The Bridge Between Faith and relationship

Several years ago Oz and I began receiving prophetic words from reliable sources that seemed to align and confirm one another. “You are called to be a bridge.” We were told several times in one year. We begin to ask the Lord about this and the realization came to us that there is a need for a bridge between the Word of Faith message we have received and the truth about relationship with the Lord that is not focused on divine health and getting needs met. 

We wholeheartedly believe that what Jesus did on the cross was an amazing gift to whosoever believes. He took with Him the curse of poverty and demolished it, He also destroyed death so that we could have eternal life in the presence of God plus He defeated sickness and disease. There are countless scriptures to back this up, in the old and new testaments and for us this is a matter of inheritance, it is linked to our sonship not our works or performance. We have this incredible blessing as a right as His child just as our children have rights as Ozmun’s. Regardless of their behavior, nothing can negate the fact that they are Ozmun’s. 

Men have adapted this truth to fit their circumstances, stretching doctrine to fit their personal experiences. None of us is perfect and the temptation is great to try to understand when our lives do not match God’s Word but this reality should not change the truth of the power of the cross. Jesus in fact is our substitute; sin, sickness, poverty and death were taken to the cross, put on Him and defeated. Freedom from sin, sickness, poverty and death belong to us as His children free from the curse that was imposed on Adam and Eve because of the blood covenant that God has with His son Jesus and our covenant with Jesus gives us legal rights to this inheritance. The only loophole is our free will. Just as Adam and Eve had free will in the garden, we share the same today, we can freely give our inheritance away, be ignorant on how to receive it or maybe not even know how to access this provision given to us. 

For me, I learned how to be a receiver, I began to accept that God was able to do all that He promised and I even began to believe that He would do it for me. What I was missing is the point, while He wanted me to appropriate all that He meant me to have, He also wanted to know me in the process. He wanted me to love Him in return, to understand that He too has emotions and that my actions have an effect on those emotions. While this is a legal transaction it has the potential to be so much more, but we need a bridge to get there. 

We each begin our journey with the Lord at different places, if you came needing a savior than that is how you view Him, if you came needing a friend, comfort, assurance all of these roles He is willing and able to fill in our lives and does so without hesitation. The next step is often missed because we do not understand how to build relationship with each other much less God. Relationships take two people, each one coming with their individual expectations and personalities. Some are shy and reserved, only exposing small pieces of themselves at a time or possibly never exposing any at all. Some fill the room with laughter and facades’ hoping no one sees past the images they project possibly wondering if truth would change everything. 

God is actually interested in all of it, the truth, the stuff others may not be patient enough to listen for or too afraid to find out. God will not reject us or withhold His love from us based on any actions or behaviors we project. He is love, always seeing the best, always hoping, never giving up or walking away. This type of relationship changes our prayers; we come to Him fully exposed and honest, talking about our fears and our joys knowing we are fully accepted and with His full attention at our disposal. The beautiful part is He comes with the same, wanting to share Himself with us and as we develop this relationship we easily receive His best and are eager to give Him the same also.