Field of Dreams

From time to time, I have been asked to try to explain what it is like to see through the eyes of the heart. As those who have truly seen know, spiritual sight is necessary to walk in love. Without it, we stumble around blindly in darkness. Seeing is a difficult thing to explain in words. Metaphors, I have found, are often helpful to facilitating understanding

One of the metaphors I use to try to explain spiritual sight is from the movie "Field of Dreams." If you have seen the movie, you may recall that Ray's brother-in-law thought Ray was insane to build a baseball field in a Iowa corn field. Ray heard a voice and that voice guided him along the way. He ignored his brother-in-law's advice and built the field - with lights no less. Lo and behold, professional baseball players from the past showed up from nowhere and began playing.

Ray and his wife had no problems seeing the baseball players. Neither did their daughter or other people. Try as he might, when Ray's brother-in-law looked out at the field, all he saw was an empty baseball diamond in a cornfield. Things became desperate for Ray and his family farm when his brother-in-law suggested they sell the farm due to financial difficulties.

It was during a game, as Ray's brother-in-law was getting very agitated about tearing down the field and filing for bankruptcy, that heaven intervened. Ray's daughter was eating a hot dog and fell off the back of the bleacher. Her little face turned blue.

One of the baseball players - Moonlight Graham - saw what was happening and approached the little girl. As soon as Moonlight left the field to look at the little girl, he was transformed back into a physician - Dr. Graham. Doc Graham examined Ray's daughter, popped the hot dog out of her throat, and told everybody she was going to be just fine. Doc Graham saved the day. Without his assistance, the beloved little girl may have died.

As everybody was celebrating Doc Graham's assistance, Ray's brother-in-law looked out at the baseball field and said, "Hey, where did all these baseball players come from?" It took a near death experience of a loved one for him to see the players. But see he eventually did. As soon as the brother-in-law saw, his whole heart changed. He told Ray it would crazy to tear the field down. It was a special thing. It should be preserved and even promoted so others could enjoy old-time baseball. All Ray and his family could do was smile and share hugs of love.

And so it is with seeing Christ. There comes a time in our lives when various events result in the eyes of our heart being opened. It may take years, even decades. But when the time comes, everything changes, akin to the experience of Ray's brother-in-law. Through the darkness, we see light - powerful light.

Until the eyes of the heart are opened, we are spiritually blind. We can read the Scriptures over and over again, and even be able to recite them from memory, but never know their true meaning. Put differently, the Bible is a closed book to those who are spiritually blind. When the eyes of the heart are opened, the Scriptures become light and we no longer see a book. We see a magnificent Being - Christ - who is Love.

May the eyes of your heart be opened to see Love.

Agape,
Steve

Love: The Crown Jewel

I wanted to share a short blog post with you this morning from our sister blog, Love Light Life.

Here's the link:

http://lovelightlifeorg.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/love-the-crown-jewel/

I hope you find it illuminating.

Agape,
Steve

Two Years and Counting

Just a short notice today to Sweetbird blog readers that, at the Lord's request, I will be taking a short break from posting new blogs. I have been doing a great deal of blogging over the past 3 months - far more than I thought I would write given my current medical condition! - and the days ahead will be one of reflection and deeper meditation.

In the meantime, there are plenty of blog posts for readers to view. There's also my new book "I Am Love" for those who are interested in learning more about the mighty power of revelation in changing hearts. To read the book, click on the link below:

http://www.sweetbirdmusic.com/documents/IAmLove-RevelationandMeditation-WebLayout.pdf

I should also mention we are celebrating our 2 year anniversary of blogging on the Sweetbird website. We began this journey back on June 30, 2007. June 30 is a special day for me. It is the day of my dad's passing. The love that poured out of my dad's heart during his time here on earth was incredible, and that love is alive and well in my heart.

I'm not sure when blogging will resume. That will be up to the Spirit. Needless to say, I look forward to that day.

Thanks for your support over the years and for listening to the music - Love's music.

May this blog continue to be a source of light to you.

Agape,
Steve

The Beauty of Seeing Love

Here's a meditation on love for you today inspired by T. Austin-Sparks. May it be light to you. Sparks says:

"Paul had not decided to come into Christianity, to turn from one religion to another. Paul had not decided to accept certain teaching about Jesus Christ. It was not because some people had persuaded him to become a Christian. It was none of those things. And it was none of the many other things that call some people to become Christians. Paul saw Jesus Christ. For him the beginning was not a religion or a teaching, it was a Person. Later on, he put it in this way. "It pleased God to reveal His Son in me" (Gal. 1:15,16). He had a very personal encounter with Jesus Christ; it was very personal."

