood, under the cross, so i boldly come to His throne.”

What or who stands at your horizon? What or who is your focal point which causes all things to come into rightperspective? Are you “eye level” with God? Eyes that are shut and hearts that are turned in the wrong direction will not be aware that God is in the house. Let us get “eye level” with Jesus and let Him take us up to get “eye level” above the world, up to the mountain tops and down into the ditches, compelling all we meet to come home.

A face, be it human, or otherwise, tells us a story, short or long. What is it about faces which seem to get in our hearts so quickly?

Numbers 6:25-26 , “The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

There’s the face of a building, face of a corporation, the face of a book cover, a new product, movies, musical endeavors, the face of love, evil, battle, even our character presents a face to others. There is the face of a nation with many pictures representing a time frame in history. There are even false faces called facades, like a building or house has a facade, or the smile of betrayal.

To me, the sight of a face offers my mind something special, it identifies the person and reflects their attitudes, and passions. It is more than just features …  it conveys emotions, intent, and identity of the whole individual… our faces even reflect how we lean in our heart towards God. That’s pretty incredible considering the whole of a person can, most of the time, be summed up in their face. i don’t think the same thing is true for our body though. Body language, or “cues” such as posture do indeed convey some social information, but the image of a body does not substitute for a face. God has built something very important into the face of everything with a face.

The face is also used to refer to the character of God, especially his favor towards his people. For God to turn his face to his people was to offer them his grace and help; for God to turn his face away from his people was to withhold his favor and blessing. And to seek the face of God is to seek his favor and blessing..

In Genesis 32:30, Jacob said, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” … because Jacob saw God face-to-face, he named the place Penuel (pen-oo-ale’ ), literally meaning, “the Face of God” which was a place not far from Succoth (soo-kohth’ ) the place of huts made with entwined branches, east of the Jordan River and north of the river Jabbok (yah-boke’ ) which means “to pour forth”.

To be in God’s presence, literally in Hebrew means, “an encounter with The Face”. What is it God has built into a face which communicates so, so much of ourselves to other people?

i’m adventuring to discuss what’s in a face, our own “face value”, and the face of God which changes our lives. As the eye is the port to the soul, the face, considered to be extraordinarily revealing, reflects the contents of the heart.

Our physical body, though absolutely important, helps us make sense of the face. Body posture supports facial expression. But our faces … ahhh, it’s such a big deal advertising companies are always looking for the “new face” to represent their product. And taking someone at their “face value” is more like believing what they say without needing proof. But then, the world is filled with dazzling visions, so much so, everyone seems so easily “lost in the dazzle”. Well … there it is, to be “lost in the dazzle”.

So much of everything in the media influences people to take things at their “face value”, meaning the superficial appearance or implication of something, especially when it’s less than the actual value. i’ve said this before but i felt it good to say again: We are constantly asked by the news media and our government to take everything we see as probably real, and we all seem to often be repetitively shocked to find out things were not as they were posed. Taking someone at their “face value” is more like believing what they say without needing proof, yet increasingly, more and more people are requiring proof of what is portrayed or declared.

At some point, we will see Jesus “face to face”, and for some that will be the greatest day ever, and for some, well … not so much.

1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

If we say we’re going to see someone “face to face,” we may mean we’re going to have a meeting with that person, or it could also mean to have a confrontation with them. We might say we’re going to say something “to their face,” we would have spoken openly in that person’s presence.

How about having a “long face” implying a sense of gloom, while a “shining face” speaks of a sense of happiness or contentment, like Solomon who pointed out that “a joyful heart makes a face cheerful”. If someone “puts on a bold face,” he attempts to appear confident and courageous. And having a “false face,” would be an attempt to hide our feelings or opinions. When i was little, my mother would reprimand me because i “made a face” at my sister, which would indicate my contempt.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, an “idiom” an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its words, and we use many idioms in our communications every day. Like to “face up” to a problem is to say we confront the problem in an effort to resolve the conflict. To “fly in the face” of some one’s opinion suggests we’ve taken action contrary to an accepted policy, or belief. And to “set our face against” someone would be an open defiance in opposition to that person, or like in Luke9:51, Jesus “set His face” to go to Jerusalem, like saying He was determined with all power to go there, doggedly determined, regardless of any opposition. Isaiah 50:7 speaks of Christ, who was to come, that He would “set His face like flint”, meaning when He was struck, sparks would fly, and the fire of restoration would be at hand.

