Fusion

fusion- the process or result of joining two or more things to form a single entity.
      - the merging of diverse, distinct, or separate elements into a unified whole.
      - the union of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei resulting in the release of enormous quantities of energy when certain light elements unite.

Above are some definitions of the word "fusion". I found that the definitions added clarity in our topic today. There are people for whom I am currently praying that desperately need a healing miracle. The situation is literally "life and death". Perhaps you also have people in your prayers who desperately need a miracle. I wondered, "Where are the miracles of Christ?" I have indeed seen miracles, and received them myself, but I cannot say that miracles, signs and wonders are routinely pouring from my life as I would hope to see. As I once again began to pray, I thought, "But healing isn't a thing...He's a Person."
Fundamental truths that I learn regarding salvation, healing, everlasting life, resurrection, atonement, sacrifice, life, holiness, righteousness, faith itself, prosperity, deliverance, peace, joy, prayer, and many other parts of our walk, are thought of as "blessings", "promises", "works", etc. Thinking of them in that manner though makes all of those powerful fundamental truths become "things". However, all of these are an aspect or quality of a Person. I create a distance from the Person when I think of these aspects as things to be achieved or received. Saying,  "I need healing", "I need provision", "I need a miracle", "I need deliverance", in a way de-Personalizes, making an aspect of the Living God into a thing we receive from Him. I hope I am explaining effectively what I am feeling in a way that it can be understood.
Our Father has always been a very personal God. Although He is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present in character, God has always dealt very personally with the individual: from the greatest kings to lowliest leprous outcasts; from small children, even children who have not yet been born (Ps. 139:13-16, Jer. 1:4-7, Lk. 1:41-44), to people who were very old; with sinners, and with those whom He called righteous.
From the beginning, God walked and talked with Adam in the Garden, and was personally connected to him. God knew immediately when His preciously created man fell.
When God introduced Himself to Moses, He spoke the very personal "I AM...". He used His personal relationship with men, to identify Himself to other men: "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
When God provided His salvation, He didn't send a thing, He sent a Person, whose very name IS "Salvation", Yeshuah, Jesus.
Salvation isn't a concept, or even a miracle. He is a Person. Healing isn't a doctrine or an answer to prayer, He is a Person (Ex. 15:26) . Peace and joy aren't just things we all desire, but a Person (Jn. 14:27, Neh. 8:10). The provision of everything we need for our lives is a Person (Jn. 6:35, 48, Gen. 22:14, 2 Pet. 1:3).  Resurrection and everlasting life isn't a goal, promise, place, or thing. He is a Person (Jn. 11:25). Faith isn't just a thing we should try to have and speak. He is part of a Person, as in "the faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20). The force of life in all men isn't a thing to be debated regarding "when" or "how". He is a Person (Jn. 1:4). Even light is not a thing, but a Person (Jn. 1:9, Jn. 8:12). Truth is not a thing, but a Person. Our daily spiritual walk and progress is not an effort we make, but a Person: "I am the way (road; journey; course of conduct; a manner of thinking, feeling, deciding; a progress; a mode or means), the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6). Is it possible to "become" what we are called to become if we think of all of this as doctrines, tenets, blessings, works, things, rather than Christ, Himself? 
The victory of Christ is not to make "things", even miraculous things, available to me. The victory of Christ is to reconcile me (bring back a former state of harmony: definition-pleasing combination of elements in a whole) with Himself, and His Father, my Father (Rom. 5:10-11, 2 Cor. 5:18-19, Col. 1:19-22, Eph. 2:13-18). The victory of Christ is to make me one with the Persons of the Godhead. Jesus prayed to His Father:
"...for those who will believe in Me...that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one. and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." 
                                                                                                           Jn. 17:20-24
The commands, "Be thou holy as I am holy", and "Be thou perfect as I am perfect", are not for the purpose of demanding that I attain some sort of spiritual goal I don't think, but to call me to a fusion with the Person who is holy, with the Person who is perfect (2 Cor. 5:21, Col. 1:21-22) until it can no longer be differentiated where I end and He begins. Then I become holy also, and then I become perfect also. The Father wants us to find Christ and cling to Him, meld into Him. We understand that scripture tells us that we have received Christ, that it is "Christ in us, the hope of glory", and "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation...", but our walk is often about ourselves, and what we do, and who we are, rather than this fusion with Christ. There is no "us" or "me" if I am one, fused, with Him. There is only Him. Jesus also said:
