God Encounter–Elijah and Questions

In the last set of posts on God Encounters we looked at Jacob and his encounter with God. His encounter came out of fear – fear of an uncle who he thought wanted to kill him and fear of a brother who he thought wanted to kill him. Jacob ended up trying to manipulate his way out of everything but then God showed up. God showed up and wrestled with Jacob all night long. Jacob held on tightly to God. He would not let go and in that we see a picture of what we need to do. We need to hold on and in be in God’s presence and allow Him to change us from manipulators to ministers. Jacob had trouble on every side but God changed him. God changed his heart and God even changed his name. God encountered Jacob and Jacob held on till God made him let go by knocking his hip out of joint! Jacob gladly left that encounter with God with a limp that reminded Him of who God was and how great God was! God wants to do the very same for all of us.

This set of post we will look at the story of Elijah and look at his powerful encounter with God Almighty. Who was Elijah?  Elijah was God’s unpredictable prophet; he never did what people expected. We can see in 1 Kings 18 that he faced over 400 priests of the false god Baal on top of Mt. Carmel. It was a showdown of power. The false priest prayed for fire from heaven, but nothing came. Then Elijah did the unexpected. He poured water over the wood and sacrifice — three times. Then Elijah knelt before the God of Israel to ask for fire to be poured out from heaven like water from a bucket. Elijah was vindicated when God sent fire from heaven. He immediately turned and pointed to the false prophets and yelled to the crowd, "KILL THEM!" But victory was short lived. When Queen Jezebel heard that Elijah had killed them, she sent a royal decree to Elijah by messenger, "I will kill you by this hour tomorrow!"That’s when Elijah ran away. He could stand against over 400 false prophets of Baal—he was bold—but this woman sent him running.  He ran into the desert and told God he wanted to die.  He fell asleep under a juniper tree and an angel awakened him and gave him food and water and he went back to sleep.  The angel awakened him a second time and told him to eat and drink again because it was going to be difficult.  Elijah gets up and goes to Mount Horeb when God asks him a question then has him stand on top of the mountain because He was going to pass by.  Heavy winds came and God was not in the wind, an Earthquake came and God was not in it,  fire came and God was not in that, and finally a gentle breeze came and that is where God was.   God then sends Elijah back with a three fold task to do.  God dealt with Elijah’s discouragement by putting him to work.  (Click here to read Biblical account of Elijah’s Encounter)

So what can we learn from this encounter that Elijah had from God?  The first is this: God will encounter those who are running from Him. When Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah, he began running for his life, crossing through Israel, Judea and then venturing out into the desert. He ended up at Mount Sinai where God encountered him; sending him back into ministry. Why does God send him back to ministry? Because God does not want us running from battles but God wants us running to Him! The Christian life is not about running from people or circumstances but it is about running to God who will be the one who will lead us, guide us, and direct us in the ways we should go because God has plans for us to accomplish and if we are running away we will never be able to accomplish any of it! Running away does more harm than good.

Remember what God says to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:15 – "Go, return on your way". God had other things for Elijah to be doing and other than sitting around and being discouraged. God has other things for you do – so do them!

Another thing to remember is this: God asks questions when He encounters us, not because He wants information, but to teach us something. God in the in Scriptures will ask questions like when God came to Adam asking, "Adam, where art thou?" God knew where he was – but God was showing Adam their relationship was broken. And then God asked Cain, "Why are you angry?" because he wanted Cain to see what evil was in his heart. When God encountered Elijah he asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?" God did not ask the question to get information, God knows all things. God wanted Elijah to face his motivations for running. Elijah had run away from the very people to whom God had called him to minister. God asked a question to make him honestly face his unbelief and wrong motives.

This brings to mind – God knows your motivations better than you do. God knows your motivations and I call on everyone today to say these verses as a prayer: Psalm 139:23,24 – Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. Let me ask you- can you pray that and with good conscious say that there are not people that you need to make things right with? Are there people that you have hurt because of your heart motives were sinful? If you have hurt people with words or attitudes or actions – it is your job to make things right as soon as possible!

Have you ever had God ask you a question to teach to you something?  What was it?  Anything else you see here in what I mentioned you want to comment on – please do!

Side note – For those whose writers of  blogs that normally I comment on – in recent weeks time has been an issue so I have been reading your post but only on occasion commenting.  Just wanted you to be aware that I am still reading your great content!.

