Be With Me

A word given to me from the Lord 23 September, 2009, based on Matthew 13:11-17 and other scriptures

You have turned your eyes to gaze upon other things
You have turned your ears to listen to other things
Turn your eyes toward me and gaze upon me
Blessed are the pure in heart
For they shall see God
Turn your ears toward me and listen to my words
Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness
For they will be filled
For I will put a word in your mouth that you will give to the nations
Open your mouth and I will fill it
You will preach good news to all peoples
You will make disciples all nations
My Spirit will come upon you and you will preach good news to the poor
You will bind up the brokenhearted
You will proclaim freedom for the captives
You will see the sick healed
Look at me
Listen to me
Turn to me
Be with me
Be with me
For it is written that you shall have no other god before me
You shall not make unto yourself an idol
But you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all of your mind and all of your strength
Be with me
For the Lord your God is one God
Be with me
I will give you my truth
And you will give it to all peoples
Be with me
I do not care about your sin
What you did or where you came from
All I ask is that you be with me
And my Spirit will come upon you in power
And you will do greater things than my one and only Son
Yes, you will speak with new tongues
And you will prophesy
And you will heal the sick and the diseased
You will cast out unclean spirits
And trample over the lion and the cobra
Be with me
Look at me
Ask to see me
Ask to hear my words
For they are life
And they will bring life to others
Not only life now
But life for eternity
For now is the beginning of eternity
Be with me
And you will have life
I will be the vine
And you will be the branch
Be with me
And you will be like a tree planted by a mighty river
Be with me
For my Spirit is light
And it will give you life
Walk with me
Walk with me like Adam once did in the cool of the meadow in the garden
Come into my garden
Sit under my tree
Be with me
I will be your God
And you will be my people
I will bring times of refreshing upon you
I will make you to lie beside green pastures
I will lead you beside still waters
I will wipe every tear from your eye
I will heal all of your disease
Be with me
And you will have life everlasting
Be with me

Love never fails

I remember praying this simple prayer: Lord, show us how much we are in need of your forgiveness, so that we may have grace upon others and impart that forgiveness to them...

At this moment something broke in the spiritual realm, and the Holy Spirit came down and enfolded me. I wept uncontrollably, as the Holy Spirit simply described the love of God to me, which may be summed up in the following:

Holy Spirit: Do you see the universe?
My spirit: Yes.

Holy Spirit: Can you fathom its bounds?
My spirit: No.

Holy Spirit: Even the universe could not contain God's love nor could it match its beauty.

Time stood still. Nothing mattered. The greatest, most powerful, wealthiest, most beautiful things of mankind ceased in their significance. I understood for the first time how love conquers all, as Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 13

Love

¹If I speak in the tongues^a]">[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^b]">[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

LOVE NEVER FAILS... Money will fail. The most decorated warrior will fail. The smartest man will fail. The strongest athlete will fail. The most powerful will fail. Even the gifts of the Spirit "will cease." Only love will remain when the earth implodes like a dying star taking all of its inhabitants with it; when the galaxy collapses into a black hole; when the universe dies. YET LOVE WILL NEVER FAIL. The next time you encounter a situation where your life is on the verge of ruin, your enemies have surrounded you, and there appears to be no hope, remember that LOVE WILL NEVER FAIL.

This concept has also changed my idea of what it means to love your enemies and turn the other cheek. My quick response to violence is with more violence, but I must remember that LOVE WILL NEVER FAIL.

This very simple thought will change the world. It already has. And it made me weep like a small child.