"Through the Veil.........................."

Through the process of supplying our grandkids with modern technology (Christmas, birthdays, etc.), there has been a brand new Ipod lying on my living-room mantel for quite some time now that has yet to accrue one song. People look at me strangely when I mention ownership, relate its condition, and admit to having no desire for loading any music into it; but, in truth, any solitude that comes to me is usually filled with thoughts of Him. I’m either talking to Him or considering our relationship as it has come to me through the years. Who needs to be entertained as they go? Prayer, for me, is not necessarily fifteen minutes set aside somewhere, a hallowed point in time where I sneak into my private place of petition and assail heaven’s gates. That doesn’t mean, of course, that listening to a CD never occurs now and then. Some contemporary gospel tunes that Hilltop shares recently resurfaced, a desire to worship with them rising up from within, and one of the tracks deals with both the prophet Isaiah catching glimpse of the Almighty and John the Apostle turning around on the Isle of Patmos to witness Jesus in all of His resurrected glory. The lyrics have had me considering whether or not we have allowed grace to diminish the reverence He deserves, in terms of our being comfortable in communicating via long-distance and having no desire to actually step into the fullness of His presence. I’m not sure the latter requires a lot of what Pentecostals preach, a tabernacle sanctifying process wherein we attain a certain level of “holiness” before we can approach Him; nor do I believe ourselves having been "authorized" to replace the Holy Ghost, our arrogance said to be “boldness” and our foolishness labelled “faith”. It’s for sure, though, that the Bible does give witness of his having taken up residence within us and that out of our “belly” can flow “rivers of living water”. Experiencing tangible evidence of those facts, then, in the words of John the Baptist, ought to be as simple as our "decreasing” that He might “increase”. We could be driving down the road, looking up at the stars, or sitting in the third pew from the back; but, if somewhere in the moment, as our spirit hungers to know Him, connection is made, all it takes is allowing Him to come forth……