I shared the other day that what has prompted all these postings of late had to do with a personal ‘awakening’ or ‘spiritual renewal’ of sorts which began back at the beginning of March in 2020. It was a ‘burning bush’ experience for me. God just drove me back into His Word that for a lack of better illustration was similar to being pinned to the ground by a high-pressure washer for long extended periods of time. 

 I mean hours upon hours for days in a row. I don’t share that to make myself out to look like some spiritual monk. It was not like I had been in some deep ‘seeking God’ mode or fasting or crying out to God for a new thing to be done in my life. And as previously stated, it began just days before everything ‘hit the fan’ in our country and schools started shutting down and all the craziness began to unfold. 

 The timing of all this was uncanny. Kathy was at work in Dallas and we had just started spring break so if you looked at my calendar, it was the calm before the storm, schedule wise. And I kid you not, within days, my calendar was wiped clean as everything was shutting down. The result of this intense time in His Word drew me back into the presence of God and I was experiencing waves of indescribable peace…fear…joy…that followed my repentance. and a closeness with God like I had not known in a very long time. (Acts 4:19) 

 Early on that first week, I would ‘come out’ from the back room…turn on the TV to ‘catch up’ on what was happening in the news…and realized that the sense of His presence I was filled with was being ‘extinguished’ as if you poured a bucket of water on a campfire. Keep in mind, all that was in the news then centered around the early stages of the pandemic and election news. Need I say anything else about all the ‘noise and distractions’ blaring 24/7 centered on those two topics. 

 There was just this ‘aha moment’ for me that all the ‘flood of words’ I was hearing profited me nothing. I did not want to stray from the presence of God that I was enveloped in. It was then at that moment I had a personal revelation that we are literally living amidst a ‘flood’ that is ‘carrying people away’ similar to what Jesus warned of in Matt 24:38-39. I just have not watched any TV since then. Prior to that week, whenever I got in the car, I had one station that was always on- talk radio. Noise, Noise, Noise…arguing, debating, complaining, ranting, raving…noise. 

 I’ve not had the radio on since then either. 

 For me, there was a personal awareness that what was coming out of that screen/radio…no matter what spin I wanted to put on it to justify watching it…could compare with what I was getting out of the Word. Night and Day difference. I even had a moment where I looked at the TV set in our living room and it took on the appearance of a dragon head; and then Revelation 12:15 just burned within my heart. “So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.” 

I know…some of you are rolling your eyes now wanting to say ‘Yeah but.” I’m just relaying my own personal experience here. In fact, I could say so much more on this particular topic. IF…you are remotely interested in hearing more, I have an ‘essay’ of sorts that I wrote out and saved that you might find beneficial. If you just send me an email address through messenger, I will gladly share it with you. I’m not selling anything; you need not say anything…just an email address and I will give you more ‘food for thought’ based on scripture. 

 It was after this recognition of noisy distractions, that I had a new personal understanding of what ‘abiding in Him’ looked like. Have you ever come across that verse in Colossians 3:2 where it says: “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” That is a choice; a purposeful action that we can carry out. Do you think that admonition was put in there for us to analyze or to do? For years, if/when I came across a verse like that, it seemed like ‘poetic language’. You know, sort of like those unrealistic verses you’ve read/hear about like ‘perfect peace have they whose mind is stayed on thee’ (Isa 26:3) and ‘blessed is the man…who’s delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he mediates day and night’ (Psalm 1:1-2) You really can’t do that in real life. Nobody can, right? 

 So like many other verses we read over with glassy eyes, we mumble ‘amen’ and finish our chapters and go about our lives. I have come to the realization that this whole ‘abiding in Him’ thing is not poetic language or some lofty goal for ‘super saints’ to aspire to. In fact it is the seriousness and the urgency of the hour that prompts me to share these things I have been learning and writing about recently. 

 I will expound more tomorrow. But in the meantime, revisit Psalm 91 if you want. So many incredible promises that God lays out in that one psalm. I listed/counted over a dozen promises that any person would want to be recipient of pertaining to divine protection and such. Here’s the ‘catch’… He only list one ‘condition’ that we have to fulfill in order for us to see the promises met. Psalm 91:9- “Because you have made the Lord who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.” - ‘You’ve made Him your dwelling place’. 

 Please remember this one thing: God’s love for you and I is unconditional. His promises are Not! 

Tomorrow’s may be unsettling. But like with all ‘bad news’ you read of in scripture, there is always ‘good news’ to follow. It’s called The Gospel. Hope to see you here tomorrow.