God Encounters –Joy Comes in the Morning

Today we will finish the posts on Jacob and his encounter with God.  Jacob in his encounter with God  wrestled with God and it changed everything for him.  It changed the direction of his life and even changed his name.  In this post we will continue to look at Jacob and again if you are unfamiliar with him please read Genesis 31 and 32 – if you wish you can click here to read it.  The minimum I think you should know about his encounter is in this paraphrase of the Scripture of Jacob wrestling with God:

Jacob stayed behind by himself and this is where there is real mystery in what happened is written. We know that Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak. We do not know how this happened but Jacob wrestles with the man. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.

The man said, "Let me go; it’s daybreak."  Jacob said, "I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me." The man said, "What’s your name?"  He answered, "Jacob."

The man said, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it is Israel; you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through." Jacob asked, "And what’s your name?" The man said, "Why do you want to know my name?" And then, right then and there, he blessed him. Jacob named the place Peniel  because, he said, "I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!" The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip being knocked out of joint.

In looking at Jacob’s encounter we have seen that different motivations drive us to God and for Jacob it was family issues and problems.  We have seen family issues do drive us to seek the presence of God and they push us to seek direction from God about them.  We also talked about the paradox that we must give up the most precious things in order get all that God has for us.  We will encounter God when it seems like everything is lost.  God will also encounter those that seek There are some tough things to learn but if you wrestle with God you will find that God does not want things easy for us but He simply wants us to hold on tight to Him through all we go through.

As we finish I want you to consider this: Seeking God is something you must do alone. Jacob’s wives or children couldn’t help him seek God’s presence. Laban and Esau were not able to spiritually help him. Jacob wrestled alone with God, and prevailed. He saw God face to face. You cannot wait for your spouse to go with you in your journey to God, it is a lonesome journey, and it’s a journey you take by yourself. As Abraham interceded alone for Sodom . . . as Moses interceded alone on Sinai . . . as Elijah alone stood against 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel . . . so you must seek God’s face alone. Are you willing to seek God and are you willing to hear what he has to say to you and change what he isays change?

You will hear this idea a number of times as we go through this series and that is: We are usually surprised by God’s encounter with us. Jacob didn’t expect God’s presence that night. He retreated there to hide because he was afraid after taking his family across the brook and was probably there to pray to God and not wrestle with Him. God will encounter you but will you recognize it?

Jacob was surprised to find himself in the presence of God. Sometimes we go to church, never expecting to meet God, but in the unusual and unexpected places, we are surprised by God. God wants and desires to surprise you with an encounter with Him. He wants to do it right here and now! Consider this verse Psalm 61:2 – "When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to a rock that is higher than I” You have to get out of the way and let God come in and change you and that is the problem why many will not – they are too stuck on it being about them. You hear it in all their conversations words like: me, my, and I. You need to cling to Him and get rid of me, my, and I because they are deadly foes of God encounters.

In the end: After the blackest experiences at the lowest times of life, the dawn comes where we understand our encounter with God. For several days, Jacob lived in a dark valley that became progressively darker. The more Jacob manipulated circumstances, the worst they became. Let me say – the same is true for you – the more you try to manipulate people and things your way – the worse they will become. It is only in seeking God and doing things His way where relief is found! Only in the darkest experiences did Jacob meet God and was eventually was blessed by God. When we come to the end of our way, we need to turn to God. He will come to us. There always is a bright shining morning that follows the storms of the night. Hold on till the morning! Hold on tight like Jacob did and you will encounter God. He will change things for you!

Oh there is such great encouragement in Psalm 30 which says: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning . . . You have turned for me my mourning into dancing, You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness"

That is what a God encounter is – it is the joy that comes in the morning. It is not grieving but dancing. It is not being clothed in sadness but in gladness! You might come to God weeping, grieving, and wearing sackcloth but you leave a true encounter with God – you will do it joy, dancing, and clothed in gladness.

Do you have any insights to share on this encounter that I did not?  I would love to hear them!