"Abide (Grk-meno-remain, not to depart, to be held, kept continually, to remain as one; Heb.-yashab- dwell, remain, to sit down, seat, marry) in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. If  anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." 
                                                                                                         Jn. 15:4-6
The fruit comes with abiding in and with Christ, as a branch is one and the same with a vine. Jesus also said:
"If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe Me: but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Jn. 10:37-38,  AND
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."   Jn. 14:10-14
Usually we read these verses with the emphasis on the works. However, I am now reading them here with the emphasis on that to which the works point: the fusion relationship. The "works" came from Christ's fusion with the Father, His inseparable relationship and identity with His Father. He said even if we don't believe Him, believe the works that He does, because the works are His Father's.To Jesus, the words and works were evidentiary of the fusion with His Father. Even His own identity was secondary to this fusion relationship: Believe Me or not, but  believe the works of the Father in Me.
We look for the works apart, but do not sacrifice ourselves to the necessary fusion into the Father's identity, as Jesus did. Jesus speaks above about going to His Father. We accept that the greater works that Jesus spoke of would result from His bringing His blood offering to His Father. It is also the result of the even greater fusion accomplished once His flesh body was cast off. That last separation, that veil, which was His flesh, is rent, and the way into the reconciling unity that He provided for all of us with the Father is completed (Mt. 27:51, Heb. 10:19-20).
In John 17, Jesus prayed that the world will come to the knowledge and belief that Christ was sent to us from God because we are one in Christ and the Father. We wonder why we seem to see such indifference of the world toward the Christian faith, even its disgust. Is it because they have not seen the Christian faith as it has been intended all along? Trying to bring the world to Christ when we have not been willing to come totally to Christ ourselves is futility, and would seem also hypocritical. The Holy Spirit has come to us for the purpose of fusing us into Christ, but we, perhaps unaware of the opposition of our natural mind, desire to keep the distance and separation, and retain our separate identity. If we want to see His glory, if we want to be "Exhibit A" to bring the world to belief, if we want to see the "works" as they were always intended, then it will require fusion with the Person of Christ.
What is the beginning point of this process? Perhaps just the acknowledgement of the depth expected in our relationship with Christ, and the Father. Keeping this at the forefront in our minds, which tend to pull us the opposite way. Having my focal point as entering into Christ, and He into me, growing into the unity, the knowledge, the perfect, the measure of the stature of His fullness, growing up in all things into Him-Christ (Eph. 4:13, 15). Saying as John the Baptist said, "He must increase (become greater, cause to grow, enlarge), but I must decrease (make less or inferior in dignity, make lower, to lesson in rank, influence, authority, or popularity, smallest, least)." (Jn. 3:30). Perhaps understanding that the real meaning of taking up my cross daily and following Him is not only about others persecuting me for my faith as He was persecuted, but that I lay down my own life, my own identity, freely- no man takes it from me - in order to enter into Christ and the Father:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..."
                                                                                                              Gal. 2:20
Look at what we have been called to do according to the above verse. This is the standard that has been set for our relationship with and in Christ. Are we prepared to enter into Him in such a way? Is the world seeing Christianity in its intended fullness as stated above? Or have they only seen people who talk, but are not being? Are those coming with prayer requests who are perishing, either spiritually or physically, receiving that above effective standard of care from me? It is a standard in which I cease, and He lives instead. This is where I can, from this experience, also be directing those who have needs: "Come, fuse into Jesus and into the Father with me."
These are going to be my first steps in understanding.
I've had it all wrong. Healing isn't a thing, He's a Person. As we pray for needs, whether for ourselves, or someone else, let us, as a first step, seek a deeper fusion with the Person who IS all in all (1 Cor. 12:6, 15:28, Eph. 1:23).

