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January 20, 2009
The God of Suddenly
Expect God to do great things in your life in 2009! |
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Greetings!
I have just returned from a weekend retreat with CHAMPIONS Men's Discipleship of Canyon Hills Church. It was a great weekend and God touched the lives of all that attended. It was a great honor to facilitate the meetings and watch God move.
I am sure most of the men that attended the "Strength for the Journey" retreat were unaware that God was going to meet with them in such a powerful manner. Honestly, most men probably assumed we would eat, have Bible teaching, hang out and pray. We did that all of those things and "suddenly" God showed up!
I can't tell you the details of what God accomplished in the lives of the men but I can tell you He moved and did so "suddenly". I believe God shows up "suddenly" when we make room for Him to do so. The first steps are pursuing and obeying God.
Our lives are so busy and complicated that we need to remove ourselves from the day-to-day operations of life and simply seek God. We must do this in obedience to His Word and His promises ... "come to me all your weary and heavy-laden", "I stand and knock - if anyone opens I will come in and dine with him", "cast all your cares upon the Lord", etc. To meet with the God of "suddenly" you must pursue Him passionately.
When we choose to make God a pursuit of our life He shows up! God showed up in our meetings and He spoke to men, confirmed things in their life, challenged them, encouraged them, convicted them, and blessed them. God did all of this "suddenly" in the course of normal meetings.
When you make time for God you can predict that He will show up. Still, when He does it often feels like suddenly. The reason is simple ... suddenly we are aware of Who He is and Whose we are!
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2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"- 6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. 7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" 8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
~ Mark 9:2-7 ~ |
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| Get Away and Get with God
I know we cannot all go "away" on a retreat. The time constraints of life do not lend to regular weekend "getaways" but we can carve time into our schedule to meet with God. Simply think of each day as an opportunity to meet with the God of "suddenly".
Peter, James and John took time to meet with Jesus and when they did the "real" Jesus showed up ... "suddenly". We must understand that Jesus was Jesus the whole time. He never changed but God allowed the disciples to see Jesus for who He is and not who they thought He was.
When you open your life to God He promises to show up both regularly and "suddenly". The God of "suddenly" actually shows up when you decide to release your expectations and simply meet with Him as He is! You must allow the God of "suddenly" to change your perspective and reveal Himself by simply coming to Him without agendas, goals or wishes. Simply meet with Him to meet with Him!
This week, take time to hang out with the God that created the universe. Take time to meet with your Maker, Master, King, Savior and Lord. He will always show and will always bless. Your task is to simply drop your notion of Who God is and meet with Him just to be in His presence. He will come and do what only He can do and He will do it "suddenly".
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For King and Kingdom,
Randy Martin |
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