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How deep?

Ephesians 3:16-18 (AMP) May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]

Earlier this week I had a group come over and swim. There was a young girl who is probably eight or nine and she wanted to know if I could touch the bottom. The deepest part of my pool is eight foot deep. That is pretty standard for home pools and what I grew up swimming in. When I was a preteen, I could hold my breath the whole length of the pool and swim from end to end under water. I showed her how to dive down and touch the bottom and use your legs to shoot yourself back the surface. I am much older and cannot quite make it from one end to the other in one breath, but I can still sit at the bottom for a moment and then shoot myself back up.

God desires us to know Him intimately and that takes us going deeper. I love the amplified translation here where it says to “deeply rooted” and the “depths of His love.” It reminds me of a vision that Ezekiel had as recorded in the Bible.

Ezekiel 47:1 (AMP) Then he [my guide] brought me back to the door of the house [the temple of the Lord]; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house (temple) toward the east, for the front of the temple was facing east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.

The water flowing starts as a trickle coming from under the doors of the temple threshold doors, then it flows into a mighty river. We are individually and collectively the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 2:21-22). Jesus, our Living Water, should be flowing through us (John 7:37-39). These waters should be enough to swim in. I love that visual.

I know some have a fear or feel insecure in water. So, this visual of swimming may not be as peaceful for you. What is a vision of peace that you do have? I love the beach and listening to the crashing waves as I read a book. When I was a teenager, I would get in a float and just let the waves take me out and down the coast. My grandmother was fearless, so I guess that is why I grew up so comfortable in the water. It was her pool that I learned to swim in, and it was she who let me just float in the waves.

The river in Ezekiel did not start off deep. It stared ankle deep, then knee deep, then waist deep, then deep enough to swim in. God calls us to deeper knowledge and relationship with Him. He wants you to be rich in His Presence.

Ephesians 3:19 (AMP) and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

Along the banks, as we continue in Ezekiel 47, the fruit trees grow and never wither and produce fruit year-round, with leaves used for healing. In Isaiah 61:3 we are called trees of righteousness, because we are firmly rooted in God. Galatians 5:22-23 gives us the fruits if the Spirit that we should be cultivating in our lives. Fruit that is meant to be producing continually and to share.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (AMP) Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord. “For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out its roots by the river; and will not fear the heat when it comes; but its leaves will be green and moist. And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought nor stop bearing fruit.

Why is this vision in Ezekiel so important? It depicts God’s power to restore and to bring abundance. The source of living water comes from our relationship with the Holy Spirit. He refreshes and sustains us. We are never separated from His Presence if we are in Christ. The river symbolizes His transforming power. What happens when we surrender fully and allow the deep waters to take over? Can you trust His transforming power? One of the biggest things about teaching littles to swim is that they can get splashed in the face. I taught my boys to swim at an early age, but the lesson did not start in the pool. It started in the home at bath time. I would pour a cup of water over their heads or let them sit in the shower with me, so the waters would trickle over their faces. It teaches them to remain calm. His waters also bring life where there was death, healing where there were sickness and blessings where there was barrenness.

I just love water. It is what I fill my cup with first thing in the morning and drink all day long. Nothing needed to add to it to taste better. I do not need a flavor, just plain purified water. My pool is crystal clear and ready for swimming at a moment’s notice. I rent it out sometimes, so I need to be ready at all times. Is that not what the Bible tells us about sharing our faith? We are to be ready in any season (2 Timothy 4:2). How can you do that without the deepness of His love? How can you do that without His living waters, the Holy Spirit that brings all things back to remembrance? I invite you to go deeper this year. My word for this year was joy; He gives it in abundance. It comes as a fruit of the Spirit. Dive deeper with me. Get into the overflow.

Abba, our Father, our Creator, our Banner, You are Holy and Marvelous. We are so enamored with Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your Son, our Redeemer. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, our Teacher. Thank You for Your Word, our knowledge of You grows deeper as we partake of reading Your Word. You have shown us the deepness of Your love. Thank You for loving us so richly. We repent for not spending time with You each day or putting our thoughts towards You. You are more than we could ever need. We commit to spending time in Your Word. We commit to a life of surrender to grow deeper into who You called us to be, ministers of reconciliation, rivers of living water flowing through us. As we continue to pursue You, You pursue us. Let us be fully aware of all the real, personal and practical ways You lavish Your love on us. We desire the deep. We are not afraid of the overflow, overtake us. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose surrender today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Now

John 17:3 (AMP) Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent.

This verse jumped out at me the other day. “NOW this is eternal life.” That means that when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we stepped into eternal life. We are a people that are looking to be satisfied. Will anything really satisfy us other than Jesus? What else could we be looking for?

We are being watched by those who do not know Christ that way. What are they hearing from us? Are they hearing us proclaim the Gospel? Or are they hearing us being divided on post tribulation or pretribulation rapture, the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday, whether we have to celebrate all of the feasts. What does any of that have to do with eternal life?

Matthew 22:36-40 (AMP) “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’ The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Love God and Love People. That is what you will want to do when you accept the fullness of who God is. The enemy is pretty good at getting us distracted. He wants us to look anywhere other than keeping our eyes on Jesus. He would use things that should bring us closer together. It is our choice though. The devil has no authority in a born-again believer’s life.

Whenever I get in a conversation with someone about any topic, can be worldview, social, economic, my heart position is to bring it back to our position in Christ. Somehow that conversation is going to be led back to us being rooted and grounded in the Love of Christ. That is where peace is found. You cannot take away the joy of someone who has found peace. Go back to what Jesus proclaimed while reading Isaiah 61:1-3:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me
To bring good news to the humble and afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives
And freedom to prisoners,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:
To give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning],
The oil of joy instead of mourning,
The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God],
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

We are no longer captives. They keys of our bondage was taken by Jesus (Revelations 1:18). Those chains are there until we remove them (Isaiah 52:2). You have been raised up with Christ (Colossians 3:1-4). We have been called something new. We are now righteous through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). I believe this last part is why the enemy fights us in all of it, “That He may be glorified.” Does it glorify God?

What does it mean to be a tree of righteousness? Trees produce. We also call it the fruit of the Spirit. What if we looked at our fruit as not us having good morals, but at us being obedient. What does this have to do with eternity? This tells the world who we belong to. God is gloried when we exhibit who He is. Everything about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control is a direct reflection of who we are in Him. This is how He is gloried!

Now is eternal life. If we are in Christ, then we are in it. There is a coming back, but I do not need to fear it if I remain in Him. Getting ready because Jesus is coming should not bring us to more division, it should bring us to unity. Love God. Love People. If you do not know how to do that in Your life, ask the Holy Spirit. He will reveal it to you as you read your Bibles. Turn off the news and turn off your favorite preaching videos and get in the Bible for yourself. Read all of it. Read it to know who God is, with Christ as our example and the Holy Spirit as our Teacher. Are you secure in your eternity today? If not, here is a prayer for you:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I have sinned and strayed from Your will. I’ve lived selfishly, and for that, I am truly sorry. I repent and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe in Your sacrifice on the cross to save me, doing what I could never do for myself. I surrender my life to You now and ask for Your guidance. From this day on, help me to live each day in a way that honors You. I love You, Lord, and I am grateful for the promise of eternal life with You. Amen.