Our Father has sent a Person, Jesus, for our reconciliation and fusion into Him.

Impartation

There are many learning environments, but not all learning is the same. Not all teaching is the same either. There is a special learning experience that goes beyond teaching, and into something more: impartation. It goes beyond the sharing of information, and involves a giving of an actual portion of one's self that contains experiential knowledge. This is done, especially, within the relationship between parent and child.
In scripture, fatherhood and sonship hold tremendous importance. Individuals are identified by who their father and grandfather were. Even in the Hebrew names given in the mentions of fathers and grandfathers, we can see the spiritual impartation that has passed through the generations. For example, the prophet Jeremiah's name means "whom Jehovah has appointed". His father is listed as Helkiah, meaning "my portion is Jehovah".
We see a great example of the impartation of experiential knowledge of God from parent to child in the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs is recognized as a book of Godly wisdom, written by King Solomon, whose reputation throughout history is one of great wisdom. The first thing Solomon does is identify himself as a son, in this case, the son of David:
"The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel..."  Prov, 1:1
Solomon is also specifically imparting his experience of God to his son:
"My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother;  
                                                                                                    Prov.1: 8
"My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding....then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God."  Prov. 2:1-5 (excerpt)
As we can see from the verses above, the impartation comes not only from the father, but from the mother as well. Chapter 31 of Proverbs, for example, is an impartation to Solomon from his mother. 
Solomon's intent was to pass down to his son what he had learned from his father and mother, and from his own experiences with God. In amazing revelation, he is imparting to his son that wisdom is not a quality or thing, but it is a person, and this person is to be found above everything else:
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom..."  Prov. 4:7
So great is the impartation from Solomon to his son (and consequently to all of us), that the Person of Wisdom, actually begins to speak directly to us, revealing, or imparting truths from eternity (Prov. 8:12-36). Wisdom tells us here, "...whoever finds me finds life"
(v. 35). Wisdom imparts all of these things to us in this chapter, referring to us as "my children" (v. 32 NKJV).
This is also how God imparts to us: as a Father to His son, or child. The power of it is not just a teaching of truth, but a giving of a part of the Father to us, His children. Jesus described the impartation this way:
"For I have given to them the words which You have given to Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You...all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them...Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as we are...You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us...I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one..."   Jn. 17:8-23 (excerpt)
The words that Jesus gave to His disciples, and to us, as we read in the above verses, were not just a teaching, but an impartation from Him, and from His Father within Him, a giving of Himself, even as His Father gave to Jesus from Himself.
The Apostle Paul wanted to make clear to us that we are sons, and receive impartation from our heavenly Father as sons:
"And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."  Gal. 4:6-7
The LORD commands parents to teach their children His precepts:
"You shall teach (exercise in, train diligently and skilfully) them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days, and the days of your children may be multiplied..."   Deut. 11:19-21 (excerpt)
As these verses tell us, impartation of Godly knowledge from parent to child is so powerful that it can extend both the parent's and child's life. One of His great commandments tells us to "honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you" (Ex. 20:12). The word "Honor" used here is the Hebrew word kabad, which is the root word of kabode, meaning the awesome glory and honor that belong to God. He has imparted His own glory to fathers and mothers. Fathers and mothers, in turn, impart this same glory knowledge of God to their children. Fatherhood and motherhood is more than just a biological process, but a spiritual impartation of the experiential knowledge of God that can extend life and purpose.
We can see the great difference between teaching and impartation. We can also understand the importance of sharing, or imparting, our experiential Godly knowledge with our children. It becomes easy to see why the forces of evil have worked so hard to destroy relationships between parents and children, especially between fathers and children, in families today. "Fatherhood" has become marginalized, and this started generations ago. Our focus should not be only about spending "quality time" with our children and grandchildren, but about impartation, which has become a forgotten practice in many households. We can see the cumulative effects of this neglect in our society today. I am going to have to do much better in this with my family than I am doing now.
Our children's Godly education at church, synagogue, and some schools is important in every way, but impartation is a powerful and essential spiritual truth that takes place in the home between both parents and their children, and between grandparents and their grandchildren. Many "old timers", for example, tell of the powerful experience of learning to pray or praise from their grandmothers. I know someone who has continually had his son with him, even from an early age, when he has followed the leading of the Holy Spirit on excursions of intercession and ministry. He has imparted a special experiential knowledge of God to his son, and, hopefully, his son, following this example, will impart these things to his own children when they are born. Also, let us not be neglectful- impartation is not only to sons. We have these examples to show us that Jesus imparted His great experiential knowledge to women as well:
"...whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  Jn. 4:14
"But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  Jn. 4:23-24
"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"   Jn. 11:25-26
Impartation from parent to child is such a vital spiritual precept, that God prophesies that He will send an earthshaking miracle in order to restore it:
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."  Mal. 4:5-6
Godly impartation between parent and child can save the whole earth from being cursed!
God's people can no longer afford to ignore this powerful provision that God has made for our children, and our land.

