Everything...

Solomon had a dream and in the dream God said to him, "Ask what you wish me to give you."
Wow!
Great dream!
Solomon's answer was that God would give him an understanding heart to judge the people justly.
God was happy because Solomon asked for discernment to understand justice rather than long life, or riches, or the life of his enemies. God was happy and gave him his wish, plus he gave him riches and honour, 'so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.'
So if God asked you the same question what would you say?
The thing is that He IS asking you that question!

I'm excited!

Yesterday I had a 'moment'.
Everyday I love to sit in the presence of God and usually I share what I receive by writing a Facebook post. I hope that's okay. To be frank, I need, for myself, to write my meditations down and so I write those posts for myself, but I do hope and pray that maybe in some way you are also blessed. God says His word never returns without achieving that thing for which it was sent, so that is an encouragement to me.

There is song we sing sometimes and it has a line in it which says, "...He gives and takes away...and we sing it with such reverent solemnity, but I can't...I don't sing that line because, I'm sorry, that isn't my God.
Now here is a verse you will likely know very well.

'But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.' [Matthew 6: 34]

This is Jesus speaking and He is talking about clothing, and what we eat or drink, our physical needs. He says that our heavenly Father knows we need this stuff and He encourages us to seek Him first and all these things will be added. Added. I like added...He gives! Now this verse is one of the plainest and simplest but also one of the most savagely misinterpreted verses in the Bible. Many a pastor's sermon has counselled people to work very hard on their seeking and their righteousness when all the time it is talking about Jesus. Seek Him. That's all the verse is saying, seek Him. He is our righteousness. It isn't ours, it's His.

Now the 'moment. I was reading and 'BANG' a verse I have 'seen' many times hit me.
Listen to this.

'Grace and peace be multiplied to you...' [2 Peter 1: 2]

Oh, there is more but let's consider grace and peace for a moment.
Grace - the unmerited, undeserved favour of God.
Peace - completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.
(Remember Jesus said, 'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.' [John 14: 27])

Do you like the sound of that?
And God says they are multiplied to you!
Not just an adding God but a multiplying God!
He gives...He gives...He gives...we should be singing.
Are you excited?

Now...big, BIG question.
How are they multiplied to me?
Listen carefully.
It is plain on the page but shrouded in Law in our churches.
(Please don't get the idea I am against 'church'. I am all for church it is just that I struggle with the concept of church that church has become, but that's another post.)

How are grace and peace multiplied to me?
Listen.

'...IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND OF JESUS OUR LORD.' [2 Peter 1: 2]

 Whoa! What no strategy, nothing to do, no work, no mission work, nothing to do?
Just in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord?
My God! This is too wonderful!
But it gets better.

Some time ago a person of authority came to me and said they didn't agree with my definition of the abundant life that Jesus spoke of in John 10: 10. They said it referred to spiritual life but could not include the physical needs of our lives. I'm sorry, what a load of baloney!
Listen to this one. The same writer, John, writes to his mate, Gaius, and says,

'Beloved, (Gauis is obviously a good mate!) I pray that in (listen to it!) in ALL RESPECTS you may prosper and be in good health, (listen!) just as your soul prospers.' [3 John 1: 2]

John, the apostle, the disciple who knew Jesus loved him, prays for prosperity and health which is Gauis's in addition to prosperity of soul! Abundant life! Yes, soul prosperity but more than that, life prosperity and health prosperity!

Back to Peter. It gets better. Read on.

'...seeing that His divine power has granted to us EVERYTHING pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.' [2 Peter 1: 3] 

Oh my God!
Who has called us? Jesus!
We are called us by His own glory and excellence and by His divine power, His Godly power, He has granted to us...please note it says granted to us, it does not say will grant to us one day in the sweet by and by, it says GRANTED TO US...EVERYTHING PERTAINING TO LIFE AND GODLINESS!

Let me ask you a question. Do you desire godliness? I am sure all Christians would give a resounding yes to that. Many are struggling and striving constantly to achieve it, sadly!
Another question. Do you desire everything pertaining to your life? Oh, yes please!
Then, how do we get it?

THROUGH THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM!

So glorious!
How do we get a true knowledge of Him?
Listen to this.
In John 16 Jesus does a momentous thing, He promises someone. Not only does He promise someone He defines that someone's role. It is magnificent!
Listen. I can't quote it all but you can read it yourself, John 16: 5 - 15, ten verses of wonder and truth!

'He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.' [John 16: 14]

Wow!
How do we get true knowledge of Jesus. We ask the Holy Spirit.
Pray with me now, "Holy Spirit, we thank you for your role to disclose Jesus to us. We ask for a revelation of Jesus, new and powerful and everyday. Oh! We want more and more and more of Him! Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Receive Him, Beloved, and you will receive grace and peace multiplied.
Receive Him and you will receive everything pertaining to life and godliness.
EVERYTHING. I say it all the time. JESUS IS EVERYTHING!
How can He not be? He is God's everything, how can He not be our everything also.
Any other teaching is lies!
JESUS + NOTHING = EVERYTHING.

So, I contemplated the wonder of this and I was astounded.
Then God took me back. You know it is very important to read your Bible as a whole. It is the most complete and wonderful narrative and has to be read as a whole. You cannot do as so many do and pluck verses and make your doctrine out of them. You MUST view everything through grace glasses, with eyes of grace, through the cross, seeking Jesus everywhere. You must!

God stepped me back two verses and bingo. It was wonderful and clear.
Peter, the apostle, dear, wonderful, impetuous Peter. Peter the preacher, Peter who had the faith to go all the way to the cross just as His Saviour and Lord had done. He opens His letter with the words...

'Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours...' [2 Peter 1: 1]

Hang on a minute, I thought. My faith of the same kind as Peter's...man I haven't stood and preached, I haven't sung in the prison, I haven't endured like Peter, I haven't been crucified upside down...my faith the same? No way!
In that moment it would have been easy to start inspecting and analysing the quality of my faith...but God had other ideas. Praise God.
We read on.

'...by the righteousness of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.' [2 Peter 1: 1]

Do you see it? I bang on and on in my blog and in my Facebook posts about the fact that our own righteousness is not the issue, for we have none but, hallelujah, we are the righteousness of God in Christ. That is 2 Corinthians 5: 21.
Beloved, we have the same faith as Peter, and Paul, and John, and...any other luminary of the faith...Stephen, we have the same faith because it is based in Jesus.
We have received a faith BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF OUR GOD AND SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST.
This is the same faith as Peter, based in Jesus, He is our shield of faith.
Are you excited?
Are you relieved?
Beloved, everything is yours if you have Christ.
He is your faith.
He is your righteousness.
Knowledge of Him grants us everything pertaining to life and to godliness.
These two things are the very essence of the life of a Christian and we have them in Christ.
He is centrality.
Don't give me your academic knowledge, I don't want your wise words of strategy and program. I don't want your view of life, I want Jesus. Nothing more or less.

Can we meet and when we do can we centre Him? Please?
Just Him.

JESUS IS EVERYTHING.
I want only Him.

What do you think?