God Encounters – Seeking the Lord

In the last few post we have been talking about Jacob and his encounter with God.  Jacob in his encounter with God  wrestled with God and it changed everything for him.  It changed the direction of his life and even changed his name.  In this post we will continue to look at Jacob and again if you are unfamiliar with him please read Genesis 31 and 32 – if you wish you can click here to read it.  The minimum I think you should know about his encounter is in this paraphrase of the Scripture of Jacob wrestling with God:

Jacob stayed behind by himself and this is where there is real mystery in what happened is written. We know that Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak. We do not know how this happened but Jacob wrestles with the man. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.

The man said, "Let me go; it’s daybreak."  Jacob said, "I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me." The man said, "What’s your name?"  He answered, "Jacob."

The man said, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it is Israel; you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through." Jacob asked, "And what’s your name?" The man said, "Why do you want to know my name?" And then, right then and there, he blessed him. Jacob named the place Peniel  because, he said, "I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!" The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip being knocked out of joint.

In looking at the last couple of days we have seen that different motivations drive us to God and for Jacob it was family issues and problems.  We have seen family issues do drive us to seek the presence of God and they push us to seek direction from God about them.  We also talked about the paradox that we must give up the most precious things in order get all that God has for us.  There are some tough things to learn but if you wrestle with God you will find that God does not want things easy for us but He simply wants us to hold on tight to Him through all we go through.

Another tough thing to understand in all this is this thought: We encounter God in the darkest of night’s experiences. Sometimes God doesn’t come to us when everything is rosy. When we have health, happiness, money in the bank and no threats, we usually don’t think much about God. But the darkest nights scare us because we can’t see where we’re going, we can’t see things, we can’t see ourselves; nor can we see God. In those dark experiences, we can seek God and He will reveal Himself to us. If you are in a dark black night – it is time for you to cry out to God to show you His presence and power and light – it is time for you to encounter the light of the world! God who is light want to shine into that dark night and provide for you – but you have to trust him for that to happen! You have to be willing to change – unwillingness to change means things will remain the same. God will shine his light into your life for change!

For an encounter with the Almighty God we need sometimes to get to this place: The place where everything seems lost and it is at that place that we must seek God’s face. Jacob thought he was about to lose everything. His greatest fear was the fear in his own heart. When all seemed lost, God came to him. In our lives, God lets us experience extremes in our hearts, because man’s extremes, are God’s opportunities. It is in these experiences that God reveals Himself to us. Has God allowed you to go through deep waters? It will be in those deep waters when everything seems like it is lost that God will encounter you and change things. You must seek him in those times – go hard if it seems like everything is lost! God is always right there with you – know, believe, and understand that! Seek Him and hold on tight like Jacob did!

In Psalm 73 we see this; “But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, 
My steps had almost slipped. With Your counsel You will guide me, 
And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? 
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth."

Could that be your prayer – do you desire only God – you say yes but what about you actions and attitudes – what do they show?

How desperate are you for God? You see: God reveals Himself to those who desperately seek Him. Jacob was not a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination as seen by his deceiving of those closest to him in his life –he deceived his family. He put them at risk to save his on hide and to take advantage of them. He was not perfect and had real problems.

That brings to my mind a question – So why did God reveal Himself to Jacob if he was such a schemer and liar – Because above all else, Jacob sought the Lord. He is an example of someone who had an open heart and was willing to change and God encountered him in spite of how bad he looked to others. Remember that He exerted all physical energy he could to hang on to God when wrestling. It was only when God touched his hip that Jacob released his grip on God. You will realize God’s presence only when you seek it more than pleasure, food, financial security, sensual things or any other thing in life. We can encounter God when we give up everything to experience Him. Many of you unfortunately will not have a God encounter like I am talking about because you are not willing to give up things. You might not want to give up that sin that so easily besets you because you like the power it gives you so you just tell people you cannot change. You might want to have money more than an encounter with God so you seek money hard and just give God your left over time. You might want entertainment more than God so you continually skip godly activities so that you can be entertained. Let me ask you – could it be said of you – above all else, you seek the Lord?

If you had to explain what it means to someone to “seek the Lord” – what would you say?

God Encounters–The Paradox

In the last post we started looking at Jacob and his encounter with God where he wrestled with God and it changed everything for him.  It changed the direction of his life and even changed his name.  In this post we will continue to look at Jacob and again if you are unfamiliar with him please read Genesis 31 and 32 – if you wish you can click here to read it.  The minimum I think you should know about his encounter is in this paraphrase of the Scripture of Jacob wrestling with God:

Jacob stayed behind by himself and this is where there is real mystery in what happened is written. We know that Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak. We do not know how this happened but Jacob wrestles with the man. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.