Someone may not want to “show their face” somewhere, meaning they don’t want to allow themselves to be seen, lest they either “lose face” or “save face”, which are idioms meaning to take shame to themselves or to keep what honor they possess. Covering our face may indicate grief or shame, or as Elijah covered his face in the presence of the Lord in 1 King 19:13. In Ezekiel 38:18, the Lord says when Gog comes against Israel His, “fury will show” in His face.

Our faces are powerful and express attitudes or emotions behind our actions. Even the earth and moon are said to have a face like when Cain was forced out and complained that God was “driving him from the “face of the land,”, or the “man in the moon” who’s face on the moon can be seen with a little imagination.

Again, our faces are powerful to righteousness and truth, or deceit and lies. Our faces can tell our stories if seen with discerning and wise eyes.

           The world is filled with dazzling visions, so much so, many are easily “lost in the dazzle”. It seems, underneath the “face value” of the world around us, many things are blatantly self-promoting, promoting their own values, their own satisfaction, their own passions where, in the end, their opinion becomes the rule, with the hope of financial gain and self-advancement are hidden in a subtle undercurrent.

But then, what if we couldn’t see someone’s face? We would be far less inclined to be swayed by what our eyes take in. Through our eye comes what we see, and part of the dilemma is how we interpret that vision … what we think we see, imagine we see, wish we see, what we perceive we see, hope to see, conjure to see, or even psychotically see … maybe we even project ourselves into what we see.

Advertising has become such incredible psychology: we are led to believe we have the attention of what we are looking at, but that is an illusion, what we are looking at has us and we just buy into the face value of it all. Pornography for example. Viewers believe the person they are looking at is giving them their full, individual attention. We read that attention into movies, photographs, advertisements, etc. Why? Even when we know what we are looking at isn’t real, and the person in the picture/video doesn’t know us from anyone … and isn’t interested in knowing us … why do we project like that? Is it because, underneath it all we are looking for favor, recognition, validation, to somehow feel included? Maybe so. i believe many people generally feel somewhat excluded. Maybe it’s a point of having imagined power.

We are called to live as God’s sons and daughters able to see not only with our natural eyes but in the spiritual realm.

Maria Vadia, in her book “Victory In The Eye Gate”, wrote, “As a prophetic people, we are to walk by revelation so that we can be “light” in the midst of darkness, our faces bright with His presence. We have been empowered to carry on the works of Jesus and we are not alone in this; we partner with the Holy Spirit!”

Being “in God’s presence” means … what to you? When i imagine “being in God’s presence”, i see myself in a dark room with a flashlight. The light that came out of the flash light not only shone on the floor but actually lit up the room. The light went all over the room, not just on the floor, and i thought, “… is this what Your Presence is like Lord?” Noticing the light from the flashlight and my being in it was more than just a casual observation, it was a purposeful looking.

A Hebrew perspective of “God’s presence” means “an encounter with The Face”, and the face reveals the person. Jesus said if we have seen Him, then we have seen the Father. There is even a “Philosophy of The Face”, or “Theology of The Face”.

The “face of things” is a big deal, but above all big deals is the Face Of God. With Him the precedent is set, and in His face is all the abundance of life. He is self-evident, self-revelational, self-inspirational, self-sustaining, self-disclosing, He is ever-living and ever-lasting, the only person who is self-aware, totally self-assertive, and totally moral, The One who causes everything to be because He Is, and He calls Himself “I AM.” In His face the precedent was set for redemption from the beginning and He no longer hides His face from us.

Job 26:9, “He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it.” If God hides the “face” of His Throne, it cannot be known and is not open and disclosed. Jesus came and gave us His face, for the first time, if we have looked Jesus in the eyes we have looked God in the eyes for the Lord is not hidden from us but has gotten eye level and face to face.

God threatened Israel in Deuteronomy 31:17, 18 and again in 32:20 that He would hide His face from them if they didn’t straighten up, in other words He would make Himself unfindable and unknowable. When Jesus came, everyone had then, and has now, the opportunity to know the Lord, and by looking into the eyes of the Son we are transformed from glory to glory.

           2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

When we open our face to others, we are being open, disclosing, and receptive to change. Sadly, people have gotten good at hiding their wounds and secrets from being seen in their faces, but if we’ll take the time to just visit, the pain of life will become evident in the faces over time. i believe many, many people are in pain, on one level or another, and the only hope for relief is Jesus who lives the hearts of those who believe on His Name. We are those with a heart draped in the love of God which has a gentle, modest, faithful character, giving a light to our faces that can’t be duplicated by the best cosmetics and jewelry in the world, for a carefully groomed and well-decorated exterior is artificial and cold unless inner beauty is present. A garland is a decoration or a crown, often surrounding a window with a view. Our faces are like a window with a view, particularly our eyes, revealing the garland of grace on our hearts.

