Passion of God…Long Before “Passion Week”

Each year, starting with Palm Sunday and ending with Resurrection Sunday, Christians worldwide observe "Passion Week" in holy remembrance of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This holy week highlights Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and forceful cleansing of the temple which soon led to His betrayal, arrest, illegitimate trials by night, terrible physical and emotional abuse, and eventual crucifixion. 

But the greatest significance of Passion Week is that it highlights Christ's willing journey to the Cross.  As the sinless Lamb of God, Jesus gave up His life to become the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.  But a borrowed tomb could not keep Him!  Jesus's glorious resurrection on Easter morning as Victor over sin and death opened the way to salvation and Eternal Life to all who believe in Him.

Although Passion Week is the culmination of the Lenten and Easter observance each year, we would like to suggest that the "Passion of Christ" began long before "Passion Week." Could it be that the "sufferings of Christ" as an expression of the eternal love of God for His creation began with the first sin in the Garden of Eden?

What follows is a series of daily devotional meditations.  Each one has a specific theme that is supported by Scriptures followed by an invitation to consider how these Scriptures practically apply to our daily living.  We hope each meditation will help users to explore and appreciate both the lovingkindness of God and the infinitely long history of His redemptive passion and plan, a plan which He conceived "before the creation of the world" (Ephesians 1: 4).  [Note:  If you begin with "Day 1" on Palm Sunday, you will finish on Resurrection Sunday (Easter).] 

Day 1: “A Perfect Communion--God and Man”
Scripture: 
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  - Genesis 1:1
God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him; male and female...- Gen. 1:27 
And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.  
And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. - Gen. 1:31 
Consider:
The Triune God-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, existed in a perfect, loving relationship as One God from eternity past. Then, God created the heavens and the Earth and formed the first human being, Adam.  As a living person, Adam was equipped to think, communicate, and act in fellowship with God as a perfect image and reflection of God's Person and character.  From Genesis 3: 8 we learn that Adam and his human companion, Eve, enjoyed perfect fellowship with God, walking with him in the cool of the day, hearing the sound of His voice, and receiving the warmth of His love.
Application:
Can you remember a loving relationship that you hoped would never end? Did God know that His love for Adam and Eve so warmly reciprocated would end with their rejection of Him?  Yes, He did!  But this knowledge did not cause God to love Adam and Eve any less.  Instead, God had already determined that He would redeem Adam's fallen race, including all who will turn to Him by faith. ln fact God chose us in Him [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence.  In love... Ephesians 1: 4.  He had restoration of humankind and creation in mind long before Adam's tragic fall into sin.
Response:
Imagine the blessing of Adam and Eve as they walked with God in a mutually shared love and joy!  Can you personally relate to the blessing of regular communion with God?  If so, thank Him now for making it possible through Christ  

Day 2: “Perfect Love Relationship--Broken!”
Scripture: 
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves... 
Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3: 6-8)
Consider:
Adam and Eve were free to choose either to love God by living lives consistent with their image-bearing, divine nature; or by living in contradiction to a life that would express their love and honor to their Creator.  One day, possibly just before the "cool of the day" when they would often enjoy walking with God, Adam and Eve made the fateful choice to doubt and then reject God's loving provision for them.  The effect of their choice was immediate!  They felt a sense of alienation from God.  Then, guilt and fear led them to hide from God, or so they thought. 
Application:
Like all of their descendants, Adam and Eve were created to be holy images of God as long as they chose to obey Him.  Unfortunately, they yielded to Satan's temptation and allowed the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life [to rule them, a spirit that] is not from the Father but is from the world (1 John 2: 16).  Adam and Eve would never be the same or have the same loving communion with God.  Fortunately, although they had rejected God, He had not rejected them.  His love never fails. 
Response:
Take time to thank God that His love endures, and His mercy never fails.  Song:  "Goodness of God," Bethel Music, Jenn Johnson  Click HERE.

Day 3: “God's Passion and Pursuit Begins”
Scripture: 
Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:8- 9)
Consider:
Adam and Eve had been accustomed to walking with the LORD in the cool of the day, hearing His voice, and basking in the love, joy, and peace that radiated from Him.  But on one particular day, they yielded to the tempting voice of Satan and ate the fruit from the only tree that God had pronounced "off limits." Suddenly, they were gripped by fear when they heard God's voice and they hid from Him. Tragically, the effects of that first sin upon Adam and Eve have been experienced by their descendants of every generation down to the present day.

Application:
Can you remember the hurt and pain you felt when you lost a cherished relationship? Terrible as such an experience of loss can be, it is impossible for us to fathom the anguish of God when Adam and Eve rejected His love. Their rejection of His command pierced the loving heart of God. But the divine grief over their sin was more than matched by God's passionate and just plan to redeem the fallen couple--and their offspring.  From that moment in the Garden when God asked, "Where are you?", God knew the sin and sorrow His Son would bear on the Cross for you and me. 
Response:
Enter a time of quiet meditation on God's question, "Where are you?" Make it personal; and then respond in prayer as God's Spirit leads you.

Day 4: “The Gravity of Sin Requires Bloodshed”
Scripture:
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked,
and they sewed fig leaves together and made loin coverings. -Genesis 3: 7
The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. - Genesis 3: 21
No man can by any means redeem his brother
   Or give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of his soul is costly,
  And he should cease trying forever— - Psalm 49: 7-8
Consider: 
Adam and Eve are the only humans who were able to know God intimately, walk with Him, and intimately know each other without sin and shame.  All of these privileges were diminished with the fall.  Suddenly, "their eyes were opened." Guilt, shame, and fear exposed their nakedness physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  As God's image bearers, all of us as Adam's descendants have inborn sense of justice that calls us to make peace with God.  Adam and Eve chose to hide from God in their sin and shame, and to cover their naked vulnerability by make-shift means.
Application:
How old were you when you first realized the guilt and shame of disobeying your parents or a teacher?  Can you relate to how Adam and Eve must have felt?  Maybe like them, you tried to "fix things" or "cover up." But chances are your sin was discovered, and the wrongness of your actions were made clear through explanation and maybe even punishment.  If you were disciplined, you may also remember the relief of having "paid the price" for your sin.  But who "pays the price" for our sins and our "sin nature" in God's sovereign plan?  Amazingly, God Himself "paid the price!"  In God's mercy, He spared us of what we deserved--eternal death and separation from Him. In God's grace, He gives us what we don't deserve--eternal Life. 
Response:
Have you received His Gift (John 3: 14-21)?   If so, thank God now for the free Gift of faith and salvation through Christ's sacrifice.  How will you confront temptation and the sin that so easily confronts you?  See Hebrews 12: 1-3; 1 John 1: 5-9.  

