Face to Face

They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. Psalms 34:5

Recently, I was reading in the Gospel according to Mark, 

Chapter 1....

Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before You.

I began to think about the face of the Messiah. It was His countenance which caused people to stop and listen, to stop and rethink their way. 

It was His gracious face which caused people to draw nearer to Him, even though His eyes could see to the depth of their souls.

Have we experienced this kind of encounter? Or have we only encountered the faces of fallen man trying to interject the Bible into our minds, with an intellectually based "preaching"? 

I think it is in this place of encountering His face...

that we are able to bow low and draw near. 

When you read the Gospel, you see different reactions to His countenance. Within the Gospel stories, there seems to be a sense of safety, a sense of well being, a sense of welcome- so that many were able to draw near and ask for His touch.

A touch of purity, a touch of pure compassion, a touch of restoration and newness of life. He declared, "Behold I make all things New."

And in the Epistles, it declares, "If any man be in Christ, He is a new creation." 

In the Old Testament we see the importance of a face to face encounter. In Genesis the daily encounter in the Garden....

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.....

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day...
Genesis 2:8, 3:8

Later, as Moses walks with the Lord, his face begins to glow;

it frightens the people, they had not experienced this intimacy, so they placed a veil over his face as he came out of the Tent of Meeting. 

However, there was one who did not walk away from this fear of God's purity of light. 

Joshua would tarry there, in the same place where Moses had stood in the presence of the Lord. 

It was Joshua who later was able to overcome his fear of the evil giants in the Promised Land, he was able to trust in the Lord.

I believe this courage was due to the intimacy of gazing on the countenance of the Lord. 

I realize that no man can see Almighty God face to face, the Creator made this clear to Moses, when he asked to see God's glory. 

That's why I believe it was Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God whom they were encountering. 

And this is why I believe it was necessary for God to send someone in human form, someone who people could encounter face to face; 

someone approachable, because the Creator Himself, dwells in unapproachable light. (1 timothy 6:16)

However, even as I say this, I need to warn, there are many attempts at counterfeit, many forgeries, many frauds. There are "angels of light" like Satan. 

When you see the real thing, you will know. 

Are you seeking His face? (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Messiah has made Himself approachable.

Later still, within the scriptures, David encounters this beautiful One....

One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, 

to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. Psalm 27:4

The very blessing which the priests were taught to declare, after serving in the Temple, is written in Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord bless you and keep you; 

the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 

the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks to a Pharisee, Nicodemas, under cover of night, in a secret meeting. He begins to describe the most unusual experience to this learned man. 

You can tell this man is torn between what his peers say and what he is feeling about Jesus. He is very conflicted. 

He is expecting Jesus to clarify the contradiction he is feeling within but instead the Messiah tells him something which seems preposterous. 

He tells Nicodemus, You must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God.

I am a birth coach and instructor and have attended many births, I have some insight into what Jesus was getting at. 

What is the most important part of birth at the moment of entry into the new domain? Face to face encounter. 

From the quiet, safe, confined place of the womb the child is catapulted into an entirely new realm of experience. 

The child must be swaddled, held close to the breast, hear that familiar voice & heart beat, and be nurtured by the face to face encounter. 

Now many say the child does not see well, when first born, yet scientists say they are absolutely endued with the ability to search for the familiar voice and face of the parent. Maybe it's something Spirit to Spirit rather than natural. 

I am declaring to you that there is a place of intimacy, in getting to know your Creator, it is a phase of development, a first stop in your new life. 

This born again encounter must not be skipped, avoided or replaced with inferior experiences. 

Many Bible teachers and colleges are replacing this place of intimacy with intellectual pursuit. This is a failure of the western church in general. 

In fact, it probably is within our nature, our fallen nature, to try to find our own way to God. However, He has provided the best and only way. He desires to hold you.

I ask your forgiveness because the Gospel has been presented to you this way. I know of it firsthand but as a midwife, I know better. 

Learning is wonderful but it does not replace His embrace. The One who made you, does not expect you to grow from newborn to maturity all at once. He provides a place to nurture you and develop all of who you were meant to be.

Soon, on my web, I will be posting an article called, Made in His Image. This article goes deeper into this "born again" experience, which has been misrepresented, abused and misused in our Christian media and in our churches. 

Abuse? That's a harsh word- but if your leaders or teachers are requiring you to look like them rather than leading you to JESUS LIKENESS...that's spiritual abuse.

An expectation has been placed on you that you should be whole, mature, perfect- to be held in His loving arms;

but it is not about performance, its all about basking in His love. 

Infants are dependent for a reason. So they can grow in the parents likeness and nurture.

I can only tell you now, there is a place of embrace, a place of face to face encounter.

Born again growth & development occurs within the garden of prayer described in Song of Songs 4:6-10. 

Messiah is the gatekeeper....John 10:1-12. Always, in the scripture, you will find parallels in the Old and New Testament.

Scripture verses from Old & New Testament are like a puzzle; when fit together, it provides a beautiful picture. A beautiful picture of an oasis place, provided for you to grow and become like Him. 

Become what? A child of God first, then a friend, then a faithful lover of God; all the potential and promise which is planned for you and so much more.

John 9:34 They (the Pharisees) answered and said to him (to the man born blind), "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us? 

And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? 

He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" 

And Jesus said, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." 

Then he said, "Lord, I believe! And he worshiped Him.

Face to face encounter, there is no replacement for this kind of love and intimacy. 

There is treasure, hidden,  in the garden. This treasure is hidden in relationship with the Master of the Garden. Face to face. 

They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. Psalm 34:5