Awake O Sleeper

This an excerpt from an article written by Jill Austin of Master Potter.com
If you'd like to read the complete article just click on the link.

Intimacy with God is our highest purpose - how much are we seeking His highest purpose for our lives?

If we fully understood God's love and heart for us, we'd be making radical choices to be with Him more than any other activity in our life!

If we had a revelation of His desire to have uninterrupted time with us, we'd turn the world upside down like His disciples did!

We've been lulled to sleep or we're enamored with the trinkets of life while missing the real treasures of God.

Many believers are experiencing "hope deferred" (Proverbs 13:12) "hope deferred makes the heart sick ...", so they're leaving the church because they have no passion, no purpose, no power, and no sense of His presence - but they have no secret life in God either!

Will it take a crisis to bring us into an intimate relationship with Jesus?

Take a look at the life of Deborah

What was it About Deborah that Caught His Gaze?

Deborah's uncompromising dedication moved the heart of God ... and He changed her heart. She spent SO much time in the temple in prayer and worship that she was "dripping with oil". Because of that

• she could hear the Lord's voice clearly
• operate with keen discernment for the times and seasons she faced as well as her daily decisions with the people
• when the call to battle came, she was absolutely ready

Deborah was being prepared for battle in the secret place! This is where the true victory lies - in communing with Him one-on-one. That is our place of safety and truth! It 's time to stop talking about intimacy with God - it's time to REALLY do it!

Who Was Deborah?

Imagine a black teenage girl being elected as Pope and single-handedly tearing down all the walls of division between Catholics and Protestants. It's hard to even fathom that possibility isn't it?

Now try to imagine over 3,000 years ago, that a middle-aged, gray-haired, Jewish housewife and mother was being raised up to lead Israel in one of the most improbable military victories in history!

Allow me to introduce to you our unlikely candidate and heroine of the faith: Deborah.

I've heard very little being taught about her. I always hear about Gideon, Samuel, and some of the other judges, but when I studied Deborah, I fell in love with her. Deborah is very unique and a little controversial because she was a woman who held the highest executive office in the land of Canaan (or Israel) at the time.

An ancient Joan of Ark, Deborah appears in the sacred annals of Israel's history as the nation's 4th judge, the third prophetess (after Miriam and Rachel) and a deliverer of God's people.

Deborah was in a class of her own; her leadership role was unprecedented and unparalleled! In a patriarchal era where there was no precedent for female leaders, she was a woman who led a nation to victory against all odds.

The journey of Deborah is a testimony of the power of just ONE life fully set apart for God. May her song be an invitation to you that a revolution can begin - with one person.

What will you do to ensure that you have a closer walk with God?

What does the Father have for you to do?

Have you asked Him?