Speaking of having an open face and possessing depth of soul in our eyes, Hiram Powers, an American sculptor said, “The eye is the window of the soul, the mouth is the door. The intellect, the will, are seen in the eye; the emotions, sensibilities, and affections, in the mouth. The animals look for man’s intentions right into his eyes. Even a rat, when you hunt him and bring him to bay, looks you in the eye.” To look in the face of God is to be changed forever, transformed, and beautiful again, as we were in the beginning.

Job 41 speaks of dealings with Leviathan, what i believe to be some sort of terrifying sea creature possibly. No one seems to know precisely what “leviathan” was. Although its identity is shrouded in obscurity, we can possibly conclude it was some sort of aquatic creature of the ancient world. i found verse 14 most interesting where it says, “Who can open the doors of his face?” For years i didn’t understand what that could possibly mean, i even wrote myself a note to investigate and stuck it on the bulletin board as a reminder to not miss God’s wisdom in that … and i did search to understand from time to time, but came to no further explanation until the last six months or so.

To “open the doors of his face”. i think it means to open the person of Leviathan that he would be known, that we would see him as he is, that his intents and purposes are disclosed. To “hide my face” would mean to not allow myself to be known, to be closed and non-disclosing, and to “open my face” would be to let others in, being open and willing to disclose myself. We’ve all met people who have, what some would call, a closed face, meaning they are unreadable or they have a “poker face”, just like there are others who’s face often reveals their thoughts and feelings.

Being in God’s presence is an “encounter with The Face”, and by Jesus Christ, the Lord has opened His face to us. He is not hidden … He is findable and knowable. God “opened the doors of His face” to us so we would know the glorious, and abundant life and love He has given to us.

In Gen31:21 Jacob fled from Laban, his father-in-law, he “headed for (‘set his face toward’) the hill country of Gilead. The key phrase is “he set his face”, meaning with all power he was determined to go to Gilead. In John 4, my paraphrase here, Jesus “set His face” to go to Samaria, He was determined to do what was in front of Him to do. In 2Kings12:17, king Hazael “turned to attack (‘or set his face toward’) Jerusalem”. Num24:1, When Balaam “saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but “set his face toward the wilderness”. In Dan9:3, the prophet Daniel, reports, “I turned my face to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and sackcloth and ashes”, meaning he went before the Lord with all his breathing, thinking, and feeling to plead the case of his people.

The following may be a bit adventurous to bring into this forum, because the concept may simply be too large to do it justice, but i’m going to present it anyway for the reason of giving us all an idea that the face of God comes with more than looking into the eyes of God Himself.

Here goes: In the New Testament, “Presence of God,” as used in 1Cor1:29 is a Greek word, “enōpion”, which is made up of two words, “en” and a derivative of the Greek word “optanomai”.

Now, the second word is where it gets interesting. ‘Optanomai’, which is from the primary word “optomai” (where we get our word English word optometry and it’s variations from) implies a “seeing” and alternates with the word ‘horao’ – which is “to stare at or discern clearly.” And then there is an easily followed trail, that leads through degrees of “seeing” and “visionary” type experiences which i think to be quite a revelation. There is a passive seeing like knowing the floor is under your feet, nothing of special note but we are aware it is there; there is an active “seeing” like purposefully looking at something; and then there is the idea of “looking at something with eyes wide open in amazement”. Do the foot work, don’t take my word for it … go look for yourself. In fact, let me encourage you to try and not take someone’s doctrinal views at face value, even if they are a valuable, reliable resource … you do the work, and you go look for yourself to see what scripture says. It’s not like we don’t have a plethora of information to draw from. God is knowable and findable if we’ll go look for Him.

If the Hebrew perspective of “the presence of God” is an “encounter with the Face”, and the New Testament, “Presence of God,” reveals a visionary experience when we encounter His face, then i think we can add the two together to show that with an encounter with the face of God, there also comes a “seeing” where we see Him, He sees us, and we get a spiritual seeing imparted to us by being brave to look into God’s face. This is like saying if His Presence is always with me, then i am also having His “seeing” playing in me like a video. The problem is i’ve also got a mix of worldly vision playing in me, and as a result of a life of being “lost in the dazzle”. What God-vision i’ve got in my head and heart is often mingled with the world vision, so i, all too often, tend to throw the baby out with the bath water, discarding my spiritual vision in an attempt to dislodge the worldly images. Rather than set a path to divest myself of the dazzling world view constantly presented to me, i simply disregard it all.