Day 5: “The Grief of God--And His Mercy”
Scripture: 
The LORD God said to the serpent...I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” - Genesis 3: 14a, 15 
Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the LORD’s help, I have produced a man!” - Genesis 4: 1 
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  - Genesis 6: 5-6
Consider:
On Day 4, we reflected on how our disobedience as a child brought guilt and shame upon us. But did we ever think how our parents or a teacher might have felt?  Likely, they were disappointed, maybe angry, and likely ready to make you pay the price for your disobedience.  As much as I dreaded the punishment, I eventually realized that my disobedience hurt my parents and teachers.  Their disappointment in me hurt them.  It also hurt them to "apply physical hurt" to me!  Above all, I must realize how much grief God has born since the Garden and all the way to the Cross.

Application:
According to our Scripture for today, when God saw the extent of the wickedness on the Earth, It broke his heart.  What would God do?  The Old Testament understanding was, The soul that sins will die (Ezekiel 18:20).  But, from before the beginning of time, God had another plan.  Beginning with Adam's sin, God would enter in and participate in addressing the penalty for sin. To show the seriousness of our sin, God the Creator of animals chose to commit the first act of killing an animal and shedding its life blood to make skin coverings for Adam and Eve. Then, in Exodus and Leviticus, God outlined a sacrificial system by which sin was atoned through blood sacrifices.  For ...according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9: 22). 
Response:
Praise God for His love that flowed from His grieving heart as mercy and forgiveness, first through the repeated blood sacrifices under His Old Covenant; and then, in the New Covenant, sealed once and for all through the blood of His precious Lamb, Jesus Christ.  See also, Hebrews 10.

Day 6: “God's Passionate Love Doesn't Give Up”
Scripture: 

I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; 

       I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.

       I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’

      To a nation which did not call on My name.

I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,

      Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,

      A people who continually provoke Me to My face… - Isaiah 65: 1-2

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. - Hosea 11: 8
Consider: 
The Old Testament Scriptures are the account of the many ways in which God was seeking to redeem mankind.  Although Adam and Eve had once been God's perfect image bearers, they and their descendants had become fallen images tarnished by sin. Think of it!  But how could an infinite, holy, longsuffering God convey to mankind the greatness of His love and passionate longing for our redemption?  The book of Hosea gives us one of many Old Testament accounts.

Application:
Most of us have or have had the blessing of loving another person very deeply--perhaps your spouse, your parents, or a boy- or girlfriend.  For some of us, a loving relationship came to a screeching halt followed by a time of deep hurt and grief.  The Book of Hosea gives us the account of how God asked Hosea the prophet to marry a woman named Gomer who became immoral (or may already have been immoral) and sold her body as a prostitute.  Hosea obeys, marries, and loves Gomer even though she is unfaithful and leaves him.  God uses this tragic, adulterous marriage and Hosea's loving pursuit of unfaithful Gomer to convey how much He loves us and all of lost, sinful mankind. 
Response:
Meditate on the depth of God's passionate love for you according to the Scriptures above.  How will you respond?

Day 7: “Centuries of Sacrificial Lambs: Then, 'the Lamb'”

Scripture: 
When He approached Jerusalem, He [Jesus] saw the city and wept aloud over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. - Luke 19: 41-42

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. - Jesus Christ (Matthew 23: 37) 
Consider:
God's passionate longing to gather, comfort, and restore fallen mankind was repeatedly expressed through the Old Testament prophets like Hosea.  However, the ultimate expression of God's unfailing, covenant love ("lovingkindness" or "mercy") occurred through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The first "Palm Sunday" began what we now call "Passion Week." God had sovereignly planned from before the beginning of time for Jesus to suffer and die as "the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world" (John 1: 29). The first Palm Sunday was also the Jewish "lamb selection day" when spotless lambs were selected for sacrifice to achieve atonement for their sins. On that very day, God had ordained that His "Lamb," Jesus Christ, would approach Jerusalem riding humbly on a donkey.  Overlooking Jerusalem, Jesus paused on His mount, wept loudly, and cried out the words recorded by Luke (above).

Application:
We have emphasized the tragic effect of sin --the guilt, shame, and ruination of relationships both with God and our neighbor. We also emphasized how our sin brings grief to God who, after all, is a Person with moral consciousness and emotions.  But, in spite of being grieved and offended by our sin, and instead of conferring the death penalty upon mankind, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully human, to take our death penalty.  What a Savior!
Response:
God's Spirit, our Comforter convicts us of sin, and if we humbly repent, He restores us to fellowship with Him under the blood of Christ's righteousness.  Don't hide from the One who awaits your repentant spirit and freely offers reconciliation and sanctification, all because of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God.

Day 8: “Fellowship of His Suffering”
Scripture: 

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. – Romans 8: 22-23.

And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. - Romans 8:17

I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. - Colossians 1: 24

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death… - Philippians 3: 10

Consider: The inspired Scriptures above from the Apostle Paul's epistles emphasize three themes that run throughout the Bible: 
1) the "groaning of creation" with its "anxious longing" for freedom from the curse of sin. 
2) God as "Shepherd of Israel" (Psalm 80: 1) seeking to call the wayward sheep back His sheepfold where they can receive His comfort. 
3) God the Holy Spirit teaching, convicting, indwelling, and interceding "with groanings too deep for words..." (Romans 8: 26-27). 
Combining these three themes, we see a groaning creation, God passionately seeking sinners; and God/s Spirit, our Comforter, who comforts us in our groaning, identifying with us who share in "the sufferings of 'Christ" because of our testimony for Him.  Together these themes speak of a God whose passion for a lost world and a lost humanity would spare nothing, not even His only Son, to bring restoration. 

