7 replies to this topic

[Kevin Blankenship]

Good mid-morning students/disciples of Jesus!!!! I just wanted to share what I call a Wow! moment with y'all since I know that y'all have had plenty of them in the past!!! I thought that, if we share these moments one with another, we will be fulfilling the royal command: loving one another. Or at least, part of it.
Let me explain: Yesterday, sitting in a chair reading the 4th chapter of Watchman Nee's wonderful book, 'The Normal Christian Life'. This is about the 4th time that I have read it. Anyway, I was in the 4th chapter entitled: "The Path of Progress: Reckoning" which is an awesome exposition and explanation of Romans chapter 6. And in that chapter, Brother Nee mentions a few times about the need for Divine illumination....to see our old man as actually, in reality, dead in Christ...even though our senses, or the enemy tells us different. He went on: "Our reckoning must be based on knowledge of Divinely revealed fact, for otherwise faith has no foundation on which to rest." A few sentences down, here is an excerpt: "....first had a Spirit-given revelation of the fact...". And here comes the "Wow!" factor: This morning, I opened my devotions with Brother Aiden Tozer's devotional. Guess what it was titled?? You guessed it:
The Necessity of the Spirit's Illumination

Now what about that?? Isn't that awesome. You want to know what came to mind when I saw that??? The scripture that says in 2 Corinthians 13:1: "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." So, I have my three!!!! Twice in the 4th chapter of Brother Nee's book. And once (and likely more) in Scripture. There ya have it. My WOW! moment for the day. Hope this blessed your heart today. Feel free to use this thread to share your WOW!!!! incidents. Little daily happenings that let us know that God is actively working out his will in our lives!!!!! Oh thank God!!!!! He loves us SO much and He loves us on such a daily interval!!! He didn't just love us 2000 years ago. He loves us NOW. WOW!

[Lori Smith]

Kevin,

You have certainly blessed my day! I'm so glad you're my brother (in Jesus). Keep on wowing and being wowed! God will use you to wow others too!

[Candice]

Kevin,

This is really a big WOW! Now, this will hopefully WOW it all the more...

Yesterday you mentioned in one of your posts "The Normal Christian Life" and that you were reading it. I remembered that I had the book but had not read it even though I purchased it several months ago. I believe I purchased it on Amazon for a few dollars as you said. So, last evening I decided to begin reading it. Lately, I've struggled in my scripture reading - just not being motivated - flesh issues as usual. No excuse since I have nothing to do but sit all day.

So, as I begin reading the first chapter on "The Blood of Christ", and, as the enemy showed up, wouldn't you know that I am interrupted time and again - my son wants to talk - great thing. Then, the cats are literally fighting for the tenth time today over who will sit on my lap, thunder is clapping and wind blowing extremely hard outside that my Labrador jumps into my lap in his old-age related new-found fear of thunderstorms. This takes about an hour out of the reading. I hadn't even read two pages. Finally, I go to the other room and my husband comes in to talk - good thing. So, it really is now past my bedtime, I put the book down. But I pick it back up and press on to read Watchman Nee's chapter on the Blood.

I am just absorbing all of this and think I already know many of the foreshadows of Christ such as the blood on the lintels and posts of the doors at the first Passover, the Day of Atonement, etc. BUT!! I found a nugget that I never really never knew and it was a BLESSING to me - a WOW moment and something I really needed to hear from the Lord. In all cases, only God the Father SEES the blood. Those jews hiding in their homes did not see the blood, just as once a year the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and offer the blood, all others were outside and never saw the blood. And, as Nee points out scripture, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you". I knew what "pass over" meant. But I never related it to passing over me for my sins. The Blood: it is only God's to see. The seeing of the blood satisfies Him alone. So, when I constantly want to "feel, experience, kind of want to SEE that the blood really worked (sad to say this comes up from time to time interwoven with "knowing"), that's really looking to something incorrectly. For, it is only for God's satisfaction and His eyes only. So, on page 20, Nee says, "Now, the whole trouble with us is that we are trying to sense it; we are trying to feel its value and to estimate subjectively what the Blood is for us. We cannot do it; it does not work that way. The Blood is first for God to see. We then have to accept God's valuation of it."

Now, also revealed to me is Tozer's insistence that we do not "accept" Christ. I pondered that many times since it really seemed like semantics to me. I've heard many a person say "he accepted Christ", etc. Tozer asserts that we "believe and receive" or so I've read. So, maybe Tozer is partly wrong here. Because, we must accept the God's valuation of the blood, not our own seeing it. Only God sees it. We accept it.

This is a major WOW for me. It really is making more than an intellectual or academic impact on me - it has struck my soul, yet also takes away "me" from that part of the equation. Of course Nee goes on to justification and deliverance, etc. But, I did not get past page two of chapter two. So, starting that now.

Well Brother, God used you in a way because you mentioned that book, and it sparked an interest in me since I've been so distracted in the flesh the past three weeks. Good for you to know!!

