All too often we think it happens in another part of the world but it is happening here in our country, in your country. Hope for Justice needs our help.  

Click on the link, then the video - Stand with us to stamp out Human trafficking

http://vimeo.com/51147044

Always be a child

You'll find this post over at the KJV blog too

I'm finding it difficult to think of something to write this week but as I sit here and type I'm remembering a song I heard last night called 'Always be a Child'

When I think on this I am reminded of my own father and how I saw him as my hero, my friend, my protector. I looked up to him but I realise that not everyone can say the same about their father. Some have been abused mentally and physically by their father and I cannot for one minute comprehend what life must have been like for them, what growing up must have been like for them, what they must have felt knowing that the abuse they suffered was at the hand of someone who should have been there for them protecting them, taking care of them. The joy they should have known taken from them so that all they knew was tears, heartache, cruelty ... No, I can't comprehend it at all ...
but I am reminded of the parable Jesus told in Luke 15 and I see here in this parable the Father heart of God.
I see here a father loving his child no matter what. This son had become dis-satisfied with his life and had decided he would leave the family home, decided he could do better on his own and asked his father for his inheritance now. His father gave him his portion but the son spent every last penny and ended up with nothing, having to work feeding the pigs and he would have eaten what they ate, he was so hungry.
The son finally came to his senses, realised that even the servants in his father's house were better off than he was and so he returned home. You can read how his father ran to him when he saw him, perhaps he had been out each day looking to see if his son had returned and this particular day here he was coming toward him; what joy as the father ran to him and embraced him. It didn't matter where his child had been or what he had done he was glad he was home and brought out the best robe for him and put rings on his fingers and shoes on his feet and organised a feast because his son had returned to him.

I know this parable usually speaks of how the prodigal son returns after being away from his father and tends to speak of reconciliation but this parable shows me too the father heart of God, a father sending his only begotten son into this world, so filled with darkness and cruelty, that the path to the father's house would be found, the way to it would be made clear and light would flood the way.

My heart goes out to those whose own earthly fathers do not treat them right but I do know we have a heavenly father who will always treat us right, who will not let one of them fall from his hand of protection, care, and love. He loves us with an everlasting love and we are ever before his face because of what Jesus Christ did for us at Calvary. Isaiah 49 says Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Our heavenly Father loves us, knows us, we can cry out to him knowing he hears, knowing he cares and will do nothing to harm us, knowing he loves us and knowing we will always be a child -

Always be a child
http://youtu.be/1QcBgG6JLl0

Ephesians 1:4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will

We have been adopted, chosen and my prayer is that we will ever run to Him in times of trouble, struggle, turmoil, fear, doubt, heartache - he waits with open arms.

Luke 15:11-32
And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

I've had quite an interesting time looking through some old letters that I received way back from a relative living in Papatoetoe, New Zealand. What a lovely lady Evelyn was and very instrumental in encouraging me in my new walk with the Lord.  My beliefs at the time were nowhere near biblical and Evelyn and I had great discussions albeit in letters.  She never said anything horrible about my beliefs but continued to tell me about her love for the Saviour.  I am so glad the Lord put me in touch with her as I came to realizethat I must have been quite mixed up spiritually and the Lord used Evelyn to gently get my feet back onto that narrow path.  What a wonderful Saviour.  Evelyn went to be with the Lord a number of years ago but she is someone who, despite never having met her, I am thankful was part of our family and was someone who loved the Lord Jesus Christ as her Saviour.  

Ps 24 - The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof: the world, and they that dwell therein.

A passage of scripture I so easily forget. I know I am a child of God because of my salvation but this verse is telling me the whole world is the Lords. Not just the creature comforts of lush greenery, blue skies, turquoise seas, food in the fields but those who dwell there and that means me and you - everyone in the world. We are the Lords - and what a wonderful place it would be if everyone took that on board.

If everyone looked at scripture and saw the goodness and mercy of God. We were made in his image, to have fellowship with him but sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and that disobedience has passed down through the generations and so it goes on today. Oh that men would look to the Lord,
He that came down and dwelt among us;
He that was obedient while here on earth, obedient even to death on the cross;
Making a way for man to draw closer to his maker and fellowship once more with him.

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? David asks.

The bible says He that has repented of sin and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour,  can stand with clean hands and a pure heart before the throne of God, clothed in the righteousness of our great and wonderful Saviour Jesus Christ.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and see the blessings that he bestows upon you.

Psalm 24:
The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof: the world and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob Selah.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting door: and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Life up your heads O ye gates; even lift them up ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in,
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Church Youth Day

Fabulous day yesterday at the Open Day for our Youth Club.  Our church opens it's doors every Friday evening to a group of 11-16 year olds and they come in and have a great time playing pool, table tennis.  They use the Wi and Exbox or just sit around on bean bags and chill, chatting to their friends. We have a 15 minute God slot where we either show a video, have a question and answer time and the nice thing is most of these kids are not from Christian homes but they come regularly each weekand ask some really good questions.
Well during the school holidays we opened our doors for 2 days and invited all the kids in the area to come and see what we did.  We did breakfast from 9.00- 10.30 and then did lunch for them around 1 p.m.  It was 2 very successful and fun filled days.  They played a type of golf game, sang on the karioki, played with the other games and just had a great time.  We even played the chocolate game where you roll the dice, if you get a 6 you put on a coat, hat, scarf, gloves then try and cut into a bar of chocolate with a knife and fork.  Once through the paper you get to eat a square of chocolate but if another person gets a 6 you have to take the hat, scarf etc. off and it's there turn.  I've never heard so much laughter from a group of kids.

