I hear people talk about God speaking the world into existence, but according to the Genesis account, God created the heaven and the earth in verse one and didn't speak until verse three. And when God spoke He said the only Word He ever says. He said, "Let there be light." He released Jesus--He released Himself, He released love--into an earth that was without form, and dark, and void. Why is this important? Because to me there's a difference between what was created, and what was spoken. Even though the source was the same. Love created the heaven and the earth. Because that's what love does: It creates. It unifies. It holds things together. This is different than what is (or what can be) spoken. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue..." Jesus said, "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shal be condemned" (Matthew 12:36). Now before we go any further I do NOT believe that God is keeping a list of every word we say so that He can justify us or condemn us. In Christ we HAVE BEEN justified, and there is no condemnation in Christ. So perhaps Jesus was talking about something else. Perhaps He was talking about the creative power of our words. I quote this verse often but Ecclesiastes 8:4 tells us that, "Where the word of a king is, there is power..." What we say matters. What we say, or confess, is what will manifest in our lives. Here's the key to confession though: To confess means to agree with. I think that's where the church has really gotten it wrong; we always want people to confess their sins. But that doesn't agree with the Word of our Father. Jesus is the Lamb of God who TOOK away the sin of the world. When we confess sin, it manifests in our lives because we give it power. Where the word of a king is, there is power. We are kings and priests ruling and reigning in the earth. What we confess has power. Creative power. Power to justify ourselves (and our reality) or power to condemn ourselves (and our reality). Death AND life is in the power of the tongue. God created the heaven and the earth. And then He spoke. And when He spoke, His Word became flesh. He Word (Jesus, love) manifested. That was the pattern that He gave us. 1 Peter 3:10-11 says it like this, "For he that will lve life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eshew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it." And, listen, I know it seems like we're focusing a lot on good and evil today--even though we've moved out of that tree and moved into the Tree of Life--but as we're going to see in this Rant series... we do good, and seek peace by speaking life. By letting the creative power of God--of love--that is in us, come out of us. By confessing, or agreeing, with His Word! Not by changing anything--that's not what creation is about--but by revealing the true nature of things. That's what the light does when it shines! It reveals things as they really are!

Knowing it all--the ultimate truth of the universe that Daddy loves us and has given all things into our hand--doesn't mean much unless you understand what you know. That's why even though we have an unction from the Holy Spirit and we know all things... it is that same Holy Spirit that leads and guides us into all truth. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. He teaches us who we are, by teaching us who He is--who Jesus is. Because that's our true identity. And that's what's so glorious about the economy of the Kingdom; the emphasis is not on us seeking things out (as if we don't have them). The emphasis is on Jesus revealing Himself to us (and revealing Himself in us and revealing Himself through us). That's glorious because it means that all we have to do is receive and release. The Spirit is speaking. All we have to do is listen. Jesus stands at the door and knocks, all we have to do is answer. And watch this: The door is our heart. Jesus is the door. He doesn't just live in our hearts, He has given us His heart! That's something that's so important to me that we understand--we have this idea where we think we have to give our hearts, or our lives, or whatever, to Jesus. When in fact we don't have anything to give Him. We can't even give Him our lives. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We didn't have a life to give Him. He gave us HIS life and brought us out of death into that everlasting, eternal, abundant, Resurrection Life! That's what it means to know it all. Let me say it like this, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we loev the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). We KNOW that we are alive because we love one another. Because we CAN love one another. Because we have been equipped and empowered TO love one another. And that love that we have for one another, that life that we share with one another, comes directly from the Father's love for us. It is His love in us that comes out of us. It is the Father revealing His love for us that leads and guides us into the truth that He loves us. We have faith in God because He has proven Himself (and continues to prove Himself) faithful to us. He doesn't require anything that He doesn't first provide. The New Commandment is love one another AS Jesus loves us. So first He loves us, and then we love one another. It all flows from the source. All good and perfect gifts come down from the Father of lights. And we are His Son. We are the light (of the world) that He is the Father of. And all good and perfect gifts--all Spiritual blessings, all things that pertain to life and godliness, all things--have been given into our hand. The hand--or the five fold ministry--is used to perfect the saints. Used to edify each other. To build one another up. To love one another. That's what it's all about. It's all about love. We know it all because we know love. Because we are loved. Because we ARE love. That's what we know. And as we begin to understand what we know... that's when it all begins to manifest. That's when we begin to share what we've got. That's when we begin to love with the love that we are loved with!

