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You cannot remain the same when you have been with Jesus.

By Dawn Hill

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.- Acts 4:13

The last nine words of this passage ring through my spirit, as if echoing down a long corridor. A question has been weighing heavily on me for the past several days, ever since the Holy Spirit led me to Acts 4:13. My mind wonders of Peter as he stood with John before distinguished elders, rulers, and priests, an uneducated and seemingly common fisherman who had denied Jesus three times while warming himself in front of a fire was now releasing the fire of the Holy Spirit from within.  I wonder if this question crossed his mind.  “Do they recognize that I have been with Jesus?” It is a question for us all.

Intimacy with Christ, that deep place of relationship and communion, is vital in the life of every believer professing Jesus Christ. Without intimacy, without knowing Him, we spiritually suffocate under a blanket of stagnation, and the cobwebs of complacency soon cloak the threshold to the secret place, leaving no recognition of having been with Jesus.

This word is not to bring criticism, but to stir a love sickness within you for that longing to be recognized as having been with Him. I believe there are many facets of God and His nature that we are to embrace and to emanate as we become one with Christ, and the most important is intimacy.

That I may know Him

I hear the call of His heart so strongly in this hour for His bride to know Him, to be known by Him, and to be known as having been with Him. Before we can emanate His holiness, purity, and righteousness, we must know Him. We must be intimately acquainted with His ways and His Word. When we read His Word as more of a documentary than a love story, we overlook the wedding vows, the covenant of marriage to our Beloved.

Can I be transparent with you in this moment? My heart aches to know Him even more deeply. When I think of eternity, I do not contemplate seeing saved family members and loved ones. My eyes are set on the throne room. I long to worship Him forever and to never take my eyes off of Him. My heart's cry harmonizes with King David's, “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

Paul's words have lodged in my being like an arrow shot from a bow, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection.” (Philippians 3:10) There is a longing within me that will never be satisfied with simply knowing information about Jesus Christ. I am not content in treating the Holy Spirit as a renter in His temple. I desire to see what Abba Father is doing. I want to know Him, and though I have denied Jesus in my own ways at times in my life, whether in silence or in partial obedience, which is really disobedience, I long to be recognized as one having been with Jesus. My God, the world would not know what to do with a resurrected church that is uncompromising and unwavering in her allegiance and devotion to Almighty God. But it is time that they catch the second Act.

I am restless in my spirit because I feel the pull to come closer and to die. I sense the urgency to know Him while doing the greater works. I refuse to do miracles, signs, and wonders without knowing Him. When we truly know Jesus and have been with Him, we will honor Him by doing what He did while He walked on this earth in the flesh, all the while pointing people back to Jesus. He wants us to be recognized as having been with Him, regardless of our background, our education, and our past. He wants us to demonstrate His nature in everything that we do, especially as we pass people in our everyday lives that need to encounter Him.

Do not talk yourself out of this passionate relationship with Jesus Christ because you do not have the credentials of education or upbringing. God is not looking for your degrees. He is looking for those who will give them their “yes” to being recognized as having been with Him. It is not in the walking on water that brings recognition of intimacy. It is the Holy Spirit, the Presence of God resting upon a vessel that sets seemingly common individuals apart from the crowd. You were made for intimacy with Christ. May this question permeate every area of your life and draw you ever closer to Him. You cannot remain the same when you have been with Jesus.

Dawn Hill is a prophetic voice and writer known as the Lovesick Scribe. Her ministry focuses on passionately pursuing the Bridegroom while encouraging others to do the same. She serves at Impact HUB in Bristol, Virginia, training and equipping fellow believers to hear the voice of God and to function in the gift of prophecy. She resides in Virginia with her husband and daughter.

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