Let us abandon our input of worldly vision to sanctify our God-vision that we would walk more circumspectly in the world we live in. i can’t help but think understanding this a little is another key to prophetic “seeing”.

Jesus carried the promise of Isaiah 50:6, “I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” Jesus “opened His face” to us that we could open our face to the world.

As i awoke the other morning, i was thinking of all the refugee’s coming to this country. In the gray place between awake and asleep, the Lord spoke to me saying, “Let them in.” At first i thought to stop resisting the influx of people this country, but as the days followed, His meaning was not about them but about me. “Let them in” meaning that i should stop hiding my face from the world … let them see my fallibleness, and they will also see all the restoration and redemption in me too. It’s not to fear others will see my failures, but for glory of the Love of God in my heart.

The Lord promised us in Ezekiel 39:29, that from now on, He would no longer hide his face from us making Himself unfindable and unknowable, the He would make Himself open and disclosing …  then the Son of God came and gave man the face of God for the first time in history. He is not hidden any longer and we should not hide our faces from the world either.

Friends, and i do mean friends, brothers and sisters of the cloth, let us be brave to deal with our hidden, secret things. Bring them into submission and obedience of the word of God, resolving those scary things of ourselves and let our light shine. Psalm 34:5, “Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” God gave us His presence, His face, and it has changed us forever. Think about it.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” The closer God gets to all things, the more all things become like Him.

Just like Jesus did in Luke 9:51, we must “set our faces” with all power and determination to step into God’s appointments and provision which He has given to us. It does not have to be an unhappy thing either. Franz Delitzsch was so right when he wrote, “To behold the face of God is in itself impossible to mortals without dying. But when God reveals Himself in love, then He makes His countenance bearable to the creature. And to enjoy this vision of God softened by love is the highest honor God in His mercy can confer on a man; it is the blessedness itself that is reserved for the upright.”

Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do. Breathe on me, Breath of God, Till I am wholly Thine, Till all this earthly part of me, Glows with Thy fire divine.

Seek His face continually, for God has come to speak with us face-to-face that we would behold His face with rejoicing, gladness with a shout in the middle. He is the risen One, and the sorrowful crucified face of Jesus now gives way to the glorious resurrected face of Jesus. The face reveals and conceals the nature of a person, and as a result the face of Jesus, is the Face of God toward all humanity for redemption and healing from the wounds of sin, death, and the grave. For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son, that whom so ever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life. Amen!

Though the thunder has rolled across the years, sometimes shaking me to the core, and lightening has struck my house a few times, though the storm has pounded in my head and outside circumstances have nearly ripped me apart, i can say with all sincerity, through it all, Jesus has been my close companion. i have come to such a place of surety which is so necessary to all people, that i know the Lord is with me and i shall never be left needing more than Jesus. It is well with my soul, regardless of all the madness which surrounds me, regardless of all the insanity i have perpetrated upon myself through wrong expectations, poor choices, and twisted thinking, regardless of all that, it is well with my soul.

Alone in a dark room at age 19, too high to realize i needed a Savior, regardless of my inebriation, i met Jesus. That night, for some reason it seemed like a good idea to ask the very Jesus i hated and didn’t believe in, to come into my life and take over. i didn’t plan it, i didn’t hope for it, i didn’t particularly believe it, it was just time and so i called on His name. Many many years have followed and i’ve had to choose Christ again and again, sometimes every morning, all day, and again at night. i was told countless times Jesus has got you but i really don’t think i believed it like i thought i believed it.
The days have come and gone like the seasons, and through it all, my eyes have been on Jesus. i can honestly say it is well with me, even when my eyes can’t see, it is well with my soul.

In Mark6, Herod had his morality challenged by John the Baptist. It irked Herod so much that anyone would have the nerve to challenge him, he had John arrested and put in prison. Now don’t you know, as John sat in a dark place behind bars, he was probably a bit dismayed. Scripture doesn’t say, but my guess is that John knew his fate to some degree and found comfort in the arms of the Lord whom he served to the end. He knew, regardless of what men would do, it was well with his soul.