It's not what you know... it's what you understand. It's not what you know... it's what you believe. Because what you DO flows from what you believe. And it's not what you know... it's what you DO with what you know. Look at Matthew 9:29 in the Message Bible, "He touched their eyes and said, "Become what you believe."" This wasn't so much a command, as it was an explanation of how the Kingdom works. You become what you believe. And how glorious that Jesus touched their eyes. Opened their eyes. Because seeing is believing. What you see is what you believe. What you see is what you be. What you know is what you can throw. See, the ultimate truth of the universe--that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand (and that we are the Son that the Father loves)--transforms. Love transforms. Knowing (and believing, and understanding) that we are unconditionally loved by the Father is what equips and empowers us to love God. And we love God by loving one another. When we believe that we are loved, we become LOVE. That's when Jesus appears... in and through and as us. Jesus said, "As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me" (John 6:57). To me this is such a revelation: We don't live FOR the Father. We live BY the Father, even as the Father lives IN us. In Him we live and move and have our being, and in us He lives and moves and has His being. It's this relationship--Jesus also said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30)--this unity, that allows the manifestation of the Word of God. The Word of God, or course, being Jesus... being love. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Then, through the Finished Work of the cross the Word began to dwell in OUR flesh. And now, every time we love one another with the love that we are loved with... the Word manifests. Every time we love one another Jesus appears. Because He IS love. God in the flesh. Love in a body. And when we know that we have been filled to overflowing with that love, then it comes out naturally. It's our new nature. Not a beast nature, but a love nature. Not a selfish nature, but a selfless nature. Not trying to get more knoweldge--because knowledge puffs up, and because we already know all things--but getting understanding so that we can USE what we know. So that we can BECOME what we believe. We BE transformed (into what we have already been transformed into) by the renewing of our minds. By letting the mind of Christ that's already in us BE in us. By receiving and releasing. By letting what's in us flow out of us, simply by knowing and believing that it's in there. We are the light of the world and the light shines all by itself. Our part is to make sure we're not hiding it under a basket. Our part is to know and believe that it (that HE) is shining in us and shining out of us! Knowing it all, believing it all, and sharing it all!

Just because we know it all doesn't mean we are know it alls. Everything we know--the truth that God is our Father and that He loves us unconditionally--is not to pump us up. It is bring forth the manifestation of truth: God loves us, and because He first loved us, we love Him. We love Him by loving each other. We receive it and release it. And that idea of receiving... that idea that we don't have to "get" anything because we have already been given all things... is what makes this journey of life possible. Because God isn't hiding from us. In fact, He is revealing Himself to us. And He is revealing Himself in us, and He is revealing Himself through us. It's not a question for knoweldge. We have an unction from the Holy Spirit and we know all things. It's a quest for understanding. I truly believe that human beings cannot get past something they don't understand. When things don't make sense... man, we don't like that at all. And, listen, I'm well aware that, "...the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). But, really, that's what I'm talking about. We want to understand things. And it's only through the peace of God that we CAN understand all of the things that we know. The peace of God that comes from the Finished Work. The peace of God that came when Jesus--on the cross--fought and won the war to end all wars. A peace that doesn't make sense to the carnal mind, but keeps our heart and mind through Christ Jesus. A peace (and righteousness, and joy) that can only be found in the Kingdom of God--the Holy Spirit--the mind of Christ. See, we know all things when we let the mind of Christ that's already in us BE in us. We understand all things when we listen to the still small voice inside of us; the heartbeat of God in our chest that constantly and continually says, "Daddy love you. Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you." It's a voice that speaks to our identity, as the beloved Son of God, and relationship. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:1, "...Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth." And that's the difference between head knowledge and heart knoweldge. That's the difference between being a know it all and knowing it all. Because I'm telling you, the "all" that we know... the "all things" that have been given into our hands... is love. We know it all because we know God. And God is love. And love (or charity) edifieth. We don't use what we know to put people down. We use it to lift them up. We receive AND release. We share what we have because it's too good to keep to ourselves. When you know and believe how much Jesus loves you, it makes you want to help other people understand how much He loves THEM. And we do that simply by loving them. My pastor says it like this, "If you know it, throw it." And guys, we know it. So let's start throwing it. Let's take what we've got and share it with eveyone who needs it. Which is everyone. We are loved, we can love. That's all.