We didn't think we'd have enough food the second day but the Lord was good and provided with even enough for seconds.  Sad part is, we didn't get any photographs but who knows next year we may have to put on extra days.

The battle belongs to the Lord - Part 3

And what of Moses - his battle, among many, was crossing the Red Sea and even being brought out of Egypt didn't mean he would have it easy, there were still battles to face.

Exod 17 - Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.  So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.  And it came to pass when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.  But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat thereon and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.  And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Joshua frustrated/defeated Amalek and his people but the battle made Moses weary.  His hands grew tired but the Lord didn't leave him, there were two who had gone with him up that hill, two who lifted those feeble, weary worn hands.  They were Moses' support.
Brothers and sisters are waiting to support you in your battle - ask the Lord to send them to hold your weary hands up by praying for you or to physically hold them up for you.  The Lord will help you prevail.

I could speak of Gideon, Samson, David, or countless others who had their battles to face but Jesus doesn't only want to fight our battles with us, he wants us to gain a victory over them - Why? because he wants to equip us, to equip us to go to battle for him. He wants us on the battlefield.

A few friends and I took part in the Race for Life (fund raising for Cancer Research) a few weeks ago and we made sure we had on the right clothing and footwear. It wouldn't have done us any good to go off and try to do a 5k walk, or run as the case was for some people, in stiletto heeled shoes.  We needed to dress appropriately for what we were about to undertake. 
It's the same when we get up on a morning to go out ready for the day, you're dressed for whatever the day will bring.  If you're going to work you may have on a suit or a skirt and blouse, if you're cleaning the house you might just be in jeans and a t.shirt but whatever job you are going to do you will have dressed appropriately.  We need to equip ourselves to get onto the battlefield. If we are to face the enemy, to speak out for what we believe is right, to speak out and tell others about the love of Jesus, we need to dress apprpriately, we need to put on our armour.

Eph 6:10 - Finally, my brethren be strong int he Lord and in the power of hi smight. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world ,against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.  For which I am an ambassador in bonds; that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

In other words, we need our armour on.  We need the

Belt of truth - buckle it around your waist
Eph 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour; for we are members one of another.

Breastplate of righteousness - wrap it around your chest
Phil 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

Gospel of Peace- take it to others, spread it abroad
Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, an dbring glad tidings of good things.

Shield of faith - sometimes it's not just our own faith we need to rely on, the Lord is our shield, our faith is in Him.
Psalm 3:3 - But thou O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up on mine head.
Psalm 28:7 - the LORD is my strength and my shield, my heartt rusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him

Helmet of Salvation - The Lord covers us. He is our covering.
Psalm 140:7 God the Lord,the strength of my salvation, thou has covered my head in the day of battle.

Sword of the Spirit - the word of God.  We know that everything that is written in the word is our defence.
Heb 4:12 for the word of God is quick, and powerful,and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow ,and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

We most definitely need to put the whole armour on but how do we do it - praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit.

Prayer is our lifeline- it's how we talk to the Lord, it's how we are built up.
If we are to equip ourselves to get onto the battlefield then we most certainly need to pray.  To pray for those lost in sin.  But there's a battle going on for our minds too, even as Christians the enemy doesn't just leave us alone so we must continually pray. 1Thess 5:17 Pray without ceasing.  Applies to every part of our life.

We are being prepared for the battle to win souls.  Let's go into our prayer closet and pray, pray pray.  Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, for courage to openyour mouth and speak out.

There's a grea tday coming friends.  A day when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ returns to this earth. He will set foot on the mount of Olives, it will cleave in two and eyes that didn't know him will.  Eyes that do know him will rejoice because they know the victory is won - the battle is almost over but until then we must battle on.  We must face our battles one day at a time calling always on the Lord to help us fight them.  Praying continually.

The victory was won at Calvary, the day the Saviour of the world gave his life for us.

Just before I finish I'd like you to listen to this great song by the Gaithers, it says it all, just click on the link below
http://youtu.be/_LYFVJDz9co
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 
He will strengthen you on the battlefield for him.  He will strengthen you to face any battle you are going through and he wont let you face it alone.  Trust him to be the Lord, strong and mighty in battle (Ps 24:8)

Zechariah 4:6 - Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.

The battle belongs to the Lord - Part 2

I remember at work when I thought I was going to have to go to battle to win a tribunal when job evaluation came in and my salary was going to be reduced by thousands of pounds a year.  I was doing the work but they didn't want to pay me for it but what a wonderful Saviour we have.  The Lord showed me how I needed to plan my attack and to pray.  Instead of it being something awful like I'd been told, everything went smoothly and the governors agreed that I wouldn't lose the salary: I would stay on the salary point I was on and not lose anything. Our wonderful Saviour had taken care of the battle for me.  Just last week the Lord was helping me fight another battle at work when everyone was getting tetchy because it was the end of the school year, complaining and saying horrible things but the Lord fought the battle with me, showed me again my plan of action and told me to pray and helped me to stay calm through it all.