In Acts12, we read that James, the half brother of Jesus had been put to the sword. About the same time they rolled Peter up and threw him in prison also. To top it off, not only was Peter in jail, but was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and there were even sentries in front of the door as further security, guarding the guards who were guarding Peter. Reading Acts 12, it’s easy to think he was probably cold, very uncomfortable, and more than a little hungry and thirsty. If he was, i can also understand how he would also be discouraged. But he knew something. He knew Jesus. He knew the Lord had grace for him and that His love was higher than any mountain and deeper than any sea. He knew God gives light in the darkness and restores every heart that is broken, and even in the worst places it was well with him, no matter what men would decide to do with him.

The Lord has poured out grace and brought us out of darkness and fills us with peace. He is our help in time of need and we can’t help but sing, for He is faithful, and all His promises are yes and amen. He pulls our lives from the ashes and sets the captives free, whomsoever would be free. He is faithful forever. It is well with my soul.
In Acts16 we read that Paul cast an evil spirit out of a woman. Her pimp, which is about all her master amounted to, complained and the multitude rose up against them. The magistrates grabbed them up, had Paul and his team thoroughly beaten and then threw them into prison, giving a jailer the responsibility to oversee them. Then in Acts16:25 it reads, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Why did they sing when everything about their circumstances screamed at them as to the unfairness of their circumstances, demanding an answer as to where was God? Why? Because they knew whom they served, that the Lord was with them, would never leave them, and it was well with their souls.

No other name is greater than the name of Jesus. We can rethink it all, re-decide our re-decisions, but the bottom line is Jesus. He has broken the power of sin and darkness, He shakes the whole earth with righteous thunder, leaving us breathless in awe and wonder, it is Jesus and His amazing grace and unfailing love. He took your place and carried the cross that should have been yours to carry, and brings your chaos back into order, that it would be well with your soul. There is no other after Jesus, He is sufficient, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and prince of peace. Friends, after much deliberation within myself, after much searching and struggle, i can honestly say it is well with my soul. How about you? If you’d like to be able to say it is well with your soul, pray this with me, “Jesus. Forgive me my sins. Come into my life and take over Lord. i can’t do it anymore. i need you and i want it to be well with my soul. Let it be so, from now on and forever my God.” If you prayed that with me, friends you’ve got to know, those aren’t magic words, but the beginning of a new life walking with the Lord of Lords. They are words for you to use every morning and every night, for you to choose Jesus with everyday. You have everything to gain. i want you to know, like i know for myself, it is well with my soul. Come to the river, come home, taste and see that the Lord is good.

What do you think?
i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries.

There is none beyond the name of Jesus. He alone is the focus and end point to all our thinking and breathing. There is not another way into the presence of God but by Jesus the door. There is not one who comes after Christ who supersedes all He is. Jesus was and is the last, the appointed one, Savior of all mankind for any who would come.

1 Peter2:6-8, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word….”

For those who may not know, a cornerstone was everything when building a structure in those days as well as today. The cornerstone needed to be the straightest of the straight and squarest of the square so that the rest of the builder would be built straight. The quality of the rest of the entire building was based on the quality of that cornerstone. And i’ve got to add….A building that leans will not endure. Jesus, the cornerstone is our standard by which we develop our character and standards, and there is not another who came after Him. Christ alone is King.

Too many people try to make Jesus conform to their lives, rather than making life changes which conform to Jesus. Churches sometimes spin the clear teachings of scriptures in order to have larger numbers, keep the people happy, keep them coming and keep them giving. If that is our attitude and operation model, then plainly put, Jesus is not our cornerstone and our lives are not built on Him.

Remember this: When we build our lives on Jesus, we will not be put to shame, and these days, shame keeps a lot of people crushed under the heel of darkness. When we work to build on Christ the solid rock, we will be established in our lives and, again, will not be shamed.

We may be rejected by people, but when we are built on Jesus, we will never be abandoned by God.
Believe this: Our trials and hardships are not a symbol of God’s rejection. No! That is called retributive theology, do good/get good, do bad/get bad… and by no means is that God’s heart.

Our identity is not found in the opinions of humanity. i think children and teenagers are exhausted at constantly being asked: How does that make you feel? So much of the news service makes a big deal about how people feel, and then they exploit feelings and public opinion in order to advance their agenda. God is far more interested in our faith than our feelings. Our state of being, our feelings, come and go on the wind, but our standing in Christ is made sure by the blood of Jesus.

Hear this: Never let your state define your standing. i’ll say that again: Never let your state define your standing. Think about that carefully.