The man said, "Let me go; it’s daybreak."  Jacob said, "I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me." The man said, "What’s your name?"  He answered, "Jacob."

The man said, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it is Israel; you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through." Jacob asked, "And what’s your name?" The man said, "Why do you want to know my name?" And then, right then and there, he blessed him. Jacob named the place Peniel  because, he said, "I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!" The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip being knocked out of joint.

Yesterday we saw different motivations drive us to seek God and concern for family will lead us to seek God.  Today one thing we see is this : Family arguments push us to seek God and His direction. Jacob was driven by fear of a hostile uncle, and as we saw him run from Laban. What Jacob didn’t fully know was that God warned Laban not to harm Jacob. Then Jacob faced a brother who had sworn revenge on him in the past but his heart softened through the years but Jacob did not know this either. Sometimes we are motivated to seek God because we are disappointed with our family or in our marriage or our children turn against us or we are betrayed by family members. In those times we need to seek God and His direction because in God’s presence there is peace and rest. We will find direction for family issues if we seek God – we must hold on and fight for our family! We must hold on to God and what He wants and not what we want.

One reason people do not have powerful encounters with God  has to do with this: We must give up precious things of life to encounter God’s presence. Jacob gave up everything for God, he was willing to surrender all his herds to Esau, he was willing to sacrifice his family, he offered to God the only thing he brought out of the Promise Land, which was his staff or his walking stick which is something he will need after his encounter with God. Only after giving it all to God did Jacob experience God’s presence. If you are going to encounter God, you must not let anything come between you and God. Here is the problem – we have our priorities all out of whack – we have our list of priorities as children, spouse, and immediate family, other family, friends, then God. What it needs to be is like this: God, spouse, children, immediate family, other family, and then friends. We put everything before God in life and make excuses like it is alright but we wonder why we do not have encounters with God or his power and presence in our lives. We wonder why everything falls apart all round us and we do not know where to turn. It is because we are not willing to give up the precious thing of life to encounter God’s presence which will ultimately lead to greater blessings than we could imagine. We could have so much if we just gave it all to Him – it is a paradox – we must give it all to God so that we can have more of it.

Some of you want to argue with me right now and in your minds you are but I say do not argue with me but Jesus who in Matthew 10:37-39 said this: "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it". Nothing and no one should come before God in your life – not your spouse, not your children, no one and if they do – you are wrong according to Jesus!

Have you found this paradox to be true in your life? Have you given it all up for God and found so much more?

God Encounter–Wrestling with God

In the last several posts we talked all about what God encounters were and were not and now we are going to look at one of the  people of Bible who encountered God in a powerful way.  The next several posts we will be looking the Old Testament character Jacob.  He had quite the encounter with God that left him limping and changed in  many ways – if you do not know this story please go and read at least Genesis 31 and 32 – if you wish you can click here to read it.  The minimum I think you should know about his encounter is in this paraphrase of the Scripture of Jacob wrestling with God:

Jacob stayed behind by himself and this is where there is real mystery in what happened is written. We know that Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak. We do not know how this happened but Jacob wrestles with the man. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.

The man said, "Let me go; it’s daybreak."  Jacob said, "I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me." The man said, "What’s your name?"  He answered, "Jacob."

The man said, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it is Israel; you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through." Jacob asked, "And what’s your name?" The man said, "Why do you want to know my name?" And then, right then and there, he blessed him. Jacob named the place Peniel  because, he said, "I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!" The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip being knocked out of joint.

There is so much we could look at with this encounter but for today let me get you to focus in on this thought -  Different motivations drive us to seek God. Jacob was running scared before this encounter; he was running from an angry uncle and running towards an angry brother. He had nowhere else he could go so for a moment he was frozen in his fear, and then Jacob sought God alone in the night. But something happened in the night changed his life in many ways. Once he encountered God in the wrestling, Jacob would not let go of God – he held on for dear life. A constant thing in Jacob’s life was to hang on as seen by his willingness to work so long for his wives, so what Jacob always did in the past became the source of changing his life. He held on to God until he was changed by God. He held on tight!

