Tag Archives: The Secret Place

The Secret Place Secrets

A Big Fat Lie

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It amazes me how shrewd the enemy of Christ is when he attempts to repackage the gospel in untruths or half-truths and sell it to mankind (namely me!) Honestly, if Satan can sidetrack believers by feeding us big fat lies about God, then he has won a partial victory.

How many modern-day Christians have bought into the big fat lie that “God just wants me to be happy,” only to find ourselves disillusioned a few years down the road? Or maybe, “God just wants me to be rich, or healed, or my life’s dream fulfilled?”

The stark truth of the gospel is that God wants me to be like Jesus, regardless of the cost to me personally. He wants me to know Him, love Him, fellowship with Him, and turn over control of my earthly life to Him so that His purpose can be fulfilled. That, my friend, will include death to my self, my will, my way, my plan, my dream, and my everything else!

“Paul speaks of…‘the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.’1 He was willing to lose all things and to keep looking and looking and looking into Christ so that he might know Him better. How much are we willing to lose, that we may know, and so be able to see?” ~Amy Carmichael2

Our carnal minds scream: “But wait, I thought God wanted me happy. I don’t want to lose anything—it’s more that I want!”

How hard it is for our fleshly natures to see this great hidden truth, but how blessed is the soul to whom the Spirit of God reveals it. Paul was indeed a blessed man for he knew by experience the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”3 Does that not say every? Could it be that we have blessings we do not see?

Have you ever found yourself disillusioned that God hasn’t done what you expected Him to do for you? Could what you thought God wants for you be different from what He really does want for you? Perhaps our view point is the problem.

I fear we have bought into a big fat lie of Satan. Is it not time to look and look and look for the great hidden treasures of God’s Kingdom? It is indeed, but the real question is: Are we willing to lose anything to find them? ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “He (Paul) was willing to lose all things and to keep looking and looking and looking into Christ so that he might know Him better. How much are we willing to lose, that we may know, and so be able to see?”2 ~ Amy Carmichael

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

1Philippians 3:8; 2Amy Carmichael, You Are My Hiding Place, Bethany House Publishers, Page 84; 3Ephesians 1:3

The Secret Place Secrets

Help Wanted: Weak People Apply Here

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Why is it that we so often forget that God uses weak people and small things? It is not the strong, or the high and mighty, or the fittest, or the courageous that match the job descriptions for openings in the Kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul declared this: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”1 I know you’ve read it a thousand times, but read it again.

I’ve grappled with the meaning of these words for years, but recently I experienced it in real life. I was in over my head and I knew it. Even with all my super-duper-hyped-up-positive-thinking energy, I did not have within me the ability to complete the task before me.

The task was a special service at my church that I was coordinating. The program included eight choir songs and 20 speakers. For days my legs ached with the stress of this annual event that is followed by an all-church dinner. Cooking to do, programs to print, and last minute instructions for speakers—all swirled through my head as I dressed for church.

Minutes before leaving my house, with hands shaking and fearing that I would forget something important or make a big mistake before it was over, I cried out to God. I openly admitted my weakness, claiming Paul’s humbling words as my very own.

In those brief minutes with my face on the floor, I traded my weakness for God’s strength. It worked. According to the words of J. I. Packer, to those who will admit their weakness, God will show himself strong.

“For only at the point where the insufficiency of natural strength is faced, felt, and admitted, does divine empowerment begin….Divine strength is perfected in conscious human weakness….If I could remember each day of my life, that the way to grow stronger is to grow weaker, if I would accept that each day’s frustration, obstacles, and accidents are God’s ways of making me acknowledge my weakness, so that growing stronger might become a possibility for me….May God in His great mercy weaken us all!”2 ~ J.I. Packer

This is indeed valuable information if you need strength for something you are facing today. Admit your weakness and watch God show up! ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “For only at the point where the insufficiency of natural strength is faced, felt, and admitted, does divine empowerment begin….Divine strength is perfected in conscious human weakness.” ~ J. I. Packer

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

12 Corinthians 12:9-10; 2J. I. Packer quoted in Dr. Bruce H. Wilkerson, 30 Days to Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, Inc. 1999), 90.

