Theresa Dedmon

Just as teenagers can live in the same house as their parents, yet choose not to live __lose_ to them in partnership, so we can choose to be children of God, yet live very distant from God in our hearts. On the other hand, we can choose to have the closest partnership with Him, in which we know what He thinks, believes, and acts and what is important to Him. In this place of intimacy, we also discover just how close He wants to be with us.

According to Christ, the pathway to revelation, the heart of revival, and the fullness of the Kingdom of God is becoming child- like. Becoming dependent as children in our relationship with our heavenly Father forces us to lose our religious mindsets and protocol. Staying in a place of wonder and trust will keep us from becoming easily offended by the ways God chooses to manifest Himself in our lives.

One day a young daughter was watching her mother make a roast for the family. She watched as her mother cut off the two ends of the roast and put it in the pan, along with the potatoes and vegetables. Perplexed by the procedure, the child asked why her mother cut off both ends. The mother smiled and answered, __ecause that__ the way grandma always did it._ The next time the child saw her grand- ma, she asked her why she did this. Her grandma answered that she had cut off the ends of her roasts and baked them in a small pan because the stove she had was so small.Like the girl__ mother, many of us do things a certain way be- cause that__ the way they have always been done, and we never nd out if those things are still relevant today. So let__ take a moment and think outside the box of what has been done in the past, asking God to reveal Himself to us afresh.