Application:
We close this series with a great question for which we have no satisfying answer. Why would a holy God who, in the words of A. W. Tozer, is "...not simply the best we know infinitely bettered...[but instead, One who] stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable"-- how could such a holy Being, One "who knew no sin," willingly "become sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5: 21)? The only answer is God's "incomprehensible and unattainable" love for His creation and for humanity, His image bearers.
Again, A.W. Tozer:" God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of His universe. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it.  Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death." 

God sent His only begotten Son to be "the Lamb" that would take upon Himself all the sin, the "moral sickness" of the world.  Through His death, Christ ended the curse of sin and provided a way to Life Eternal.
Response:  If you began this daily devotional series on Palm Sunday, the first day of "Passion Week," you are now reading this on Easter Sunday. Maybe you will be led of the Spirit to take time to review, and we hope you will be even more in awe of the redemptive plan of God.  All of this provision was made before the foundation of the world, born from the passionate, loving heart of God--long before "Passion Week."  Meditate on the amazing truth that God made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5: 21).

Shelters When the Storm Comes

 “Our home is gone! 
    Washed down the river.”
    -- Displaced resident of NC 

 “Our home went up in smoke!
   Only the chimney is standing,”
   -- Displaced resident of
                  Pacific Palisades, CA  

During recent months, the hurricane disaster in Southeast US and the widespread fire damage in California have made headlines.  Thousands of residents were displaced and many became homeless.  Thankfully, such major disasters are so rare that we tend to take for granted the blessings of home, food, schools, churches, and community services. Many of us recognize that each of these blessings that support our social and physical well-being are from the good hand of our Creator God. 

Providential Shelters in Creation
Weather-related disasters remind us of how frail and dependent we are upon the normal function of the created order around us.  The created order consists of interwoven relationships among soil, water, air, and living organisms.  Together, these vital resources make up what scientists call ecosystems.  Ecosystems support human life and millions of other species of animals, plants, and microbes.   

Many scientists have tried to explain and even duplicate these ecosystems and the “ecosystem services” they provide.  From the giant mammals to the tiny microbes that reside in the mammalian gut, scientists are humbled by their limited success.  Many will acknowledge that only God or an unnamed “intelligent designer” could have created such complexity.   

We can marvel at how each of the millions of species can flourish, each in its own environment to which it has been adapted.  Without their amazing, life-sustaining adaptations in structure and function, each species would be as displaced and homeless as human disaster victims.  Let’s examine one particular example to illustrate our point.

Case Example:  Skunk Cabbage
Let’s consider one example in the plant kingdom, a plant whose unsavory leaves have earned it the name, Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).  This fascinating plant is a member of the Arum Family along with Jack-in-the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).  Skunk cabbage grows lushly in wet soils along streams where the water seeps from surrounding hillsides.  In North America, this plant species is considered a Spring wildflower although it blooms while the cold and snow of February still dominates its habitat. 

Recently, while hiking in Clear Creek Park here in Wooster, I was fortunate to spot the emerging flowering structures of Skunk Cabbage poking through the snow near the banks of Clear Creek. 

 You may ask how these plants could emerge after over a week of steady subfreezing temperatures.  The answer lies in Skunk Cabbage’s unusual ability to generate its own heat!  Heat is generated within the tissues of the fleshy, thumb-size flower stalk called the spadix.  The spadix is sheltered inside a fleshy hoodlike structure called a spathe.  Temperatures inside the spathe may reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit!  We might say, Skunk Cabbage creates its own “Spring weather” in middle of winter.  By storing up reserves of carbohydrates the year before and then “burning” them in February, the plant stokes its cellular furnaces which warm the plant and give it an early start in competition with later Spring-blooming species. 

 Amazingly, the Skunk Cabbage spathe often becomes warm enough to melt the snow around it.  The warmed tissues give off a distinct odor of rotting meat which attracts carrion-feeding flies and gnats to enter the warm shelter.  Once inside, the insects come into contact with pollen from the Skunk Cabbage flowers.  Then, when they leave the spathe and enter neighboring spathes, these insect visitors unknowingly transfer pollen from plant to plant allowing “cross-pollination.” 

Our Skunk Cabbage system not only favors its own survival and flourishing but also that of multiple insect species.  Later in the year, certain animal species such as bears may eat the leaves and seeds.   Skunk Cabbage is only one of many examples of the amazing provisions we believe God has designed for survival and flourishing of plants and animals.  Such relationships within God’s creation suggest that we live in a world that favors life and flourishing, not misery and death.   

Providential Care through Human Compassion
Most of us have been afforded the opportunity to live in the shelter and provision of a “home” where our needs are met.  Unlike the winter-flying insects that must find warmth and shelter inside a Skunk Cabbage spathe, our homes are places of reliable shelter from the snow and cold of winter, and the pounding rains and blistering sun of summer.  Home is also a place of safety from those who disregard the law.  Best of all, home affords a place in which family and friendships can grow, flourish, and make memories. 

Those who suddenly lose their homes and all of its provisions during natural disasters are at the mercy of God who providentially uses compassionate people who are willing to respond to desperate calls for help.  Temporary safe shelters, water, food, and medical services are essential to begin the restoration of order and the opportunity to rebuild homes and community. 

Many individuals and families face hard times when illness, unemployment, or another unexpected crisis occurs.  That is why it is comforting to find local helping hands and ministries such as People to People Ministries (PTPM) here in Wooster, Ohio to come alongside.  We are among those who thank the director, Joe Szeker, his dedicated staff, and many local residents who donate their time, food, clothing, and other resources in support of PTP’s mission “to provide an immediate, realistic, and compassionate response to people with these basic needs when these needs are not being met through any other programs.”  When we as God's image bearers demonstrate caring compassion in practical ways toward our neighbor in need, we are expressing the loving heart of God, evident in both human communities and in the providential life-supporting systems of His creation.

Further Reading: 

More on Skunk Cabbage:  Go HERE.
People to People Ministries:   Go HERE.
God’s Economy in Creation:  Go HERE.