There's a huge difference between what you KNOW and what you UNDERSTAND. It's the difference between head knowledge and heart knoweldge. It's the difference between knowing ABOUT God, and KNOWING God. It's when what's true--and always has been true, and always will be true--becomes true for you. It's the manifestation of the truth as we know it and believe it. And therein--knowing and BELIEVING--is the rub. Because you can't believe something you don't know. So first things first faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. But in order to believe what you know it really all comes down to trust. Trusting that there IS a more excellent way and that His name is Jesus. Because we all want what's best. The Apostle Paul said, "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church" (Ephesians 5:29). Self-preservation is a very strong motivation. That's why Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of God in the garden of Eden; they thought God was mad at them and they didn't want to get in trouble. But see... you can't believe everything you think. Your mind can play tricks on you. Or you can listen to the wrong voice and end up believing a lie. That's why the Holy Spirit is so important. He leads and guides us into all truth. We have an unction from Him and we know all things. The still, small voice of God now speaks from inside us. Speaks from our heart. The deep calling out to the deep. And when we listen to THAT voice--the voice of truth--and, more importantly, when we BELIEVE that voice... that's when we can run TO God instead of running FROM God. That's when self-preservation shifts into us letting Daddy preserve us. That's when we begin to understand everything we know. We KNOW Daddy loves us, but until we LET Him love us we don't really understand what that means. That was the difference between Adam--who was the son of God--and Jesus--who was the BELOVED Son of God. God loves them both. He loves everybody all the time. He IS love. But Adam thought he had to earn Daddy's love, and Jesus allowed Himself to be loved, not because of what He did, but because of who He is. Knowing we are God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased... knowing that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand... none of that really matters until we understand what it means that He loves us and is well pleased with us. Until we understand what it means that He has given all things into our hands. It's not the truth that sets you free. It's the truth you KNOW that MAKES you free. It's knowing all things and understanding what we know. It's trusting Him because He has proven Himself trustworthy. Having faith in Him because He has proven Himself faithful. It's all about love. Receiving the love of the Father and then releasing that love. Knowing it and understanding it and experiencing it and enjoying it.

1 John 2:20 tells us that, "...ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." This has always been an extremely important revelation to me. Because we seem to go about this life from a place of lack. We are always trying to get something--as if we haven't already been blessed with all spiritual blessings, and given all things that pertain to life and godliness--and we are always trying to figure something out. Figure God out. And I know, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter" (Proverbs 25:2). But in the same way that we don't seek the Kingdom in order to get it (we seek it to explore what we have), we don't have to search out God as if He is hiding from us. People always say, "The Lord works in mysterious ways." But the mystery that has been revealed is Christ in you the hope of glory. God doesn't work in mystery ways, He works in and through people. The thing that was concealed... the thing that it is our honour to search out... is Christ in us. And because we have an unction from the Holy One, we know all things. The Holy One, or the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of truth. It is literally Jesus' Spirit. Because Jesus IS the truth. And that's why--that's HOW--we know all things. We know the truth. We know Jesus. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). This is so cool to me that Jesus says the truth will MAKE you free. Because there's a difference between being "set" free and being "made" free. It's the difference of life and death, really. Because we were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were in bondage. And then Jesus came and set us free. He unlocked the prison door, if I can say it that way. And then, according to Revelation 3:20, He stands at the door and knocks. And all we have to do to be MADE free is open the door. When we KNOW the door is open, that's what we can be transformed (into what we've already been transformed, or made, into). See, the problem isn't what we know. We "know" Daddy loves us. That's all truth. That's all things. That's what matters. But the problem is understanding what we know. Getting past head knowledge and into heart knowledge. Experiential knowledge. Being transformed by the renewing of our minds. Letting the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. 1 John 5:20 says it like this, "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." It's not what you KNOW. It's what you UNDERSTAND. It's knowing AND believing the truth. Knowing and believing the love of Christ. The Father's love for His Son. The Lamb's love for His wife. And when we understand that love... when we understand the truth that we know... then it will manifest in us and through us and as us!

