A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him . . . .” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us. If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet— getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God— it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ.

I am not certain that God desires formality ad much as He responds to our honest and open cxommunication that is led by His Spirit. And His Spirit leads us into a relationship that is at once respectful, and overwhelming, if not formal. In our contemporary American culture we have learned that we can be respectful, and totally connected with God without formality. When we cry out Abba, Father, we cry out in an informal way as demonstrated by our Savior. Formality is not called for, but intimate connection is…JDV

Only after the amazing delight and liberty of realizing what Jesus Christ does, comes the impenetrable “darkness” of realizing who He is.

Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Once, the Bible was just so many words to us — “clouds and darkness”— then, suddenly, the words become spirit and life because Jesus re-speaks them to us when our circumstances make the words new. That is the way God speaks to us; not by visions and dreams, but by words. When a man gets to God, it is by the most simple way— words.

And as the Bible teaches us,(Matthew 19:14) our relationship to Him should  be like that of a child, and we need not truly understand everything; the Spirit of God within us when connected to the Holy Spirit of God, and the word of God, provides peace and reassurance and the knowledge we need exactly when we need it…JDV