Treasures Along Roads Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

In his beloved poem, "The Road Not Taken," Robert Frost uses the imagery of divergent roads where we as travelers in life must choose which road we will follow.  Indeed, our lives continually require us to make choices.  Some may have only minor consequence.  But Frost’s “fork in the road” analogy seems to suggest major choices we must make.  We all make choices that shape our moral and spiritual identity, form our social network, influence how we use material resources, and sensitize us to our vocational calling and purpose in life. Whether our choices are good or bad, we are all given time, talents, and treasures to use as stewards of these as gifts and opportunities.

Book Review
This month’s blog presents a book review of Forests, Wetlands and Flamescapes, subtitled Wildlands of the Dayton, Ohio Region in 1800…and Today, authored by my friend, David Nolin.  From my vantage point, Dave seems to have taken "the one less traveled' -- one that “was grassy and wanted wear.” Whether I am correct in placing Dave on such a path and whether I’m making a correct application of Frost’s intent will remain to be seen.  I will leave it for Dave and other readers to comment and steer me aright if necessary.  But stay with me and we’ll see where this blog leads.

How Things Used to Be
One’s preference for the “road less travelled” can take different forms.  Some of us prefer to apply this preference literally when we leave the highways and interstates behind to view the landscape from rough and winding country roads.  We may even be prone to stop along country roads to hike offroad, where we are permitted, to find trails and paths less traveled, and where landscapes remind us of “how things used to be.”  Such places offer a quietness from the bustle of our busy world, solace to appreciate the beauty of the natural landscape, and time to observe the diversity of its resident flora and fauna.  For some of us, after we have rolled back the distractions of every-day life to reflect on the natural landscape, we encounter new and worthwhile questions.

The Author
Dave Nolin has been among those who have long been fascinated by “how things used to be” in the landscapes of southwestern Ohio.  During his 30-year career with Five Rivers MetroParks of Dayton, Ohio, Dave has been active in the discovery, acquisition, and land stewardship of numerous natural area treasures of the surrounding region.  

Forests, Wetlands and Flamescapes gives us an account of what Nolin has learned from extensive field studies and research into historic accounts and mapped data, all of which he has compiled into an understandable, fascinating, and beautifully illustrated book.  Readers are treated to an account of “how things used to be” in landscapes of southwestern Ohio, the forces that have historically shaped these landscapes, and the land management principles that we ought to follow to maintain these biological and historical treasures.

For History Lovers
Readers of Forests, Wetlands and Flamescapes who love history will be treated to numerous accounts describing the various plant communities of southwestern Ohio complete with color photos and maps.  Prior to the entry of agriculture and industry, Native Americans used fire to hunt game animals and maintain prairie grasslands for good grazing.  Readers who have believed that land stewards can keep landscapes “the way they used to be” by simply leaving them undisturbed will be in for a surprise.  From the historical records, Nolin argues just the opposite—the only way to conserve many of these natural areas such as open prairie grasslands is to disturb them!  In other words, in order to conserve them [Latin, con- (with) + servitium (service)] we must “serve with” them by planning and executing disturbances typical of those which have sustained them for centuries.  To use Robert Frost’s analogy, these natural areas are each like the road that “was grassy and wanted wear.”  

For Map Lovers
Readers who love maps will be interested in how Dave is leading the effort to refine an older map published in 1966.  This map, entitled Natural Vegetation of Ohio at the Time of the Earliest Land Surveys, was compiled from mapped data from the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) obtained prior to 1800.   

In Chapter 2, “Mapping a Lost World,” Dave explains his project to evaluate the PLSS data using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) software in order to provide more accurate mapping of pre-settlement plant communities.  The result is a treat for readers who love both maps and history.   This is true because the aim of the project is to use documents containing pre-settlement data to go beneath the “landscape layer” familiar to us today in order to reconstruct an “historic landscape layer” that maps the plant communities as they existed in Ohio prior to 1800.  

Just in Time for Spring
The coming of Spring is a great time to follow “roads less traveled” to find the botanical treasures of remnant natural areas.  My wife and I are planning to use Forests, Wetlands and Flamescapes to explore some of these natural areas.  Chapter 5, “Some Modern Lifeboats,” serves as a guide to twenty-one protected natural areas within the Dayton, Ohio region that are accessible to the public.  Nolin gives the location of each of these natural areas on a map of the Dayton regional area and describes the landscape and past disturbances.  Each natural area is also highlighted with photos of notable plant species and an aerial map of the designated hiking trails.

In conclusion, if you are among those of us who love the “road less traveled” or know someone who has that love, may I heartily recommend Forests, Wetlands and Flamescapes.  And don’t be surprised this Spring if you are hiking in one of the treasured landscaped described in this book to run upon Dave Nolin and maybe his wife, Catherine, already there enjoying it.

Where to Purchase:
Nolin, David.  2024. Forests, Wetlands and Flamescapes: Wildlands of the Dayton,
    Ohio Region in 1800…and Today. Generis Publishing.
    For more information and purchase, go HERE.

Recommended Further Reading:
Nolin, David.  2018. Discovery and Renewal on Huffman Prairie: Where Aviation
    Took Wing.  Kent State University Press 
    For purchase, go HERE.  Book review, go HERE.
More on conservation and land stewardship in this blog, enter keyword
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Limits to Intimacy? 3. Confess Our Need, Call on the Helper

Most of us aspire toward close friendships and fulfilling marriages.  Satisfying interpersonal relationships are an essential part of our emotional, physical, and spiritual health.  Such relationships are characterized by sacrificial love, honesty, shared values, and unwavering commitment “through thick and thin.”  But how many of us know the bliss of such an intimate interpersonal relationship?

In Part 1 of “Limits to Intimacy,” we defined intimacy and discussed limits to intimacy in interpersonal relationships.  [See Part 1, HERE.]  Sadly, perfect human relationships are beyond human reach.  Wouldn’t you agree?  But there’s good news for us on this Valentine's Day!

Invitation to Unlimited Intimacy
What if you received an invitation to form a friendship or marriage with a sure guarantee that it would mature into one with no limit to intimacy?  In addition, what if you were also welcomed into an exemplary interpersonal relationship to emulate; one that also offered free counseling when needed?  Wouldn’t such a prospect be worth pursuing?   The good news is:  Such a perfect interpersonal relationship does exist!  In fact, we have already tried to describe the nature of this most intimate relationship in Part 2 [Click HERE.].  It is the divine relationship among the three Persons of the Triune Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Best of all, we are each invited to participate in the joy of this divine relationship.

