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Discovering John 14: The Fourth Week

by Caroline on category , , , ,

John 14:22


This concept, the manifestation of God, is almost incomprehensible. Even those literally sitting at His feet could not understand. But He promises to reveal Himself to those who love Him. What if we claim this? Expect it to be true. Spend our moments looking to see God. He is all around us; He is in us. Are we missing seeing Him because we don’t believe Him when He promises to show Himself to those who believe? The mark of a disciple of Jesus: they see Him when the world doesn’t. They hear Him when the world can’t. He offers us the gift of this fulfilled promise every single day. But, seeing only from the fleshly perspective, Judas, much like us, is trying to wrap his mind around a differentiation between the kingdom of God and the world. Jesus was talking about another differentiation: those filled with the presence of God, able to experience Him, and those only filled with the knowledge of Him. Jesus keeps giving us clues about how to be in the group of those who experience the presence of God.

John 14:23


Actions overflowing the state of the heart. God‘s law reveals sin in our nature; it is up to us to choose to fall in love with Jesus and follow His commands out of love and respect. Jesus doesn’t command us to do anything—He gives us His truth, His words of life, and patiently waits. No command. No law. No doctrine. Just His words of Truth. And when we reach out to His nail-scarred hands, we are flooded with the love of the Father. Once we feel that love, joy, and peace, we long to abide in Him, as Jesus did. Accepting grace opens us up for Almighty God and His Holy Son to dwell in us through the person of the Holy Spirit! His power enables us to keep His commands, creating a beautiful cycle of dependence on Him. From this place, we live out our faith through actions and, in doing so, see more of Him and are filled more fully with Him.

John 14:24


Those who don’t keep His teachings don’t truly love Him. Jesus did not say this with judgment, persuasion, or condemnation; He was stating truth from the Father. As Jesus’ followers, we are called to speak the truth of God’s Word into the darkness. But we are called to do more than speak the truth; He calls us to walk after His teachings. It’s so different than just following the letter of the law. It is possible to follow the law with an uncircumcised heart; the test of our devotion comes in obeying His teachings. By our own power, this is impossible; our flesh will always get in the way, but through the power of God living in us—Jesus’ teachings become a way of life. The new life He builds in us.“ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples…” John 13:35.

John 14:25


The Presence of the Holy One. Learning to acknowledge His presence, to open myself up to it, to request it, and crave it… How many times a day does He try to reveal His Presence while we are distracted? He still speaks, but we can only receive in stillness, with outstretched hands and open hearts. Judas missed this conversation in the upper room. He had already left the Presence of Jesus to pursue his agenda. Too many times in the past, I’ve left the room like Judas. I was pursuing my life, unaware I was missing an intimate conversation with my Lord. Ignorant of His Presence, while He was waiting for me, I rushed out the door… I see things differently now, and I’ve chosen to stay in the upper room. To listen to all I can, soak it up, let it sink into my soul. Through simplifying life, I’ve made space to hear Jesus speak and discover His presence. When I took a break from the self-induced chaos consuming me, I found True Life buried underneath it all. We must make space for the Presence of God. We can’t hear His words if we aren’t present with Him. When was the last time you were present with Jesus?

John 14:26


I love how Jesus introduced us to the characteristics of the Presence of God—Comforter, Advocate, Helper (depending on the version), and Spirit of Truth before giving us this name, Holy Spirit. I think so often we do the opposite. We know the name, Holy Spirit, and use it interchangeably with Holy Ghost. We build our opinions based on this, never really understanding this beautiful life-changing gift Jesus asked of God on our behalf, and He becomes so vague, just a concept. I’ve spent time developing a relationship with God the Father and Jesus, His Son, and have overlooked this One of the Three. The One that makes God’s Presence in the here and now possible! This is our life source! The Holy Spirit is the Presence of God. This realization has completely changed the way I am reading the scriptures. Jesus is describing here that having the Holy Spirit is to always have His Presence abiding in us. We must follow Jesus’ instructions on how to receive His Presence within to understand His Word; His Presence is to be our only guide and interpreter of scripture (John 16:13). We cannot leave the interpretation of God’s Word up to our church, parents, friends, and teachers (Mark 7:6-9). Through time alone in His Presence, we are to uncover and develop our beliefs and standards.… According to Jesus, He is to be our only Teacher. We must slow down enough to learn His voice and to hear it; otherwise, Satan will keep us blind as we go through the motions (Matthew 13:15-17).

John 14:27


Isn’t this what we’re all searching for? Unexplainable peace. But we can’t receive this kind of peace by handing over everything we are white-knuckling to a stranger. To receive this kind of peace, we must know and fully trust the One to whom we are handing our troubles. When we accept these words of Jesus, in every moment and circumstance, life changes. When we are filled with the Presence of God, moments of peace flood us when we least expect. Jesus promises peace, but we have to do our part. We can’t cling to control and expect to receive His peace; we can’t have both. This kind of peace only comes from full release.