Thank you for this blessing brother!
Candice

[radar]

My WOW factor is what you all have shared with me today. Candace, I can clearly see that what satan uses for distractions simply will not work as you battle on. You keep on going right back to your reading after every distraction, I am sure that this makes him mad. Kevin, love the fact that we are indeed shaing each others burdens. Mine was witnessing to my Father today...a couple of years ago he would not even talk about religion. But over time he has become more and more open to the realtionship of Jesus and that it is different than the wordly concept of religion. Today I asked him if he were to die today would he be assured of Heaven and standing in the Judgement. He said he felt he lived a good life and he could go to heaven. I get that with a lot of people that they think since they never did any heinous deeds that they are "good people". That is one of the most damning heresies that satan propigates. I asked him if he beleived that the Bible is the word of God and true in everything it says. He said he wasn't sure, that through time things may have gotten mistranslated. I told him I also went through that myself and studied and found that the KJV was a good representation of the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts, that even the dead sea scrolls validated that word for word scripture was preserved intact, and that God has a way of preserving His word even today. I am not here to advocate KJV only, as I find it quite useful to use other Bibles and compare the verses. I use the Esword, an free and excellent Bible study program for your PC that easily cross references Strong's Concordance, other Bible versions, commentaries and dictionaries without having 5 or 6 books laid out before you. Anyhow I digress here. My father then agreed that the Bible could be trusted. So I witnessed to him about OT Law and how it could not save only point out the need for a Savior, that God was perfect in all His attributes, and that if we committed only one sin once in our life, such as lying, according to God's perfect standard of absolute Justice, Holiness, and Righteousness, we are damned in His sight. The good news is that God has absolute Love, Mercy and Grace towards us sinners that He sent His son Jesus to take our sin punishment and pay a debt we could never pay and in turn gives us His righteous standing. I also told him what my preacher asked everyone Sunday,if they wanted God to be fair with them. Most said yes, Preacher said no you don't, because if God was fair, we would all be in Hell! So I love that God unfairly took my punishment! So now that my dad is understanding and agreeing with me so far, I tell him what Romans 10: 9-10 states about if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you shall be saved. He was receptive to this praise God! WOW!

[Kevin Blankenship]

Wow Radar!!!!! I think that for today, you have won the "You;ve been wowed!" award!!! Man, that was about as awesome as it gets!!! I thine early 90's, I, too, had to know whether my Daddy was saved. So I asked him: : Daddy, are you saved from God;s wrath when we all stand before him??? I then went on the very feebly outline God' Plan, I was a very weak, and a very young Christian. Daddy was a physiciain in this little town. He told me: "Son, according to the scripture (he read his Bible now) about 'how hard it is for a rich man to enter heaven', no, I do not think that I'm saved." I told daddy that the answer lay in the rest of the same passage, about what is impossible with man is possible with God. And then Daddy walked back to his library (that;s is the little room with his TV that he always retreated to every waking hour of every day to watch TV and/or read...many times,,,,his Bible.....but also Medical books, Learning the German language booksm etc etc) Daddy and my relationship had always been strained since I dropped out of college. I had fell into heavy drinking and had completed a stint in a Prison boot camp, and in the process, had made a profession of faith....however weak it was. This was during the time that I was actively and heavily involved in the Assembly of God church that I mention frequently. (The pastor and I were great friends and did alot togther, But I was still VERY selfish and self centered). Anyway, that is what transpired. This was in the early 90's. Now, eventually, my wife and I get a divorce....irreconcilable differences....and I start drinking again and doing heavy drugs. This goes on for a while. I finally land in the State Prison system for burglary, and forgery. It is now 1999. I call home about three times a week and talk to momma, and then to daddy (who I hear, in the background, say: Is that Kevin? Let me speak to him!!!) And Daddy gets on the phone and starts asking me about scripture. The last time he did this (he died on December 17, 1999), he said; "Son, go in your cell, and read Isaiah 53....and when you call again, tell me who the write who is talking about." (Tears flood my eyes as I relate this story) I call back a few days later after studying Isaiah. Daddy is on the phone and asks me what I discovered: "I said: "Daddy, the write is referring to Jesus." Daddy quickly replied:" Yes, that's right" (he was a man of few words) but I knew that the Spirit of God had been working with him. Momma got on the phone and I asked what Daddy did on Sundays. She said: "He sits and watches, Charles Stanley. Adrien Rodgers. and several more all morning"
I called again the following week. And when it was time to talk to daddy, at the end of our conversation, I clearly and distinctly said: "Daddy.....I love you" (this is quite difficult). Daddy said, also very clearly and distinctly: "I love you too son". First time I had ever heard him say those words.
I got an intercom call about a week later. The Inmate Counselor wanted to see me. I enter her office. She said: You have a phone call. I meekly say ..'hello". It was Momma, crying, and she related to me how Daddy had just gotten of the phone with someone and was heading to the car, that she had just started, and that she heard a loud bumb. Daddy had a massive heart attack and died. December 17, 1999, The only man I ever loved and wanted to please.....had been taken from me. .......................I think about him daily.

[Lori Smith]

Wow, Kevin, Candice, and Radar what testimonies you have brought!!

[Lori Smith]

Kevin,

I think God really likes the topic you’ve started because He gave me a WOW to share.

I was watching Jewish Jewels last night and they were teaching about the Hebrew letter heh. Well out of that teaching they showed a WOW!

The WOW is this: When Pontius Pilate agreed to crucify Jesus, He had this message placed on the cross (John 19:19-19):

JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS

In Hebrew it looked like this:

Yeshua

Ha-natzri

V’melech

Ha-yehudin

If you’ve read the Psalms, you know that it is common for Jews to use acrostics. This means the first letter at the beginning of each line is significant. If you look at the words of the sign placed above Jesus, you will see that the acrostic reads:

YUD-HEY-VAV-HEY This would have made the Pharisees very upset because they are the letters Jews use to represent the unpronounceable name of God YHVH. We believe it is Yahweh. So the sign was saying God was on the cross—that’s how much He loves us. Isn’t that cool???????

[Lori Smith]

Candice, your words really helped me. The devil has really been attacking me in seminary and your words took away lots of the devil's punch.

Radar, how beautiful to read how God is reaching your father through you. It gives me hope that one day my father will do the same. Thanks for sharing! That truly is a WOW!