I'm reminded too of Elisha who had a battle of his own to face (2 Kings 6) when the King of Syria wanted to harm him.  The King of Syria waged war with Israel and Elisha warned the King of Israel not to go to certain places, and infact the king's life was saved by him heeding Elisha's words.  Well obviously the King of Syria wans't too happy about that and when he found out it was Elisha who was warning the King of Israel he sent out horses and chariots and a whole host to take Elisha.

Elisha had taken his servant with him and this servan thad risen early and was probably very terrified to see a huge angry mob of an army surrounding the city and he feared for their lives.  He said to Elisha 'Alas,my master! how shall we do?.  In other words, 'get us out of this one if you can'.  Elisha's answer was 'fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them'.  Elisha then prayed and asked the Lord to open the eyes of his servant, and what a sight he beheld, the moutain  full of a heavenly host, a fiery host of chariots and horses surrounding Elisha, far more able to defeat those enemies than any man - and it had taken prayer.

Ask the Lord to open your eyes today - to open your eyes to see - see each brother or sister on their knees praying for you, praying for your situation. Pray for yourself too, cry out to the Lord for help and see for yourself the heavenly host that surrounds you. 
The bible says that the angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them (Ps34:7).  Delivers them from what - from the battles you face, from the enemy, who the bible says goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; but the Lord is the Lion of Judah seeking those who are his and going ahead of them into the battle.  Don't allow the enemy to defeat you.  Battle on.

And what of Joshua - Joshua's battle was Jericho, and to cut a long story short, the children of Israel couldn't go out or go into the city and the Lord told Joshua what he must do (Joshua 6).  Encompass the city; go round with the ark 7 days, blow the trumpets and the walls will fall.  He took God at his word, they walked round Jericho 7 times, the trumpet was blown and the walls fell.  Joshua listened to all that the Lord said to him.  In fact you could say the Lord, in the form of the ark went with them or before them.  The Lord spoke words of courage always to Joshua, read it, read the number of times 'courage' is mentioned to Joshua; and the Lord said that as he was with Moses so he'd be with Joshua

Joshua 1:5-7
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.  Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.

I will not fail you, nor forsake you the Lord said to Joshua - and the Lord will not fail you either.
Why are we so quick to think the Lord will not do for us what he has done for countless others that are mentioned in the bible.  Why do we think that the Lord will not do battle for us or that what we face isn't as bad as Bill or Brenda down the street.  Jesus loves us with an everlasting love and I can tell you he will never fail us.  He will not fail you, the walls of whatever your battle is will fall.  It may take 7 days or 7 minutes - 70 years or 7 years.  You may even be fighting your battle until the Lord takes you home but He is there waiting to help you fight and defeat the enemy.

And what of Moses ...

The Battle Belongs To The Lord - Part 1

Judges 4: 1-10

Here we read about Deborah, a prophetess who judged Israel in the days after Ehud died; and we read that the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of God.

Now Deborah's name means 'bee' yes, the buzzy sort, and when I thought about the meaning of the name I was reminded of how bees are said to be industrious; they gather the pollen and honey is made and I could see how Deborah's name could apply to her.  She had the honey of God's word, she was his mouthpiece and she would be industrious in helping Barak defeat Sisera who was the captain of King Jabin of Hazor's army.  Sisera had 900 iron chariots and the children of Israel had been oppressed by this man for 20 years, so much so, that they cried out to the Lord for help.

I'm guessing that as a prophetess, Deborah was mightily used of God in many ways.  She sat under the plam tree and as the people came to her Deborah judged them on many issues I'm sure.
I believe that the Lord told Deborah to call Barak that day to hear what he had to say to him.  And she told Barak that he was to go to the battle agains Sisera; but his answer was 'I'll only go if you will go with me'.

Now I presume, and maybe some of you do too, that men who go to battle must be built for it, men with muscle and well you'd hardly think Barak would want a woman to go to battle with him.  But maybe he wasn't built for battle, maybe he was someone who was small, who had a wiry frame and perhaps he thought he'd never win a battle against someone of Sisera's might, all those chariots would make the best of us afraid.

I'm sure Barak knew that the Lord had delivered many a man out of the enemies hand but here he seemed to be ready to disobey God's word if Deborah wouldn't go with him.  I tend to think though it was more the case that, if Deborah went with him the people would see her and know that God was with them as she was God's mouthpiece and they would know the battle was already won.  Deborah told Barak the Lord said 'go' but his reply 'only if you go with me' so you never know but maybe he just didn't think the Lord would win the battle him.

What about you, think for a minute about your own battles.  As Christians we face battles of one kind or another throughout our Christian life.  How many of us I wonder face battles that we think we can't win - battles of the mind or addiction. 
Our God is a mighty God, Ps 24:8 tells us The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle'.  He can help you win any battle that you're going through.

One of the biggest battles in my life that I had to overcome was my divorce. I never thought I'd see the day when I wouldn't grow old with myhusband but theday he walked out on me I didn't think for one minute that I was going to get through it.  I battled each day with guilt, wondering where I'd gone wrong, I battled with every kind of emotion - anger, hatred and lots of others but you know, Jesus was right alongside of me, in fact some days he was right in front of me fighting those battles for me.  I just cried out to him each step of the way, taking one day at a time and eventually, even though my husband and I didn't get back together I knew that with the Lord's help  Ihad won my battle.  Our God is indeed a mighty God.