From the beginning, it was not a religion or a teaching - it was a Person. And who is that Person? It is Love - the most powerful Being in the universe, a Being that knows no death, no darkness and no destruction. Sin, beloved, is not wrong doing, as many think. It is rather wrong being. It is possessing the wrong heart - a heart that has not love. The heart is the totality of what we are. Religious hearts are sinful hearts. Jesus railed against such hearts. I encourage you to meditate deeply on Matthew 23.

When we first enter the world, we are naturally not equipped with hearts capable of walking in love. They must be transformed through the Cross. The Cross is Love's will, as distinct from our wills. Adam and many that followed in his footsteps couldn't walk in love. That's THE major problem for the Lord. He desires for all of us to walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-2). The inability or lack of desire of many people to walk in love explains why we have seen so much death, darkness and destruction in the world. Put simply, Adam had the wrong heart. Walking in love - in the Light, as it were - requires a special heart. It requires a heart of Christ. Adam is sin. Christ is love. Adam is darkness, Christ is light. Adam is death. Christ is life.The difference between Adam and Christ is night and day.

It is wonderful to read Paul's letters and see what an incredible job Love did transforming his heart. Every single letter Paul wrote radiated love. Saul of Tarsus was a devout religious man, but he had not love. Saul, as a Pharisee, could have never written those letters of love. It took Aother Heart to do that task - the heart of the Holy Spirit. When the eyes of our heart are opened, we see love and our hearts radiate love. Love becomes preeminent in our lives and the Spirit guides our hearts. Paul's life is proof of this truth. Saul's heart was filled with darkness and hatred. Paul's heart was filled with light and love. Repentance means a change of heart - one from darkness to light, from death to life, from hatred to love. Revelation - seeing Love - is the gateway to repentance. Oh, the mighty power associated with revelation!

Note what Sparks says about Paul. He didn't make a decision to become a Christian, or to turn to another religion called "Christianity." He had not decided to accept "correct teaching" about Christ. There weren't a group of Christians that persuaded Paul to stop being a religious Pharisee. No. Paul saw Christ. God chose to reveal Himself to Paul. The revelation he had set him free to walk in love. And that's precisely what he did for the rest of his life.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the Spirit said much through his heart. But when it was time to get down to the foundation of Christ, the Spirit through Paul said:

"And now let me show you the most excellent way."

What followed was what we know today as 1 Corinthians 13, the most beautiful description of love ever recorded on the planet. Love is, indeed, the most excellent way. It is the greatest (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Oh, the mighty power of revelation to change a heart filled with darkness to one that radiates brilliant light that is Love.

Love, Light and Life are what God desires for our hearts.

May you know the most excellent way.

Agape,
Steve

Listen to love
http://www.sweetbirdmusic.com/

The Basis of This Dispensation

Here's a short meditation inspired by T. Austin-Sparks. May it be great light to you. Sparks says (caps included in original):

"So what does this source of Paul's apostleship mean for us? It means that the basic reality of this dispensation is a personal, direct encounter with Jesus Christ. I want to repeat that. It is perhaps the most important thing out of which everything else will come. The basic reality of the dispensation in which we live is a personal direct encounter with Jesus Christ. It is personal between Christ and ourselves personally. It is direct because it is not through man. It is not through a priest or any other kind of intermediary. It is not through a ritual; it is not through a system; and it is not through man. It is directly between Christ and ourselves. We shall fail in the very purpose of this dispensation, unless we can say, 'that is how it is with us.' The method in which it happens may differ between Paul's experience and ours, but every one of us individually must be able to say: 'I have met Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ has met me directly. Men may have helped, but I did not receive it from men. I did not even receive it from those great men in Jerusalem. I did not receive it from the great representatives of Christianity. I received it personally and directly from the Lord.'

What a searching thing that is! How that will find us out. It just raises some questions. How did we get what we have got? How did I get my Christianity? How did I get what I have got? How did it come to me? Did it come to me by thinking it out? I reasoned out this matter of Christian life, and I came to certain intellectual conclusions, in comparing it with all other things I saw that this was the best thing, so that in my mind I decided that this thing is right. Is it just an intellectual conclusion? Is that how I got it? Is that the ground on which I stand? Or, did it come to me by the impact of some strong personality? Some teacher, or some leader, with a very forceful personality and I came under the impact of that personality. So I received it through a man's strong personality. Is that the ground on which you stand? Was it through the persuasion of other people? They said you ought to come to Christ, and they kept on saying that, and at last I yielded to them, I gave way to their persuasion, and so I profess Christianity, and I got baptized, and that is the ground on which I stand.

How did we get what we got? That is going to decide everything for the future. Sooner or later the stresses of life will come upon our position. The Lord will allow our position to be tried in the fires. And His object in so doing will be to find out exactly what we are resting upon. So Paul said, "I received it not from men, nor from a man. Peter may have been a very important man, but I did not get it from Peter. James may have been the Lord's Own brother in the flesh, and he ought to know, but I did not receive it from James. John was a very loving devoted disciple, he was one of the first three, but I did not get it from John. These men gave me nothing. I RECEIVED IT BY DIRECT REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. That is the basis of this dispensation. That is the basis of true spiritual Christianity. And that is the great distinguishing mark between a legal system and a spiritual life."