We dance because there's a song in our heart. A love song between a Father and His Son. A love song between the Lamb and His wife. We live because He lives in and through and as us. Life's a dance, we learn as we go. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth--the truth that God loves us. And out of that truth we love each other. That's the New Commandment that Jesus gave: Love one another as He loves you. That's why we're here. We're here to be loved and to love each other with that same love. But the crazy thing about love is that it doesn't take just one form. People love differently and people receive love differently. People dance differently, if I can say it that way. Because there's not right or wrong way to dance. This idea we have that life has to look like "this," and we have to get from point A to point B by going through "these" steps... is ridiculous. Life isn't for jumping through hoops. Life is for living. And to live is to love. To love is to live. If we could stop putting expectations on ourselves and on each other I truly believe that we could begin to enjoy the journey. We could enjoy the dance. Dancing is supposed to be fun, isn't it? Life isn't supposed to be hard. (And I'm not saying we don't have to work hard sometimes. There's a difference between working hard in order to get something, and working hard because we have something. The former is works and labor and the latter is rest.) I understand that if you know the steps to the dance... if you practice dancing... then you can do it "right." But I also understand that "right" for me might be "wrong" for you. And I also understand that when you just let go and do what's in your heart, it's a beautiful thing. I've never felt more alive then when I was writing my first Jesus book. Because that thing inside me that makes me... me... was coming out to the glory of my Father. I wasn't doing it FOR Him, per se, but I was doing it WITH Him. He was doing it IN me, and THROUGH me, and as me. I took my body and presented it as a living sacrifice and that book (Identity Crisis) poured out of me in two weeks. It was a lot of work, but it was effortless. And it's one of the things that I'm the most proud of in my life. Not because I can say, "Look what I did," but because I did something worth looking at. I created something (and I'm fixing to do a Rant series about creation here in a minute) that--hopefully--will help people. It was God working in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure. It was the song in my heart that caused me to dance. And when you find that perfect song--when who you are manifests in what you do... manifests in love in that special way that only you can love--that's abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. That's the relationship between the God who is love and the human race that He created in order TO love. So. Find your song. And don't be afraid to dance. Don't be afraid to make a mistake, because life's a dance... you learn as you go.

Here's my advice: Dance your own dance and don't worry about what other people think about it. God made you... and He made you YOU. He put a song in your heart. He created you for a purpose. You have an EPIC destiny. An Eternal Purpose In Christ. I read somewhere that the two most important days in your life are 1. When you're born and 2. When you find out WHY you are born. Now listen: On the one hand we all have the same EPIC destiny. We are all here to be loved and to love each other with that love. But love takes many shapes and many forms. God IS love, and God defined Himself as, "I am that I am." Which means, "I will be what I want to be." Or, "I will be whatever you need me to be." Here's what I'm saying: Just be yourself. Don't try to be anybody else. You can't do it. Nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. That's what's so glorious about the gift of eternal life: It's not US living HIS life. It's HIM living His own life in and though and as us. That's what it means to present your body as a living sacrifice. Just let Jesus do whatever He wants to do... in you. And don't worry about what anybody else says about it. If you're moved with compassion and motivated by love then you can't fail. Because love never fails. Look at this story in 2 Samuel chapter 6. Verse 14 tells us that, "...David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod." David was dancing before the Lord because he was all fired up about bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to the people of Israel. He was being himself--David was a musician, and a dancer--for the Lord. And look at what happened: "And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart" (2 Samuel 6:16). Somebody who was sitting on the sidelines, not doing anything, got mad because they saw someone else doing what was in their heart to do. People will always criticize you, no matter what. Even when you're doing something unto the Lord. ESPECIALLY when you're doing something unto the Lord. I don't know if it's jealousy, or what, but it seems like the better you're doing the more people there are that despise you for it. David's response: "And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD" (2 Samuel 6:21). Basically David said, "Don't worry about what I'm doing. I know that I'm where I'm supposed to be and I'm who I'm supposed to be and I'm not concerned with what you think about it!" That may seem a little rough, but I've come to the place in my life where, if you don't care enough to ask about what I'm doing or why, then I don't care what you think about it. I can't dance your dance and you can't dance mine. There's a song in my heart and there's a God who is love dancing over me and with me and in me. That's what this journey, this life, is all about. Learning and growing and living and loving!