The Bible reveals to us that, The Father sent the Son [Jesus Christ] to be the Savior of the world (John 1 John 4: 14), and …everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved (Romans 10: 13).  But saved for what?  Saved to receive and enjoy the gift of eternal life in a relationship with God.  And what is eternal life?  It is the gift of new life for those who are redeemed (purchased and freed) from the slavery of self and sin and restored from the fall of Adam.  Jesus, the Son, defined eternal life while He prayed in this way:  This is eternal life, that they may know You [Father], the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17: 3).  Imagine this!   Eternal life is to know God intimately and personally—forever!

The Triune God has an amazing purpose in His invitation to us to “call on the Name of the LORD.”  We can be saved into eternal life for the purpose (in Jesus’s words) that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me (John 17: 21).  Reread this part of Jesus’s prayer to His Father, spoken the day before His crucifixion.  Meditate on the depth of intimacy into which God invites us!

Eternal life is not simply an eternal, blissful existence.  It begins at the moment we hear and respond in faith to the Triune God’s call:
“Come unto Me!  Come and be one with Me,” invites the Father.
“Even as Christ is in Me,” declares the Father, and “as I AM in the Son.
Jesus’s invitation is clear: “So come, be in Us, so the world may believe that You (Father) sent Me.”  

We who are Christ-followers ought to be amazed each time we realize that the shed blood and resurrection of Christ and His gift of faith to believe (Ephesians 2: 8-10) opens the way for God to invite us to become partakers of His divine nature!   The Apostle Peter wrote of this divine invitation (emphasis added):

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 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. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by evil desires (2 Peter 1: 3-4).

Ingredients for Intimacy
What specifically are the necessary ingredients for an intimate interpersonal relationship?  At least one is found in Jesus’s teaching about the vine and branches in John 15.  

💜Christ-Centered:  An intimate friendship or marriage between two flawed individuals requires that each be yielded to God in saving faith as branches dependent on Christ, the Vine (John 15).  As each friend or spouse abides, he or she receives the life-giving “sap,” the love and power of Christ, through the filling of His Holy Spirit.  When each one willingly “dies to self and selfishness,” God’s Spirit can work more fully in us to produce His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… (Galatians 5: 22-23).  When the members of a relationship each practice the character virtues of Christ as friends or spouses, they are becoming “partakers of the divine nature.”

Experiencing and practicing the character virtues of the Eternal Life of the Spirit within us requires that we feed upon the Word of God as our daily spiritual bread.  When anxious thoughts arise, we ought to Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful (Colossians 3: 15).  When we need wisdom or correction, God’s Spirit prompts us to Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God (verse 16).

God lovingly communicates to us through His Word and through His Spirit abiding in us.  In return, our intimacy with God in friendships and in marriage is sustained through prayer.

😌Prayer:  Psalm 139 may be the most intimate prayer recorded in the Bible.  David, who expressed this prayer to God had a remarkable resume. Beginning as a common shepherd boy, he became an outstanding musician, psalmist, warrior, and king.  Most importantly, in 1 Samuel 16: 13, we learn that as a young man, David was anointed with oil by the godly judge and prophet Samuel in the midst of his brothers.  The Scripture adds that, as anointing oil was applied and running down from David’s head, the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward.  

And so, David, filled with the Holy Spirit, begins his prayer in reverence to God, addressing Him “LORD,” or in Hebrew, Yahweh (Psalm 139: 1).  “LORD” (all in caps) translates into our English verb “to be” and is expressed as, “I AM!”  When we address God in prayer as “LORD,” we are acknowledging Him as the “eternally existent One.”  Consider this!  Although we are finite creatures, bound by our temporal, earthly existence, God invites us into a personal relationship with our eternally existent “LORD.”  Prayers lifted to God from our Spirit-filled souls interconnect our lives with the Eternal Life of our Savior and God.  Communion with God through prayer and abiding daily in His Word completes the “spiritual circuitry.” This completed circuit allows the free flow of knowledge of the Truth to sustain us as “partakers of the divine nature.”

😊Knowledge is the third ingredient for an intimate relationship.  In Psalm 139: 1, David acknowledges God’s profound, personal knowledge of his innermost being.  David begins, O LORD, You have searched me and known me (verse 1).  Then, he reverently recounts all the ways God knows him (verses 2-18).   As the table below illustrates, we found at least seven areas of his life in which David humbly acknowledged God’s complete knowledge of him.  [CLICK on table to enlarge.] 

God’s complete knowledge of each person transcends space, time, and even the spoken word.  God knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts before we speak or act.  As he meditates on God’s omniscience, David exclaims:  Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?  The answer is: "Nowhere!"  But there is more that we can apply to deepen our relationships.

Prior to their sin, Genesis 2 records that the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2: 25).  The human race began in a perfect creation with a perfect marriage.  The male and the female were designed to cleave to one another and be as “one flesh” (Genesis 2: 24), realized physically by their sexual union, and intellectually and emotionally by their intimate, personal knowing of one another’s thoughts and intentions.  This blessed intimacy was corrupted by sin when Adam and Eve yielded to Satan’s temptation and rebelled against God’s design for them in the Garden of Eden [See Part 2, HERE.]

   

😔Humble Submission:  God had created Adam and Eve, and gifted them with an intimate relationship that reflected the perfect intimacy within the Triune Godhead as we discussed in Part 2 [Click HERE.].  But the first couple chose what they thought was the “better and wiser way.”  Genesis 3: 8 reveals that ...they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  When God came seeking Adam and Eve (He knew exactly where they were physically and spiritually.), He saw the couple hiding from Him and hiding from each other by the fig leaves they had sewn together.  We, as Adam’s fallen descendants, have inherited their sinful nature and proneness to hide.