There is nothing more illuminating, beloved, than receiving a revelation of Christ directly from Heaven. To see the Son is to experience the majesty of the Lord's grace. Revelation enables hearts to see what God sees.

May God reveal His Son to you.

Agape,
Steve

Open Hearts

Here's a little meditation inspired by T. Austin-Sparks. May it be light to you. Sparks says:

"We make the Christian life far too complicated - projecting our mentalities and our arguments, our contentions, and our demands for explanation, and what-not - and we are standing in our own light as we do so. The Lord cannot get on; that is all rubbish in the way. He needs a heart that is simple, in this sense, that there is nothing argumentative, querulous, awkward, about it. It is an open heart.

The trouble with so many of us is that we are so slow in our submission, our surrender, our giving way, our letting go. We will argue; we will demand an explanation. We go round and round this eternal circle, getting nowhere, because we will not let go - we just will not let go; and so we come back to the point from which we started a thousand times."

We should all realize that everything of the spiritual realm comes down to a matter of having the eyes of our hearts opened so that we may see Love. Until the eyes of the heart are opened, we stumble around blindly in darkness. There is no substitute for seeing. Revelation is the gateway to Love.

The act of seeing requires a special kind of heart - an open heart, as Sparks calls it. There is a fragment of Scripture that I have meditated on deeply in the past. It is from Matthew 5:

"Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)

Pure hearts see Love. They are blessed. Sparks notes that the trouble with so many hearts is that they are not pure and not open. Closed hearts have a difficult time surrendering, giving up their way, and letting go. Reason, will and desire - elements of the soul - get in the way of the Spirit. As long as the soul is the driving force of the heart, it is impossible to walk in love.

May you find the strength to let go and possess a pure heart.

Agape,
Steve

Transformed by Love

Here's a little mediation today inspired by T. Austin-Sparks. May it be light to you. Sparks says:

"Now the first thing to note about this, which is, of course, so helpful and encouraging, is where the apostle finishes this statement, 'as by the Spirit Who is the Lord' (II Corinthians 3:18). With all that we know about the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Person and the work of the Holy Spirit, all the effects of the Spirit's advent and indwelling, let us recognize this as supreme: The inclusive work of the Holy Spirit, in all His manifold activities, is one thing - to reproduce the Lord Jesus in a people. When you pray about the Holy Spirit, and you speak about the Holy Spirit, remember that. The Holy Spirit's supreme and comprehensive object is to reproduce the Lord Jesus, in His character, His personality, His perfected manhood or humanity, in a people.

The real test of a Spirit-governed life lies here: the progressive increase of the character of Christ. If we are going to meet one another as really Spirit-governed men and women, what we must meet in one another is the Lord Jesus; and that must be, not just today, not just in one time of our lives, but going on, going on all the time."

The Holy Spirit's objective is to transform us to what the Lord is - Love. You might ask, what is Love? What will be the result if I allow the Spirit to transform my heart. What will my heart look like? Here's the answer:

You will possess a heart that is:

"kind; does not envy; does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked (that is, is slow to anger), thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

That, beloved, describes God's heart - the heart of Christ! I've been meditating on the heart of Christ for many years now and I still haven't reached the depths of it. It seemingly knows no bounds! It's the greatest heart in the universe (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The Spirit always guides hearts into Christ. Always! The Spirit is love. We are nothing without the Spirit.

May you possess a heart of Christ.

Agape,
Steve


Freely share the love ...

LoveLightLife.org
- Assisting hearts earnestly seeking Love

e. lovelightlife7@yahoo.com

Listen to love
http://www.sweetbirdmusic.com/

Hungry Hearts

Here's a little story for you as told by T. Austin-Sparks. May it resonate with your hungry heart.

"There was a man, once, who was traveling in his chariot across the desert. He had been up to the feast at Jerusalem, but his heart was hungry. All the religion in Jerusalem, had not satisfied his heart. He had heard the priests talking. He had seen the sacrifices being offered. He had seen all the crowds filling the temple, but he was going away, back to his country, a disappointed man. His heart was still hungry. All that religion had failed to satisfy his heart; and as he was sitting in his chariot, going back to his far away country, he was reading the Old Testament. And he was reading the Prophet Isaiah, he came to chapter fifty-three. He read that chapter. And he said, "I wonder what that means. I would give a lot if only I understood what this prophet is talking about."