 

The Secret Place Secrets

The Turned-Off Power Source

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Several years ago I lived through a major ice storm in northeastern Oklahoma. For five and a half icy-cold January days, I survived without the comforts of home—light, heat, and a curling iron, to be exact. I was most grateful for my fireplace which provided both heat and light. On day four, just as cabin fever was reaching dangerous levels, my son hooked up a shiny new generator. The purr of the motor was music to my ears.

At mid-morning of day six, I watched a caravan of electric utility repair trucks enter our rural community and one-by-one repair the downed lines to each home—mine included. However, a few hours after the trucks had moved on, I still had no power. We discovered that for the generator to work properly, the main switch to the electric power coming into my home had been turned off. One flip of the switch and my power was on again!

Ever feel like your spiritual power has been turned off? Ever wonder why? When you first became a Christian it seemed that things were so clear. You found new truths in God’s Word regularly and enjoyed walking with Jesus. But somewhere along the way, that clarity began to fade, and now you even question what you thought you once understood.

Paul instructed us, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit” (Eph. 4:30). To grieve means to sadden or to make sorrowful. When we disobey God’s Word by doing or saying things that Christians should not do or say, we sadden our Holy House Guest. And when we bring sorrow to Him, He withdraws and our spiritual clarity is shut down. Grieving the Holy Spirit is equal to turning off the master switch to our spiritual lives. For some, their power switch has been off for years, and they do not know how to get the power back on.

The following quote from Oswald Chambers says it so well:

“You could read volumes on the work of the Holy Spirit, when five minutes of total, uncompromising obedience would make things clear as sunlight….It is not study that brings understanding to you, but obedience. Even the smallest bit of obedience opens heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become yours.”1

If you have a power shortage at your spiritual house—new insights, fresh revelation, and fellowship with the Spirit all seem to be shut down—I encourage you to get alone with God and ask Him to show you where you are being disobedient to His Word. If you are honest with Him, He will show you. And once He does and you become obedient—the power (and clarity) will return. Trust me on this one—I’ve been there! ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “Even the smallest bit of obedience opens heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become yours.” ~ Oswald Chambers

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

1Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 10

The Secret Place Secrets

The Game-Changing Power Source

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The Holy Spirit is alive and well on planet earth. Really? Where? Well, according to God’s Word, He lives inside every born-again believer.1

Remember that the Holy Spirit is the personal representative of the triumphant, resurrected Christ. That’s right—the triumphant Christ—not the defeated, nor abused, nor victimized Christ. Jesus willingly submitted Himself to death on the cross because our own victory hinged on His sacrificial death. His goal was not only to be triumphant over the flesh, death, hell and the grave, but to be the first of many sons and daughters to be triumphant over the flesh, death, hell and the grave.2 He fully intends for us to be just like Him—triumphant followers.

Do you know any triumphant followers of Jesus? Are you one? I fear that in the eyes of onlookers, we are better described as the bedraggled, bewildered, and barely-hanging-on believers that are not quite sure Jesus will keep His promises. We think the Promise Land is a fantasy world that we will never reach in this life. Reality tells us that we can’t see it, claim it, or possess it; therefore, the Promise Land must be in heaven.

So triumphant followers, is it?  Yet, it is difficult to say our names in the same sentence as triumphant when our track record for winning souls or getting prayers answered is highly suspect. Many of us believe that God fully intends for us to be triumphant, but we ask, “How can this be?”

It is not until we discover the Indwelling Holy Spirit deep inside our being and begin to cooperate with Him, that we will find the divine power switch. That would be like locating the master switch that controls the electrical power coming into your house—the switch that makes everything work as it is intended to work.