Reuben Morgan explains that “When the earth shakes, we look to our feet and wonder what it is that we are standing on? When darkness seems to hide His face; In every high and stormy gale; Through the storm; My anchor holds”. It is a desire to place emphasis on Jesus and a prayer that people everywhere – regardless of circumstance – will be encouraged to find hope in Christ, the Cornerstone.”

There is not another whom Jesus paved the way for, any and all others fall short at His glorious feet, and all others are liars and pretenders to the throne of God. There is not “Jesus and another who is greater who came later”. Nope, only one Savior and there’s not another who came after. My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus’ name. When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. My anchor holds within the veil. When he shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then in Him be found. Dressed in His righteousness, alone, Faultless stand before the throne. Christ alone, Cornerstone. Weak made strong in the Savior’s love. Through the storm He is Lord, Lord of all.
Revelation17:14 says, “… for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

Isaiah the prophet spoke the word of the Lord saying, “ “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation.” He was speaking of Jesus. In Acts4 Peter aimed his words directly at the Jewish religious leaders, stating, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone”.

In Eph2, again Paul speaks of Jesus as the cornerstone, saying, “You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone”.
Jesus is the foundation of the Church as well as for the life of each believer. If Jesus is not the Son of God, if he did not die on the cross for our sins, if his resurrection from the dead is not evidence of the Father’s acceptance of his payment, if we do not gain access to Jesus’ cross and accomplishments through faith, and if the Holy Spirit was not sent to us to renew , strengthen and sustain us, then we have no reason for any hope at all, other than to look forward to suffering. The key here, once again, is that our hope and help are not based on the idea of Jesus or his cross, but on the actual, historical person of Jesus and the actual-historical cross upon which he hung.
Christ alone is the foundation of the Church as well as for the life of each believer. Jesus and no other is the cornerstone upon who hinges the redemption of the universe for any who would have it.

What do you think?
i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries.

My dad was a WWII veteran. He didn’t talk too much about the action he saw, but occasionally he’d let a little something out, and my brother and i were always fascinated. One little story i remember him telling about was concerning the constant feeling of vulnerability and danger, the ever-nagging feeling none of them were safe, even when in a port, they still felt beyond safety’s borders. He told us about, during one engagement, he watched other ships getting torpedoed and bombed, then sinking into the deep in a plume of smoke and fire, yet somehow the ship he was on slipped through the bullets, bombs, and torpedoes. He told us about picking up survivors from destroyed ships out of the ocean, alive and dead, and sometimes even watching men disappear into the jaws of unbelievably large sharks. He said a couple of times they even had to abandon the rescue efforts in order to survive being destroyed themselves. His next words have always stuck in my mind, he said, when pulling the rescued sailors from the water, they all wanted to go home, they just wanted to go home. Why home i wondered, and you’ve gotta remember that most young people can’t seem to wait to leave home, so that wasn’t an unusual question.

Later in life, having suffered many things myself, i have found that at life’s most terrible times, when things seemed at their worst, i too just wanted to go home. Lately, i believe the Lord has answered my question “What is it at home so much so that it’s the only thing on our minds when things are bad?” The Lord says it’s largely because it is the place in our minds and hearts that represents the safest place we know. Home was a safe place for many of us… yet others, well, not so safe at all. Either way, all people, in their heart of hearts, have a need for safe places, places of sanctuary, but sadly those places are getting harder and harder to find.

And i suppose i should add, there are those who are politically motivated who create safe places which exclusively cater to people with an overwhelming victim mentality in order to advance their personal agenda of gaining power and control. It seems they can’t control people who have their heads and hearts on straight, so they prey on those who seem to be trapped in their iniquity and transgression, who live in a vacuum void of God’s wisdom.

i’m Social Porter and thank you for joining me here at Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the river’s edge, and every evening is pleasant.

Is your home a safe place? Within our relationships with friends and family, our government, or our jobs, is there any safety in them, or are we always on guard, having to watch what we say, how much we tell, having thoughts of wanting to just run away to the desert or deep woods where no one knows us, our life, or our name? Safe places? Are they really safe, and is there really safety to be had anywhere in this world beyond the sanctuary of the covering of Jesus Christ?