Our Father does not just teach, but imparts to His children.

"Ancient Words"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmTkXNpwzs

"Days of Elijah" (American Marines singing)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjZ_IlP9c5A

Scientific Study-Gazing into child's eyes while speaking synchronizes both brain waves:
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/growth-curve/staring-baby-eyes-brain-waves-sync

Vulnerable

When a man becomes a father, he becomes very vulnerable to the hurts, sorrows, sicknesses and sometimes, unfortunately, the rebellion and rejection of his children. When his children hurt, his desire is that he could take the hurt upon himself in their place. When they are in danger, a father will do all in his strength to rescue his children. If he loses a child, he feels a hurt and loss like he has never known in his life. A man who always felt himself to be strong and capable, can feel unsure and sometimes helpless in the challenge of being a father to his children. He discovers that it costs him something, physically, mentally, and spiritually, to be a father. When the all mighty, all powerful, omniscient, omnipresent God made the provision for our salvation, He became "Father", and He chose to accept the vulnerability of all that it entails to be a Father. To be vulnerable means to be susceptible to physical or emotional wounding, attack, or harm. God accepted this vulnerability into His character in order to be "Father".
In Jesus' ministry as the Son, as our Salvation, He spoke of Himself as the salvation coming from and of, the Father. The Son's physical location is hidden in the bosom of the Father (Jn. 1:18). The salvation of God was born from the making of Himself vulnerable through His Fatherhood.
We see this vulnerability as God speaks to Cain, not as his God, but as a Father seeing his son headed for destruction, trying to teach Cain to understand what lies ahead:
"So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."  Gen 4:6-7
These are not just the words of God to one of His creatures, but they are the advising, teaching, correcting words of wisdom from the heart of a Father to His son. As God made Himself vulnerable to Cain as a Father, He also had to suffer the wound of witnessing Cain's choice to disregard His words, and become a curse in the earth after he murdered his brother. God's Fatherhood to Cain did not end there. As Cain went out from the LORD's presence to wander (Nod) the earth, the LORD set a mark upon Cain, because Cain feared that others would kill him after he departed from God. The Hebrew word for "mark" is owth  אוֹת ,  which means a distinguishing mark, a miraculous sign, a warning, ensign, proof. The Hebrew letters of the word for mark each mean: 1. leader, strength, adonai, 2. nail, make secure, join together, and 3. cross, mark, sign, ownership, covenant. Though Cain was a murderer, his Father, God, did all He could for this pathetic, lost son.
Without the understanding of the Fatherhood of God, and its vulnerability, we cannot understand the salvation of God, which is the Son:
"Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me."   Jn. 8:42
Jesus was speaking these words above, to those who believed Him among the Jews (v. 31). Though they believed Jesus to a point, they were offended by His statement that they were slaves to sin, and that He brought the truth that would free them (v. 32, 34). They were so offended, they desired at that point to kill Him. He said, if God was their Father, they would know and love the Son. Though they knew God, they did not know Him as Father.
Though many spend their whole lives studying (an believing) the words and ways of God, until they look into the vulnerable heart of the Father, they will not find the Son, their salvation. One of Jesus' disciples asked Him to show them the Father. Jesus was amazed at this request stating, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father..."   Jn. 14:8-9
