I do not understand God within me, yet I know it to be so, because the scriptures declare:
"By this we know that we abide in him and He in us, because he has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." (1Jn 4:13-16)


And elsewhere it is declared that the Holy Spirit, which is the very Spirit of God, is set within us:
"In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." (Eph 1:13-14)


Therefore, I take time to meditate upon this reality unto knowing the Truth, and dispelling any lie within concerning it. Who can fathom 'God within?" The whole of life would be much simpler if we would but know, and rest in the knowing, that God is nearer still that the very breath within our lungs, His Spirit is resident within. Now I pray for myself and for you...
"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." (Eph 1:17-23)


The ancient jewish sages have teaching and perspectives that I'm finding helpful in my study today. In a dialogue concerning mitzvah, the sages speak of performing a mitzvah as a connection to God. And it is said, "The perfection of any entity may be gauged against the purpose for which it was originally created. What is the purpose of creation in general and of man in particular? - 'The Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have an abode in the lower worlds." (Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Naso, sec. 16.) Should the height of perfection in this life be to exist as the abode of God, then we see it in Yeshua, the man who was God. The perfect man, who knew no sin, because He is God in the flesh. Yeshua taught us 'be perfect therefore" (Mat 5:48). In much we think that perfection is about rule on rule, doing something and not doing other things. But perfection in a man is this, to be the abode of God, wholly, completely.


There is infinite value to the active inactivity of contemplative prayer to this end (that God may dwell within). Should we set our whole selves to do nothing but BE (in Him, and He is us), then like a Temple (I Cor 6:19) we might in stillness become the abode of God.


It is our aim and pursuit even now, yet we should hope in this, that in the ages to come, God himself will fix our nature in perfection. Where in this life we waver in good works and evil, in good thoughts and evil. In the next life, our character will be set in enduring faithfulness. The sages taught us saying, "in the time to come, God Himself will take hold of the Evil Inclination [and hence the Angel of Death] and slaughter it." In this period man will be granted a gift from above – perfection not only commensurate with his abilities but beyond them. There will be no more observance of mitzvot. The righteous will sit with crowns on their heads and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence." (Talmud/ Berachos 17a) We have a great hope for the ages to come:

"So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven." (I Cor 15:42-49)

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him" (I Jn 3:2)

About a year ago I was impacted in my heart concerning the injustice in America towards Native Americans. It's one of the major issues of our national guilt that requires repentance. Foreigners came into America and went to war against the natives. America's great beginning is now showing up in history books as the first real genocide (a term not coined until the 1900's, because it wasn't needed until then). I grew up about 20 miles from Chief Vann's house, and remember the story... when the time came, the US government forced every native american in our region into a forced march. That included those like Vann, who had learned english, lived and did business among the european culture that had overrun his people's land. The US wasn't interested in educating or integrating. Thousands were gathered in Chattanooga, TN in temporary prison camps until they took the long and difficult march to respective territories. Territories our government had assessed as worthless and infertile. They promised the first nations people governmental sovereignty in their own territories, which sounded nice, but really meant no help, supply, or support.

Just when I was in a season interceding over the issue, I was invited to a 'Trail of Tears' memorial ride. I was invited to a one day ride, and thought it would be a great opportunity to partner my faith with action, to intercede while on the Trail, and share the love of Christ. Then I found out the entire ride was a five day trip to the Muskogee Nation. The next week at IHOP-Atl's Encounter Service, our friends Joel and Marissa Bidderman shared about their ministry to native american youth in Arizona. After the service, I got in my wife's car to go eat dinner, and we looking at each other and realized that God was calling me to the entire ride.

I got a vision for interceding on my bike, ministering to bikers at the stops, and ministering at the reserve. And then I found out that I'm going on the largest motorcycle ride in the US annually, with 90,000 riders expected. This Friday I'm heading out, and once again the life of John Wesley is encouraging my heart. John rode his horse daily and preached the gospel everywhere he went (an average of 15 messages per week over his lifetime). He was bold even when beaten and broken, cursed, yelled at, publicly humiliated, chased out of town. Yet he persevered, being filled with the love of God, enduring in prayer, and burning with God's love towards others. Thousands of lives were directly ushered into the Kingdom because of John's witness. Much like John, I'm heading into darkness in a saddle (though I have a few more 'horses' than he did). And to the native americans! John learned a dozen native american dialects so he could share the gospel with them-- that's a heart truly burdened! I'm praying for divine appointments, strength in my inner man, signs, wonders, healing miracles, boldness, and the Word of the Lord. I also pray for protection against spiritual enemies as I reach out among the heathen, the pagan, the oppressed. Many bikers call their 'eat, drink, liberal sex, and be merry' lifestyle 'freedom', not knowing the bondage they are under, or the hope that Yeshua offers. And as many riders and peoples we visit will be native americans, I'm also preparing my heart for the demonic forces that have entangled practitioners of witchcraft and demon worship. I hope you'll partner with me in prayer.