"I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought." --Hosea 13:5 The book of Hosea was written during a very dark and melancholic time of Israel's history. People had turned to idol worship. During this season, God instructed the prophet Hosea to marry a harlot. This was to be symbolic of God and Israel. A covenant between a Holy and pure God, to a wife loose and unfaithful. It is always amazing to me the love that God has and does bestow upon us. A covenant God that is totally faithful ... even when we are faithless.
"I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him." Hosea 14:4
Isn't that a wonderful text, I will heal, love freely, and turn my anger away!
In the midst of unfaithfulness God so loved the World that he gave ... gave love personified, healing without any trace of anger.
He gave us Jesus! While we were still in our sinful state, God gave so that we could walk together, with no walls of partition (no separation).
If you will note in this text it says, I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from Him ... [not them, but HIM].
Jesus our atonement ... HIM ... Jesus bearing all our sins and pains ... God turning away from Him for a moment in order to be able to receive us unto Himself cleansed by the blood.
I remember a time in my life when I was heavy with sin. I knew I was not right with God, or others. I knew I was hurting and angry. I knew I was a mess. I knew I had need of love. But I did not know HIM!
I would often go to a church service and get emotional, (it didn't take much). I would then walk down the Aisle and shake hands with the messenger, utter words of which I had no personal knowledge and leave thinking I would be different. The only thing was, I would soon find myself in the same situations, circumstances and emptiness as before. Because I did not know HIM!
After many emotional encounters with messengers, who told me about him, but never introduced me to him ... I was ready to either find HIM or toss in the towel.
I wanted to be Happy. I wanted to be Healed. I wanted to be loved. I wanted to enjoy life. I wanted purpose. I wanted fulfillment, and I had not found it. I had not found it in the World, or in religious services, and believe me I had searched to the best of my ability.
I had searched in the bars, the bottles, the drugs, the concerts, the jobs, the men and religions. I searched every denomination, every kind of service that mentioned the name of one that my soul (mind, will and emotion) was drawn to "Jesus" ... but I had not met HIM. I had simply been indoctrinated with traditions and ideas. The Word that I had been given was tainted with adultery and corruptions.
In the Psalms it says that when they came to their wit's end, they cried out to God in their troubles and he brought them out of their distresses. ~ Psalms 107
Oh that men would cry out to God instead of looking everywhere else. That is what I finally did ..."cried out to God," and there he heard me, and answered me. That is when I begin to get to Know HIM. And I have not stopped spending time in His presence since.
You see ... it was His loving kindness that drew me and brought me to repentance. It was HIM! It was not tradition, culture or rules. It was not empty doctrines of men. It was not forms of godliness that had no power of transformation (changed), but it was HIM ... LIFE, LIGHT, TRUTH, HEALER, CAREGIVER AND LOVER OF MY SOUL!
How did I meet HIM ... when I got to the end of myself and all my attempts at fulfillment. I cried out to Jesus! I ask Him to reveal Himself to me, to show Himself to me, so that I could get to know HIM, and He did.
His love is amazing; He is amazing!
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. ~ I John 3:1
I could not know the love of the Father in others until I knew HIM.
After getting to know HIM, it would never be enough for me to simply lay out a message and shake a hand saying, Go and sin no more ... Sin is ever present and to sin no more without a personal relationship with HIM ... is just impossible.
It would never be enough for me to just tell people about Jesus ... No ... I had to offer more. I had to offer them Spirit and Truth. I had to learn to be a conductor that would be able to be so transparent they could see Christ in me. But first, I must introduce them to Jesus Himself. The Jesus that they could know personally ... not just through me!
How would I do this?
Simple ...
"Have you ever met Jesus?
Let me introduce you to HIM.
He is wonderful, He is not anger with you, He loves you and will heal you.
He wants you to know HIM, and all you have to do is ask HIM to reveal Himself to you.
Let me share a story with you about how God begin to reveal himself to a young man using me as only a conductor. I was ministering on the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras when a young man came over mocking me. I ask Him if He had even been introduced to Jesus. He continued to mock, and after a period of time I ask if he would allow me to pray with Him ... to ask Jesus to reveal Himself to Him. Again He mocked.
I then ask, Son what would it take for you to believe that Jesus is real and wants a relationship with you personally?
His response was, "Oh, I don't know, I suppose that man that is way over there across the street would have to come over here right now, get in my face and start talking to me for me to believe that."
At this point, I replied, "Okay, so if that man comes over her and gets right in your face and begins to talk to you, then you will trust him enough to get to know Him?"
"Yes, but that will never happen," he says.
At this point, I toke the young mans hands, and simply prayed, Jesus you heard him, you know what it will take to reveal yourself to this young man, so I trust you.
At this point, the young man still in mocking mode ... looks up ... the guys across the street presses through the throng of people ... comes straight up to us, gets in this young mans face and begins to talk to say to him, "hey, whats up, what's happening?" and then walks away.
The young man was amazed and at this point was ready to begin to cry out and get to know HIM (Jesus). I told this young man that just as this fellow across the street came over and spoke to him, that Jesus wanted the opportunity to talk to him and build a relationship with Him through both the written Word of God and by His wonderful supernatural Spirit.
Would you ask Him to reveal Himself to You?
You will be glad you did!
Life with Christ Jesus as Lord of your Life is a marvelous adventure.
If you ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you and you begin this wonderful journey of getting to know him, would you leave me a comment ... I would love to hear your new life experience.