And as he traveled with his heart toward God, God knew about that hungry heart, and God had a man some distance away. He said to that man, 'Go down to the desert, I have a piece of work for you to do there.' He did not know what he was going for, but he obeyed the Lord, and he traveled all the way from Samaria down to the desert. And as he was wondering what it all meant, he saw this chariot coming along. And the Lord said, "Go and join yourself to that chariot." And as he got near, he heard this man reading the Scripture, and he said to him, "Do you understand what you are reading?" The man said, "How can I understand it if no one teaches me? Who is the prophet speaking about?"

And Philip opened his mouth at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And the man saw; and when they came to a certain water; and he said to Philip, "Here is water; what does hinder me to be baptized? What does hinder me from being united with this Christ, in death and burial and resurrection?" Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, thou mayest." The man evidently said, 'Yes, I believe with all my heart.' And both of them went down to the water, and Philip baptized him. The end of the story is: "And the man went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:26-39). God knows where there are hungry hearts. God needs to have people who know the Lord Jesus. And God will bring them together.

Perhaps you are a hungry heart. Perhaps religion has not satisfied you. Perhaps you are still wanting to see Jesus. Well, the Lord will bring somebody across your path. He will arrange that your heart does not remain hungry. He will bring you into touch with that which helps you, which will lead you into a real experience of Christ, and you will go on your way rejoicing. That is, if you do what this man in the chariot did, believe with all your heart and surrender your life wholly to the Lord Jesus, and then the world will see Jesus through you."

What a wonderful story! Love Light Life is here for you, beloved. If you are earnestly seeking Christ, we are at your service. Let us know how we can assist you.

May you see Christ.

Agape,
Steve

Freely share the love ...

LoveLightLife.org
- Assisting hearts earnestly seeking Love

e. lovelightlife7@yahoo.com

Listen to Love
www.sweetbirdmusic.com

Embracing the Light

Here's a little meditation for you today inspired by something T. Austin-Sparks said back in the mid-1906s. May it be light to you. Sparks said:

"The first effect of the Light in Christ is to reveal the true state of man's heart. If man does not like to have his true condition revealed, he will crucify Christ. He will persecute and fight against the Lord Jesus. But if we are prepared to have our true condition revealed, we shall go down on our knees, and say, 'I am a sinful man, O Lord.'"

The first effect of the Light in Christ is to reveal the true state of a man's heart. That is right on the mark. One of the first things I do when I meet people who are earnestly seeking Love and ask me for guidance, is have them examine their heart and write down all the things they see. I encourage people to take their time, and above all else, be brutally honest. It is not an easy exercise, by any means. It is often filled with pain and tears.

Once they have complied the list, I then ask them to compare what they see in their heart to God's heart of Christ, which is described in 1 Corinthians 13. What's in our hearts that is not of Christ must be dealt with decisively through the Cross. That's where the real work begins. The process of purifying the heart can take years - even decades and lifetimes - but there is great power associated with purified hearts. As the Lord says, pure hearts see God and are blessed (Matthew 5:8).

It is important to have the true state of our hearts revealed if we desire to follow God and walk in love. Religious people loathe having their hearts examined, and therefore are in bondage to darkness. Jesus said of the scribes and Pharisees: "You are of your father the devil." That was a revelation to the people who were listening to the Lord! Who would ever dare to say such a thing about the powerful religious scribes and Pharisees? After all, weren't they "men of God?" "Crucify Him!," cried the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus spoke the truth about religious hearts. Many people are afraid of the Light. They refuse to let the light of the truth set them free. Religious hearts always crucify Christ and persecute those who are led by the Spirit. That truth is revealed in the Scriptures. The Lord's desire is to transform all hearts into hearts filled with Love, Light and Life - that is, with Christ. Christ is God's solution for all that ails humanity. Oh, to see the light of the Son. The Lord's wondrous remedy.

Job's experience with the Light is instructive and amplifies what Sparks said above:

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes."
(Job 42:5-6)

God bless, Job!

May you embrace the Light.

Agape,
Steve

Love Light Life

Today's blog post is a special one for me. Some readers may recall that the Spirit has been guiding me to launch a non-profit organization called Love Light Life. While the organization has not been officially launched due to my illness and lack of funding, it is most certainly alive and well in my heart. During a recent meditation, I came across some remarks made by T. Austin-Sparks. They explain everything, as you will see.

Sparks says (bold added for emphasis):

"We are familiar with the many divisions amongst God's people, and we know so well how the world has invaded Christianity, and how the world has robbed the churches of their pure testimony. We have to face these conditions. Many of the Lord's people, especially the young people, ask: 'Which of all these is right? Which of these different teachings is the right one? Which of these divisions amongst the Lord's people is the right one?' It is a time of much perplexity, especially for young Christians, and that is why we are looking into this first letter of John. We are going to let John help us, just as he helped the believers of his own day.

