Jesus and the Father are residing inside of me, making their home in me. The presence of the Godhead is indwelling. Jn. 14:23 There is “Another” living in me. This is a beautiful description of “belonging.” The opposite of belonging, is to be disconnected. The Word of God makes it crystal clear that we are connected; we are “united” with God. Jn. 15:5 Life is the wonderful adventure and progressive discovery of the depths of this mystical union.

Battleground for the Home

The assault on harmony began in the first home, Eden’s garden. The intrusion was one of deception, coupled with the offering of another option, outside of the boundaries which God had set. Truth is, belonging, with  godly boundaries, is the most expansive place of freedom we will ever know. In the internal world of our souls, “home” is where the Godhead resides, and yes, there are intrusions here as well. Passivity is what empowered the serpent to release his dark scheming against our first parents. We all know that a similar outcome may befall us, if we cease to be vigilant and watchful. It doesn’t take long at all, for a foreign presence to trespass into my emotions, especially when my gaze grows weak towards God. Seeds of doubt, like the serpent presented to Eve, can produce a momentary opening which the enemy will quickly take advantage of.

Beloved is My Name

I shared recently about the name conferred upon Jesus, “Beloved Son”, which has also been conferred upon us. To be “beloved” means to be: admired, cherished, treasured, the apple of one’s eye. This is who we are in Christ. You are a beloved son, a beloved daughter. I have to confess, that a few days after I wrote about being God’s beloved one, I hit a firestorm of resistance and attack. If you’ve been following Christ for very long, you are no doubt familiar with what I’m saying. Jesus certainly gave us a “heads up” on this. Jn. 15:18-19

The world to which we do not belong, will never love us as its own. Jesus actually said, that the world resistant to Christ will be resistant to us as well. “They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” Jn. 15:21 Just to clarify, the attack I felt wasn’t a literal person coming against me, but a spiritual attack with a tangible, aggressive emotion. It was irrational, clearly a lie from the enemy, but it was so strong that it knocked me down, metaphorically speaking. I’ve heard it said, Your enemies will increase to the size of your platform, referring to the attacks that come as a result of increased ministry impact. It’s certainly not to be feared, but wise I believe to always be prepared for. Victories in the kingdom do not go unchallenged. Gardens have serpents.

Walk in the Name

It struck this me week, in reading about the birth of Christ, that he was “named” before he was conceived. “He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.” Lk. 2:21 It led me to pray this prayer, which I wrote in my journal: Lord, you know me. You’ve “named” me. You know all that You desire to conceive and birth in my life. I want to walk in, and into, the destiny You have designed for me. In my understanding, this concept includes both the general and specific.

Like all believers, I am “beloved” and from this name I will conceive and birth the fruits of Holy Spirit character. But each of us also has a unique place of belonging, a name that is known only to us, that I believe has the depths of an eternal unfolding. Rev. 2:17 You and I have specific assignment(s) ordained for us, belonging to both this age and the age to come.

My prayer for you today, is that you would be nestled in to that place of belonging, deep connection with the heart of the Godhead. May you conceive and birth in accordance with your name.