John 14:28

Jesus is teaching us a heavenly, eternal perspective. If you truly love Me, you will be glad and see beyond the physical and into the spiritual. In the spiritual, where My death is necessary to defeat the enemy! In the spiritual, where you will experience My Presence through the Holy Spirit, forever. Trust me. He always asks us to take our faith one step further, one layer deeper than we can comprehend. He keeps calling us to see from His perspective, to show our love for Him by truly trusting Him and learning from Him how to be a reflection of the Father. Jesus knew what they were getting ready to endure, yet He told them to rejoice—because He knew the heavenly perspective. What if we trusted Him enough to be joyful in all circumstances? Trusting and fulfilling the Father’s Will in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18, 19).

Learning to Abide

Through reading and reflecting on these words of Jesus in John 14 daily, I hope you are beginning to uncover for yourself what it means to abide—discovering what it means to experience life in the Presence of God. Jesus’ words were not meant only for His disciples walking Jerusalem with Him. He has extended the same invitation to us through the power of His Spirit living in us (John 13:35, 15:8, and 17:20). It’s up to us to be open, Ephphatha, and receive.

Starting Now


If you haven’t started yet, it’s not too late! I suggest reading all of John 14 daily and then reflecting on one verse a day starting on day one today and moving through a day at a time for the next 31 days. You can follow these links to my blog posts from the previous two weeks.

Discovering John 14: The First Week

Discovering John 14: The Second Week

Discovering John 14: The Third Week

Connecting

And I would love to hear what you are discovering as we go! Feel free to share in the comments here or on Instagram, where I am doing daily posts.

Discovering John 14: The Third Week

by Caroline on category , , ,

John 14:15

If this is how we show our love for Jesus, it is important to know His commands. Through spending time in His Word alone, we develop discernment between the commandments of Jesus and man-made doctrine and traditions of men (Matthew 5:8,9).
I have learned His commands overflow love, first for the Father and then for others (Matthew 22:36-40). Love comes first. This removes all legalism. Keeping His commandments out of love becomes faith-building. In following His teachings and trusting Him to provide, we restrain ourselves from taking it into our own hands and leave circumstances to the providence and provision of the Father. Here, as we begin to learn to let go of control—stress and anxiety begin to fade, and we start to enter into the place of His rest. Jesus stated that we show our love for Him by keeping His commands; therefore, I encourage you to ask yourself, do you know why you believe what you believe? And are they the commandments of men or the commandments of God?

John 14:16

The gift of God’s presence, forever. The Comfort of Almighty God with me, within me…The thought of considering the Holy Spirit as the actual Presence of God versus a vague, indescribable concept is new to me. The Comforter, the Presence of God, is given to those who love Jesus because He asked God on our behalf. Jesus, God’s Presence in the flesh, knowing He was leaving His disciples soon, promises this same Presence of God to remain in them, in the deepest recesses of their existence. Forever. I’m letting this sink in over and over again. He promised us the realness of God’s Presence in the here and now if we are only open enough to receive and believe His words. So far beyond theory. If you haven’t believed this way, I encourage you to let the realness of this begin to take root in your soul. Be open to discovering the Presence of God. It will change everything!

John 14:17


Jesus promises God’s Presence to be more than our Comforter, but the Spirit of Truth. Clarity in a culture that is thriving on confusion. The promise of God’s Presence for those who dare believe Jesus’ words. Here, we realize that when the crowd doesn’t understand and mocks, it’s because they truly don’t know or understand. Confidence to hold firm to God’s Truth because it is living and dwelling in us. Learning to abide in this Holy Presence has brought me clarity and freedom, where I once was held captive.

John 14:18


Jesus promises His Comfort and His Presence. He knew the emptiness His disciples would feel and the emptiness life would bring us. How did I overlook this statement from Jesus for so long? The One who created me promises to provide a Comfort that floods all my empty, broken spaces if I only believe and trust Him. These are words of Jesus to put on repeat, phrases to be absorbed one at a time. In this verse, He isn’t inviting us to come to Him as He does in Matthew 11:28, but promising He will come to us. And here, I realize I am asked only to receive, to remain open. I encourage you to ask yourself—Are you open to receiving from Jesus today?
Revelation 3:20

John 14:19


Again, there is the beautiful promise of eternal life: “…because I live, you also will live.” The One the grave couldn’t hold, who destroyed the sting of death—He is who I see. Jesus is also building on the concept He introduced to us in John 14:17—giving us another glimpse into seeing what the world doesn’t see. Jesus knew in the flesh He would be gone, but told His friends they would see Him still because they would know and recognize the gift of His Presence when the Father gives it to them (John 20:22). He is again referring to the Presence of God within. The everlasting Presence that gives everlasting life. Once we accept His Presence, we become truly alive!