Deborah didn't hesitate when Barak said 'I want you to go with me'.  This mighty woman of God was determined she would face the battle with him, but she did tell him that he wouldn't have the honour   of killing Sisera; the Lord would give Sisera into the hand of a woman.
Deborah wasn't afraid of the battle because she believed the Lord, she took him at his word and she was ready to face the enemy with Barak because she trusted the Lord would prevail.  And so they went to Kedesh where Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali and he went up to the battle with ten thousand men and Deborah went up with him to Mount Tabor.  Meanwhile Sisera gathered together all of his chariots,nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, and went to the river Kishon.  This was where Deborah and Barak faced their battle.

Deborah then told Barak 'up, for this is the day which the Lord has delivered Sisera into you hand. Is not the Lord gone out before you' she said.  The Lord was indeed going to deliver the enemy into Barak's hand.  The outcome was that Barak won the battle, Sisera fled and was killed, quite gruesomely, I'm afraid, by a woman - you can read about it all in Judges 4, but I want to ask you -

'Who or what is your enemy today'? - is your mind full of turmoil, family situations getting out of hand, illness knocking at your door and getting you down, work load getting too big? - you get up each day and wonder just how you'll get through it.  It's a battle you think you can't win.
Well I'm here to tell you - you can win the battle, the enemy is not going to crush you because there's someone who's gone to the battle with you.  Somone who's come alongside - you have a Deborah.

You have a Deborah in all the prayers of those who's heart the Lord has put you on and they might not even know why they are praying for you but the Holy Spirit has touched them and brought you to the forefront of their mind to send up sweet prayers to the Lord for you.  Jesus loves you with an everlasting love and hasn't left you to face the battle alone.  He's not only got an army of people praying for you but He himself has gone before you.

You know after Jesus death the disciples must have felt so alone,wondering what would happen to them.  Jesus had told them 'I am with you always' but they couldn't see it - through their grief it was if they were going to have to struggle and battle through the days ahead, they just couldn't see it.  Couldn't see how they'd get through those long days and nights, not until the Holy spirit touched them and rested upon them at Pentecost.

Do you need a touch from the Lord, are the fiery darts from the evil one piercing every chink in your armour.  They don't need to.  When David went to battle Goliath he used a small stone to pierce the smallest chink in the giants armour and Israel's enemy lay defeated.  Put on the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:11) and not one fiery arrow will pierce it.  The Lord will defeat your enemy, He will go into battle with you - He will help you defeat the foe.

You are beautiful

This is what greeted us as we arrived at the 'Cherish' Conference and I have to say I had the most fantastic four days. I have always wondered about these huge conferences and wasn't quite sure what to expect but the teaching was excellent and the praise and worship very moving. 
One of the speakers was Lucinda Dooley.  Lucinda showed a picture of her mum on the big screen and said that her mum had left her a beautiful legacy of faith.  She went on to ask what kind of legacy we would leave and this really did bless me.
Lucinda went on to say much more. She said that we ought to be leaving a lasting legacy. Her mum could have left a negative legacy and if that was your mum and you'd been caused a hurt the Jesus is the restorer of the soul and you can honour your mum just because she's give you life.
We needed to be leaving something of real worth and value, a good foundation for those coming after you.
She stressed the need to get our children to church so that they can get through seasons of challenge and said that every choice we made would take us somewhere and that we needed to ensure the choices we made were not selfish. If we made the right choices then we would be leaving a spiritual inheritance for our children's children.
Paul, she said, left a lasting legacy of genuine faith. We need to do the same. This genuine faith needs to be a raging fire. A real fire spreads fast and is difficult to contain and this is what we need to do, fan into flame the fire on the inside of us.  I would love to be able to explain in more detail what she said with the scriptures she used but I hope the little bit I've shared will be a blessing to you.

Quite a number of years ago I visited a little gospel mission in my home town and met a lovely lady called Hilda.  It turned out Hilda knew my family and with tears in her eyes told me that to see me going on with the Lord was such a blessing to her.  Apparently as a young girl she remembered my great, grandmother and said how much she loved the Lord and that she was such a great prayer warrior.  She remembered my grandma Murray praying for her children's children.  This was a huge blessing to me and even more so after listening to Lucinda Dooley asking what type of legacy we would leave behind.
I have a very clear memory of seeing my great grandmother.  I remember my aunt Vi taking me as a young child to visit someone in hospital. I remember the room having an old fashioned metal bed and the walls being painted white with a small window with bars across it in the corner of the room.  In the bed was a very frail old lady and as I got older I realised that this had been my great grandmother and my aunt Vi confirmed it.

I determined after this message from Lucinda that I wanted to leave behind the type of legacy my great grandmother had left; one of faith in a Saviour who loved her and one of praying for her children's children.
I have three of the most beautiful grandchildren and am blessed that they are growing up with Christian parents, but I shall still be praying that the Lord will have his hand upon their life just as he has had on mine all these years. What a wonderful and most awesome Saviour Jesus Christ is.

Just chillin' out with a cuppa before going into conference.

