My Life of Worship...The Realm of the Spirit is Real

I'm entering a new level of my Spiritual Walk...It's time (at least for now) to focus on taking all I've learned from trust and obedience, and begin to worship Him daily...to create a life of Worship. That will be the focus of my studies for a while...

I'm discovering that the realm of the Spirit is real ~ and has been in existence longer than the natural realm that we now reside in.

John 1:1-3, 10 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made…He was in the world and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.”

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

We can see that God existed before the world was created. Because of that, we can see that God did not need to create the world, He chose to do it.

So we have to ask ourselves – why? Because God is love. You can’t express love unless you have something or someone to express it to. We were created for the sole purpose of having a loving relationship with the Creator of the universe.

Romans 9:25 (The Message) “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved. In the place where they yelled out ‘you’re nobody!’ they’re calling you ‘God’s living children.’ Isaiah maintained this same emphasis: If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered and the sum labeled ‘chosen of God’, they’d be numbers still, not names. Salvation comes by personal selection. God doesn’t count us, He calls us by name. Arithmatic is not His focus.”

You see God loves us. He created the world – universe – galaxy – for US! Because He wanted to create a species of being – man – to pour His love on. A species of being to love and be loved by. By exchanging this act between creator and the created, a relationship is developed. That’s His purpose – to create a being for the purpose of relationship. The reason the relationship is so important is because it allows the expression of love to flow from the Father to us and from us to the Father. It completes both parties of the relationship.

By now you’re probably thinking, “…where is this going? What does that (the creation of man) have to do with worship? They are two different anomalies…”

Creation of man and the act of Worship may be explained independently, and they are both worthy of independent study. But to truly understand worship, you must understand relationship. You can’t have relationship without worship following nor can you have worship without a relationship first.

Pastor Rod Parsley said in Praise, the Ultimate Experience, Worship the Ultimate Relationship, “Worship is acknowledging God for who He is. Worship is all that we are, rightly responding to all that He is. To worship Him, you must know Him.”

Jesus was ministering to a Samaritan woman in John 4:23, 24 when He said “Yet a time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.”

Notice the end of verse 23. It says that the Father SEEKS those who worship in Spirit and in truth. He created all that is so He can have relationship. We can’t sincerely worship something we do not intimately know. He seeks those who will walk in this relationship – in His presence – every day. That’s how we begin to know Him – to hear His voice – to touch Him and be touched by Him.

Elijah

What can I say about the last month. God truly blessed us with a beautiful grandson on December 4th. Elijah James Russell came into the world wonderfully made and perfect in every way...then Satan came in to steal him away. Elijah walked into the arms of Jesus just two weeks later. It was a hard fight. I came out of it with what felt like a few bruises, but let me tell you, I left my mark on him as well. I may not have been much of a threat in the past, but he knows my name now (Acts 19:15). I couldn't be more proud of Aaron, Katie, Glen and Mary (Katie's parents) and Tracye. There were prayers and intercessions going up in faith around the clock. Pastor Ron and Betsy, Brendan, Fran, Dawn and Jason were our rocks.

Through all this, my faith grew to levels I never thought I would need, let alone expect to have. God never failed me. His grace was and is sufficient for me. I praise God Almighty for the vacation in Colorado that caused me to get alone with Him; for Pastor Ron speaking directly into my life; and for the time I have had to prepare for this walk in the last months. If it had not been for these events in my life, I'm convinced I would not be walking with the Lord today. My mom's death was hard on my faith...this would have destroyed it. I'm pretty sure that Tracye and I would not have survived this blow...I would have walked away from everything and everyone...I had gotten to that level. But PRAISE GOD, my ROCK, my FORTRESS, my STRENGTH, my COMFORTER, my ENCOURAGER. I know that I know HE LIVES. My founding scripture that got me through the week was from Hebrews 10:26 through 11:3 (Message):

"If we give up and turn our backs on all we've learned, all we've been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ's sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God's Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that He'll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: "Vengeance is mine, and I won't overlook a thing" and "God will judge his people." Nobody's getting by with anything, believe me.

Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn't touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back.

So don't throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It's still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion. It won't be long now, He's on the way; He'll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with Me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won't be very happy. But we're not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We'll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see."

My plan at this point is to be around for the promised completion ~ which is the experience of eternal life. I am not a quitter and I have learned what loyal trust is...what an established heart is. My firm foundation is my trust in God!

During the time Elijah was in PICU, we had Brother Kenneth Hagin's healing scriptures being piped into his little body (by way of an MP3 player thanks to Ann). I had a dream the night we finally got the chance to sleep. In the dream, Elijah and I were walking along in heaven, hand in hand, when we heard some voices behind us. Elijah looked up at me with a smile and said "Papi, I know that voice!" We turned around and there was Brother Hagin, teaching a class under a tree beside a stream. What a blessing to know that the two of them are together now.

There may be thousands of reasons why Elijah wasn't healed, but even though he wasn't, it doesn't mean that it was God's will or that He isn't the ultimate Physician. I was praying shortly after the funeral and finally allowed myself to ask God "why?". He told me "There will be a day when I will know the answer to that question, and on that day I won't care. Elijah will be in my arms, smiling and holding my face in his hands, and giving me all the love he has for me." What a day that will be...

Papi loves you, Elijah. I'll see you in my dreams and when I look into your daddy's face. I'll feel the warmth of your love in your mommy's smile and your Nanna's hugs will comfort me until I am able to hold you again at last.