The central biblical narrative is an account of God lovingly seeking Adam’s fallen descendants and ultimately sending His Son, Jesus Christ, as the perfect Lamb to atone for our sin and bring us back to intimate oneness with Him --that is, to become “partakers of the divine nature” as noted above.  If we are yielded to the Holy Spirit, then God’s Spirit and His Word convict us to confess our sin and repent (turn from our sin).   Then, we can become forthright in our prayers and in our actions toward God and in our friendships and marriages.

Inventory of Our Intimacy
Imagine a conversation with your friend or your spouse if you knew they were all-knowing (omniscient) like God is!  But we all know they are not omniscient.  So, we are tempted to hide or hold back information; and, to suspect, mistrust, and misjudge one another.   It follows that the degree of intimacy with our friend or spouse depends on the degree to which we have each, individually submitted to God, and then worked together to promote a relationship of trust and openness.  Let’s pursue this logic to make an inventory of our relationships.

😌Honest Confession:  When we are tempted to selfishly hide truth and be dishonest with our friend or spouse; or, if we discover that we have wrongly accused them; in either case, we have sinned.  Thankfully, it helps us to remember two things:  First, as the Apostle John wrote in essence, “if we say we have no sin (or boast that we are not to blame), we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1: 8).”   But…if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (v. 9).  Submission to God, confession, and repentance completes the “circuit” for greater intimacy with God and with our friend or spouse.  We need to be continually checking our spiritual circuitry. 

👂Applying Scripture-Fed Prayer:  Second, we must be disciplined in keeping the “circuit” between us and God open by continuing in God’s Word daily (His Word to us) and abiding in Christ through prayer (our words and thoughts to God).  The discipline of making time for daily Scripture-fed prayer is not easy.  We must give high priority to regularly set aside time for quiet solace to commune with God through our spirit and hear from Him through His Spirit and Word.  Charles Swindoll shares the following challenge in his book, Intimacy with the Almighty¹ :  

Intimacy with the Almighty calls for disciplines that are no longer valued or emulated by the majority today.  To begin with, there must be simplicity, which allows us the room to reorder our private world.  Then, there must be silence, a rarity in our time.  Silence, as we've seen in Scripture, makes our moments of stillness meaningful.

Here again we can learn from David.  Long before Christ came, David seems to have concluded how wise it was for him to yield to the all-knowing God and the convicting power of God’s Word.  Hebrews 4: 12 tells us that God’s Word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4: 12).  At times, this process can be harsh and threatening. But thankfully, we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4: 15).  Instead of denying our sin or trying to hide it from God or others, the next verse lovingly calls us to draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Is there any place more intimate than at the throne of God where Christ intercedes with us as our Advocate seated at God’s right hand?

👂Responding to Intimacy with God:  When we prayerfully read the whole of Psalm 139 as we hope you will, and pray the message of each verse back to God in reverent, humble, submission, we reinforce a spirit of repentance – i.e. a commitment to turn from our sinful ways and yield to God’s Spirit who convicts us and transforms our thinking (Romans 12: 1-3).  As we have noted earlier, David begins this prayer-psalm acknowledging that God had searched him and known him fully.  After rehearsing all the ways God intimately knows him, David humbly calls on God:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
     Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
     And lead me in the everlasting way.
                                   - Psalm 139: 23-24

David’s prayer is offered from a humble, contrite heart with full admission of his need for God’s Spirit to find both hidden faults and willful sins (Psalm 19: 13-14).  David asks to be delivered from both so that he may experience the “joy of Thy salvation” (Psalm 51: 12) and willingly follow God’s “everlasting way” (Psalm 139: 24).  Then, he will be blameless, having reached “a state of moral integrity and purity before God;” a state, not of moral perfection, but of mature awareness of his continual need to press on while leaning upon the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Guide.

How Will You Respond?
We hope you have responded to our invitation take biblical inventory of one of your Intimate relationships as outlined above?  We urge you to come prayerfully before God’s throne to respond according to the conviction of His Spirit and Word.  If you have never repented of your sin and received Christ’s sacrificial blood atonement for it, check out the simple outline of “Steps to Peace with God” (Click HERE.) which provides helpful Scripture and a prayer.  As always, you may post your comments or questions below using the “Comment” link.  Or you may contact us at silviusj@gmail.com.

😌A Christ-follower’s Prayer:  Father in Heaven, thank you that we can call you “Father” because Your Son, Jesus obediently left Heaven’s glory and took upon Himself all the sin and sorrows of the world, bearing them on His Cross, dying there, and raising to new life which opened the way for us to be saved by faith in Him.  Thank you, Father, Son, and Spirit for opening your eternal intimacy to spill out Your love through the blood of Christ so that you, Holy God, can invite us into intimate relationship with you as partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by evil desire (2 Peter 1: 4).  Convict us of sin or any distraction that deters us from pursuing and achieving intimacy with you, God, and in our friendships and marriages.   Amen.

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Footnotes:
¹Charles R. Swindoll. 1996.  Intimacy with the Almighty.  Word Publishing.

²Oikonomia. "Learning to Know Ourselves: 3. True, Lasting Inclusion."  June 26, 2024 [Click HERE.]

Limits to Intimacy? 2. Not So, in God!

Perfect interpersonal relationships do not exist.  Wouldn’t you agree?  Yet most of us have an inner desire to find deep, intimate friendships and fulfilling marriages. 

In "Limits to Intimacy?" Part 1, we defined intimacy, we questioned whether there are limits to intimacy in interpersonal relationships, and we outlined five types of intimacy in human relationships. [See Part 1, HERE.]  We also received private communications in which some of you shared important insights on the subject of intimacy.

Our “Blog in a Nutshell” [See on LEFT.] summarizes Part 1 and explains what you will read in Part 2.  As always, we welcome your insights and questions at the “Comment” link below.

Beginning of Intimacy
The word intimate means “inmost, innermost, deepest.”  When applied to human relationships, it describes a warm friendship or close association which may or may not have a romantic component.  In a romantic relationship, erotic love (Gr. eros) is usually present which, as Pastor Timothy Keller describes it, the couple face each other and blissfully share in mutual adoration as if nothing else existed.  In contrast, “friendship love” (Gr. phileo) pictures two people standing side-by-side with their eyes focused on admiring another object, person, sport, hobby, shared belief, or cause.  According to Keller, friendship love develops in those special moments when one person learns that another person shares the same interest or value as if to realize, “You enjoy it, too?" or, “You believe it, too?”