'I'

SIN - only a three letter word but such a big thing. Sin is something which separates the unbeliever from the love of God but John 3:16 says
'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life'

In other words Jesus death at calvary took care of SIN - my sin, your sin and one important thing about that word SIN is the middle letter I. You see I was the one that committed sin, nobody else did it for me, I did it but Jesus paid the penalty for the sins I committed by giving himself up to death so that I could be set free from sin. I'm so glad I repented of my sin and asked him to be my Saviour and Lord at an early age.

You see sometimes it becomes more difficult the older a person gets to accept who Jesus is and sometimes the reason for that is -

PRIDE - Pride is a strange thing. A person can become too proud to admit that they have a problem, too proud to think that they have need of a Saviour and did you notice there's that letter again, right at the centre of PRIDE - I.
A person can become so proud that they believe they are good people, not sinners, and that God will not allow them to go to hell, but the bible says 'For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:2). Every person no matter who they are have sinned, God says so Romans 6:23 says For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Because He loves us He also made a way for us to be free from that sin - But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

If you are reading this and realise that you are a sinner then don't let pride stand in your way, repent of your sin - turn away from doing what you know to be wrong and start following the one one who is always right - The Lord Jesus Christ. 'I', will not then be at the centre of your life but He who is the great I AM will be.

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26

FAITH - Forsaking all I Trust Him

There have been times in my Christian life when I've worried that I've lost my salvation. Times when I'd let the Lord down and wondered if I'd committed so great a sin that the Lord had written me off, had crossed my name out of the Lamb's book of life.
I'd listened to preachers talk about stirring up the gifts of the spirit and wondered why I felt flat and unusable and it was times like these I thought of myself as an Esau, who had sold his birthright for a morsal of meat and although he had sought it and shed tears he found no place of repentance (Gen 25:27-34).
I wondered if I had got to a point in my life when even though I had asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit, nothing happened; I asked myself the question 'am I lukewarm, has my flame gone out'.
I tried to fan this flame but something was missing and I just didn't know what it was.
Those were the times that I began to feel so alone and sort of sorry for myself - but I knew deep down I was never alone and I'm thankful that the Lord reminded me of something he told me at the start of my Christian walk with him.

"The just shall live by faith (Heb 10:38), by His faith - Hab 2:4 his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith - not by feelings.
My feelings get me into all kinds of trouble, I don't feel saved, I don't feel as if I've any gifts, I don't feel the Lord can use me, I don't feel as if I have the Holy Spirit with me and the list goes on.
But you know a little faith goes a long way, Jesus said in Mark 27:20 that faith as small as a mustard seed can remove mountains. Did you hear that, FAITH as SMALL as a mustard seed can REMOVE mountains. Not just move the mountain that is before you or I but can REMOVE it. Take it out of the way completely, gone forever.
And this is what the Lord continues to show me. I may not feel of of any use at all some days but I haven't got to worry about it because the Bible, God's word says 'I have' - I have salvation, I have the gifts of the spirit, I have all of this because of Jesus, because of what he did, because of his shed blood, because he loved me enough to die for me and because he was obedient to death on a cross.
So what is FAITH? Paul says in Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen...
Do read this chapter of Hebrews -  it let me see how much faith these old testament people had in God. They didn't rely on any feelings they just had faith.
I wrote as the title for these words FAITH -  'Forsaking all I trust Him'. I read this acrostic some time ago and surely this is faith.

Trusting our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We have to stay close to Jesus, and close to the word, and listen.
I realised that it was the voice of the enemy telling me these things, telling me I wasn't saved, I was of no use. He'd much prefer it if Christians got so hung up about not doing, not feeling, not having something because then it makes his job easier. If we listen to the voice of the enemy we would never have faith, we would never be a victorious people and we ARE victorious we have that liberty because of what Christ did at Calvary.

I'm reminded of the beautiful hymn by Eugene Barlett - Victory in Jesus (listen to it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K7JiUEl23E or read the words ..
I heard an old, old story, How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary, To save a wretch like me;
 I heard about His groaning, Of His precious blood's atoning,
Then I repented of my sins And won the victory.
Chorus
O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me, With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him, And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory, Beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard about His healing, Of His cleansing pow'r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, "Dear Jesus, Come and heal my broken spirit"
And somehow Jesus came and bro't To me the victory.

Chorus

I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold, Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing, And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I'll sing up there The song of victory.

Chorus

Faith is simply believing that Jesus is - is who he said he is, the son of God, come to this earth to die for the sins of the world.
Faith is knowing he will accomplish in my life all that he set out to do - to make me more like him - to make you more like him -
Whatever I am going through, whatever I am feeling or not feeling I KNOW that my redeemer liveth and I will one day see him face to face.
I know because I have faith. Faith in Jesus. FORSAKING ALL I TRUST HIM

The Word of the Lord is Pure

Psalm 12:6
The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

The Lord showed me through this verse that even as a Christian I need to have my words purifed. Sometimes I can say things that I don't realise are hurtful to another person. I can say things that puff me up, make me proud but always the Lord is there to show me that my words need to be refined - I need to be refined - and what a faithful God I have who shows me the way.

You see I have a little craft unit where I make enamelled jewellery. I work in copper and when I've sifted on the enamel powders I put the piece of copper into the kiln which has been heated to around 750 deg C. The reddy orange glow from the kiln lets you know it is hot - very hot.
I'm reminded of what it must have been like for Shadrach, Meschach and Abnego when they were bound and thrown down into the fiery furnace. Far hotter, I am sure, than my little kiln. I know what the heat feels like when I open my kiln door and can imagine just how hot it must have been for these young men. But do you know what, they weren't in that furnace alone, the Lord himself was with them.

