I just had a wonderful experience. I would like to share it with you…

Before I do, let’s review what we have learned so far about being free in Christ:

1. Our chains of bondage to sin have been broken!
2. We have been given access to the throne of God!
3. We can talk to God anytime!
4. We are free to choose right!
5. We can serve others with no expectations!
6. We can now live life without worry!
7. We are free to pursue righteousness and godliness!

Today, we discover that We are free to participate in the divine nature! Our text is 2 Peter 1:3-4,

³ By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence [goodness]. ⁴ And because of his glory and excellence [goodness], he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

Now, for my experience: #2 says that we have been given access to the throne of God because we are seated with Him in heavenly places even while living here on earth (see 3-30-24). The idea of being two places at once is confusing, so I determined last night during a concert that I would focus on being at the throne of God even while I was playing percussion with Robin at a Singing Churchwomen concert in Skiatook, OK. Using the concept of turning in my mind to Him in prayer, I saw with my mind’s eye “my concept” of the throne of God and the vast area in front of it. Remembering that Jesus is seated next to Him and we (all Christians) are seated next to Him (somehow), I did my best to envision that the nearly 400 of us who were participating in the concert were in the area in front of the throne. All of heaven paid rapt attention while we sang and played, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” and joined in with us as we sang and played, “Behold Our God.”

I observed several things about the experience:

1. It surprised me that everyone seemed to know the words to the songs we were singing;
2. I was dismayed that I couldn’t keep the “vision” going throughout the entire concert;
3. The joy was overwhelming at times. I’m sure some of it was because I was “with the Father” in Spirit, but most of it was coming from the throne itself. The entire room seemed filled with it!
4. We who were worshiping in the physical were joining those who are already around the throne. There was no separation between the living and those who have passed over into the eternal! This point was particularly poignant because one of our ladies had lost a son to cancer just last week.

Here is the thought process behind the experience:

• I turned in my mind to myself, where I was, what I was doing, and what I desired to do;
• I then turned in my mind to the Lord in prayer and asked Him for help;
• I then turned in my mind to the throne room of God (my attempt to envision it, anyway) as we played. It was amazing!

Experiencing the divine nature of God doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s a matter of turning in our minds to God and His ways. He desires greatly an intimate and continuous relationship with us. WE are the ones who pop in and out of our awareness of His presence. Practicing the presence of God is one of the disciplines of the Christian life as we work on it everyday. We get to experience Him in the process! When we turn to Him in prayer, thanksgiving, or praise, let’s envision in our minds actually being in His presence at His throne. We really are already there!

Abba, I desire to continue practicing envisioning myself in Your presence. I look forward to your Spirit teaching me how to make this more and more possible in my daily life. I pray that all of Your children will desire to learn do so, too, so we all may enjoy the love, joy and peace that flow from You. Amen.