John 14:20


In Philippians 2:10,11 the apostle Paul declares: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…And that every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord …” Therefore, “At that day…” the time when we truly recognize God in us, worship will be our only response. In John 14 verse 19, Jesus said, “But ye see me”. Not everyone will have this response to Jesus. But, His disciples, those who hunger and thirst for the living water, Jesus promises to reveal the beautiful mystery to them upon receiving the Holy Spirit. “I am in My Father, ye in Me, and I in you.” Perfect harmony when—the Father abides in me because the Son abides in Him and we abide in Jesus; therefore, His Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit abides in us. And we are left to walk about this earth as an overflowing of the holy union—every thought, word, action, an outpouring of Him (see John 7:38, 39 and Galatians 2:20)!
“At that day” is taking on new meaning for me here. Jesus is talking about the day that we receive the Holy Spirit. The day that black and white turns to color! The day we truly become alive with the Spirit of God, living within! I believe this day is up to us, the day that we open ourselves to receive Him. “So, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…”Hebrews 3:7,8.

John 14:21

To see Jesus clearly, in our innermost being. To know Him. Jesus is telling us how: willingness and openness to receive His words and take them to heart in our lives. Keeping His commands through devotion out of honor and respect, becoming an outpouring of the Father’s love. Living in the fullness of the love of the Father changes how I receive love from others. Accepting the Father’s unconditional love opens me up to accept grace, the love of the Son manifested on the cross. Acceptance of this kind of love brings about humility of spirit, ready and able to see who Jesus is… “I will love him and will manifest myself to him.” If you want to see Jesus in never-before-imagined ways, get to know Him through the Living Word. As you grow into who He created you to be, you will begin to walk in a newfound freedom, set free from what used to hold you back, left only to see Jesus! It really is so simple, so profound, so life-changing.

Starting Now

If you are just finding this or haven’t started yet, it’s not too late! I suggest starting on day one today and moving through one day at a time for the next 31 days. You can follow these links to my blog posts from the previous two weeks.

John 14: The First Week

John 14: The Second Week

Leaning In

I encourage you to keep leaning into these words of Jesus and push forward in developing depth in your relationship with Him. Use these thoughts of mine just as a starting point to uncover what Jesus might be saying to your heart.

And I would love to hear what you discover as we go! Feel free to share in the comments here or on Instagram where I am doing daily posts.

Discovering John 14: The Second Week

by Caroline on category , , ,

John 14:8

And they still didn’t understand. So much hope here for me. They have been present with Jesus and didn’t comprehend. They had a vision of God in their minds, which blinded their sight of what was right before them. God incarnate—Jesus, who, in His humanity, shows us how to channel God the Father through openness to Him. If Jesus had relied on Himself, His Godly powers, He would have failed to be an example for us. He came to show us the character of God and, in doing so, revealed to us our ability, through His Spirit, to access God. I encourage you to take the time to let this sink in. 

John 14:9

Jesus was misunderstood by His closest friends. Their preconceived notions of God blinded them to the truth He was walking in and revealing to them each moment. Can we relate? Is it possible to be a lifelong Christian in a religious society and have “walked with Him” for so long but failed to see Him, to perceive His mission? His mission was to reveal the Father, but the disciples sought more. Raised on religion, the law of Moses, grace was an unfamiliar concept. The deep, Holy love of the Father had been buried under years of legalism. Have I been this long with you, and still you don’t know Me? Jesus’ words cut to the soul. Have we buried His mission so deep under expectation? Expectations of what we have been taught, passed down, never questioned? Have we taken the time and made the effort to know Jesus instead of the law? Jesus in Christianity for 2000 years, and do we still not know Him? Take these words of Christ to heart. If He spoke these words to one of His closest friends, dare we think we are immune? Let him ask you the question. Be brave enough to answer and adventurous enough to imagine that maybe there is something more.

John 14:10

He is our example. Not in how to act but how to be. He is in the Father, and the Father in Him. Oneness, intimacy. Every word He speaks are words of the Father, not His own. He is God and man, yet He chose to be an overflowing of the Father versus exerting His power. What if we learn this and take this submission to heart? Laying our pride and self-sufficiency at the altar of grace, “The Father that dwelleth in Me,” every word, every action was God in the flesh. Jesus fully human, channeling God. He is our example. 

