Holy Gossip

Gossip. 

A word that can describe the single-handed destruction of one's character.

Gossip.

A word that causes every leader in a house of faith to cringe as if Freddy Krueger had just had his way with a chalkboard.

Gossip. 

Something that no passionate believer would ever admit to being a willing party to.

And yet....

I bet you think you know where I'm going with this, huh?

A rant about an epidemic of rot in the Bride of Christ where we deface each other?

A couple of choice scriptures to quote that supremely make my point?

Well, nope. 

I'm not talking about gossip as it applies to each other...I'm talking about gossip as it applies to our God.

Yep...I'm talking about Gossiping about the 

 Creator of the Universe.

Hahaha. Papa just told me that some of you might even think you know where THIS is going...that I'm putting a positive spin on it...like telling the world about Him is the 'gossip' I'm referring to.

Not so. 

At all. 

I'm talking about straight up, bold face, gossip.

Got your attention??

Lol, let me explain:

Thursday morning I was stealing a little time with my Lover and was lost in the song "He's Like" that Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger sings. She was pouring out these characteristics of our Abba: "He's like wind, He's like the rain, He's like fire, He's like oil.."

And it was so powerful. 

You could feel the depth of her passion for Him and the deep conviction with which she sang those simple identifying lyrics. You could tell from her body language, her facial expression, her devotion, that she not only believed this about Him, but that she KNEW it. 

Some of us have had this awesome, humbling honor of being in His presence when He blew across us like wind, fell upon us and cleansed us like the rain, burned us with His firey passion, soothed and healed us like oil...not in theory, but in REALITY.

Oh, to know Him this way...

Even had I not already made my own history with Him, just seeing her unabashedly adore this God would have made me believe it. There is just something powerful in first hand knowledge.

I was listening to the crowd singing and worshiping with her....I, myself, was caught up in it with her.

And then God spoke:

"Second-hand knowledge"

I was a tad startled...I mean, how random is that? Like, really..?

"Second-hand knowledge?"

"Yes," He replied.

I waited for more, but He didn't go any further. I love/hate when He does that, hahaha. It's like He gives me just enough to peak my interest so I will dig to find Him and the revelation He has waiting for me.

So I sat. 

Thinking.

"Second-hand knowledge.....second-hand knowledge....What IS second-hand knowledge??"

 So I looked it up.(Thanks dictionary.com! )

sec·ond·hand

[sek-uhnd-hand] Show IPA

adjective

not directly known or experienced; obtained from others or from books: Most of our knowledge is secondhand.
 

My revelation sensors started tingling, lol. 

Why was Steffany's worship so powerful? Why were Bill Johnson's, Heidi Baker's, Apostle Ron Carpenter's words so life changing? 

It was all....

first·hand

[furst-hand] Show IPA

adverb

 

from the first or original source: We heard the news of the accident firsthand from a witness.

 

adjective

 

direct from the original source: firsthand knowledge of the riot.

  

Could it be that the reason our houses of faith are lacking in the miraculous....lacking in the setting of captives free...lacking in the tangible manifest is because we, as leaders, have grown lazy in our chase of the Holy One....that we have settled for second hand information bc it SOUNDS like Him, instead of seeking Him out daily and spending time with Him to get to KNOW Him so we CAN say what He is truly like....As if ANY mortal could ever truly know who He is? 

Is it bad to repeat stories of the goodness, faithfulness, miracles, and judgements of God? 

NO! Absolultely NOT!  

In fact that's biblical! He warned the Israellites against NOT telling the future generations about it, but what I'm hitting at is the longer you retell without experiencing it yourself, the more opportunity there is for twisting and polluting the character of God, Himself.

Our testimony of His nature and His heart will not come back void...the Word of God says this clearly, but think about this, if you will.

Which is more compelling in a court of law?

 A firsthand or secondhand witness?

Along the same lines, which is more compelling in a setting of faith? A firsthand knowledge of the heart of Abba Father, or secondhand information that we have 'heard' to be true? Its obvious when the two are compared side by side...

Why cant WE see it? 

Papa...we want to know You more...I want to know You more. I want what comes out of my mouth in worship, in word, in scolding my children, in ministering to my husband, in teaching, in the grocery store, in the hospital, in the parking lot...in my LIFE to be FIRST hand knowledge. 

I live to know You more.