I Dare to Call Him Father

Sometimes, I struggle to understand a God who is both Intimate Love and Holy Fear at the same time. My mind is so limited, my capacity for understanding is so small. There are times when I am so overwhelmed by holy reverence that I feel I am unable to come close to Him. He is truly the glorious One on the Throne, and it makes me tremble because I am but dust. Sometimes when I am overwhelmed by the fear of God, I lose sight of His love. I struggle to put two and two together. But He has shown me (and continues to show me) that though His wrath is real, it is not for me! His righteous fury and hatred of sin is frightening, but it is not for me! It is only when I lose sight of the work of Jesus on that cross that I lose sight of my right to come as close as I want to Him.

I was once far but now He has brought me near. Now I can boldly enter into the presence of the Holy One, and find a dear Father’s heart. What was in the Garden is now mine. 

How silly it is of me to stand far off when He has made a way for me to be near. How silly it is of me to try and enter a room I am already in. How silly it is for me to strive for something He has already given me. The nearness of God is for me. The tenderness of God is for me. My Father’s heart is for me. 

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ ESV)

I am not a slave. I am a child. His wrath is real but it is no longer for me. I refuse to submit to the heartbreaking yoke of slavery and religion. Boldly, I come.  

The Forgotten Jesus

I was talking to a friend the other day, and she said something along the lines of, “Jesus is the most neglected topic in the Church today”.

I can’t help but to agree with how true that is. I honestly cannot remember the last time I heard someone talk about Jesus. About His divinity, about His character, His personality, His heart, His nature, His desires. 

I hear more teachings about how to manage finances, the need to “submit”, how to be a good leader, how to worship, how to know your giftings…. More than I do about Jesus Himself. 

It’s not that these things are bad, but they are secondary to the knowledge of God Himself. 

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. (‭Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭12-18‬ NKJV)

Can we truly say that we know Jesus? The One with eyes of fire, the One with a voice like many waters. The One with feet of brass, hair white as wool – beauty and countenance shining brighter than the sun in all its strength. The glorious One who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth. The One surrounded by cherubims and seraphims who cry holy and sing of His beauty, worshipping Him both day and night. The One Ezekiel saw in the whirlwind of raging fire, the Man on the Throne above the glowing firmament. Holy Bridegroom, precious Lamb of God, the Desire of the Nations, Son of David, Lion of Judah, King of Israel, the righteous Judge who is to come soon. 

Do we truly know this Jesus? 

The Fear of God

In my early years as a Christian, God was kind enough to reveal Himself to me as Papa, as Best Friend. However, because that was the only thing I understood about Him, I quickly fell into the hyper-grace camp. I simply did not understand how the Daddy I knew and loved so well should be someone I feared too.

He was quick to correct that.

I remember the first time He revealed Himself as the God of Glory to me. I was so frightened! The awesome holiness of the Lord filled the room in such a fearful way that I literally crawled under a chair to hide from Him. I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run. He was everywhere. I felt like I was going to die in terror.

I understand now that He was restoring to me a correct and balanced view of Himself. So often we fashion Him into an image that we are comfortable with. That is a very grave error. We must see Him as He is, not as we want Him to be. We cannot pick the parts of Him we like, and ignore the parts that we are uncomfortable with.

God is Papa, but He is also Judge. He is Love, but He is also Holy. He is Lamb, but He is also Lion. He is Kind, but He is also full of righteous wrath. I do not pretend to understand the mystery of God, I have barely scratched the surface. But this I know – holy love and holy fear go hand in hand. Intimacy has been restored to the Church, and it is high time that fear and reverence be restored too.

This is a good read written by Dr. Michael Brown –

http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/in-the-line-of-fire/45738-a-revival-of-the-fear-of-god