John 14:11

There it is again, Jesus urging the disciples to believe. He acknowledged their humanity, full of stubbornness and unbelief, reminding them of the supernatural evidence of the power of God flowing through Him. The blending of words, faith, and actions—works. Preparing them for what He will say in the following verse…

John 14:12

He calls us to do as He did. I used to assume Jesus was talking about giving us the power to perform miracles. And I fully believe He performs miracles through us today, but there is something deeper here we can apply. Our actions are the evidence of the Holy within. His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control become part of us. Not because of ourselves but because we stay out of the way and allow Him to flow through us. I must consider which is more miraculous, performing a miracle or spending a lifetime overflowing with God and consistently showing others who He is. Is this the bigger miracle, God giving us the power to reflect all He is, despite our humanness? The only way to encourage others to believe in the life-changing power of God is to allow His life-changing power in our lives. Belief in Jesus will affect every aspect of our lives, and from this place of being filled, we overflow with His power!

John 14:13 

Lord, teach me not to ask amiss and to trust Your Holy Spirit to guide my requests, aligning my heart with Your Will.  Teach me to pray, trust, and dream without limits! Your possibilities have no boundaries…Lord, teach me to consider the why for each request, keep going deeper, and not stop at the tangible! I am learning; the answer is in the process of discovering the Father’s heart while He changes mine! Every hope, prayer, and request: I will hold it, turn it over, and go deeper…

John 14:14 

This concept is paramount— Jesus emphasized it again, and I needed to hear it again. Building on my thoughts from yesterday, when we bring our prayers to the Father, we must ask with sincerity and depth. The superficial will always have our selfish desires tied to it…we have to dig deeper. In getting to the bottom of our desire, we uncover our motives, what is worth asking for, and the Father’s heart. Our relationship with our Father deepens as we learn to ask of Him with intentionality. And it’s here we must acknowledge that this relationship with our Creator and Holy God is only possible because of Jesus.

Catching Up

If you are joining in, it’s not too late to read John 14 daily. I encourage you to read the entire chapter daily, focusing more deeply on the verse corresponding to that date. You can find my blog post from The First Week here.

Gaining Momentum

I hope you are beginning to get glimpses of God’s peace and presence as you spend time in these words of Jesus! I encourage you to let them gain momentum in your soul as you lean in for another week of reading them daily. And I would love to hear what you discover as we go! Feel free to share in the comments here or on Instagram.

Discovering John 14: The First Week

by Caroline on category , , ,

For those of you who have joined me this week in reading John 14 daily, I pray it is becoming a welcome habit, a little respite of peace. And, if you still need to begin, joining in is still possible! I encourage you to read the entire chapter daily and focus more deeply on the verse corresponding to that date. Daily, I have posted a thought on Instagram that caught my attention from each verse. But I encourage you to read and meditate on the words of Jesus first before reading my interpretation. The following is what I have shared, and I look forward to you joining me this week as we seek to discover Jesus in a new way!

John 14:1

What if we did what Jesus commanded and, in faith, trusted Him? What if we stop picking up all our worries individually, as if we could handle them better than He, showing our defiance of His Word every time we allow Satan to trouble our minds? This isn’t a conditional statement; let not your heart be troubled if…no, Jesus says, “Believe…Believe in God, believe also in Me.” PERIOD. Stop right there. Let not your heart be troubled, believe. This concept. Wrestle it out in God’s presence. Don’t let go until He blesses you with His peace, as promised. This should be the outcome of this verse. Not to solve our problems or gain direction but to believe. To be blessed by His peace through belief.

John 14:2

I think Jesus is building a foundation of trust, knowing that’s where it all has to begin. “…if it were not so, I would have told you…” Here, Jesus tells His friends—There is hope; I promise something better to come, but first, learn to believe Me. And if we choose to believe Him, like that sunbeam that breaks through a heavy cloud cover…hope beyond what we can see! To build on this hope, read 1 Corinthians 2:9.

John 14:3

Jesus promises, “If I go…I will come again.” He knew they were in the shadow of the cross looming dark. He knew how they would soon cling to the promises of His return, assurance that there was a plan, every action and event unfolding intentionally, with purpose. What if we begin even to consider trusting Him with our circumstances? Tiny steps of trust lead us to discover a new perspective. His perspective. His endpoint often looks very different from our starting point. Can we learn to trust Him in the blurry in-between?

John 14:4

Here, Jesus instills confidence in His disciples. They have been in His Presence; they know His teaching. He is pushing them to believe it for themselves. To process their thoughts related to all they know from scripture and what they’ve heard Him say and seen Him do. He wants them to discover for themselves what He knows they know. I love this! This is parallel to what I have been discovering. Truth is so much more real when discovered personally. He encourages them to evaluate the evidence in His presence with an open mind to see it from all angles, despite what religion has taught. To discover His true mission looks very different than what they’d expected!