In 1 Kings 1, we see King David in his last days, he’s old, and fading fast. There has been a contender for the throne, the fourth son of David, named Adonijah who was, before David had even died, arrogantly and presumptuously telling everyone he was the new king, lying and manipulating, putting words in the mouth of the king saying that David had ordained his ascension to the throne. Of course, David wasn’t about to allow that, so he had Solomon anointed and crowned king, blowing the horn so all would know a successor to David’s throne had been crowned. Adonijah, a rotten and treacherous fellow in his own right, realized he was in jeopardy of being slain by Solomon, so he ran quickly to the temple, grabbed the horns of the altar, and said to Solomon, “Swear to me you will not kill me!” Solomon let him live and sent him home.
The temple was considered a place of sanctuary, and the altar of the temple was considered a thing of sanctuary, it can be a consecrated place or thing. It was a safe place, Adonijah knew it, and made a straight line for the safest place he knew, grabbing the horns of the altar, and crying out for sanctuary.
Safe places are supposed to represent a point or region of refuge. In our society, we have safe places for battered women, children, and even for entire families out of necessity because their very basic refuge, their residence, is no longer safe for them. Sadly we also have safe places, if you can call them that, which are merely safe havens for those who are looking for a safe place to sin in peace, out of the reach of justice, out of the sight of honesty, out of the reach of accountability, out of the view of transparency, and wishfully, out of the sight of God.

For many, many years churches represented safe places, places of sanctuary. In history, the church and the altar of the church were considered holy, offering a form of protection beyond governmental authority, sometimes even for political dissidents or immigrants facing deportation. The safe place the church represented was where desperate people could get safety, food, clothing, and shelter. i need to also add, and this is important, sanctuary was never allowed for those of treacherous, and murderous actions. The Lord nor the law of the land ever allowed sin of any sort to be given sanctuary, under any circumstances.
In this day and age, in our nation, safe places are getting more and more difficult to find. Home isn’t a safe place for many anymore; it seems law enforcement has no problem invading even our most basic sanctuaries and homes. Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of times it’s for very good reasons, but sometimes times not. Even criminals have taken to breaking into places our society once saw as a safe place. i believe, we as a nation don’t feel safe, we don’t trust our friends, the words of our neighbor, the actions of businesses and government, or even other believers.
Refuge is associated with trust, for without trust, refuge is not held as safety. When safety is violated, among other things set in motion, we end up feeling betrayed, and betrayal kills trust in its tracks. Are our friends safe with us, or are we backbiters, telling the secrets of others for personal gain? In Genesis 9, Noah was naked and drunk. Gen 9:22 says, “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.” It was bad that Noah was naked and drunk, but it was worse that Ham pointed it out. Ham betrayed Noah’s trust putting Noah forever on guard. The relationship Noah thought was safe, was exposed as not safe. Do you get what i’m saying?

If you think i’m being negative or harsh, do the footwork, go ask people on the street, and let us compare notes on that. We all seem to feel so vulnerable, and in danger on every corner, and i think it is shaking us to our knees.

My most basic safe place is my home, not just my house, but my home, and our home is our shalom place, edge to edge, under God’s exclusive care. To my wife and i, it is our place of sanctuary and we defend the sanctity of our home with all power; it is where we live in honor and peace. Our sanctuary is a sacred and protected place, a refuge and retreat from our everyday work-a-day world and obligations. Do you have a shalom place?

Safe places are where we regenerate, it’s our private space where familial bonds are based and strengthened. Our need for a safe place impacts everything we do.

In 1943, Abraham Maslow wrote a paper titled, “A Theory of Human Motivation”. Maslow stated that aside from air, food, water, clothing, and shelter, physical needs being first, safety was the second greatest need for human beings.
But i must add, it seems to me our need for safety is very high, but yet our ability to be safe and feel safe is increasingly elusive.

For those involved in any bombings or shootings, learning to feel safe again will take time. Many of the people directly impacted may never again go to a movie theater, to market, or even to church and feel totally safe. They’ll probably always harbor some fear and apprehension because their sense of safety has been seriously and forever compromised. Consider those who have been the victims of violent crime. Do you think they’ll probably be a long time coming before they feel safe again, even in the sanctity of their homes? Some people have been so violated, over and over, i wonder, how you even get past those memories unless God is directly involved.

How many shows on television are always about someone involved in some violence? It seems that any place there is the potential for drama, that is where Hollywood gets its storylines – the emergency room, police stations, courtrooms, war rooms, addiction and crisis centers, wild animal control, drug wars, and even governmental wars….and how many of those crime shows, every week portray some violent criminal with no conscience, sneaking into some random person’s house and robbing or killing them? And how many of those with violence launched against them on those shows seem to always be women and children? Over and over and over until it’s embedded in our heads that we are not safe, even in our homes. i believe, eventually, everyone who watches shows like that begins to be afraid of virtually everything, they feel vulnerable and in danger all the time, paranoia rises, trust fails, the truth is elusive, and as a whole, we begin to feel completely unsafe. Not safe in our homes, our jobs, our relationships, or even with exposing our feelings. Without any real safety in people’s lives, they end up running away from imaginary terror, hands in the air in fear, pursued by no one.