Power changes everything! It changes our attitude, our spiritual and mental stability, and our outlook for the future. The rules of engagement change as well, in favor of the one with the most power. We move from fearful disciples to triumphant overcomers. Sound like any other motley group of believers you have heard of before?

Yet, I fear many have not met this game-changing Power Source. Jesus clearly said that “Apart from me you can do nothing.”3 And He also said, “But you will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes on you.”4 I clearly see a problem, and I clearly see the solution.

Looking for the game-changing power switch? It is found only in knowing, embracing and honoring the Holy Spirit. ~Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “The Holy Spirit was given for this one purpose—that the glorious redemption and life in Christ might with divine power be conveyed and communicated to us. We have the Holy Spirit to make the living Christ, in all His saving power, and the completeness of His victory over sin, ever present within us.”5 ~ Andrew Murray

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

1John 14:16-17; 2Hebrews 2:10; 3John 15:5; 4Acts 1:8; 5Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ, Starling and Black Publications, Copyright 2013, Pg. 75

The Secret Place Secrets

The Unused Power Source

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The third member of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit—is commissioned to play a key role in the life of every born-again believer. He lives inside all believers as the personal representative of the triumphant, resurrected Christ. (Don’t let the word triumphant slip by you!)

Jesus Christ modeled the way to victory in this life. He lived it, showed it, displayed it, and demonstrated it perfectly. He won the battle with the flesh, not pleasing Himself, but doing the will of the Father. And guess what? He expects the same behavior from His followers.

We shrink back in fear, “But that isn’t possible!” A natural response, if we’re honest about ourselves. It certainly seems IMPOSSIBLE. And if it is up to us, it is just that. But wait, Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with GOD!”1 Ever wonder why He made such a huge, bold statement?

Herein is the very foundational truth of the Indwelling Holy Spirit. In and of ourselves, we can’t be holy, live holy, model holy, or demonstrate holy! Only Jesus could, and only Jesus did. He knows full well that we aren’t capable of doing it, so He did it for us. Then He sent the power of the Holy Spirit to live in us and enable us to do what we’re all asked to do: “Be holy, even as your Father in heaven is holy.”2

The bottom line is this: We literally have the very same power living in us that Jesus had living in Him. We have the Holy Spirit of God—the great unnoticed Power Source being of none effect in us. Simply put, He is there, but He is unused.

Can you imagine living in a beautiful new home, fully wired with electrical service and equipped with every electronic appliance and gadget on the market; yet you are unware that you must turn on the light switch, and power up the heat and air, the dishwasher, the television, and the computer before any of it will work?

My short response to that is: “What? There’s all this unused power and I’m living in the dark, the cold, and the difficult!”

That, my friend, is a picture of many Christians today. They are born-again, on their way to heaven, but haven’t a clue that there is power in their house. They are living in the dark, the cold, and the difficult; and I might add—the impossible.

Oh how the church needs to awaken to this marvelous truth, “But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”3 O God, help us find the light switch!  ~Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “I want to call your attention to this: that God has got a good many children who have just barely got life, but not power for service.” ~Dwight L. Moody

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

1Luke 18:27; 21 Peter 1:16; 3Acts 1:8

The Secret Place Secrets

The Unnoticed Power Source

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The personal representative of the resurrected Christ—whose name is Holy Spirit—lives inside all believers. And He is there, even if we’ve never felt Him or spoken to Him.

God Himself sent the Holy Spirit to play a key role in every new-creation life. The Bible clearly defines the Holy Spirit’s job description: He will guide us into truth in a world full of fallacies. He will be our Helper, and we certainly know we need help. He will comfort us when life deals us a hard blow. He will teach us the will and ways of God, and get this one—He will help us remember all the things Jesus told us! What a friend this Helper can be, that is, if we get to know Him.1

Yet in spite of the Holy Spirit’s vital role in our lives, He has been mostly unnoticed and even ignored by many Christians. The very plan of God to carry out His work on earth by His own power working in His followers has been foiled by misconceptions of this all-important factor.