John 14:5

And a sign escapes Jesus’ soul. Not a sigh of frustration but of love, ache, longing. He longs for them to understand, know, and feel the Father as He does. Jesus’ closest friends were in His presence and didn’t recognize the Father. But in time, He knew they would see. He didn’t preach to them to make them understand; He just remained with them, speaking the truth. What can we learn from this? We get to know God the Father by getting to know Jesus. Time in His presence— a beautiful pathway to eternal life (John 17:3)!

John 14:6

I never expected as I cleared away excess in my life, to find Jesus underneath. All my plans and stuff were cluttering the path of the Way. The Way to actual life. Here, Jesus spoke to my heart. He says so clearly, I. Am. The. Way. Not books, theology, doctrine, works, stuff, or all of the other million other things that you pacify yourself with. Look at Me, Me alone. I am the Way. I am the Truth. I am your Life.

He is enough.

John 14:7

Jesus is a pure reflection of the Father. Nothing in His flesh stands in the way of the Father flowing through Him. Nothing. This is my standard—the complete sacrifice of self to reveal the Father. Jesus’ sacrifice began long before his lifeless body hung on the cross. He exhibited a sacrifice of His will to the Father every moment. To the point of telling us, When you look at Me and when you are with Me, it’s Him, My Father, you see. This superpower of invisibility. Supernatural disappearance of self. Am I even coming close? Disappearing so others only see Jesus when they look at me becomes my standard. 

I would love to hear what you are uncovering as we go! Feel free to share your discoveries in the comments here or on Instagram!

More than Someday

by Caroline on category , , , 
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  John 14:27

The first six words of John 14 pulled me in, “Let not your heart be troubled…” Without intentionality, a troubled mind is my default. My thoughts race forward, constantly plunging into hypothetical scenarios. I’ve been familiar with this chapter in John since childhood, mainly because of verse 3: “…if I go and prepare a place for you.” Hope, instilled deep. Someday, it’s all going to go away. Someday, it’s all going to be better. Someday. But as my soul has searched for a way to find His peace in exchange for worry, I have discovered much more hidden in John 14. 

Here and Now

Jesus’ words are for the here and now. Hope for the now when it hurts, when loss presses, and you don’t feel like you can go on, heavy. Endurance when life is just so mundane that you’ve almost forgotten how to breathe, numb. Peace, where the prince of this world is the ruler of everything evil. This is what these words of Jesus are for—The here and now.

Abide

In this very moment, He promises the Comforter to abide forever. He promises the Spirit of Truth to give us wisdom and discernment in such confusing times. The here and now, where peace seems impossible, is where Jesus promises to meet us. I daily cling to these words of Jesus tucked away in John 14—His words have become my anchor, my lifeline, my breath prayer. He is teaching me to abide in all things.

While I can’t wait for Jesus’ return, I don’t want to miss the present because of being solely focused on the future. Jesus taught us to pray for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. This can only happen if we are filled with His presence and bring heaven to earth now, not just in the future. We can live in His presence today if we believe in His words. These lessons in John 14 are changing everything for me! 

As we move into the new year, I want to remind myself and encourage you, while looking forward, not to overlook the present. This is where God wants to meet with us to grow our roots in Him and establish our faith. He prepares us here in the now to walk through whatever the future holds with His peace. Jesus already promised it to us; it’s up to us to believe Him and to receive. 

Invitation

I invite you on a 31-day discovery with me as we enter 2024. January has 31 days, aligning with 31 verses in John 14. Begin by reading John 14 once daily for the month and focusing on the subsequent verse each day. Strip away any preconceived ideas and let God’s Spirit teach you (John 14:26). I can’t wait for you to discover a fresh perspective of His peace through this daily reminder. Living in this messed-up world with heavenly peace is possible because of Jesus!

More Reading

Here are links to related previous posts:

Into the Thick Darkness

Discovering the First Thing

Good News!

Can We Live Today Like Heaven Came Down?

Treasure Hunting:

Psalm 91:1,2 Hosea 6:1-3 Isaiah 43:1-5 Isaiah 61:1-3 Matthew 11:28-30 John 17:15

Listen and find Hope

O Come, All You Unfaithful

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For The Thick Darkness

by Caroline on category , , , , , 

“…and Moses drew unto the thick darkness, where God was.” Ex 20:21

The Place of Healing

Five years ago, in the valley of Lyme, Babesia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, my dad offered to anoint me (James 5:14,15). I didn’t accept. I wasn’t there; my heart wasn’t ready for this depth of faith. Instead, I took the long way to healing. God knew this was the path I desperately needed. The place where I would learn His heart and allow Him to heal mine.

It wasn’t on the proverbial mountaintop where I learned who God really is; it was in the painful valley. It took a broken-down body to realize how self-sufficient I’d tried to be, doing life by my strength. Superficially I had it all together. I had a house full of things and a career to support our lifestyle. I had a schedule overflowing with commitments, good things, family, work, and church. Unaware, I was using my things and calendar to build a wall around my heart, safer than feeling too deeply. Staying busy was my shelter.

Shifting Perception

The fire of life… It hurts; it’s hard. This life, where the enemy is the prince (John 14:30). This world is not as God created, hijacked by one bent on our temporal pain and eternal destruction (1 Peter 5:8). The enemy knows he wins when he can get us looking only from our fleshly perspective.

Here anxious thoughts race, the heart aches, knuckles white. The fire. It’s hot; it burns. Barely surviving and alone; this is where Satan wants us to remain. Hopeless, overwhelmed, imprisoned. But we don’t walk alone. God is there. He is here, waiting for us to get a glimpse of Him. A glimpse of eternity, a perspective so much bigger than our current circumstances. This fire, He is walking in it with us. Every second we refuse to let the enemy steal our peace is a moment of surrender to the One who holds our eternity.

Discovering Surrender

Sometimes it takes walking in the fire to learn surrender. Acknowledging our insufficiency leads to openness, Ephphatha. It’s here where God teaches us to abide. Seeing and experiencing Him is life and peace (Romans 8:5-17), even in the fire.

When I don’t know what to do and the enemy is pressing in, my imagination running wild, worst case scenarios, always the worst case scenario, why do I do that…I have learned to stop. Stop. Acknowledge my feelings of uncertainty, and surrender. Surrender. Every moment relinquished is another won in the strength of Jesus Christ. We are on the enemy’s battleground. We can’t fight him on his territory. In the flesh, he will always win; therefore, we must take our fight higher, into the spiritual, where God Almighty has already defeated him. The only way we win is to keep looking to Jesus and His cross. Satan knows this truth and will do anything to distract us just enough to keep us from realizing this reality.

Learning to Believe

The next time you feel the darkness closing in, claim the words of Jesus. “Let not your heart be troubled, believe. You believe in God, believe also in Me.” (John 14:1). Here, Jesus speaks to His disciples, drawing on what they already had, a belief in God. He met them where they were. He urged them to use their existing faith in God to believe that Jesus was who He said He was, God with us. I encourage you to dare believe God is in the fire with you. Believe that Jesus has already defeated the enemy who has caused the heartache you are experiencing.

We were not created to do this alone, and we were not designed to carry these weights, hearts burdened, heavy. Let the One who made you walk with you in the fire (Matthew 11:28-30). It is possible, through Jesus Christ, to live in this sinful world and live to the fullest. Joy overflowing. (John 15:11) Our bodies might break, and our hearts will ache, but even here, we can rest in the fullness of who He is.

Anticipating Miracles

As I learn to surrender control, I’ve learned to anticipate miracles; sometimes, the miracles are in the things in between. When you anticipate the miracles, you will find them. When you look for God in the fire, you will glimpse who He is and who He can be for you.

“I’ve got a story, too good to hide… I’m a living breathing miracle, and I’ve just gotta testify….” These lyrics played in my heart as I woke up the other morning. A good song stuck in my head, and I decided to listen. As I hit play under my chosen song, “Another in the Fire” played instead. All these tangled-up lyrics got me thinking about my experiences and the experiences of those with whom I’m walking through life.

I can’t help but share the story He has given me. Through my discoveries, I want to walk with you to a place where you can walk more closely with Him. Learning to take words from an ancient Holy Book and see them in a new light has changed my reality. Regardless of where you are today, I want to encourage you that it is possible to abide with Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, especially in the fire. It all begins with surrender. Just let Him walk with you, even there. (Ps 139:10)

Treasure hunting

Today, walk in His promise that when we ask, we will receive, and when we seek, we will find (Matthew 7:7). As I did, you might receive something you don’t even know you need. Spend time treasure hunting with God in His Word; it will change everything!

Ps 91

John 14-17

Matthew 6

Matthew 11

Good News!

by Caroline on category , , , , , , ,

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

Helen Keller

We’re hosting another Good News Party!

We will use John 14 as a jumping-off point to talk about how we can allow these words of Jesus to become real in our lives. To explore together how we can learn to let go of our fear, worry, anxiety, and need for control and overcome them by claiming His promises of peace and joy in our everyday lives!

We would love to have you join us this Saturday beginning @ 10:15!

Email me at discoveringsunrise@yahoo.com for details and directions

Love Overflowing

by Caroline on category , , , , ,

Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.

Mother Teresa

Making Space

The most loving thing we can do for those we love is to stop looking to them for fulfillment. When we remove this pressure from them, we open a part of our hearts for God to fill. The One who created us, the only One who knows us in our entirety and loves us without limit. He is the One waiting to fulfill us, but we only expose this place when we let go of our expectations of others.