God is dancing over us. God is dancing with us. God is dancing IN us. That's what this life is all about. It's not about dancing FOR God, with a constant fear that if we miss a step He's "going to get us." It's about relationship. It's not laws you keep, it's a life that keeps you. It's not about fearing the storm, it's about learning to dance in the rain. Because while storms may be scary, they are also good and necessary. The Bible talks a lot about rain. The former rain and the latter rain. The healing rain. Seeds can't grow unless they are watered. See, we have this idea of what's ok and what's not--this idea of good and evil--and it effects our entire outlook on things. We define success by good and evil. If we do good then we're successful. But, as always, there's a more excellent way. And that more excellent way is Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And He is love. The more excellent way is love. If you define success by how much money you make--if that's what it means to you to be successful--then you're going to miss out on so much of what life has to offer. And I know that money is necessary in order to pay bills and things like that. But while most people believe that the Bible says, "money is the root of all evil," what it REALLY says is, "...the love of money is the root of all evil..." (1 Timothy 6:10). The LOVE of money. Remember the truth that everything in and of itself is holy? It's what we DO with money that can either redeem it or corrupt it. Money is just a tool. And money is certainly not the whole point of our existence. And that doesn't just go for money, either. It goes for fame, or whatever else we define "success" as. To me success is the people that I come into contact with knowing I love them. To me, when I say, "I love you, bub," to my three year old son and he says, "I know, Daddy. I love you too." That's success. That's life. That's dancing. And that's what's so cool about love: It has to involve more than one person. There has to be someone who is loving, and there has to be someone who is loved. I said it yesterday: It takes two to tango. Because even as God is dancing over us, and in us, and with us, and through us, and as us... we dance with each other. Every day, in every way, when we interact with each other we share this life with each other. And some of us can dance better than others. Some of us have a greater revelation of God's love for us than others. But that doesn't mean we try to find a "better" partner. The only time we should look down on each other is in order to help each other up. This dance isn't about completing every step without ever messing up. Sometimes when we "mess up" or try something new, that's when the dance becomes the most beautiful. If you never fail it's probably because you never try. And if you never try then are you really living? Stop dancing within the limits of "good and evil." Stop being so picky about who you dance with. This life is for living. Together. All of us. Together...

Here's the thing about dancing: It takes two to tango. And I know that you can dance all by yourself. And I know that if your friends don't dance then they're no friends of mind. But, as we saw yesterday, it is God who dances over us. It is God who dances IN us. That's so key. Because it takes away the whole idea of us doing something FOR God. God doesn't need anything from us. He is the Creator of everything. In Psalms 50:6 God tells us, "If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." If God had a need, He wouldn't bring it to us. Because He doesn't want anything FROM us. He, like a loving heavenly Father, wants things FOR us. In fact, God wants the BEST for us. That's why He gave the best (Jesus) TO us. We HAVE to get away from this servant (slave) mentality. Psalms 40:6 tells us that, "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required." See, it's not about what we can do. Not even about what we can do for God. It's about what HE did (both for us and as us) and what HE can do in us and through us and as us. That's what life is about. Not serving an angry taskmaster who is just waiting for us to mess up so he can get us... but enjoying a dance with the One who loves us and will never leave us nor forsake us. Way back in the garden of Eden God made a statement, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18). And what always struck me about this statement was that man WASN'T alone. There was God and there was man. There was the Creator and the creation. But, from Adam's point of view, there was nobody around that was like him. Because even though Adam was made in the image of likeness of God, he didn't know it. He didn't know what God looked like, so he didn't know what HE looked like. He needed a companion. He needed someone to dance with, if I can say it that way. So God made all the animals and none of them were quite right. So God put Adam to sleep and brought forth out of him a help meet for him. Out of one He made two. Unfortunately, this duality--this splitting of spirit and soul--got man into a lot of trouble. But it was all part of the plan. Because at the appointed time Jesus took the two--Jews and gentiles--and put them back together in Himself. After thousands of years of man trying to figure out how to dance--how to live--Jesus came and showed us the steps. He drew us to Himself with open arms on the cross. He didn't just give us life, He gave us HIS life. HIS dance. He brought us out of death and into abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. Not a life of servitude, but a life a life of service. Not a servant trying to be a Son, but a Son with a servant's heart. Not dancing with fear of messing up, but dancing with freedom, because we know that our partner won't let go, even if we stumble and fall!