The Fatherhood of God, as we have seen, is not just a New Testament teaching. The LORD did not call and appoint Moses to be only a leader, and law-giver to His people, but He called Moses to be a father to God's people. Moses expressed the pain and vulnerability of this calling:
"So Moses said to the LORD, "Why have You afflicted your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them that You should say to me "Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child", to the land which You swore to their fathers?"                                                                         Num. 11:11-12
We can imagine Moses pulling his hair out over having become a "father" to hundreds of thousands of complaining infants that were the people of God! Poor Moses. We can almost hear God saying, "Now you know how I feel!"
The prophet Isaiah beautifully describes the heart and vulnerability of the Father in Ch. 63:
"In all their affliction, He (the LORD, YHWH) was afflicted. And the Angel of His Presence saved them; in His love, and in His pity He redeemed them; He bore them and carried them all the days of old, but they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit....Doubtless You are our Father, though Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name."   Isa. 63:9, 16
As Isaiah points out above, it is from the vulnerable nature of Fatherhood, that our salvation and redemption come.
God allowed Himself to become vulnerable for our sakes, and He became a Father, so His Son could save us. A god does not tolerate rebellion, and rejection, but a Father will give and do everything and all that He can, to save His child.
So what is the joy of God in exchange for allowing Himself to become vulnerable as a Father? He describes the overwhelming joy of seeing even an ungrateful, rebellious child come home to Him:
"But when he (the son) was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said, "I have sinned...and am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."    Lk. 15:20-24
"Likewise I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."   Lk. 15:10
Though Fatherhood brings God vulnerability, it also brings Him a joy that He could not have had otherwise- the joy of seeing our salvation.

Our Father, the Great God, made Himself vulnerable on our behalf.


"Our Father"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf1wtzOoXDA

Joy!

 

"Without having seen Him, you love Him;
though you do not (even) now see Him,
you believe in Him and exult and thrill
with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy."
                                     1 Peter 1:8 (AMP Version)

If we look in the scriptures at the verses relating to joy, there are so many, it would be impossible to cover even half of them here. In the verse above, the joy of God makes us shine gloriously. It is so overwhelming, that we cannot even express what we are feeling. There are no words to describe it.

Jesus spoke about giving us His joy:
These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."     Jn. 15:11     
and, Jesus praying to His Father in heaven says,
"But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves."      Jn. 17:13

In the above, Jesus made the point that He was speaking of His joy, even while He was yet in the world. He wasn't speaking of a joy that could only be attained when we are in heaven. And the joy He was describing was a supernatural joy that is specifically found in Him. It is the joy of the Father.
Psalm 43:4 says:
"Then I go to the altar of God,
to God, my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God."
Psalm 16:11 says:
"You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
The "fullness" spoken of in the above verse means to be filled to satiation, as with food or drink, to the point where you can contain no more.