Just as the works of Jesus were done because of the Father’s presence in Him, likewise, our works will be done by His presence in us. Check out Jesus’ words in John 14:10 “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” (NIV)

I humbly ask: Do you know the Holy Spirit? Have you met Him? Do you know what He likes and dislikes? Do you know He has feelings? Do you care? Do you know that you should care?

If your honest answer to any of these questions is “no,” you are living far beneath your privileges as a child of God. You are living the Christian life on your own power, without the aid of the Helper. An even worse demise is that you are being drastically short-changed in your relationship with God.

Regardless of where you are today, the Holy Spirit wants you to know Him, seek Him, find Him, and yes, learn to interact with Him. Begin now to pray that God will show you how. He longs to answer that very prayer for you! ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “Are we conscious of His presence? Do we realize the incredible treasure that we have within us? Or do we keep Him buried deep down inside, unaware of the power and the pleasure that’s available in His promise?” ~Chris Tiegreen2

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

1John 14:16-17, 26-27; John 16:13-15

2Chris Tiegreen, author of The One Year at His Feet Devotional, and editor at Walk Thru the Bible Ministries.

The Secret Place Secrets

The Best Invitation You’ll Ever Receive

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Most of us enjoy receiving invitations to parties, weddings, and exciting events that add benefit and spice to our lives. And we might even consider it challenging to get invited to certain gatherings, you know, the ones that signify prestige. Of course, when we do, we RSVP quickly.

A meeting with God Almighty is such a gathering—where unholy man meets with Holy God. According to scripture, God lives inside all born-again believers. He promised to come and abide in us, and therefore, our body becomes His temple. That’s right, we are God’s house.

And then we hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28 saying—“Come to me.” Does that mean to come to the physical place where Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven? Eventually, yes; but for now, we’d have to die to get there. Since we cannot go to where Jesus is physically, He came to us, to live inside His followers by means of His spirit. He clearly told His disciple, “I will be with you always.”

So our invitation to “come to Jesus” is to come to Him in a spiritual sense—a meeting of spirits you might say—our spirit meeting with His spirit. God has set aside a special place just for those two spirits to meet, and it is called the secret place. God is there, and He invites us to come there too.

We are continually summoned by the Lord Jesus to meet and fellowship with His spirit. That representative of the resurrected Christ has a name—He is Holy Spirit. And where will that meeting take place? Right again—in the secret place inside your own being!

Here is the best invitation you’ll ever receive! Jesus says “Come to me” inside your own being. Turn your focus inward and look for Him, and He will meet with you there.

Small footprintKey Scripture: “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21

Small footprintKey Quote: “God himself showed me the way….to return home and to look for God where God can be found—in my own inner sanctuary.” ~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

The Secret Place Secrets

Just Where Is the Secret Place Anyway?

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The mysterious phrase “the secret place” is found in various scriptures in the Word of God. One familiar verse is Psalm 91:1—“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” This implies the existence of a hidden space where you and I can go, and yes, even stay.

We also have Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:6—“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place….” These words clearly state that God the Father is in the secret place.

Based on these two scriptures, we conclude that you and I can go to the secret place where God is at; yet most Christians do not know exactly what it is or where it is.

If we were to ask Christians where the secret place is at, we would probably get some rather vague answers like these: “The secret place is in my prayer closet,” or “somewhere in the spirit realm.” Others might say, “Since my life is hidden with Christ, I can’t really know where it is.” The truth is most Christians are clueless as to where the secret place is. And if we are clueless as to where it is, how will we ever find it?

Let’s look at the words of Jesus in John Chapter 14 for clues: “If a man loves me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (v.23) He also told His disciples that when the Spirit of truth comes, “…you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (v.17)

The meaning of abode is home, dwelling or residence. So, can we also conclude that the Father and the Son come by means of the Holy Spirit to take up residence inside believers? And if God is actually inside believers, is it not then a place where we might look for Him and find Him?

