Reminders.

[Some reminders and gems from the Conference I went to last weekend]

We often forget who we are. We often forget the men and women God has created us to be.

At the core of our being, we are sons and daughters of the King. We are heirs of His kingdom, which means we have rights to the Kingdom of God. God delights in us living in His Kingdom--as active participants. To live freely means to live knowing our identity and our inheritance. If we live out of a wounded identity, that means that we are experiencing a void of the Father--not experiencing covenant love in that area in our lives.

We need to have the right understanding of what it means for God to be Father. The Father does not withhold anything from His children. He is a loving Father who has called us into adoption--a relationship and a bond that can never be broken. He is approachable. Jesus came, gave His life, and was raised up from the grave, so that we could come boldly before the Father. May we experience more of what it's like to sit in Abba's lap--listening to His heart for us.

Do as the wee ones do.

"We are waiting; we are anticipating Your arrival.

Voice raising-celebrating Your arrival."

This is a posture that I want to be truer of my heart. I don't want to anticipate next week's happenings or the 5 years from now "what's it gonna be like's." I want to be sensitive to His Kingdom now, but to also be anticipating the culmination and fulfillment of the Kingdom to come.

What do I do with that? Well, I'm usually most inclined to thinking it and ruminating on the thought a bit and stopping short of the most important facet of the process. Asking.

Kids just know how to do it, and they do it well!  They ask, and they ask persistently--knowing that either mommy or daddy will probably end up giving them what they want. Well, Papa wants us to ask. He wants me to ask.

He gives His kids the best gifts and holds nothing from us. Could you imagine the eyes He would give us if we kept on asking for better vision or His Kingdom-- His heart?

Lord, teach us to ask and to ask persistently! And teach us to ask with the right heart.

 Luke 11:1-13 [The Message]:

One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, "Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."  So he said, "When you pray, say,

   Father,
   Reveal who you are.
   Set the world right.
   Keep us alive with three square meals.
   Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
   Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil."

  

 Then he said, "Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.'

"The friend answers from his bed, 'Don't bother me. The door's locked; my children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.'

 "But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he'll finally get up and get you whatever you need.

 "Here's what I'm saying:

   Ask and you'll get;
   Seek and you'll find;
   Knock and the door will open.

"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing—you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?"