So I want to point out three other great words in this letter. For these words are words which will solve many of our problems. Indeed, John said that these were the things that would solve the problems of the Christians in his day. And the three words are: "Light," "Life," and "Love." You will probably remember how often John uses those words. They are the great words of Christianity: Light, Life, and Love. And John links with that last word "Love," the word, "Fellowship." He says a lot about fellowship in this letter."

Isn't it wonderful how the Spirit guides hearts into the truth?

May the Spirit guide your heart into the truth.

Agape,
Steve

Life from the Spirit

Here's a little meditation for you today inspired once again by T. Austin-Sparks. May it be light for you. Sparks says:

"Before I ever had a great spiritual crisis, I had very thoroughly studied the Bible. I had studied the Bible systematically right through. I could put on a big blackboard the outline and analysis of every book in the Bible. And I could give Bible lectures, but it was not until I had a real spiritual crisis, that I came to understand the Bible which I knew so well in my head. Then the Bible that I knew became a living Book.

You see that is what happened to the apostles on the day of Pentecost. They were Jews and they knew Jewish Scripture very thoroughly. That is, they knew what was written in the Old Testament. They could have told you all that Moses had written. They could have told you all that David had written. And they could have told you all the prophets had written. But on the day of Pentecost their Bible became alive.

Do you notice that was the difference between Jesus and the scribes? Now the scribes were the authority on the Bible. They were the people who had committed the Bible to memory. They knew everything that was in the Bible, which was the Old Testament. And if anybody wanted to have an explanation of any part of the Old Testament, they went to the scribes, because the scribe was supposed to know all about it. Now when Jesus spoke to the multitudes, the verdict upon His teaching was this: "He talked as One having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matt. 7:29). And yet, the people thought the scribes were the authority. But they said of Jesus, "He taught as One having authority and not as the scribes." What was the difference between Jesus and the scribes? He had the spiritual understanding of the Scripture. And they only had the letter of the Scripture. The apostle says, "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life" (2 Cor. 3:6)."

It is one thing to read Scripture and be able to recite it from memory, and another entirely different thing to understand it. The Holy Spirit, and only the Holy Spirit, gives understanding. The Bible is a closed book to a heart that is not led by the Holy Spirit. Oh sure, you can read the Bible without the Holy Spirit. But don't confuse reading a book with spiritual understanding. The act of reading doesn't constitute spiritual understanding unless it is led by the Spirit. The Spirit is Light, and it is the Light that allows us to see Christ - God's true expression of love.

The Bible comes alive, as Sparks says, when we have that great spiritual crisis in our lives, when God reveals His Son and we become entangled with Love. In the presence of the Spirit, we no longer view the Bible as a book. We see the Bible for what it truly is - an all powerful and magnificent Person Who is Love, Light and Life.

The scribes and Pharisees knew the Scripture backward and forward. I imagine many scribes could recite Scripture line by line from memory. But they did not have a clue who Christ is. The Lord stood right in front of their faces and all they could do was throw stones at Him, spit in His face and ask the Romans to have Him killed. The letter indeed killeth!

Oh, to have spiritual understanding! There is no substitute for spiritual understanding.

Never, ever confuse having head knowledge of the Bible with knowing Christ, beloved. I have heard several men in the past quoting Scripture in rapid fire succession who have no idea who Christ is. These men are the scribes and Pharisees of modern times. They can recite the Bible, but the Son hasn't been revealed to them by God. The Bible is a closed book for such people. There is no life. Spiritual understanding and life go hand in hand. Jesus came so we may all have life - Great Life! The Holy Spirit is the source of all spiritual understanding. The Holy Spirit guides us along to narrow road to eternal life. The only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit are One.

The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. That is the truth.

May the Lord give to you spiritual understanding.

Agape,
Steve

Spiritual Guidance

Here's another meditation on Spiritual guidance inspired by some remarks by T. Austin-Sparks. May it be light to you. Sparks says (note: bold added for emphasis):

"But note this, dear friends, the Christianity with which we are familiar is very largely constituted on the old dispensation. Do you see how Christianity goes to work now? It begins by building religious buildings. They are called churches, of course, a false name entirely. The Church is not a building made with hands. And then they set up a certain order in it. And then they appoint certain officers to do the work. When they've got the building, and when they've got the officers, the minister and all the others, and when they have got their order of service, then they ask the Lord if He will come into it. The organization comes first. The outward thing comes first. It all builds upon the principle of the soul. It is all a matter of reason and emotion and doing. That is Judaistic Christianity.

It is just the reverse with God's method. Where does God begin? God does not begin with churches even if they are companies of people. He certainly does not begin with buildings. And He does not begin with ritual, or with a system of things. And He does not begin by calling a congregation together. A congregation is not God's beginning. God begins by a work of the Holy Spirit in individual lives. It may just be one to begin with, and then another and then another. And if those two or three find themselves in one city, they are joined, not because they have accepted Christianity, but because they have the one Spirit in them. That is the beginning of the Church in that place.