Many of us have not been taught where to find God, but rather we are left to look for Him somewhere up there—in the sky, the heavenlies, or the sweet by and by—yet that is not what the Bible teaches. He can be found inside us.  Have you ever been to that inner place? ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “I have been led to an inner place where I had not been before. It is the place within me where God has chosen to dwell. It is the place where I am held safe in the embrace of an all-loving Father who calls me by name…..It is the place where I can taste the joy and peace that are not of this world.” ~ Henri M. J. Nouwen

For more Secret Place Secrets visit http://www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.

The Secret Place Secrets

God Has Feelings Too

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Sometimes we forget one important truth—we are made in the image of God. Does that mean we look like Him? The truth is, we don’t actually know since no one has ever seen God and lived to tell about it. Does that mean we act like Him? Certainly not, for since the fall of man, we switched sides and started acting like the devil. Does that mean we think like Him? Not here either! The fall robbed us of our God-like qualities and innocence.

So, what about us is in God’s image? I believe it is our ability to think, to process information, and to make choices. But perhaps a more personal look-alike-trait is that we have emotions because God has emotions. Consider this:

When I see earthly parents…….

~ holding a baby on his/her lap—I see a loving Heavenly Father coddling me.

~ smiling as their toddler takes its first step—I see Father God smiling over me when I take a step of faith.

~ consoling a child with a scraped knee—I see a compassionate God picking me up after a fall and telling me it will be OK.

~ disciplining a youth who refuses to obey—I see a gracious God disciplining me when my stubborn heart demands its own way.

~ worrying over a teen that has ran away from home—I see the pain in the heart of God when I stray from Him.

How could we think otherwise? If it is true that God loved us so much He gave up His only Son in order to rescue His lost children, why wouldn’t we know that God has feelings?

God certainly does have feelings of love, joy and compassion; but also of pain, sorrow, and sadness. This is an important fact for us to know, that is, if we are going to pursue a closer relationship with Him.

Think about it—when you and I have feelings, it’s because we really do look a lot like our Heavenly Father! ~ Janie Kellogg

Small footprintKey Quote: “God is a person, and in the deep of His mighty nature He thinks, wills, enjoys, feels, loves, desires and suffers as any other person may.” ~ A.W. Tozer

 

The Secret Place Secrets

Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord

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After years of searching for and writing about the secret place, I recently summed up my findings in an earlier post with this single statement: There is more to this walk with God than I currently know and possess.

 

I believe the biggest mistake we make as Christians is to think that we already know all there is to know about God. That one prideful attitude clearly puts us on the team with those who have “eyes that cannot see and ears that do not hear.” It squarely lines us up on the side of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. It bars our ability to grasp many things Jesus “has to say to us,” and keeps us locked in the same room with those who “cannot bear it now.” It identifies us closely with the woman at the well to whom Jesus said, “If you only knew who it is that speaks to you,” yet we do not know.

 

The person who says “I’ve got it all” blocks his own pathway to experiencing the more Jesus promised His followers. One only needs to read Job 38:1 through Job 42:6 to understand how totally minuscule is our knowledge of the great and mighty God. If this whirlwind discourse to Job doesn’t send us to our knees, then we very likely abide in a sad, prideful state. It will do us good to read it now and then.

 

After an awakening to Job’s own utter smallness, he responds to God: “But now my eyes see You.” I am reminded of the lyrics to Michael W. Smith’s popular song from a few years back:

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord,

Open the eyes of my heart.

I want to see You.

I want to see You.

 

May our prayer today be one of genuine admittance that we are needy—greatly in need of God’s grace and light in our lives. The suitable word here is humility, and oh, how we need it. That is, if the eyes of our hearts are indeed to be opened to see the Lord! ~ Janie Kellogg

 

Small footprintKey Concept:  If we believe that we currently have it all, we will never see, hear, know, or possess the “more” that God promises to us.

 

For more Secret Place Secrets visit www.treasureinearthenvessels.net and follow the footprints.