FACE TRUTH

Facing the truth is sometimes painful, but always necessary if we are to walk forward into the destinies that God has for us. And those who are in Christ know that Jesus IS Truth, and that Truth sets us free!

Recently, I was thinking about this, and came up with an acronym that I hope will help better flesh out what facing truth really involves, and really accomplishes. in order to face Jesus, the truest Truth, we must come with Faith and Authenticity, which brings us to a place of Creativity and Encouragement, and in turn, that allows us to more greatly Trust, Relate to Him and those around us, Understand revelations He is revealing to us, as well as others, which then allows us to be open to Transform and to Heal.
 
Faith
Authenticity
Creativity
Encouragment

Trust
Relate
Understand
Transform
Heal

The Bible tells us in Exodus 33:11 that God revealed Himself to Moses, speaking face to face with him. Depending on the version, this is either as a man speaks with a friend, or to a neighbor.

From hookedonthebible.com

 And now that Jesus has come, we who believe on Him are given full reign... FULL reign to come before Him and speak as friends and neighbors with the Father, the Creator of all. In God's wisdom and grace, having sent His Son to the earth to live life one of us, God fashioned Himself into the form of a newborn, a child, a teenager, a young man... and therefore, He really DOES understand friendship and neighborliness like He never did before, because he has now experienced it in the full. But along with neighborliness and friendship, He learned what it means to really be part of a family, and to really be misunderstood; to be seen only for what the outward shows and not the inward, but also how His power affects the faith within others. How His LOVE draws people, and His compassion truly heals.

Jesus, we are told, had to LEARN obedience (Hebrews 5:8) and GROW in wisdom and favor (not just stature; Luke 2:52). so, even though Jesus is Perfect Truth, even He had a learning curve while walking face to face with man.

It's hard to think of God needing to have a learning curve, isn't it?

He's so perfect. He's so holy. And as Jesus, His walk was utterly blameless. As Jesus, He gave Himself a life lesson He will never forget - what it is truly like to BE human, though He was still fully deity. Jesus stepped down from Heaven, setting aside so much... so that He could not only save, heal, and deliver and transform us, but so He could relate to us better as our Intercessor in Heaven NOW.

In order to SEE into Heaven, we need not only imagination (a mind for creativity), but faith. in order to HEAR from Heaven, we must trust God to be there for us in all our authentic person-hood, flaws and all, and trust that He truly HAS saved, delivered, healed, and transformed us in Heaven, and that we are to PRAY Heaven's reality into OURS, for Heaven is the higher and better reality... the reality above realities.

In looking at what 1 Corinthians 13:12 tells us, I've looked at several versions and wanted to flesh out this truth a bit more by combining them a bit:

So, the Harmony translation would read something like this...

We don't yet see things clearly. For we are seeing a reflection of reality through a dim, blurred and broken mirror as though squinting through a mist or fog. We are looking through a true riddle, an enigma. When we are perfected, though, we shall see everything, seeing God face to face. It'll be like the clearing of fog because the sun has come and shined upon us! Everything will be as clear as could be, rather than this imperfect way of seeing we live with on this plane of existence. At that time, we will know and understand God as fully as He knows knows and understands us even now.

From WeHeartIt.com
Reflecting like a mirror, distorted.

A lot of us can already relate to distorted mirrors, right?

We think of fun-house mirrors, but what about the way we reflect on life, and on ourselves? What about the false, distorted views of ourselves we have picked up from the world?

For some, seeing ourselves with the world's eyes can lead to eating disorders; for others, insecurity brews within, leading to other types of destructive behaviors... but the way to change the behavior ISN'T to tell people to try harder In the long run, that NEVER works...

the only way we can see things clearly... see OURSELVES clearly... is through the lens of Jesus Christ. When we read the Word; when we listen to the Holy Spirit and trust His guiding, therefore being obedient in love to God, we begin to see who we REALLY are!

God tells us a LOT about ourselves, if we will only listen!

He tells us we are loved, and that we are worth His time of earth. We are worth being sacrificed for.
He tells us He made us with wonder and awe because He knows we are capable of SO much more than the world would ever tell us we are.
He tells us we are worth fighting for, and worth dying for.
He tells us that He wants to have a relationship with Him that is intimate, close, wonderful, and He invites each and every person to this relationship.
He says, YOU are my number one priority... YOUR salvation, YOUR forgiveness, YOUR healing and deliverance and the fulfilling of YOUR destiny are important to Him!
He tells us that we CAN know Him face to face, as Moses did, and he invites us into relationship.
He shows us He trusts us, even when we don't trust ourselves, because He BELIEVES in us, knowing our end from our beginning.
He calls us beautiful, righteous, and holy.
He chose us... He chose you... from before the beginning of time, for THIS point in time, for such a time as this, so that he can touch the world through YOU.
He loves you so much more than you can ever fathom, promising that NOTHING will ever separate His love from you... nothing you can say or do will ever cause Him to love you more OR less than right now.

And now, in childlike love, joy, and faith, we are called to simply FOLLOW. he trusts us enough to believe we love Him and trust Him and will obey Him, and that we will follow out of these characteristics that He Himself gave us through His Spirit. He knows that we are but dust; we are moving shadows, and yet He loves us and wants the very best for us, which requires following where he leads; listening to our Guide and following Him.

Like a tour guide on a grand adventure, the Holy Spirit will help us to live a great life for God. If life is a jungle safari, the Spirit is the one I want guiding me, since He knows already what is to come and knows what is best.

I don't know about you, but if I were out, say, in the Daintree or the Amazon, I'd want a good guide. I'd want a guide who knows the whole area, can see what is ahead far enough in advance to be a help if danger approaches, can translate for me wherever I go, no matter the tribe I may encounter, who will comfort me when I feel alone or out of sorts or get hurt, and who can get me back to safety while still helping me have the adventure of a lifetime! And guess what? That's EXACTLY what the Holy Spirit's job is; His role in our lives.

It takes radical faith to follow a train guide into the forest, and the same is true of the Holy Spirit. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather hedge my bets, if I were a better, on God than man...for God will always help me to FACE TRUTH in the way He knows is best for me at any given moment, in any and every situation, and He will face it WITH me.

As we continue on the road of life, we can choose who our traveling companions will be. I don't know about you, but I choose God, and I ask Him, who will be the best travel companions for us on this journey together?

Only then will I know that I am fully facing the Truth that sets me free, and only then will I know that I am walking in radical faith, with radical, Holy Spirit-infused courage and strength, knowing that with God, ALL things are possible to those who believe.

UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...