And what is true of the beginning, has got to be true of everything afterwards. Man's hands must be kept off the things of the Spirit. Man must not try to form something that is of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit, Who began this, is perfectly capable of forming what He wants. Hence our responsibility is to be led by the Spirit, to always seek the guidance of the Spirit. And until we are sure that the Holy Spirit is really guiding us, we keep our hands off. We will do nothing about it. This thing must be of the Spirit. This is the order of this dispensation."

Being led by the Spirit is what it is all about, beloved. We must be broken and let go of our wills and desires so that the Spirit can lead our hearts. After all, God is Spirit. Sadly, Christianity has largely become a soulical enterprise, much like its predecessor, Judaism. Judaism and Christianity as practiced today aren't the way to Christ. He - the Holy Spirit - is the way. As the Lord said:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6).

"Me" in the Scriptures is always the Holy Spirit speaking. No one comes to the Father except through the Holy Spirit. That is the truth. The Holy Spirit is our guide into Christ. The Holy Spirit only comes of the ground of death, burial and resurrection via the Cross. That natural man must be born anew to gain entrance into Christ and into God's kingdom. A soulical man simply cannot enter into Christ. The kingdom of God is composed entirely of crucified flesh. Love is crucified flesh.

Being born anew is entirely a spiritual thing. When our spirits connect with God (who is Spirit) through revelation, we become alive in Christ. The Scriptures become Pure Light. We see things the natural man cannot see. Being born anew is associated with being broken, dying to self, letting go, and allowing Love to shine through your heart. Without guidance from the Spirit, it is impossible to follow God and walk in love. Until we connect with the Holy Spirit, we are nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The Lord's method, says Sparks, is the reverse of what we see in Christianity today. Oh, how soulical men - those of uncrucified flesh - love to tamper with Spiritual things! Man insists on doing a great many things for God in Jesus' name in his own power. The results are often disastrous. We see anger, frustration and death everywhere. People giving up and throwing Love out of their lives and even their own countries. We see love growing very cold in the world. Forget about so-called global warming, It is the global cooling of love in the world that is truly tragic!

The natural man must never try to form something that is of the Spirit. The Spirit is our only Instructor, our Teacher, our Light. The Spirit is all we need to walk in love.

May you led by the Spirit.

Agape,
Steve

Reduced to Love

Here's a meditation for you inspired by something T. Austin-Sparks said to a group of Christians in Asia back in the mid-1960s. May it be light to you. Sparks said (Caps in original):

"The very center of everything for the Jew was the ceremony of circumcision. That was the sign that you were a Jew and a true Jew. You could never be a real Jew unless you had been circumcised. The Apostle Paul says this: Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing. Hear the Jew saying that. You are not surprised that they try to kill him. Now it is not the thing, and dear friends, in Christianity baptism takes the place of circumcision; but baptism as baptism is nothing. In Ethiopia, the Christians are baptized every year. You could be baptized every day if you like. You could be baptized every hour of every day, and it may make no difference. If you go to the Lord's Table every week, it may make no difference. You can take up all the forms of Christianity, and really know nothing about it.

Christianity has become very largely a legalistic system. You must do it here! You must be here! You must do it in this way, or you are not the Church. The Lord Jesus had wiped this out in the beginning. He says the only ground that is necessary is in spirit and in truth in Me. Christ has taken the place of all other systems. CHRIST IS THE ONLY SYSTEM."

Amen to that! We know the apostle Paul told us he counted his former religion and religious traditions as "rubbish" - garbage - in the light of seeing Christ. I would ask you to meditate deeply on Philippians 3. It's illuminating, to say the least. Jesus had some mighty strong words for the religious leaders of his time, as I have noted many times before (cf. Matthew 23).

When God reveals His Son, you let go of religion and religious traditions. They aren't important. It is excess baggage that gets left behind at the Cross. The Lord desires to remove any impediments that prevent us from seeing Christ and walking in love. Listen to the Spirit pouring through the heart of the prophet Amos:

"I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!

(Amos 5:21-24)

Enough of the religious stuff!, says the Lord through Amos. I hate it! I despise it! No more tithing, please! I will not accept them! No more worship music - it's just noise to Me! The Lord said essentially the same thing through the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 1:11-16). And, yet, what do most people do? They keep on going through the religious motions, year after year after year. Truly remarkable!