Psalm 105:42-43 tells us that as the Father brought His people out of slavery in Egypt, He joy and gladness, the word gladness meaning "with a joyful shout". Our Father shouted with joy! When was that last time you were so full of joy that it came bursting out of you with a shout that you couldn't hold back? This is the kind of joy that our Father lives in and wants us to have.
Our Father wants our joy to be so full, that when we walk in the earth, this joy transforms creation:
"For you shall go out with joy,
and be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier
shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the LORD for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." 
                                   Isa. 55:12-13

In the above verses, the supernatural joy of our salvation impacts all creation, and transforms the curse (thorns and briars), into a blessing (cypress and myrtle trees). This joy establishes the Name of God in the earth.
Our Father commands us to be glad and rejoice forever in what He creates. Joy is listed as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Gal. 5:22. If we have received Him, then not only should we be living in joy ourselves, but we should be feeding that joy to all whom we meet in life. If we truly feel gratitude to our Savior and our Creator, than that gratitude certainly expresses itself in joy. Have we lost that feeling of joy? Then let us stir up the gratitude that we once knew and felt so well.
Jesus talks about the person who resembles stony places in Mat. 13:20-21. This person received the word of salvation with great joy, but because of trials and disappointments, he has become offended by the word, and by God. Have we allowed hardships and disappointments to make us stony places devoid of joy? This is not the will of the Father for us.
Man has a hunger for the joy of God. So many look in diverse places trying to find the feeling of joy for which their souls hunger. They end up substituting temporary things to try to attain that feeling, but those things pass away, because they are not the everlasting joy for which our souls long. So many are suffering to find just a few moments of a temporary joy, that is not joy at all.
We who are the called of God, walking in His joy, bring the "good news" to all creation. In that joy, our lives exhibit for all to see that joy can be found in the wells of salvation.
This is Apostle Paul's prayer for us in Romans 15:13:

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit..."

Our Father is joy!

"Joy to the World" (Flash Mob)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9865b-K9s2w

"Center of My Joy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=265uVZ39Z1E

"Trees of the Field"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjL27TlSwYU

Wisdom

 



One of the most mysterious qualities of our Father, is His wisdom.
When we think of "wisdom", we think of a quality that incorporates intelligence, common sense, a certain talent for understanding. It does include these things, but the wisdom of God far exceeds the ideas we may have concerning wisdom, as we find it in man.
The quality of supernatural wisdom is directly connected with justice, judgment, and the power of creation. In the Old Testament, one of the meanings of "wisdom" in Hebrew, and the primary power of the word, is in regard to judging. In 1 Kings 3, Solomon asks God for a gifting of wisdom. In verse 9, Solomon says to the LORD, "Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" The LORD answers him saying, "Behold I have done according to your words; see I have given you a wise and understanding heart..."
Similarly, in the New Testament, the word "wisdom" is defined as "the wisdom of God as evinced in forming and executing counsels in the formation and governing of the world, and the scriptures. So wisdom can be very much about justice, judgment, and governing.

Even more mysterious, is the role that wisdom played, and continues to play in the creation power of God. We can see this wisdom in Prov. 8. The person of Wisdom is speaking throughout this chapter:

"The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way,

Before His works of old.

I have been established from everlasting,

From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth,

When there were no fountains abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled,

Before the hills, I was brought forth;

While as yet, He had not made the earth or the fields (outer places),

Or the primal dust of the world.

When He prepared the heavens, I was there,

When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,

When He established the clouds above,

When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,

When He assigned to the sea its limit,

So that the waters would not transgress His command,

When He marked out the foundations of the earth,

Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;

And I was daily His delight,

Rejoicing always before Him,

Rejoicing in His inhabited world,

And my delight was with the sons of men.”

                                  Prov. 8:22-31

Before, during, and after the completion of creation, Wisdom was present and participating. Even from everlasting, the person of Wisdom was with the Father.

And the delight of Wisdom, and of the Father, was seeing the inhabited creation, especially the sons (children) of men. They celebrated and rejoiced as that life was brought forth.

We know that wisdom also includes the concept of judgment and justice, and government. So what judgment was being accomplished with Wisdom present at the dawn of creation? What caused the great rejoicing at the bringing forth of an inhabited world?