God created humans to be relational beings.  We find meaning, purpose and fulfillment by forming and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships.  These relationships are most certain to endure and thrive when we invite God to be at the center.  Contrary to the other religions of the world, Judeo-Christian theology reveals that the LORD God, Jehovah, has made a way for humans to establish a loving friendship with Him.  Yes, “friendship with Almighty God!"  As we grow in the intimacy of fellowship in our obedient walk with Jesus Christ, we find ourselves loving what He loves and doing what He would do.  Because of our shared values, we find ourselves joyfully saying to our Savior, “You, too?” 

God Invites Intimacy
Still, many people view Jehovah God just like any other god-- distant, impersonal, and uncaring.  Why should they seek a friendship with a God they do not trust?  How can they be sure God is not a “cosmic killjoy?”  Isn’t God so “altogether other” and “all-powerful” compared to us?  How could there be any joy or fun in a relationship with a distant God who claims to be “holy” and “almighty?”  The answer lies in another attribute of God’s character and nature:  God has revealed himself as "Love" (Gr. agape) which He expresses as unconditional, sacrificial, and benevolent behavior toward us in both His character and actions (John 3 :16).

The Scriptures reveal that God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were still (rebellious) sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5: 8).  Greater love has no one than this that one lay down his life for his friend (John 15: 13).  When we realize we are rebels against a loving God, we yield to God’s loving pursuit, and His Spirit indwells us to produce the fruit of Love, Joy, Peace, and more (John 15: 1-10; Galatians 5: 22-23).  If we abide in Christ, we can share the testimony of John:  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5: 3).  When we gladly obey God as an expression of our love and desire for friendship with Jesus, He responds:  You are My friends if you do what I command you (John 15: 14).  

But still, many remain skeptical.  Some will accept that “God is love,” but ask how can one become an intimate friend with a God knowing that He also occupies a position of sovereign power over us?  God is our powerful Creator (Genesis 1-2) and we are “the created.”  How then is our friendship with God any different than employee to employer?  After all, we can be close friends with our bosses at work but these friendships are ultimately conditioned upon our job performance.  Can we be any more intimate with God than this?  Again, the answer lies in the nature of God.

Triune Godhead:  Eternal Intimacy
It is it true that God is love.  It is God’s abundant, overflowing love that causes Him to be an eternally relational Being.  He is One God in three Persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit, all three in a perfect, loving, purposeful, relationship as One.  It is from within this pre-existing, loving relationship in the Godhead that God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness… (Genesis 1: 26).  

Pastor Timothy Keller has taught that although God is our Almighty Creator and Ruler, He pursues intimacy with humankind not primarily with His Power as Creator but rather, with His unfailing Love.  From the very beginning of creation, God’s relationship to His creation was not about His Power, but about His Love which had been emanating as a fragrance from the eternal, loving relationships within the Godhead from eternity past. [Hear Tim Keller’s message, "Praying in the Psalms," HERE.]  

Broken Intimacy with God
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God to enjoy perfect love and intimacy with God. He instituted marriage to be an intimate relationship between the man and woman, a relationship in which they could come to know each other deeply and without fear, shame, or any other reservation.  This is intimacy without limits!  However, they were deceived by Satan, ate the forbidden fruit, and immediately became estranged from each other and from God (Genesis 3).

Before the Fall, the man and the woman had been “naked and unashamed” with nothing to hide.  But their sin caused them to hide themselves from each other and from God.  Perfect intimacy between them and with God was destroyed.  So, God sacrificed an animal to create skin coverings them (Genesis 3: 21).  This shedding of blood foreshadowed the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s perfect Lamb sent to take away the sin of the world and to restore broken relationships.

In Philippians 2: 7-8, the Apostle Paul describes the sacrificial path of suffering that Jesus walked for us on His way to the Cross:  Jesus… emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  How would Christ the Son of God have walked this path of unspeakable suffering and death were it not for His continual, intimate communion with His Father in Heaven?  It would have been impossible!  If we desire to build intimate friendships and marriages, what better relationship is there to study than the perfect one between God the Father and God His incarnated Son whose character and behavior we are to emulate?   

Intimacy of God the Father and Son
Intimate relationships between people as image-bearers of God are ultimately made possible by the sacrificial love and redemption purchased by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3: 18).  The Gospel of John, Chapter 17, includes the “High Priestly Prayer of Christ.”  This precious Scripture invites us to “listen in on” the prayer of Jesus Christ to His Father only a few hours before He went to the Cross to die for sinners.  Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb and fulfilled all that the Jewish priestly sacrificial system had foreshadowed for many centuries before.  

A careful study of Jesus’s “High Priestly Prayer” reveals several qualities and attributes that are an integral part of the perfect and holy intimacy of the Triune Godhead.  Here are three that are essential for any intimate human relationship:
(a)  Prayer, in solitude where possible, and with loved ones
(b)  Love (mutual, unconditional, agape) for God and for one another
(c)  Knowing God personally and yielding to His will
Before reading further, we suggest that you take a pause and carefully read John 17.  As you read, notice how the three qualities that build intimacy are evident in Jesus’s prayer.

Through Prayer
In John 17: 1, we read the first words of Jesus’s intimate prayer to His Father in Heaven:  Father, the hour has come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee…  There is no more perfect intimacy than that which is between God the Father and Christ, His Son.  And, there’s no more necessary gift of God to His redeemed children at Christ’s expense than the ability to pray with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ; and, if married, to pray with our spouses.  Jesus paid the price to make possible intimate human relationships built upon the discipline of prayer.

Back to the hours before His crucifixion, Jesus was already aware of the weight of His responsibility to bear the sin of the world.  He had nowhere to turn but to His Father.  Jesus’s first words, Father, the hour has come, remind us that the Father and the Son had shared an endearing relationship all the way from eternity past.  Jesus then asks that the Father sustain and glorify Him as God’s Lamb as He is about to offer Himself in the sacrifice of His life.