Now you know the primary reason Love suffers long. What the Lord says often times falls on deaf ears. There were multitudes who walked away from Jesus. They just couldn't understand what he was saying. The eyes of their hearts were completely shut. They were spiritually deaf and blind. The Lord has a solution for the spiritually deaf and blind. He said, through the prophet Ezekiel:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

A new heart and a new spirit. That is Love's solution for curing those who are spiritually deaf and blind. Revelation supplies us with a new heart and a new spirit that allows us to enter into Christ and walk in love. Importantly, the new heart and new spirit is something God provides - it's not something any man - priest, pastor or minster - can provide. The new heart and new spirit come directly from heaven. They are a precious gift directly from the Lord. The apostle Paul, a former zealous Pharisee, was on the receiving end the new heart and new spirit prophesied through Ezekiel. How wonderful!

Our only desire in this life should be to have the Lord reduce us to nothing but love - to reduce us to what He is. Being One with God, in Christ, is what it is all about, beloved. "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).

May you be reduced to Love.

Agape,
Steve

Seeing an Open Heaven

I wanted to share a little bit of T. Austin-Sparks' testimony with you today. If you are not familar with Sparks, he was one of the most spiritual beings that has ever graced this planet. The Spirit poured through Sparks in a way that few have experienced. He left behind a treasure of speeches and writings that will, without a doubt, stand the test of time. Sparks' testimony hits on many of the key points that have been revealed to me by the Spirit over the years. I would ask you to read it slowly and perhaps even several times. I've added bold to emphasize what I believe are the important points. May Sparks' testimony be great light for you:

"So the first thing, then, is a presentation and a seeing of the Lord Jesus. I wonder if I may refer to a personal experience in this matter. I do not want to talk about myself, but I want to help you by illustrating. For many years, I was what was called a minister in the denominations. I was a minister of what are called churches. I was a minister of two denominations at the same time. So I had the big religious buildings. And I wore a clerical collar and attire, and I was in that whole system of organized Christianity. I had a big pulpit. And I preached sermons, and I was paid to do it. Well, I was very earnest. I really believed that I belonged to the Lord. My heart was reaching out to the Lord.

But, the time came, when the Lord showed me Jesus Christ. He began to reveal His Son in me. You see, I knew the Bible. I was teaching the Bible everywhere. When I went to a big church in the north of London, they had no Bible teaching meeting. They had only a very small prayer meeting. But I decided that we would have, what we called, a Bible school. So I got a big blackboard made, a blackboard as big as this whole platform. I decided that I would give Bible lectures. So I started going right through the Bible. I went from Genesis to Revelation. The result was that that place was crowded with people for the Bible lecture. I say that to show you that I did know something about the Bible.

The day came when I saw the Lord Jesus, and all these other things were like nonsense. All this church business was like little children playing at going to church. All this dressing up in clerical clothes, oh, how silly it was! I really had not seen the Bible. I had it all in my head, but really the Bible was a closed book. When the Lord showed me His Son, all these other things went. It was like nonsense to me, I saw that the Lord Jesus is the Church, not these things. I saw that the Lord Jesus is everything in the Bible. The Bible is not a book, the Bible is Christ. I saw the Bible in Genesis, I mean, I saw Christ in Genesis. All through the Bible I saw Christ. It made everything else so foolish. It simply turned me inside out and upside down. All those other things had to be left behind. I saw the Lord Jesus. I do not mean I saw Him with these natural eyes. But what Paul meant when he said, "It pleased God to reveal His Son in me." That is what happened in my case.

And a new thing began from that time. A new ministry began, a new work of God began. And I am here today on the other side of the world because of that. I have come to you not as a Bible teacher, but to speak to you of what I have seen of the Lord Jesus, and to say to you that the fundamental thing is seeing Jesus."

What a lovely testimony! When Sparks says revelation "simply turned me inside out and upside down," that is the mark of the Cross. I've made that remark several times in reference to my own personal testimony. The apostle Paul said the same thing. Revelation changes everything. As I've said before, there is no substitute for revelation. Put simply, revelation is the gateway to Love. It reveals an open heaven. And, oh, how marvelous it is to see an open heaven.

May God reveal His Son in you.

Agape,
Steve

The Mighty Power of Revelation

Here's a little meditation for today. May it be light for you:

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes."

(Job 42:5-6)

What lovely Scripture! It reveals an important truth about the way God works. It isn't until we see the Lord that we can see who we truly are outside of Christ. Oh yes, we hear many things about the Lord. People are always talking about the Lord, singing songs about the Lord, and doing a great many things for the Lord in Jesus' name. Job had heard much about the Lord, too. But it was only when he saw the Lord that the light went on. After God revealed himself, Job examined his heart in the Light and said:

"I abhor myself."