The previous condition of the earth was emptiness, darkness and chaos, according to Gen. 1:2. By establishing light, and life, our Father was also establishing His judgment on those forces that had created such previous turmoil, and destruction. By establishing a creation teeming with life, our Father  was judging darkness and death. By this judgment, He was re-establishing His government, His Kingdom, in the midst of the void. And by the presence of Wisdom, the re-newed creation was brought forth.  The grace, beauty, joy and power of wisdom, the Wisdom that exists with the Father, are being revealed in the scriptures above.

The partnership of creation and wisdom are revealed in other parts of scripture as well. Master craftsmen were appointed by Moses to build the beautiful pieces of furniture used in the Tabernacle of God, among the congregation of Israel. The talent and artisanship of these craftsmen were attributed to the fact that these men and women were filled with the Spirit of wisdom (Ex. 28:3, Ex. 31:2-4).

And yet, the gift of wisdom is not just for God, kings, and craftsmen. In James 1, we can read:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Just as our Father answered Solomon’s prayer for wisdom, so He will answer our prayer for wisdom as well. Why is it so important for the people who are the called by God, to desire and attain wisdom?

Ephesians 3:9-11 tells us:

“and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden on God who created all things through Jesus Christ (the Word of Christ is all wisdom-Col 3:16), to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord…”

The same purpose that we read in Gen 1 is commanded above to His church: establishing the judgment of God, the government of God, to the powers of darkness that would try to rule the earth. They did not succeed the first time, and they will not succeed this time – it is against the purpose, will and wisdom of God.

While the wisdom of our Father carries His judgment and government, and His creative power, yet the qualities of that wisdom are wrapped in His nature of love:

“For the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

                                                         And

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.”

                                                      James 3:17, 13

In this age, it is desperately needed for those who know God to seek and attain His wisdom, and all that His wisdom entails. Our Father says in the verses from Ephesians above, it is to be done now, manifesting through the church (His called out assembly). All we have to do is ask.

Our Father is Wisdom.

“The Perfect Wisdom of Our God”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSnzYnOe6kI

Transformation

 

"The poor and needy seek water,
but there is none.
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the LORD, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
I will plant in the wilderness
the cedar and acacia tree,
the myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert
the cypress and the pine
and the box tree together,
that they may see and know,
and consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this.
And the Holy One of Israel has created it."
                                  Isaiah 41:17-20

Our Father uses this beautiful natural imagery of watering and planting the desert, in order to show the power of transformation that He brings to the lives of those who desire and thirst for Him.
When we seek to know our Father, and begin to study His word, and meditate upon what we have learned of Him, we begin to desire to reflect His nature, His character.
Jesus proclaims in a loud voice that if anyone thirsts, let him come to Him and drink (John 7:37). He also tells the woman at the well:
"but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14)

There is a transformation in the life of a human being from having a relationship with our Father, and with His Son, Jesus. This transformation not only occurs in us, but in all of the circumstances pertaining to our lives.
The Apostle Paul explains that we become a new creature, a new creation through our relationship with Christ. We cannot help but be changed:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."         2 Cor. 5:17

Our Father has told us that He has made great and precious promises by which we become partakers of His divine nature! (2 Peter 1:4). He created us in His image, and His plans for us have never changed. By His transforming power, we begin to walk in His likeness and being.

The prophet Isaiah again says of God:
"Do not remember the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert...
Because I give waters in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to My people, My chosen.
This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise."
                                 Isaiah 43:18-21

The purpose of the transforming power of God is to bless and benefit His people, and to cause His people to rejoice, showing praise to God. He has always desired to fill the earth with mankind fulfilling His purpose: to inhabit His image and character.
Though we may try to change ourselves with all of our might, our success is often limited, and of short duration. But the transformation that comes from our Father, starts in our innnermost being. It is miraculous, and everlasting. Some of the changes are startling and sudden. Some of the changes begin to show slowly in our thoughts, emotions, and finally, our outward behavior. This transformation received with our commitment to the LORD, continues throughout our whole life.
Our Father delights in His transforming power, and desires for us to share in this delight.

"To Be Like You (Lord)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmITHkKGyO4