I don’t think we yet know what it’s like to be loved by a king entirely apart from our efforts and works.
And not just a king but the King of Kings.
And not just a high and lofty king, but the King who sits enthroned in the heavens, being worshiped by angels so magnificent and glorious they could kill us from their presence.
We are entirely loved, and this love is fierce toward fear, because fear cannot exist when it is entirely accepted.
I don’t think we yet know how much the Trinity cares deeply for us.
He has provided us with every essential relationship for emotional happiness and stability.
Think about it.
We have a perfect Father who owns everything!
His love rears us in loving tenderness and in merciful wisdom.
We have a perfect spouse.
Jesus is the ultimate Husband.
He laid down His life for us when we rejected Him.
Like the kindest Husband, He patiently woos us to Himself, romances us with His Presence, Word, creation, and an inexhaustible list of other things.
He forgives us always and desires us more than anything else.
We have the perfect Friend.
The Holy Spirit sticks more closely than a brother.
He loves us more deeply than father or mother, and like a good friend He has only our best interest at heart.
He brings us peace when we are afraid. He heals us when we are sick. He teaches us humbly if we are willing to learn. He guides us in all things. He empowers us when we are weak.
He is our ever-faithful companion.
The Trinity had provided for our every need. He provides the three great loves every heart craves and was made for.
May He, constantly cause you to realize more just how deeply you are loved.
For He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good. -Psalm 107:9
Soul Satisfaction
How many people do you know who are satisfied inside? Are you satisfied? Our society is teeming with advertisements that promise to fulfill the desires of our hearts. The problem is, God has set eternity in our hearts and nothing earthly can truly ever fulfill us in such a way that we will feel complete without God (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Solomon was the richest and wisest man on earth during his time. He was so wealthy that silver was as common as stones in his kingdom (1 Kings 10:27). He was surrounded by such glamor and spoke so intelligently that a visiting queen was struck by his wealth and captivated by his words. To impress a common person is good enough, but to render a queen awestruck is another matter entirely. Yet despite acquiring all his soul- could desire Solomon cried out in Ecclesiastes “everything is meaningless!”
Aristotle once wrote, “it is the nature of desire not to be satisfied and most men live only for the gratification of it.” While this is true without God, we have the promise of scripture that those who come to Jesus and drink of the water he gives will “thirst no more.” This is the same promise king David sang about in Psalm 23, “the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
David had a close, abiding relationship with God, and through that relationship, he discovered that his soul was satisfied to the point where all his wants were fulfilled. It’s not material wealth and acquisition that fulfills us, although God promises to provide us with what we need, and he is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above what we can ask for. It is only a relationship with God that satisfies.
Prayer
“Father, I pray that you will help me to draw near to you in a fulfilling way. I pray that you will reveal yourself to me daily as my good shepherd. Open my heart, mind, and soul to your goodness and presence in a way that satisfies me. I pray that you will be the treasure of my heart and the desire of my eyes. I pray for a love relationship with you that is divinely beautiful, wholesome, holy, and powerful. Help me to place my soulish desires in your hands from a place of trust and peace. I thank you for never withholding good from me. You are the most giving father (James 1:17). Create a paradise in me. Make my soul a well-watered garden (Isaiah 58:11). May I walk with you in the cool of the day as Adam and Eve did in Eden before the fall. I love you Lord and I praise you forever. In Jesus name, amen.”
He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh not pleasure in the legs of man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. -Psalm 147:10-11
Trust is Our Strength
God never meant for us to live by the power of our own strength. Trying to live by our own power is the expression of a lack of faith in him. He calls us to trust fully in his strength and power because we know that he is full of love, mercy, and righteousness. Scripture is filled with this message of God’s strengthening grace.
It took me awhile to understand that God wasn’t impressed by my natural talents, abilities, or endurance. While the world prizes this, especially in famous people, God doesn’t take delight in it. Rather, God takes delight in those who are captivated by his beauty, goodness, mercy, ability, power, and love. In essence, God is pleased with those who place their trust in him and not in themselves apart from him.
The miracle of the Gospel and the revelation of the power of God’s kingdom by his Spirit through his Son’s sacrifice is revealed by trust. When we leave the realm of self-trust to God trust, the supernatural power of God is activated and miracles, signs and wonders follow. Think of all the miracles of old: the parting of the red sea, the slaying of Goliath, the walls of Jericho crumbling None of these wonders happened by the strength and power of man (their legs), it happened by the power of God through those who allowed him to be their strength. To those who trusted in His mercy. May we “fear” (worship and honor) him enough to let him be God in our lives and follow His plans.
Prayer
Father God, I come before You in Jesus name and I acknowledge You as my power, my strength, my God, and the source of my life. Father, I pray that You will lead me to levels of deeper trust in your mercy and your goodness to care for me. By faith, I allow You to be my strength. I humble myself before You in childlike trust because You are a loving Father. Cause me to hope in your mercy in a way that displays the power of your Gospel and honors Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, flow through my life and fill me with peace and the knowledge of God’s will for my life. In Jesus name, amen.
The Lord is [rigidly] righteous in all His ways and gracious and merciful in all His works. -Psalm 145: 17
Beautiful Character
David understood the character of God and his intimate knowledge of God helped him to trust the Lord in the worst of circumstances. This personal knowledge of the One who is trustworthy also helped David accomplish great feats, walk in integrity, make wise decisions, and establish a kingdom full of righteousness, peace, prosperity, and worship. David operated as a brave king and he was frequently filled by the Holy Spirit to even slip into priestly roles in leading worship, prophesying, and drawing hearts to the Lord.
I still remember the day I first began to understand Psalm 145:17. The term “the Lord” represents a ruler. Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His position requires respect, honor, and willing servitude. David goes on to say that our great Lord is “rigidly righteous in all His ways.” This means that the Lord is always right. Everything thing he does is purely good, like crystal. All his judgements are perfect. Nothing he decides is wrong. Whether we know it or not, we crave a leader like this. Because his ways are true and just, we can trust him to always do what is right. He is holy.
Later, David says that our Lord is “gracious and merciful in all his works.” We are the work of his hands according to Isaiah 64:8. While God is perfect and holy, he extends grace and mercy in all that he does. This means that his holiness (rigid righteousness) has a core of love. He pours out grace. He is merciful in his dealings with you.
It is a great and beautiful mystery to have a God who is rigid in righteousness and yet gracious and merciful toward the work of his hands. God is the perfect Father. He is full of love and compassion toward you as his child, and all his decisions regarding your life can be trusted because all his decisions are right. You can trust him to lead and guide your life. He wants only good things for you! Another analogy that might be helpful is to imagine the holiness of God as the sun. While the sun is so bright we cannot touch it or look upon it without special glasses that shield our eyes, the light and warmth that pours from the sun gives light and life to everything on earth. This is an example of how beautiful God’s holiness and love are combined.
Prayer
Father God, I pray that you would open the eyes of my heart to see your righteousness as truly beautiful. I pray that you will help me trust that you only emit true goodness, mercy, grace, and righteousness in all your works. Help me to understand that I am the work of your hands and that you are my good Father. Lord, help me to know you deeply in a way that transforms my life and our relationship. May others bask in the light and warmth of your righteousness and grace that fill my life. In Jesus name, amen.
“Come, all you are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me and eat wha tis good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” – Isaiah 55:1-2 NIV
Are you ready to taste of the sweet delicacies of God in a deeply reviving and personal way? For those who want to drink, for those who want to eat and be refreshed and renewed, Visions of Celestial Love is a feast between you and the King of Heaven, who loves you more than anyone else. He invites you to dine on wholesome, good, savory food and delicious, zesty, fruitful drink. He awaits you with a sparkle in His eye. He is ready for your company. He delights to have you as a guest.
“Eat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love.” – Song of Songs 5:1 NIV
“Ashley presents us with a true cornucopia of modern psalms, personal testimonies, and short stories. She has set out to reveal and unravel some of the most complex heart issues mankind faces in our quest of understanding what true intimacy with God really looks like. Prepare to have your soul massaged and worked on as you read Visions of Celestial Love.” — Jeremy Minard, Servant King Apparel
“The joy and beauty of marriage are divinely designed. Nothing in human imagination could have created such an intimate, wonderful relational unmasking of self. There is a sweet security and a vulnerable nakedness that is wholesome and liberating.”
Stephen,
You are one of the biggest blessings God has ever given me. Thank you for loving me past the fear. Thank you for loving me first. I can truly say I am in covenant with you because you loved me first… I can only say that with one other Person…Jesus Christ. He loved me past my greatest fears and did everything to mend the breach between myself and Father’s love.
Every now and again I get asked this question (from mostly younger women), “when did you know you were in love with Stephen?” The truth is I don’t know…I can’t name a day or time. It was truly as if my heart for him was like a large thanksgiving cooking pot of cold water… and someone put my heart on the stove on low heat. Funny thing about cooking that way is the part of the pot closets to the fire is the deepest water. It’s not heat from the top down but the down up. It was a deeply spiritual and soulful heating/stirring of love…one that has enriched my life in every way.
I’ve learned something about cooking and that’s if you patiently blend totally different spices together on low for a long time, they merge into something savory. This is like God’s command for two to become one. Two souls in the furnace of God’s heart blending together. I often wondered what scripture meant when it said Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed. In my youthful (unmarried) thinking I supposed it was only physical. It wasn’t until Sunday night when I looked into your eyes that I truly experienced the blessedness of that verse. Your eyes weren’t shuttered in any way. They were open pools of blue that I had dived in many times. They were open flames of a heart that was swung wide for me (as if your soul was a living room with a rocking chair built for me). They were unconditional love that I had now received as a resting place…that I now considered home. And I was unashamed to look back and to take in your affections. Not in kisses and passion…but in soul connection.
There once would have been a day where I would have glanced away in fear. Fear and love are two powerful forces that cannot coexist, but perfect love always casts out fear. I once heard the word intimacy described as, “into me, you see.” I’ve looked into many eyes…parents, siblings…other brothers and sisters in Christ…but no set of eyes ever felt so transparent and so one with my own soul like yours did a few nights ago. I’ve never been one with anyone except Jesus (and I’ve seen His eyes before in visions. And in those pictures, I’ve found myself looking away for how consuming, captivating, intense and fiery His heart showed through His eyes…like a light I couldn’t behold for fear of going blind).
Our marriage is a growing picture of Christ & the Church…something I prayed for many years ago. A sonnet written in a lush garden and golden palace like Songs of Solomon. A spiritual connection like Jesus and the Holy Spirit (who is the Helper like a wife is to be a helpmeet to her husband. God is still teaching me about that one). I’ll never forget the morning God showed me that scripture in a new light. The one in psalms 133:2 where it says, “how wonderful it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like oil dripping down the beard of Aaron the high priest.” It describes this oil running down his garments. The one thing about oil is that once it’s on your skin or clothes it absorbs into you and the fabric…scenting everything with itself. He revealed to me that Christ is our High Priest now/forever and that oil always represented the Holy Spirit/anointing/strength. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit… and every believer who has the Holy Spirit (which is everyone who accepts Jesus) is marked/sealed according to Ephesians 1:13 as belonging to God/Christ. And we are to be one with Him like a husband and wife are to be one. The Holy Spirit has probably been my #1 advocate in training me how to be one with you.
I’ll never forget the 1st year of our marriage whenever the enemy would tempt me to even think the slightest negative thought about you The Holy Spirit would ask me, “why are you thinking this against yourself?” I would reply, “I’m not being tempted to think this about myself but about my husband.” And He would always remind me, “but you and him are one.” This happened several times until I realized in God’s eyes, we really are united as one. Our unity has become a foundational stone in the building of all that I am… and all I will be. My connection with you is second only to Christ and I know this blessing of marriage as God designed it to be as the greatest experience of heaven on earth, I’ve had…except in my own quarters when I’m alone with Christ…my heavenly Bridegroom.
There are no words that I can pen that could describe our unity by God. No signature could define this elation, bliss, and merriment of being naked and unashamed. It’s as if we are taken back to the garden of Eden (our daughter’s name now) to experience what Adam and Eve had before the fall. Life as God meant it… unified to Him and each other.
I have really stretched my ability as a writer and expanded my mold as a creator with this project. There are so many things to say about this project but so far three of my favorite quotes are:
“…Pity without action is useless. Pity with action is compassion.”
“This isn’t about what you’ve done but what’s been done for you and it’s not about who you are but who lives inside of you.”
“…there’s a great difference between lust and love. The Bible tells you to flee from youthful lusts but not to flee from love. If you really love someone, you will want to protect them. You wouldn’t want to do anything selfish to dishonor them or tempt them to break God’s law.”
Synopsis:
She grew up in church and has never been in a relationship, he’s a prestigious male model with a scarlet past in search of redemption…
Noble has been anything but what his name implies. As a popular male model since adolescence who’s dated his fair share of influential women, he’s spent a decade living a financially lucrative, infamously party lifestyle, full of international and local gigs. But the glamor of stardom has tarnished, and the taste of self-indulgence has soured in his stomach. The drugs, fame and sound of raving fans heralding his name cannot appease the growing emptiness gnawing at his soul.
On the brink of imploding, he seeks a respite from his cunning agent and his intoxicating, actress girlfriend. Noble takes a spontaneous trip to his conservative, small hometown where he’s left behind an estranged relationship with his parents. There, on a cold, snowy night he encounters a captivating light in a modest barista, Trisha, who breathes hope into his soul and helps him unravel the gilded cords that once ensnared him tightly.
Their fateful rendezvous is the catalyst that ushers him on a redemptive path. But Noble’s dark past pursues him ardently, and his former addictions begin to weaken his will.
Will the celestial light he experienced be able to withstand the encroaching darkness that threatens to engulf him?
“Ashley has a very talented gift of weaving words together that display tenderness, compassion and purity. Each story reveals the heart of Jesus towards His children. As you read each one you can see past the characters and feel the depth of Jesus’ heart, as well as the longing for a deeper relationship with Jesus inside yours.” -Amazon review
Seeing the hand of God in our lives is one of the greatest joys we can experience as his beloved children.
I’m delighted to share a recent post with you about a series of events where God was clearly in the details. His counsel and wisdom are timeless and watching his plans unfold is like an endless Christmas morning.
I pray you are blessed and encouraged, and I would love to hear about your God-adventures in the comments below!
God is absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!
I’m over elated to work with an anti-trafficking organization established to assist sex trafficking survivors find healing in a Christ-centered, restoration home and to educate the Monterey Bay community about human trafficking!
Years ago, I opened my heart to being used by God to help those who have been through the horrors of trafficking. I still remember praying to him and saying that I was willing to help the suffering if he helped me and protected my daughters.
In November, I felt like God encouraged me to sign up to sell my books at a community Harvest Festival for MBCC. I obeyed, and my booth was right next to the Board President for this amazing ministry. She asked me what I was selling, and I shared with her about my books and how God healed my heart from deep rejection. I shared with her how I had saw a vision of Heaven in the best-selling book, His Beauty for My Ashes.
She listened in a way that was so unassuming, peaceful and attentive. I asked her about her booth, and she shared about the antitrafficking ministry. My heart immediately quickened with compassion, and I noticed that the Executive Director shared a part of my name…and she had written a book. The titles between our books were notable.
Later, I perused the website and saw that their partner was “Eden’s Glory.” The name Eden holds such profound spiritual and personal meaning to me (it’s also my firstborn’s name). I filled out their online application for volunteers/staff and waited weeks. No response…
But God was working behind the scenes.
Near the end of December, I received an email from the Executive Director saying she was so sorry for missing my application (it never happens) and that she would love to have me come in for the trauma awareness training. Now, at this time, I was just finishing up my New Testament Leadership certification which included several counseling classes and i had specifically prayed to God to be able to put my knowledge of healing into practical use (no coincidence). I responded that I would be delighted to come in after my Christmas vacation.
Little did I know that an event happened which connected me with the Director of Housing. I had no idea she worked there, but she had been moved by the wonderful things God was doing in my life and had been on my website. She told me in December before I went on vacation that she was praying for me. When the Executive Director saw my application and presented it to the Director of Housing who had already been talking to her about me.
Before I stepped into the job interview, they had decided to hire me!!!
So many other details aren’t mentioned here, and I am in awe at just how beautifully God is in the details! He is such a personal Father. Living life being led by him is such an adventure! !
I am soooooo honored to be a part of the healing journey in the lives of survivors. I am SOOOO excited for the ways I know God will bring comfort, peace and freedom in their lives and I am beyond blessed to be used by him to serve these precious women!
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
"You stir us to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you" -St. Augustine
Take me to a place where I can watch the rain fall on the ocean and still be warm.
Take me to a place where waterfalls refract light and create prismatic rainbows too numerous to count.
Take me to a place, where the breath of God is the rolling fog that forms translucent, moving mountains over great bodies of water.
How I long to be in your presence.
Your presence is the atmosphere of heaven.
You create a fire with flames that warm, heal, and feed me.
You are the dearest treasure to my heart.
You are my morning cry.
You are the great joy of my day.
You are my night longing.
You have given me angels bread to eat.
You have sung me to sleep with the lullabies of heaven, with the melodic music of stringed instruments unheard of by human ears.
You have caused me to taste the divine and nothing on earth has satisfied me since.
You have shown me what true life means.
You are the definition of abundance.
You are more beautiful than the golden rays of the sun coming after a long night.
You are more breathtaking than billions of stars glowing in the constellations.
You are more precious than glinting diamonds.
You are the Creator of everything beautiful and good.
And I am in love with you.
Take me to that place where I long to abide.
To that alcove in your heart.
To that safe place where I can sit in the living room of your thoughts.
Before the fire of your pure compassion.
In the rocking chair of your arms.
Under the chromatic rainbow of your tears.
In the effervescent hot spring of your laughter.
In the galaxy of your eyes.
You are my true home.
And I am only at home in you.
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
-Psalm 73:25-26
For similar devotionals like this, check out my book, Visions of Celestial Love (An Invitation into Healing Intimacy with God).
"Ashley presents us with a true cornucopia of modern psalms, personal testimonies, and short stories. She has set out to reveal and unravel some of the most complex heart issues mankind faces in our quest of understanding what true intimacy with God really looks like. Prepare to have your soul massaged and worked on as you read Visions of Celestial Love." — Jeremy Minard,
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. -John 3:16-17 NKJV
“It is nearly impossible to believe God shrinking down to the size of a zygote, implanted in the soft lining of a woman’s womb. God growing fingers and toes. God kicking and hiccupping in utero. God inching down the birth canal and entering this world covered in blood, perhaps into the steady, waiting arms of a midwife. God crying out in hunger. God reaching for his mother’s breasts. God totally relaxed, eyes closed, his chubby little arms raised over his head in a posture of complete trust. God resting in his mother’s lap…” -Rachel Held Evans
Over 2,000 years ago, He came meekly perfuming wells of mercy as our representative, the Son of Man, our Passover (sacrificial) Lamb, the One who died in our place, the One who came to serve, seek and save the lost. He is the One who came to heal the broken-hearted and the sick, the One who came to be touched with the feelings of our troubles and humanness and offer the deepest empathy and compassion :
When God gives a gift…the blessings never end…they go into eternity ! The gift of Jesus is grandeur than the expanse of the cosmos. His life is more costly than all the jewels and treasures in the world .
I will praise God forever for the gift of Jesus and the peace-giving gift of forgiveness and reconciliation He purchased for us all!
I thank God for the gift of relationship with Jesus that brings endless abundance and life !
God becoming human just amazes me time and time again.
I very often read and see things related to Jesus that cause my heart to leap forth in adoration, worship and excitement. Sometimes I feel like a child for how pure and sporadic my soul can leap into praise like someone lighting a match. Praise comes sparking out of me like fireworks crackling through a starry night. I react to the goodness of God with as much (if not more) glee and bliss as someone who has seen the most beautiful, wonderful thing. If you’ve ever been taken aback in awe and wonder at a sight, like a coming gasp at seeing the greatness of the Grand Canyon, then you understand my reactionary worship-born spirit.
“The first time He came, there was no room for Him. The next time He comes the whole world won’t be able to contain His glory.” -John MacArthur
Over two years ago, my heart sang when I saw this post quoting John MacArthur (the picture above)! I could feel first love fire inside of me breaking forth in spontaneous worship !
The words below began to gush forth from within me in reactionary praise:
“Oh, how I love Him and delight to worship Him.
I excitedly look forward to the day of His return and to worship before Him as never before where my body will never tire to pour out adoration, and praise, and tears of joy and gratitude and passion for this One great, glorious Man who is Truth, Light, Salvation, Love, and everything good we were created for. We came forth from Him. In Him God has rebirthed us and every leader comes from Him. Our only Life. Our High Priest. In Him, through Him, by Him, for Him!!
Hallelujah to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Faithful and True is His name. Hosanna in the highest heaven !
I look forward to that day when His glory rises over the darkness like the sun’s stunningly, blinding rays pierces the irises of dimmed eyes. May glimmering rays of His glory be seen like shafts of lightning and flickers of candlelight in the hearts of born-again men/women on earth …those who have surrendered to His amazing love and Lordship and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth .
Oh, for the glory of His name! There is no One so beautiful and magnificent or good than Him !”
Below is one of my favorite Christmas songs. It beautifully captures the finer details of the incarnation of Christ and how natural, yet supernatural His appearing was. How closely He relates to us:
Lyrics:
It’s still a mystery to me That the hands of God could be so small How tiny fingers reaching in the night Were the very hands that measured the sky
Hallelujah, hallelujah Heaven’s love reaching down to save the world Hallelujah, hallelujah, son of God, servant King Here with us, You’re here with us
It’s still a mystery to me How His infant eyes have seen the dawn of time How His ears have heard an angel’s symphony But still Mary had to rock her Savior to sleep
Hallelujah, hallelujah Heaven’s love reaching down to save the world Hallelujah, hallelujah, son of God, servant King Here with us, You’re here with us
You’re here with us
Jesus, the Christ, born in Bethlehem A baby born to save, to save the souls of man
Hallelujah, hallelujah Heaven’s love reaching down to save the world Hallelujah, hallelujah, son of God, servant King Here with us
Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah Heaven’s love reaching down to save the world Hallelujah, hallelujah, son of God, servant King Here with us, You’re here with us You’re here with us
Songwriters: Joy Elizabeth Williams, Jason Ingram, Ben Glover. For non-commercial use only. (I own no rights to the music or lyrics of this amazing song)
Always remember that He is with you, no matter how you’re feeling or where you are. He is with you, and He loves you. Because you have Him, you have hope.
“Ashley presents us with a true cornucopia of modern psalms, personal testimonies, and short stories. She has set out to reveal and unravel some of the most complex heart issues mankind faces in our quest of understanding what true intimacy with God really looks like. Prepare to have your soul massaged and worked on as you read Visions of Celestial Love.” — Jeremy Minard, Servant King Apparel
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.… -2 Corinthians 5:14-15
The Bible describes the eyes of Jesus like flames of fire (Revelation 19:12).