Now I have always wanted to work with silver to do my enamelling on but it works differently to copper. In sterling silver there are a lot of impurities and you have to ensure that the impurities burn away. This is done by heating the silver in the kiln until the impurities rise to the surface, then taking it out it is quenching in water. It then has to be cleaned before being put into the kiln again. This is done a few times before the silver is purified and fine enough to be enamelled.

I have many a disaster trying to work with the silver, often I leave it too long and it melts completely. It looks lovely when I see it in the kiln all liquidy and shiney but the minute I take it out is solidifies and sticks to the mesh that I have been firing it on and I see the impurities on the surface. But through these processes that I use the Lord has shown me that I still need to be put into the furnace from time to time.

He has shown me that my words need to be purified - I need to be purified - and just as I go through the refining fire I know that I am not alone, Jesus is with me.

I am reminded each time I put my kiln on that the Lord continues to refine and try me; to put me through the flame so that the impurities in my life are burned away.

When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 43: 1-3)

Posted by Jean

My posts

I am trying to get all of my thoughts and writings into my own blog and some of those I have just posted have been taken from other blogs I've written for so if you think you've read them before and were perhaps encouraged I hope they will again encourage you.

I can see clearly now

Driving along the Shenstone Road I suddenly saw a house that had a FOR SALE sign outside and the words SOLD in big letters across it.

I saw another 2 houses further along the road and realized I hadn't even noticed these before - so why, I asked myself, did I see them now.

Was it just the the bright For Sale sign that had caught my attention or the very bold Sold written across the sign - NO - very simply it was winter.
I usually travelled this road in the summer when the sun was shining and when the leaves on the trees were full and green. There was a row of bushes and hedges along the roadside too. These houses were hidden from view by the summer foliage - but now it was winter, the trees had shed their leaves and I could see the houses clearly through the spaces between the branches.

The Lord showed me that we need the warmth of the summer months to keep us going but when summer is here we can be too busy doing other things, the gardens need tending, the sun shines and we go out for the day, and come home and spend long hours sitting outside with friends or family and we can be busy being so busy that we neglect to spend our time with the Lord and we don't see things clearly.

In winter time it's different - if you are anything like me you stay home, the nights have grown darker and colder and all I want to do is stay in the warmth,. I find that I want to spend more time in the warmth of His love too and I read my bible more, and talk to the Lord more and because of this I can see more clearly what he wants for me.

Even the hedge along the roadside brought to mind that sometimes we can put a hedge up around our life. If things are difficult we may not want to let others in or want them to see that we are struggling with something. The hedge gets bigger and bigger as it grows and it too can prevent us from seeing things clearly. If the hedge in our life is cut down we are exposed, others will see the struggles that we may be experiencing and the Lord can allow these people to come alongside and help us. We can also see more clearly where the Lord wants us to be.

But just think there will come a day when we will be able to see the Lord face to face.

For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known 1 Cor 13:12)

Yes, a bunch of sweet Peas. I can't take the credit for this but I'd like to share with you this bunch of Sweet Peas, Gathered from Psalm 23. I read this on a card I'd received from someone ...

Possession - The Lord is my shepherd

Provision - I shall not want

Position - He maketh me to lie down

Privilege - In green pastures

Preservation - He restoreth my soul

Progress - He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

Peace - I will fear no evil

Presence - Thou art with me

Preparation - Thou preparest a table before me

Plenty - My cup runneth over

Pursuit - Goodness and mercy shall follow me

Prospect - I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever

Jesus is the Vine

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)
We had just had a light fall of snow a couple of weeks ago and as I drove to my little craft studio I was aware of just how cold it had become. I pulled up in the car park beside the row of trees lining the adjoining field. As I looked across the field I could just see where the snow had fallen and I could make out the cathedral in the distance. It's a lovely view. This particular morning I noticed in front of the car a small tree with almost bare branches apart from a few leaves that seemed to be clinging to those branches. They seemed to be holding on for all they were worth despite the cold and the snow, as if somehow they knew that to let go would mean they would wither and die because their source of nourishment had gone.
I was reminded of our need as Christians to hold on for all we are worth to the source of our nourishment, to the one who said of himself 'I am the true vine'. Our very existence depends upon the one who is the vine where our source of nourishment comes from, the one who is himself life and light.
Jesus also said that we were the branches and I saw just how we needed to be nourished from the vine so that we as the branches could nourish others. Others that we speak to about the gospel, others that we help in time of need, others that need the Lord Jesus Christ in their life.
Like those leaves we need to be holding on to Jesus for all we are worth, whether we are going through the valleys or whether we are on the mountain top. We need to be walking so close to our Lord that despite the conditions of our life we know he will see us through. He will feed us, nourish us, give us courage to overcome difficulties, strengthen us for the next leg of the journey and give us joy to sing His praises. He really is our life and no matter what we face in this life, Jesus has said 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Heb 13:5).
It may be that outside the snow is falling and the temperature has dropped but in the warmth of his love there is no cold at all, so stay close and 'hold on for all you are worth'.