Whatever your motivation for your encounter with God, be it fear, financial stresses, changes, cancer, divorce, or other problems or issues, whatever motivates you to seek God, hang on to Him and do not let go. When you get close enough to grab a hold of God, hang onto Him. Hold on to Him and get into the presence of God and intimate with Him, it will change your life. Hold on to God. Do not give up or in but hold tight!

A verse to cling to in all this is Psalm 56:3 which says: "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You". Jacob was holding on when things looked bad – he was trusting God. His way did not work and now He was trusting God’s way.

Another thing we need to see is that: Concerns for family drives us into God’s presence to encounter Him. Jacob had wives and children, he constantly prayed for their safety. While his own life was a great concern, his prayer for his family was also on his lips. When God can’t get our attention any other way, He might reach us through our spouse or children. When you have concerns for your family – it will move you to the point of seeking God with everything you have so that you do not lose those most precious things in this life – your family. Sadly some are not moved to hold on for their family – they let go and it devastates all involved including the children.

If I can say anything to you – it is this – Hold on to Jesus!  When you have problems and issues happening in life – Hold on to Jesus!  Hold on till that encounter changes you!

Would you say that you have ever wrestled with God?  If so, with what and how did it turn out ? (if your wrestling is over)

God Encounters–The Point of it All

We have been talking in the last few post about God Encounters (If you have not read them I encourage you to click back and check them out) and today I really want you to get the point of it all.

Meeting with God in His presence will change your life. Jacob, as we will see next week, limped away after his encounter with God which was an outward reminder of his meeting with God and inwardly the limp was a reminder to walk humbly before God. Moses had a face that shone after his encounter with God which was a reminder to him and to everyone else of the ways God worked in Moses life. Saul became Paul and was called to ministry and Peter was given a new commission as we will see later. You will be changed – that is something that all of us need – we need to be changed by God! God wants to change each of us – will you allow him to do it?

Here is probably one of the most important things in talking about God encounters and that is there will be many things about our encounters with God that we will not understand. God encounters are mysterious and they are and will be different for all of us.  They are mysterious and wonderful and disturbing – all in a good way.

To go along with the mystery, we need to recognize that we still have a sin nature that blinds us spiritually to some of the things happening around us. Paul remind us of this in 1 Corinthians 13:12 when he said,  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. There is a mystery in every encounter with God. Maybe part of the mystery is that God will not explain everything that’s happening around us in the encounter because He is testing our faith. Maybe He wants to know if we will trust and obey Him when His presence comes in and points us in a direction that is uncomfortable or that we in ourselves do not want to go. The point to this is found in these verses we all know – Proverbs 3:5,6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your paths. I am reminded also of these verses – Isaiah 55:8-9  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. Regardless, God’s ways are right and we need to follow them but will you do it? Will you have an open heart to allow God to encounter you?

What is one thing you have trusted God with recently that you have not ever trusted Him with before or that you had taken back but now have given back to Him?

(This series of post has been inspired by the book – God Encounters by Elmer Towns)

God Encounters – God wants You to know Him!

In the last couple of post we have been talking about God Encounters.  If you want to catch up on these you can go here and here.  We will pick up from yesterday and continue to look at some things that we need to recognize when we encounter God.

We need to recognize is that many times we will have an encounter with God when we expect it the least.  The Lord is there for us and he is faithful too us in those moments when we least expect it. Most mornings we do not expect it but God is there fresh and new with mercies ready for us.An example of this is seen at the tomb of Christ on the first day of the week when Mary and the other women went to the tomb to put spices on the dead body of Christ they ended up having an encounter with the risen Savior! They were able to fall at his feet and worship Him – it certainly was  not something that they expected to happen that day.

Along the same lines but in a different way you also have examples like Jeremiah and Ezekiel who prayed for God to bless them and God’s blessing overwhelmed and surprised them. There are times that you will want God to come and encounter you but you will surprised by the magnitude by which God blesses in that encounter. God will come at that time you least expect it and will bless you beyond what you could ever imagine!

Know this – if God encounters you – it is for a purpose. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us this; The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. God always has a purpose when he encounters us and a message that is meant directly for us. God’s message will be one where we are encouraged to obey God and observe what he tells us to do. When you encounter God – He is going to give you a message that will give you purpose in life! He has a purpose for you so find it and live in that purpose!