Through Mutual Love
We should also note that the “High Priestly Prayer” (John 17) contains several elements that express the shared love and authority within the Triune Godhead and the overflowing love for mankind that spills from the Godhead.  These elements include the following:

(a) Submission to His Father:  For their sakes I sanctify Myself [set Myself apart for this purpose], that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth (John 17: 19).  Jesus expresses commitment to His redemptive mission:  To glorify His Father by yielding Himself as a “servant steward” under His Father’s authority.   As such, Jesus becomes God’s “Love Gift” made possible by His suffering and death as a sinless Lamb-- even death on a Cross (John 17: 1-2, 4; Philippians 2: 5-8).  

(b) Intimate relationship with God:  This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17: 3).  The Apostle Paul expressed his desire to know God intimately while rejecting things he once valued.  He wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death… (Philippians 3: 10).

(c) Intercession on behalf of His Own:  Jesus interceded before the Father’s throne on behalf of His disciples, and He still intercedes for us and for those who will believe in Him in the future (John 17: 5-26).

(d) Prays for Church Unity:  …that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me (John 17: 21).  Jesus prays that His church, birthed out of His death and resurrection, will powerfully witness to the world that His followers live in loving unity with each other because they live in intimate love and unity with the Father, Son, and Spirit. (John 17: 21) (John 17: 20-23). Francis Schaeffer has claimed that the unity among Christians within the Body of Christ is the greatest testimony and apologetic for the authenticity of the Christian faith². 

Prayer in Solitude
It is likely that Jesus prayed His “High Priestly Prayer” in some form during many occasions when he would slip away to a place of solitude (e.g. Matthew 14: 23; Mark 1: 35; Luke 5: 16; 6: 12).  Jesus not only modeled prayers for us in form and content, but He also modeled the practice of finding places of solitude where distractions are minimized.  Jesus in His humanity was applying God’s command in Psalm 46: 10, Be still and know that I am God…  [For more Scriptures about Jesus praying, click HERE.]

Chuck Swindoll wrote¹, "We are commanded to stop (literally)... rest. relax, let go, and make time for Him.  The scene is one of stillness and quietness, listening and waiting before Him.  Such foreign experiences in these busy times!  Nevertheless, knowing God deeply and intimately requires such discipline.  Silence is indispensable if we hope to add depth to our spiritual life."

On one occasion, Jesus’s disciples found Him praying alone and were so inspired that they asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11: 1).  We ought to be encouraged that God not only commands us to pray (1 Thessalonians 5: 17) but through Christ our Advocate (1 John 2: 1), He always lives to make intercession… for us (Hebrews 7: 25; Romans 8: 27).  What’s more, the Holy Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8: 26).

Invitation to Intimacy with God
If you are a Christ-follower, we hope your experience of rereading and meditating on John 17, preferably in a quiet place where God’s Spirit can speak to you, will bring you into an awareness of the awesome power of the intimate love and purity of holiness that exists when we bow before the throne of the Triune God.  Think of it!  Jesus our Advocate with the Father is praying on our behalf, saying: …as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, [I Your Son, now pray] that _(insert your name)__ also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me (John 17: 21).  Jesus, in His High Priestly role, continually intercedes for us, deeply desiring that we come as we are and receive His gift of salvation followed by daily fellowship and spiritual renewal (Matthew 11: 28-31; John 15: 1-5).

If you are not a Christ-follower, or even if you are by your professed faith in Him, have you ever thought what you will do when you stand before the throne of God Almighty?  Moses, in fear and reverence, removed his sandals (Exodus 3: 5).  Isaiah said, “Woe, …I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6: 1-5); and the Apostle John, upon encountering the glorified Christ, fell to the ground at His feet, being overwhelmed by the holy majesty of the Lamb of God (Revelation 1: 17).  

Yet, along with the fierce holiness and majesty of a just God is His gracious invitation to us sinners to come boldly into His presence because we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One [Jesus Christ] who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need (Hebrews 4: 15-16).

How Will You Respond to God’s Invitation to Intimate Relationship?  It is clear from the Bible that those who encountered the holiness of God Almighty wasted no time in responding in reverent fear and humble worship.  We have already noted that Moses, Isaiah, and the Apostle John all recognized their unworthiness.  Luke 3: 3 speaks of a “baptism of repentance,” meaning that our response ought to be a humble willingness to turn from our old ways of thought and action, our sin being buried as symbolized by our being submerged in baptism; and reborn to a new beginning.  Along with our spiritual “rebirth” is a baptism into the Body of Christ in which we can abide in intimate fellowship with the Triune God as partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1: 4).  How will you respond to God’s invitation?  We urge you to come before God’s throne and His Word to respond according to the conviction of His Spirit and Word.  The simple outline of “Steps to Peace with God” (Click HERE.) provides helpful Scripture and a prayer.

A Christ-follower’s Prayer:  Father in Heaven, thank you that we can call you “Father” because Your Son, Jesus obediently left Heaven’s glory and took upon Himself all the sin and sorrows of the world, bearing them on His Cross, dying there, and raising to new life which opened the way for us to be saved by faith in Him.  Thank you, Father, Son, and Spirit for opening your eternal intimacy to spill out Your love through the blood of Christ so that you, Holy God, can invite us into intimate relationship with you as partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by evil desire (2 Peter 1: 4).  Personally, I pray that you will continue to work in me through Your Word and through those who challenge me. Help me to lay aside the entanglements and the sin that so easily besets me and interferes with developing a more intimate relationship with my wife, family, and friends.  Amen.

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Looking Ahead to Part 3:  In Part 1 and Part 2, we have discussed the nature of intimacy in human relationships and between us and God.  It is clear from Scripture that God is holy and powerful, but He is also gracious, loving, and relational.  Indeed, God has given His Son to redeem us so that we might share in loving intimacy with Him.
In Part 3, we discuss how God's omniscience as expressed in His intimate knowledge of each one of us is intended to show us how much He loves and values us personally.  God's intimate knowledge of us also becomes the basis for the Joy we can have when we yield to His pursuit and become pursuers of Him as our Father and Friend.  To read Part 3, Click HERE.

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Footnotes:
¹ Charles Swindoll. 1996.  Intimacy with the Almighty, Word Publishing.

 ² Curtis Heffelfinger. 2018. The Peace Making Church, Baker Books. p. 107.