It almost sounds like Job in Job 3:25-26, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I a moment to recover, neither was I settled in my heart; yet trouble came.”

Is there any place in this world where anyone can be really and truly safe? What is God’s idea of safety, refuge, or sanctuary? There is only one safe place i know of and that is seen in Psalm 61:4, “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.”
There is no place safe in this world without Jesus as an ultimate defender and Counselor, the ultimate and only true hope. Jesus IS our safety.
This needs to be said though ….. yes, Christ is hope and salvation to a dying world, a refuge for the wounded and weary, but sanctuary and refuge was and never will be given to sin.

In 1Kings2, we read about Joab who was a murderous, unrepentant, and treacherous fellow. When Solomon set his sights on justice concerning Joab, Joab tried to do what Adonijah did….he ran quickly grabbed the horns of the altar, and begged sanctuary. He figured if it worked for Adonijah, then it would work for him too! But Solomon had been taught by his father in the ways of the Lord and knew murder, treachery, and sin is never, ever given sanctuary. Joab declared he would die at the altar, so Solomon obliged him, had him slain at the altar, and buried him in his wilderness home with only the honor of a soldier.

The Lord is a safe refuge for anyone in need of safety. God’s idea of safety is seen in dissecting the word for the deeper meaning. Safety and refuge under the covering of the Lord means the weary will find, in the Mighty One, power, strength, and protection. God’s idea of safety means the Blood of the Holy One protects those who return.

Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” With Jesus as our refuge and safety, there comes the security that God has your back, and in Him, there is much-needed rest to restore strength, hope, and courage. In fact, in Job 5:4 the word used for safety is a Hebrew word that translates as liberty, and deliverance. With God’s safety COMES liberty and deliverance.
In a world of little to no safety, Jesus alone is our shelter, Jesus alone clothes us with His goodness, Christ alone is our path and safety. John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Friends, Jesus is our safety.

Psalm 62:7, “In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.” The word salvation in that scripture is the root word for Yeshua, the Christ of God. It is the same word used in Job 5:4 and the translators interpreted it as “safety”. The Lord is our only help and sanctuary, and no kings, princes, presidents, no bureaucrats, or politicians on this earth, not any flesh and blood can ever offer us any long-standing safety. Psalm 146:3, “Do not put your trust in princes, Nor a man, in whom there is no safety.”

How often have we, as a nation, put our trust in our government to deliver us from poverty, criminal activity, fear, and desolation, yet over and over, man’s ability to make himself safe in the long run just doesn’t work out very well?
Proverbs 14:26, “In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.”

Over time and through much trouble, i have consistently seen the Lord as my refuge and sanctuary, especially when the promises of sanctuary from men were a vacuum. When i have been cornered by hell, the Lord opened a way for me and gave me shelter and deliverance. i am a witness. i have seen it and lived it. The Lord is truly my shepherd and my best friend, I lack for nothing and always have more than enough. He offers me a resting place in grassy pastures to lounge in His luxurious love, he leads me by quiet water, an oasis of peace where he restores my soul and revives my life. He guides me in right paths for the sake of his own name. Even if I pass through death-dark ravines, I will fear no disaster; for you are with me; Your Authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear.

I’ll never be lonely, for Lord, you are near. You prepare a table for me, even as my enemies watch; you anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows. So why would I fear the future? For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!”
It is my heart’s desire that everyone and anyone who hears the gospel of Christ will find safety for themselves. We all need a safe place. The Lord offers the promise of refuge to all who would call on His name. The Lord alone is our safe place and leads us in the paths of righteousness. Think about it.

Isaiah 25:4, “For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat;”
The Blood of the Holy One, Jesus, protects those who return, and they will find in Him power, strength, and protection.”

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz, and contemplative conversation given with the hopes all who listen will look past the surface of their own presentation face. Be honest, accountable, and transparent. The Lord is with you if you’ll just surrender and allow Him to love you.

There is no safety except in Christ, and Christ alone. We all need a place where we feel safe, but increasingly in the world we live, safety has become elusive. i believe with all my heart, and i hope you also may confidently trust God with your safety….if the Lord is your guide, he will also be your guard.
Drive carefully this week, pray for your neighbor. Take your time and consider the ways of the Lord with all your heart, and i’ll talk to you next time.