This realization is the beginning of true wisdom. Abandoning self is the way to Christ. There is no "self" in Christ. There is only Love, Light, and Life. Oh, the mighty power of revelation! It's just wonderful how the Light reveals the darkness in our hearts. Job struggled mightily with the Lord, but in the end, the Lord prevailed. When Job saw the Lord, he threw in the towel and stopped fighting. What happened to Job after revelation? The blessings came in abundance. As it is written:

"Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters." (Job 42:12-13)

A dear brother asked me recently how we "let go." The first step to letting go involves revelation and being broken. We must earnestly pray with all of our heart for God - who is True Love - to give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Revelation is Pure Light. Revelation allows us to see what God sees. The Light associated with revelation reveals the darkness in our hearts. When we see that darkness, as Job did, we become completely turned off by who we were outside of Christ. It is then that the hard work on the Cross begins. Nothing outside of Christ can pass through the Cross.

Another important aspect of letting go is asking God to remove a heart of self-love. Self-love is a basic stumbling block. Many people have great difficulty letting go of self-love. It prevents them from seeing anything beyond themselves - particularly Love. Once broken of self-love, you are no longer puffed up and enamored with yourself and with who you thought we were, then you can begin to let go to Love. After all, why hang onto something you abhor and is vile when there is all that wonderful Spiritual fruit to be gained through the Cross?

When the Light reveals the darkness in our hearts, we realize that we are nothing without love, just as the Spirit revealed to Paul:

"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:2)

May Job's experience be an inspiration to you as you seek to let go, follow God and walk in love.

Agape,
Steve

Religious Idolatry

Here's a meditation for you today inspired by something T. Austin-Sparks said in one of his talks many years ago. Sparks said:

"Idolatry is all that is not God as the basis or object of man's life. That is tremendously comprehensive. You see, it is possible to have the things of the Lord in the place of the Lord Himself; and that is idolatry in principle. Idolatry is always religious, and it may be the Christian religion as well as any other religion that is marked by idolatry. Touch some Christians, or Christian institutions, and let the touch be even in relation to something more of the Lord Himself, and you will find an uprising of jealous regard for the institution which utterly blinds to that possibility of an extra measure of the Lord Himself. You can be so devoted to a denomination, a missionary society, a piece of Christian work, that there is no room for any extra measure of the Lord. The thing itself has become the end, the object for which you live, and when the Lord wants to get you moved on into something more of Himself, the obstacle is that good Christian work, association, institution, tradition, connection.

Yes, and that is idolatry in principle, and we see from history how the Lord again and again has had to smite with smashing blows things which in themselves were good, in order to save His people unto Himself personally. Even things which He gave at one time, have had to be taken away or shattered because the gift has become the end, the object. That is what is happening: and a very necessary thing it is too. The Lord is not protecting good things today. If those have become something to which men have become devoted, with which they have become bound up, He is allowing them to be broken and destroyed."

"Idolatry is always religious, and it may be the Christian religion as well as any other religion that is marked by idolatry." Yes, indeed. That is the truth! Sparks is hitting on a very important subject. I encourage you to meditate on what he is saying and then go back a read Matthew 23.

In Matthew 23, the Lord delivered this message to the scribes and the Pharisees, but in a much more powerful fashion! He called the religious leaders of the time "hypocrites," "fools," "blind guides," "serpents" and "brood of vipers." I have no doubt the Lord has the very same message for the leaders of Christianity (and other religions) today. Indeed, it's remarkable how modern day Christianity resembles Judea prior to the crucifixion. The Jews sacred temple eventually fell, much to their dismay, just as the Lord said it would (cf. Matt. 24:2). Rest assured, the Lord is dealing with all of the idolatry we observe in Christianity and other religions. It must perish! Christ must increase (John 3:30). There is no idolatry in Christ. NONE!

Idolatry leads to death - not Life. We must let go of our religious traditions if we wish to follow God and walk in love. Even Peter, who was full of himself and clung tightly to his religious traditions for years, was able to do it. If Peter can let go, you can too.

May you let go of your religious traditions and be led by Love and only Love.

Agape,
Steve

Led by the Spirit

Here's a little meditation for you based on a short passage from T. Austin-Sparks. Sparks says:

"No one can understand the Gospels truly until they have received the Holy Spirit, and have come into a true deep experience of death with Christ, burial with Christ, and resurrection with Christ. Because that experience, not that doctrine, that experience brings an open heaven."

Ah yes! Sparks hits on one of the great eternal truths. The Scripture is powerful Light in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, it is impossible to understand it. You can have all the doctrine and correct teaching from the finest seminaries in the world, but without the Holy Spirit, you can see nothing and understand nothing of the Spiritual realm. It's impossible for the natural man to know God and the things of God. The Holy Spirit is our only guide to the Scripture. There is no other guide.

The Spirit only comes on the ground of death, burial and resurrection via the Cross. That experience with the Cross brings us into an open heaven - a place where there is nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - blocking the Spirit's connection to our heart. No man, no religious traditions, job, money, science, politics, or any other things. Nothing!

In an open heaven, Christ is all. There is nothing greater than to see and live in an open heaven. It is what the Cross is all about, beloved.

May you see an open heaven.

Agape,
Steve