The earth is the Lords

Ps 24 - The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof: the world, and they that dwell therein.

A passage of scripture I so easily forget. I know I am a child of God because of my salvation but this verse is telling me the whole world is the Lords.

Not just the creature comforts of lush greenery, blue skies, turquoise seas, food in the fields but those who dwell there and that means me and you - everyone in the world. We are the Lords - and what a wonderful place it would be if everyone took that on board. If everyone looked at scripture and saw the goodness and mercy of God.

We were made in his image, to have fellowship with him but sin entered the world, man became disobedient and so it goes on today. Oh that men would look to the Lord, He that came down and dwelt among us; He that was obedient while here on earth, obedient even to death on the cross; Making a way for man to draw closer to his maker and fellowship once more with him. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? David asks;

He that has repented of sin and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, who now can stand with clean hands and a pure heart before the throne of God, clothed in the righteousness of the our great and wonderful Saviour Jesus Christ.

Psalm 24: The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof: the world and they that dwell therein.

For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob Selah.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting door: and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads O ye gates; even lift them up ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in,
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Break up the fallow ground

(These picture may give you an idea of the fallow field I'm talking about - I took it on my mobile phone so it doesn't do it justice)

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you Hos. 10:12

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Jer. 4:3

I am sure many sermons have been written about the fallow ground and I know the Lord spoke to me early in my Christian life about breaking up the fallow ground but it was only this last week that I have seen this verse in a new light.
I have a little studio at our local craft centre, which is on a working farm. Last week I was amazed to see a field that had once been full of beautiful yellow rape seed flowers now full of weeds and thistles. It hadn't dawned on me at the time but I got talking to one of the girls and she mentioned the field was lying fallow. I don't ever recall seeing a field lie fallow before and as I looked I could see these really horrible black weeds, and I mean really black, just dotted about the field. I couldn't quite make out what they were but the very blackness of them really had an impact on me. Somehow I seemed to be reminded of the blackness of sin and saw just how black sin is to God.
In all of my Christian life I don't think that I have ever seen such blackness in nature but whatever these weed type plants were they had been left to be part of this fallow ground.

Looking at this field let me see again how we need to break up the fallow ground in our own lives, we need to get rid of the blackness of any type of sin that may enter our lives and even as Christians we can so often allow sin to creep in.

We really do have a need to break up any fallow ground in our own lives, any sin that has not been dealt with, any harsh words that have been spoken in anger. I've been guilty at times of speaking harsh words to someone, but you know harsh words can be like an infection; it hurts and digs deep and can spread in that persons life causing them to be harsh to someone else.

Have you ever been stung brushing against a thistle. I have - it hurts like crazy, the tiny little barbed bristles give a nasty sting that stays for ages - and isn't that what it's like if we speak harshly to someone or if we speak with a barbed tongue. Proverbs 15:4 says A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones.

The land was allowed to lie fallow so that it would be more fruitful and the farmer would then break up the fallow ground clearing the fields of the weeds and thistles in order to sow good seed.

Shouldn't we do the same, shouldn't we break up the fallow ground - clearing out the bad habits in our own lives, the faults that go unconfessed; the harsh words that have been spoken and can't be taken back but we can be sorry they were ever said in the first place; - that we may be prepared for the seed of rightousness to be sown - the good seed of the word will then be sown and be allowed to grow and bear fruit.

I know I don't want the blackness of any sin in my life and I am so thankful that daily I can take all of my faults to the Lord knowing that he is faithful and just to forgive me and that he will continue to work in my life helping me to break up the fallow ground until the day comes when I stand before him.

The LORD is my Rock

Marsden Rock is an imposing sea stack of magnesium limestone which lies approx 100 yards off the mainland of South Shields in the North of England. It was always an awesome sight to behold and as I grew up in one of the nearby towns I used to love spending time there at the beach. It almost seemed that nothing would be able to knock this great rock down.

Marsden Rock has been standing for over 200 years although quite different today from the time in 1830 that a flight of steps was constructed up the side of the rock. It was climbed by that method many times and in 1903 several choirs performed a choral service on top of the rock. In 1911 a huge section of the rock collapsed and it was feared the entire rock would fall into the sea.

In 1996 the top section of the arch of the Rock collapsed splitting the rock into two and in 1997 it was deemed the smaller stack was unstable so on 26th March a controlled explosion reduced, in a matter of seconds, the small stack into a pile of rubble. The remainder of the rock still stands today although over time it will continue to erode and will perhaps one day be claimed by the sea.

The Rock of Gibralta - a peninsula rock fortress at the western exit from the mediterranean. It is connected with the Spanish mainland by a sandy flat, less than 10ft above sea level.

The rock rises abruptly to 1,356 ft and runs a little west of south for two and a half miles. What an impressive Rock this is too. I visited Gibralta when I was on holiday in Spain quite a number of years ago and to think that I was walking around on a piece of rock was amazing and people lived on it too.

As I read my bible I came across the following verses:

2 Sam 22:2-3

And he said "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

vs 31 - As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock save our God?

vs 47 - The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

Psalm 31:3 - For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy names sake lead me and guide me.