If you reflect on the last time you fought or felt frustrated with someone close to you, did you perceive they owed you something? Anything? Gratitude, affection, attention, praise, time—was there something deeper underneath? This misaligned expectation creates the illusion of love and, therefore, disappointment. People we love will always let us down, not because of their faults but because we have placed a responsibility on each other that God did not design us to carry. The Enemy quickly pressures us into thinking we have to be everything to everyone and, in turn, expect this from others. It’s not until we start to look up and realize we receive our fulfillment from God that we will experience true love, peace, and joy. (John 15:9-12)

Shifting My Perspective


A friend introduced me to this concept as she told me, “If we go to someone else to fill a need before we first go to Jesus, we are operating in the flesh. Before we turn to the earthly, our spirit must be filled from above.” I recognized this was powerful, so I resolved to unpack it later. I’m thankful I did because she was right. The deeper I dig, the more Biblical truth I uncover in this mindset.


As I’ve spent time with this, I am adding, being filled from the Spirit is our highest calling; we can’t reach out to others if we are not filled first. Only once I receive fulfillment from the Holy can I extend a hand to the earthly. Any fulfillment we receive in relationships is a blessing overflowing, not the purpose. (John 15:4,5 and Psalms 1:2,3)

Freedom in Letting Go


I must admit that I am operating in the flesh when I feel let down by others. Otherwise, I will give the Enemy a place to slide in and take a foothold on my perspective. Every moment, it is essential that I look above for fulfillment as Jesus did (John 14:30). If I want this truth to transform me, I must first acknowledge where I’ve been self-centered in my relationships. Where I’ve placed conditions on love and where I’ve been holding onto expectations. Love isn’t about receiving; it’s about contribution. When I align my actions with this truth, I receive freedom! When my sole purpose becomes to overflow the love of Christ, I am free to love without expectation. I become free to uncover joy in each moment.

Practical Truth


I previously discovered a possible connection between joy and loving unconditionally (read that post here). I continue to explore these beautiful life applications as I sit with the Father. God’s Word is teaching me that He is the only One that can truly fulfill me. As I learn to accept His unconditional love, I am learning to better love others. I have uncovered more peace and joy as I embrace this thinking and walk in this truth. This is just another piece supporting this connection, another discovery I had to share!


🎵 Andrew Ripp, For the Love of God 🎶

And… SAVE the DATE: February 25th

We plan to have another Good News Party! I’ll update as we get closer.

Discovering Identity

by Caroline on category , , ,

I smiled as this sign came into view a couple of months ago. I could relate; the phrase epitomized my motivation to share my story and compelled me to stop and capture it. Relatable then, but becoming even more personal recently.

Beautiful Breaking

Over the holidays, I experienced a moment of breaking. Doing and trying to be everything to everybody somehow has a way of surfacing during times that are supposed to be filled with peace and joy…the irony of it built up and overflowed from my soul. I found a quiet place and surrendered; as I wept, all that escaped from my lips was, “Lord, I’m a mess….” In this moment of despair, His voice whispered to my being, “Yes, Child, but you’re My mess.” And as I realized that His arms were the arms that held me, He made me conscious of my nothingness while simultaneously lifting me into the awareness that I’m His Child, a child of “the Most High God….” (Luke 6:35)

And at that moment, He realigned my identity.

Taking Root

A word from an ancient scripture has been taking root in my spirit. “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” Isaiah 43:1

In my previous blog post, I asked, What if life isn’t about what we do but who we are?

Who Am I?

Pausing to answer the question, Who am I ? takes time, effort, and courage. So much of our identity by default lies in what society tells us is essential, our parents’ expectations, our GPA, social status, and career—internal voices constantly echoing external pressure, you’re not good enough, you’ll never measure up. The Enemy loves to keep us discouraged, overwhelmed, and exhausted. 

The Enemy’s Strategy

I’ve seen two systematic strategies used by the Enemy in my life and in the lives of those around me. The first to keep us so busy and overwhelmed that the thought of self-discovery seems selfish and unrealistic. And second, (he always has a backup plan) if we do make the time to look inward, he wants us to keep our focus on ourselves. Preoccupied with our competence or incompetence, and looking inside ourselves for strength and healing. This is where he wants us to stop. But, I’ve learned, as constructive as it is to look inward, stopping there is an empty place. Again, there’s another layer. When you look beyond yourself to a Holy Creator God that knows your deepest thoughts and desires— you will find fulfillment and your true identity. (Psalm 139:13,14)

 I keep discovering the gravity of getting acquainted with God’s voice, so we can recognize Him in our moments of desperation. As feelings of unworthiness swept over me that day, Satan would have preferred that I kept reeling in my insufficiency. The last thing he wanted was for me to realize my need for stillness and quiet and my acknowledgment that I was a mess was his next best option. But, his plan was shattered as I heard the voice of my Father. 