Part of that purpose is that God wants us to know Him intimately, which is something else we need to recognize and it is a reason why God will encounter us. He knows us intimately and wants us to know Him intimately!  He encounters us so that we will meet with Him and worship Him. John 4:23 tells us; But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. The Father seeks people to worship Him! When we worship Him we learn more about him and the better we know God the better we can serve Him! He will encounter you so that you become more intimate with Him and then you will be a better servant of His! God wants you to know him better – we all need to know Him better!

What is one thing you have learned or  have been reminded about God in recent times?  How has this thing changed you?

(This series of post has been inspired by the book – God Encounters by Elmer Towns)

Recognizing a God Encounter – God’s Presence

In the the last post we looked at God encounters and talked about what they were and were not.  So  today we will start to  look at how we recognize a God Encounter.

How do we do it? How do we live with an open heart? How do we have an encounter with the God of the universe that will change the trajectory of our lives? It is my desire that each one of you have an encounter with God that will be life changing and transforming. I pray that you will find direction, or peace, or personal revival, or conviction of sin and sinful attitudes – that God will do something powerful in your life.  I truly believe that in order for this to happen we need to recognize some things. Let us look at these things  the rest of the week.

The first thing to recognize is that God will intentionally meet you. When you are intentional in meeting and encountering God, God will meet with you. What we will see in the coming weeks is this – some encounters with God will happen when the person least expects it and at other times we will see when the person was so fervent in prayer that they will not back off and God comes to them and encounters them in a powerful way. It is about being intentional about meeting God and having His presence in your life in a powerful way.

Think about what Moses says – he does not want a mere angel to guide them into the promise land. Moses in Exodus 33:15 says “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here”. It was all about having the presence of God and that needs to be true of us if we wish to have an encounter with the God of the universe we need to desire His presence. If God’s presence is not going to be moving you in the encounter  – you should not want to have it!  When was the last time you felt the power and presence of God? We need to be passionate about having the presence and power of God in our lives. We need to be like Moses and not move until the presence of God is upon us and when it is we will shine like Moses shone! (Exodus 34:29-35)

Something else we should recognize is that an encounter with God many times will come at a time of great need. Ezekiel 34:11 – For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.” God is looking for those wish to have an encounter with him and those who need to have an encounter with him. We will see later that Elijah meets Gods when he was in a time of great discouragement. Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel all encountered God when their country was falling down around them. We will see that Jacobs encounter comes when he was afraid to come face to face with a vengeful brother.

Here is the real deal, problems and stresses in life are many times motivators to seek out and search out God like we never have before. Sometimes terrible times in life are times that are a great catalyst to trusting and following of God. Sometimes even when we are not seeking God, God will come and encounter us. We will see this with Saul on the road to Damascus and Peter after he denies Jesus three times. When people need God and their heart is open even though it may not look like it on the outside – He will come to them. He will come to you!

When was the last time you really sensed the presence of God and what were the circumstances of it?

(This series of post has been inspired by the book – God Encounters by Elmer Towns)

God Encounters–What are they?

In the words of George Costanza from Seinfeld “I’m back baby!”  I have had one of the busiest seasons in life and ministry over the last few weeks.  Thanks to those who have prayed for me/us.

Now to the topic at hand this week – God Encounters: What are they?

The first kind of encounter people should have with God is the most important one. It is an encounter with God where we understand who he is and what he has done for us. It is an encounter that results in a conversion of our lives.  It is an encounter with Jesus where you believe in Him and His work on the cross and your eternal destination changes.  That is the most important encounter people should have with God.

Now that is the most important and basic of the encounters with God but I believe and see that there are many other types and encounters with God. A way that God encounters people is to show them a new direction in life. They might be headed in a direction that is not the best for them and God can come in and point them another direction. There are other times that God encounters people to show them a call to a particular ministry to lead or be involved in. There are other times that God encounters people to remind them of who He is and how He works – it is about Him and His ways and not them and their ways. There are times that God encounters people to show them His Holiness in a fresh and a new way which brings about personal revival. God encounters can be for a variety of purposes and happen in a variety of ways.

What are God Encounters? They are extraordinary experiences with God in His presence. God encounters beyond salvation only happen a few times in your lifetime if at all. I truly believe that people who have encounters with God do so because they make themselves available to God. God will not force himself upon you so you must have an open attitude toward God and be willing to change in order to have an encounter with God beyond salvation. Here is the thing that you will see in all this – God does not just encounter people who have it all together but he encounters those who make themselves available to Him.

