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Rated XOX

It’s 2022! Happy New Year! And what better way to start the year than with some steamy, passionate sex! Yes, this is still a Christian blog 😊.

Christian mystics throughout the ages have used sexual union as a powerful metaphor for spiritual union with God.  It was Saint Paul (a chaste man, ironically) who said, ““A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.”

In my journey toward wholeness and holiness, I have been wrestling with my sexual brokenness. Years of distorted sexual messages and experiences have configured my mind in such a way that seeing the divine intent in sexual intimacy is a challenge.

To explain let me share a quote from one of the many books I’m currently reading (I may have mentioned before that I’m a book junkie).

“…desire is one of the greatest gifts we can give to another. It is the gift of receptivity. Being received by someone in love, whether in a physical or spiritual way, is one of the most life-affirming experiences we can have. When a wife opens herself to receive a husband in sexual intimacy, or when a trusted friend allows you to share your deepest hurts or hopes with them, you feel seen. These are healing, expansive encounters. And they mirror the inner life of the divine.”

Kelly Deutsch – Spiritual Wanderlust: The Field Guide To Deep Desire

This truth-speaking from Kelly Deutsch caused my soul to leap. I knew it held some truth that I needed to hear although I did not quite get it at first. As often happens, my mind railroaded me with distractions. The provocative phrase ‘when a wife opens to receive a husband’ filled my mind with a flood of images that seemed much too dirty to be associated with God. I struggled with these seemingly opposing forces in my being. Should I go deeper or turn away? Should I be thinking of God this way? Curiosity and shame locked horns.

Only God Himself could help me sort through this entanglement and see what was true. So, I took my thoughts to Him in my usual morning devotions, and this was what I heard Him say:

“Matik, We want you to know that We see your confusion. We see your struggle to untangle your thoughts and desires. We see your heart and mind straining to see purely; to see Us clearly. We see the condemnation that tries to infect as you struggle with your sexuality; your sexual desires entangled with the deepest desires of your heart, and your thoughts toward and about Us. Know this Matik, We are never ashamed. And We are not ashamed of you or shamed by your thoughts. Bring them all to be reconciled at the cross. We can handle it.”

He always knows what to say 😊. My Saviour accepts me; receives me; as I am; unconditionally. He is not waivered or put off by the immature and incompetent bumbling thoughts of a child struggling to comprehend concepts much bigger than himself.

Soothed by the reassuring love of my Papa I was able to push past the surface and lean into the mystery that He wanted to reveal to me… Sexual intimacy is not just the heated sating of physical appetites but two hearts longing to be seen completely, known fully and in the context of that full disclosure to still be desired, wanted and cherished. To have all our flaws and imperfections exposed and still be found desirable. We want to be wanted for who we are without having to pretend or perform. We want to be affirmed that we are beautiful after all. This is what we truly seek, and this is what only God can truly provide in full measure.

God wants to be with you, with no barriers and pretenses (naked), know you fully (inside and out) and have you look into His eyes and see only hot desire and unconditional love for you. Not only that, but He wants to be known by you too, and wanted by you (if you can accept the thought). God is constantly revealing Himself to us for the explicit purpose of captivating us with His incomparable beauty and eternal love in the hopes that we would set our hearts rapturously upon Him and open ourselves to receive Him.

As I said, there is no better way to start this new year than with a passionate love encounter with the Lover of your soul! May He satisfy you all the days of your life and into the blessed union of eternal bliss!

Copyright 2022, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.

If you haven’t yet, check out our FREE Spiritual Growth Foundation Course in which we cover the four foundational principles for spiritual growth and much more! In addition to on-demand videos which you can watch at your leisure, there are downloadable handouts for those who prefer written content.

You Are Loved

Today I have a message for you…

You are treasured.

You are valued.

You are loved.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done.

It doesn’t matter what you haven’t done.

You are precious.

Wherever you come from.

Whatever circumstances you are in.

Jesus gave His life for you.

RIGHT HERE.

RIGHT NOW.

AS YOU ARE.

UNCONDITIONALLY.

UNRESERVEDLY.

YOU ARE LOVED.

Copyright 2020, Matik Nicholls.
All rights reserved.

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The Fire Series: Identity Wars

A few days ago I started a book called The Veil by Blake Healy and I could not put it down. I finished reading it in two days! MY MIND HAS BEEN BLOWN.

The book shares the highlights of Blake’s life as one who could see clearly in the spirit realm from childhood. He describes in amazing detail the unseen activity that surrounds us at every single moment. You might think that the spectacle of angels and demons and the epic drama that goes on behind the scenes is what got me so excited, but it wasn’t.

What completely shook up my world was two things:

  1. The sheer sovereignty of God. God is not in a battle with satan. There is no contest. When God turns up, everything else moves aside. It is only we who give demonic forces the power to operate in our lives and in the earth.
  2. The copious amount of resources that are constantly being deployed by heaven in demonstration of God’s unceasing love for us! All of heaven is literally rooting for us!

These are not concepts that I have not considered before but hearing (it was an audiobook) the outworking of that described in detail took my faith to the next level! In my humble opinion this book is a must-read for all Christians.

There were so many little details that beautifully communicated the heart of God. Like one time Blake describes a church service where Jesus is personally ministering to each person in the congregation but some are ignoring Him and just looking around bored. Blake says that Jesus doesn’t look angry or disappointed; He’s just standing next to them waiting for an opportunity to be welcomed. That simple detail spoke volumes to me! It spoke of the humility and love of Jesus that is beyond compare!

Another time Blake has a vision of a sea of demons being fought by a man. The man has a sword of blue flames that he wields with stunning effect against a massive tidal wave of demonic forces but he is outnumbered…until…he holds hands with a robed woman with a staff who represents the Holy Spirit. Together, they perform a lethally elegant dance-duel that annihilates the horde with beams of blinding white light. A beautiful and powerful representation of what can happen when we partner with the Holy Spirit.

I love how God captures our imagination. These visions are of course just pictorial representations of a spiritual reality but they communicate a reality nonetheless. And that is the point; this is THE reality. There were some angels that Blake recounts when he looked into their eyes he knew this was a creature that had seen the THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. He couldn’t look into his eyes for long without feeling completely unworthy.

The implications of a God that is completely unchallenged in authority and power and at the same time absolutely committed to having an intimate relationship with us is this – the battles we face are 99% in our minds and it is a battle for identity. And this is where the demonic realm has a field day. Think about it, He loves us unconditionally and He has all power. So what can really harm us or stop us? Nothing? Except… the lies of the enemy that we believe. Lies like, “Nobody loves me.” “I’ve done too many sinful things for God or anyone else to love me.” “I am a failure.”

These are all lies (and many more) that the enemy uses to get us to have more faith in him than God. Blake says, “Fear is faith in the enemy.” Because when we believe that the enemy has power over us or that we are not loved, we are in effect saying that we do not believe what God says. We are believing something else….

The Father says that He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die so that He could adopt us as sons and daughters! The Son says that He loves us so much that He gladly went to the cross to make us his sisters and brothers! The Spirit comes and dwells in us testifying of the love of the Father for us every moment! Either we are daughters and sons of God or not? Who will you believe?

Joyfully,

Copyright 2018, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.