Grounded in The Cross

I’m discovering the more I learn about myself, the more I see my need for grace and a Savior. As the cross of Christ becomes my identity, I realize this is where I want to stay grounded. I want everything in my life to overflow from this place.

It’s from that place we develop preparation for Satan’s attacks. Preparedness for when he whispers, you’re a mess. The ability to counter with, Yes, but I’m a mess that He died for, a beautiful mess; the Enemy has no retort for this truth.

So today, I encourage you to uncover who He created you to be and walk boldly in this discovery. 

It’s worth making time today to dance to this song as you sink into this truth!

Ben Fuller, Who I Am 🎶

More treasure hunting- Uncovering our identity in Him 

John 15:11-19, Isaiah 54:17, Matthew 10:27, Psalm 19:14, Psalm 94:19

 

Living Open

by Caroline on category , , , ,

“The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.”

Is 50:4, 5

Discovering Ephphatha

Even though Open the Gate was all I knew, I had to follow the call in my heart. I knew it was unconventional, but I am learning that the deeper I go with God, the more mysterious life becomes while congruently becoming simple and joy-filled. As I continue to read John 14 daily, He is teaching me to Abide. And I’m learning that abiding is related more to being open and receiving Him, than my “doing.”

Following

Initially, as I began to feel His discoveries build, my heart heard, Write, share your story as it unfolds with Me, so I started blogging. And more recently, I felt Him pushing me further out of my comfort zone; Open the Gate. That’s all I knew.

Next, as bizarre as it may sound, God gave me October 15. I committed. With their gracious support, I shared with my family and decided something was happening here on that date. It wasn’t until a couple of days before the 15th that I read a verse that makes me smile every time, “How beautiful are the feet of them who bring the Good News…”. That’s when I saw the alignment of Romans 10:15 and the date 10-15, realizing we were to open the gate to invite others to celebrate the Good News. And as we did, I knew God was stretching me.

Growing

I’m a planner, but I handed this gathering to Him and left the invitation open without RSVPs. I am also an introvert, and I knew inviting others and sharing what I had been discovering would require me to speak to the group, which seemed terrifying. Therefore, I unknowingly began to resort to a survival technique I had developed in college.

To survive college presentations, I learned how to present my information while hiding behind what I call a “presenter persona,” disingenuous at best, but an introvert’s survival. So, once I understood the gist of what we were doing, I began composing my presentation. As I did this, I felt unsettled. The words I wrote were genuine and heartfelt, but sharing them in the manner I was planning, didn’t feel aligned. And then, the morning of our party, God laid on my heart, share your story. 

Where do I even begin? I pondered as I flipped open an old journal and read:

“January 7, 2015 ‘Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; also trust in Me.’ John 14:1” God, this feels aligned. I continued reading, “Trust is the antithesis of stress” (quoted from One Thousand Gifts) and “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow. Romans 15:13”

And then, the subsequent quote I had jotted down from the same book, “Belief is a verb something you do…The work of trusting love. Intentional and focused. Sometimes, too often, I don’t want to muster the energy. Stress and anxiety seem easier…are stress and worry evidences of a soul too lazy, too undisciplined, to keep its gaze fixed on God?… If authentic, saving belief is the act of trusting, then to choose stress is an act of disbelief…atheism. Anything less than gratitude and trust is practical atheism.” Whew. 

I then turned to another entry, written as I was acknowledging how different I was beginning to feel through being intentional with God and spending time in His Presence. He was changing me, and I was craving to authentically share it. On April 15, 2015 I wrote, “…start small. My own heart…like a ripple effect. I want Him to use me…the ‘greats’ in the Bible weren’t all preachers and priests. They were everyday people living out faith in the real world. I want this to be my story.”

As I internalized this that morning, He reminded me, just overflow. He was using this to teach me, maybe more that it did had to do with my sharing with others. He reminded me to stop trying and doing, be. Remain open, trusting, Ephphatha. 

I continue to realize, the more I think I understand what God is trying to teach me, the more He turns it upside down and says, “Now look again, in My Presence.” It’s like doing a headstand, and as the floor morphs into the ceiling, you are transported into a different place. This new perspective, I discover every time.

Celebrating

God knows I have so much growing to do, and He is stretching me again. So in faith and an overflowing of all He has done, we will open the gate again this Saturday (November 12). Providing a place to share our stories and celebrate the beauty and wonder of learning to live a more full life, Abiding in Him. 

(If you would like details, contact me at discoveringsunrise@yahoo.com)

Treasure Life.

✕