In the Old Testament, the most Holy Place was reached only after walking past the flames of sacrifice on the brazen altar. (Exodus 27)
Something had to die so something could live.
A lamb for a man.
Jesus came as the sacrificial Lamb and as the last Adam. (John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 15:45)
In my life God has presented me with the fire of his love and the purifying water of his Word.
He consumes my life with eternity.
Unconditional love is a resurrection.
Because when unconditional love is fully received it brings death to self.
God’s love is not without sacrifice.
If Jesus died, then all die. (2 Corinthians 5:14)
There is a mystery of the gospel spelled out in Romans.
It is a beautiful union with Christ.
Paul describes this as a mental, emotional, bodily and spiritual surrender through affiliation with Christ. (Romans 6)
Hallelujah!
Oh, how sweet!
How victorious!
How gloriously freeing is this death described in scripture!
I die with Him, so I live with Him!
Death to self is nothing to be feared…rather, it’s an invitation to an intimate relationship that is bound together by the greatest power!
We become inseparable!
I become just like Him! (Romans 8:29)
“If you love Me, you will obey Me.” (John 14:15)
A life laid down is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It can only be birthed by a love that’s worth it!
To walk on water is no greater miracle than to defy the selfish nature, we were all born with.
To habitually deny self is no less miraculous than to be above sickness, disease, the devil and demons.
Oh, to be above…
To be seated with Him in heavenly places above all principality and power. (Ephesians 1: 21-23)
He was so humble as a Man that He followed God in obedience even to death on the cross.
There is no resurrection without the cross.
Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. -Matthew 16:24
It’s not an invitation to despair, but to a hope that goes behind the torn veil.
Nothing says I love you, like giving up your whole life.
Marriage is such a small shadow compared to this commitment.
This covenant.
This incredible union.
I live to praise You forever!
To worship You!
To glorify You!
I adore You, Jesus.
It’s easy to surrender.
You make it easy with your love!
A man hasn’t lived until he’s found something he’s willing to die for.
I choose to die to my own human power.
For your supernatural power.
Your divine power that heals the lepers, casts out devils, raises the dead and cures the sick.
I no longer see us as two, but one.
Jesus, you said, “The Father and I are one.” (John 10:30)
Jesus, you prayed that we would be one. (John 17:21)
Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ Who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)
I am what I am by the grace of God. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
This is powerful grace.
This is the triumphant love that split hell open and bankrupted it of victory. This is the violent love that caused the grave to tremble and break.
This is the love that smashed the serpents’ skull (the oppressor of mankind).
This is the love that gave everything for YOU.
He spared no expense to save you.
His love compelled him to die even for his enemies to make them his sons.
To give them an everlasting inheritance.
This love that pounds and beats like a lover over his beloved.
This is the love that lives and breathes in my heart.
I hear Him call me daily to oneness.
I hear his sweet song that beckons me to lay down my plans for the glorious life He has prepared for me.
Surrender is harder than sacrifice.
That’s why it’s greater than sacrifice.
“Sacrifice and offerings, You have not desired but a body You have prepared for Me! I say here I Am, it is written about Me in the volume of the Book. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is written within my heart.” (Psalm 40:6-8)
May we know as Paul knew, as the early church knew and as Jesus knew, the glory of living a life fully and completely surrendered to God! May we allow the flame of love that burn in Jesus’s eyes to consume us so that we may truly live heavenly lives!
Inspirational Scriptures:
“For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].” -Matthew 16:25 AMP
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.… -John 12:24-25
“When I read Visions of Celestial Love, it is as if I am brought down to my knees to worship. What the Holy Spirit has done in and through Ashley, He is doing also in me. What a wonderful experience. It is very rich. Thank you for sharing the treasure.”—Riko Suci Alam, CEO of Ligar Jaya and owner of Clove Garden hotel in Bandung Indonesia.
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inside of me breaking forth in spontaneous worship 
