In The Moment

This type of post is new to me.  It may seem like rambling but there is a theme.  I really feel that I was just a scribe for this one.  Praise God!!!

The goal is the moment. The destination is the journey. The joy is the company.

Do we realize that God is so much greater than our selves?  Do we recognize that our contribution is not required for His success?  But still do we realize that in any given moment the creator of the universe is listening to our every word?  Do we know that our real legacy is our dependency?  When our hope for the future becomes our myopic focus and obsessive compulsive vision we miss every brick in the road.

Have you ever noticed that when you pass someone on the street they won’t look you in the eye?  I’m sure some of that is fear of the other person and the potential for harm but some of that is fear of the moment. When vision eclipses moments it isn’t vision but distraction.  We can be so focused on the future or the past we miss the opportunity to love and be loved in the moment.  We have to live in faith that the time outside of the present has been paid for and provided for.

When prophesy becomes Destiny the path is ignored and the cliffs are real. Under this covenant prophesy is a look into the future not THE future.  When the promise of the future is an escape from the present then preparation of relocation is impossible. When we cry out “God get me out of this” we have agreed that whatever “this” is can only be defeated by retreat or escape.

There is an amazing verse in the Bible about hope, authority and position. Jesus is the head over all things in Eph 1:15-23. We are son’s and heirs. We get to cry out Abba father (Rom 8:15, Col 4:6).  Passages like this give us incredible confidence. God is more concerned with our present moment than any future accomplishment. If we don’t know our identity and victory in the moment why would victory in a battle in the future be possible? The armor of God is ever-present. We don’t have to “suck it up” in the moment in hope of escape. Our present suffering is opportunity to surrender to the love and provision of God. If escape is the only possible option then we haven’t realized our necessary dependency. The manna from heaven was a daily provision. Jesus is our daily provision. Past and future pale in comparison to now. In this moment and every one to come I pray God shows me the joy of dependent rest and the certainty of victory.

Take a look again at this verse:

Heb 11: Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, ^[a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. (AMP)

He gives me the assurance of things hoped for so I don’t have to invest personal worry or escape-motivated day dreaming. He reveals to me the substance or evidence of what He is doing behind the scenes.  The joy and peace available to me resides in that moment.  Check out this verse:

Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (ESV)

And these verses:

Heb 10:16 This is the agreement (testament, covenant) that I will set up and conclude with them after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their hearts, and I will inscribe them on their minds (on their inmost thoughts and understanding),  ¹⁷ He then goes on to say, And their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more.  ¹⁸ Now where there is absolute remission (forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty) of these [sins and lawbreaking], there is no longer any offering made to atone for sin. (AMP)

Paul says in Romans that the Kingdom of Heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said to pray “Your Kingdom come Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”  The Kingdom has come.  The fullness of the Kingdom is in you as the Holy Spirit.  In every present moment I am in and have access to the Kingdom of Heaven.  When I am consumed with the past or the future I am not living in the ever-present Kingdom, I am in time travel.  Jesus paid for and took away and has forgotten our sins.  To live in the past, to live in past regret, to live in condemnation is contrary to the finished work of Jesus.  Believe that you are His righteousness and ask God to show you in this moment the lesson to be learned from the past moment. 

God gives us faith.  In that faith we have certainty in the future.  God has it well in hand.  We have hope for amazing things.  It is not however our escape plan.  We have to trust in Him to deliver on what He has said.  Otherwise we are working towards a future based on our effort instead of trusting Him.  All this churn takes us away from the moment, this moment.  That is how the enemy robs us of our JOY!!!  If we could stay in this moment in His presence that is always here, we would experience more of His joy.  Look at Peter on the water.  In the “present moment” he was above.  In his “expected future” he was below.  When he left his present for his future he left the above for the below.  We are currently seated in Heavenly places.  Why would we leave the Heavenlies to address something that is already done or something that God has well in hand.  Would Adam leave God’s side to worry about a seed that has been planted when the Creator of the seed is right next to him?

Do you know that if you are living in offense you are a time traveler.  You either want payment for past sins or want justice in a future sense.  Both of those belong to Jesus.  They are not for you.

Yay Jesus

Lance