What does it mean to encounter God? The best way that I can explain it is to tell you what an encounter with God is not. It is not just praying, it may happen when you are praying, but it is much more than praying. God encounters are not just meeting with God in your daily quiet time, although you will meet God many times in this way but a true God encounter is more than this daily meeting. You see a God encounter is a life changing moment because the presence of God will become so extraordinarily real and you sense God moving in your life like never before in your life. God encounters have elements to them that will not necessarily happen again in your lifetime.

God encounters are not about the place it happens – whether a sanctuary or a chapel or a garden or your living room. God can encounter you anywhere and He will but again it is going to happen when you are open to Him. Another thing is that it is not about just encountering God through insights from a Bible study, although you might encounter Him that way. God encounters happen at specific locations and ou will have great insight from it but it is not about the place or the insight but it is about God and what He wants you to do. God encounters are not about the place – it is always about God and God alone!

You might think that only biblical characters from the past encountered God but that is not the case because God still does it meet people and encounter them today. Age is not an issue when it comes to encountering God. Gideon and Jeremiah were young men when they encountered God. Moses and John were old men when they encountered God. Geography, culture, and language are other circumstances that make no difference when it comes to encountering God. When we look through the Bible we see that the geography, the culture, the language are non factors because all different kinds of people in all different places encounter God. Again, the prerequisite to a God encounter is an open heart, not a place, an age, a culture but an open heart to what God wants to do.

One more thing here and that is God encounters are not the answer to all your problems in life because it is not a “fix”, nor a feeling. The encounter itself is not the most important thing – God is. You must meet God; it is Him that you need. He is the only one who can help you through your problems and the only one who is the glue that can hold your life together. It is not about the encounter but it is about God and when God comes upon you like this, it will change you. God’s presence changes people and transforms life.

You see God has promised all of us a better life. Jesus has promised us an abundant life in John 10:10 but do we live in it? Paul wants believers to be rooted and grounded in love as we read in Ephesians 3:17 but are we rooted and grounded in the love of God? Paul also promised us that we can be more than conquers in Romans 8:37- do you live as a conqueror? We can read in Malachi that God says he will open the windows of heaven and pour his blessings out on us – has God poured his blessings out on you? Peter said in 1 Peter that we could have joy inexpressible and full of glory- would you say your life is full of joy inexpressible? So what I am saying is that we should be seeking God daily and praying that we will experience God’s presence in the powerful way that God’s Word describes. We should be living in the promises of God but it is a matter of being open to God to do so.  When we do this – I believe we will experience a God encounter and we will experience these promises of God.

What are your thoughts on God encounters as I have described them?

(This series of post has been inspired by the book – God Encounters by Elmer Towns)

Getting Refreshed

I wrote a post back on the 20th of March about it being a busy season for me in ministry and it has been.  We had a dear lady from the church have an aneurism and stroke and then heart issues which led to her going home to be with the Lord.  Through that time I knew that my calling was to be with the family and encourage and support them – it was an intense time of ministry.  Her funeral was this past Friday and it was an honor to minister at and through her funeral.  Jesus was lifted on high through the funeral and all that happened around it.

I am now at a point  where I am renewing and refreshing in Him.  Monday is my day off – I have not had a whole day in a few weeks and it has worn me down.  Yesterday was a whole day off and it was good.  I did some spring cleaning with my wife,  some  errand running, some just hanging out with my bride, and just soaked in a beautiful day. 

In all this I am reminded of this being Passion Week.  This week as we who are believers in Christ head toward Resurrection Sunday let us soak in the beauty of what it means.  Let us get refreshed and renewed by our Savior and the beauty of what He did for us on the cross and in the grave and in the resurrection!

I apologize for not being around too much in recent weeks but I am sure you understand it.  I will most likely not be around much this week as I contemplate the meaning of the week and continue to be refilled so I can minister out of the overflow – because that is where we need to minister from.

I will spend some extra time in the Word this week and listen to some music and read some other things to be refreshed and be refilled in the time I would normally spend doing the blogging thing so that I can minister out of the overflow.

What is it that you do to be spiritually refreshed and refilled?