Psalm 71:3 Be thou my strong habitation whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress

Psalm 18:2

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer: my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler and the horn of my salvation.

vs 31 - For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

vs 46 - The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

1 Cor 10: 4

And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

When something is said more than once in the Bible then we can be sure God wants us to LISTEN!
Marsden Rock and the Rock of Gibralter may be impressive sights, they may be eroding, may, by man's hand, be made to topple and fall but of one thing I am sure, my Saviour Jesus Christ, is the one sure Rock which will never fall, or erode.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the very Rock on which the church is built, the very foundation of our faith. We need never fear that this Rock will fall, we need only put our trust in Him. He alone is the Rock which will stand forever.

Go To The Ant

Prov 6:6-8

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

Which having no guide, overseer or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

Quite a long time ago I had been asked to share some thoughts at a house group we had. I had prayed for days wondering what I could share and nothing came. On the day we were meeting I sat and watched hundreds of ants marching along the floor by my fireplace. Despite hating these little creatures, I find them quite fascinating and watched them for ages before deciding I had to get rid of them before they over ran the house and the only way to get rid of them was to put down some nippon gel. I watched them for quite some time and as I did the Lord gave me some lessons in Christian living which I was able to share with the house group.

The nippon I'd put down to clear them obviously looked good to the ants, or rather smelled good. It probably tasted good too but it was poisonous and sadly in the eating of it was leading them to death. This spoke to me of the food we take in and I thought "Am I feeding on the right food, will it sustain and keep me". If we're not feeding on the manna from heaven, upon Jesus who is the bread of life, then we're not getting the right food.

"Will it sustain me" - this reminded me of a cartoon I'd seen about an ant and a grasshopper. When summer came the grass-hopper spent his days having a ball, socialising, going to dances and he took no thought for the lean time to come, despite the advice of the ant - who collected his food during the summer months. He spent his time working and keeping busy and when the lean winter months came he had food to sustain him. I think the grass hopper died - No, the ant shared his food with the grasshopper. But this spoke to me of our need to store up food. The word of God is our meat and we need to store up scripture in our hearts to be ready for any troubles or lean times that come along.

When I put the nippon down hundreds of ants followed along the line of the fireplace, a sharp turn to the right and there they were, right beside this lovely sticky stuff that looked and tasted sweet. It was an easy path. A couple of them, however, took a different road. They came along the fire place, turned left through a dark passage, up a brick wall to the shelf and off they went in search of food. This reminded me of the broad and narrow path. The way might be arduous, extremely rough and it might be that we have to go through dark areas but Jesus said, this was the narrow way and it lead to life.

In July/August time the ant takes to the air and mates on the wing. The queen or mother ant then starts a new colony. Her offspring, her family, then help her in whatever needs doing to keep the family together. We too should work to keep the family together, whether at home or church. The family is often the hardest place to witness if someone, a husband, wife or child is not a believer, but we should never give up. Things may seem impossible to us but with God all things are possible.

I read that the ant is much influenced by the sun. If it is lost or held captive by something it will eventually make an angle with its original course, where the rays of the sun passed through. So too like us, we need to go to the light of the world. We also need to let others see the light of Jesus in us. Luke 11:33 says: No man when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick that they which come in may see the light.

The ant, says the Bible, has no guide, or overseer or rule,r but we have. Jesus is our overseer, our ruler. The Holy Spirit is our guide. How much more wiser then than the ant should we be - in what we take in, in what we do and say. We have someone to lead and guide us yet we have so many problems and burdens that we try to face on our own.

The ants have no one yet they know how to stick together, they share and care for each other.

I watched ants from my window once, they made a line along the window ledge and appeared to be carrying one of the ants along, perhaps a baby or older ant, one that was hurt or sick (someone did tell me that they were probably taking it for food if it was dead but I liked my version best).

The ants are a people not strong yet they prepare their food in the summer. I don't think this means strong in the sense that we may think. They are very small and can be flattened quite easily - but they are persistant and we should be too - persistent in prayer. Prayer is our life line and I am constantly reminded of my need to pray, to talk with the Lord and spend time with Him.

It may just mean that size and strength are not important but the ants are prepared to collect their food, are organised in their affairs and so too should we be. Prepared to follow Jesus wherever He leads.

We can learn a lot from the ants and from other creatures our Lord has made but most of all we learn from Jesus himself. He still has a lot to teach us. If we let him fill us with the Holy Spirit then we will be equipped to do the work Jesus wants us to do.

The ants give 100% of themselves. Let us give 100% for Jesus - He deserves nothing less.

Posted by Jean of Honeycombs

Just lately I am seeing how much women really do matter in the kingdom of God. Especially women in prayer.
We have a monthly prayer meeting at church but just lately the Lord is impressing on me more and more the power of prayer. Two of us women decided we would get together and pray and we'd do it regularly the second week after the church prayer meeting. 
Well we had a situation that was in urgent need of prayer and were joined by another woman so our two became three.  We prayed solely about this one situation and had wonderful answer to our prayer within weeks.
We have continued meeting together and praying and now we are four. 
Last Monday's prayer time was remarkable and we spoke to the Lord about a few things but the main one being a lady who had come to drop her children off at the church youth club.  She isn't a Christian but told us she had been to see someone who did Reiki as she was feeling down. She was told she had a black cloud hanging over her and that she should go back to have some healing done with crystals.  She was really concerned about this blackness over her and we spoke to her about Jesus and said that we looked to him as our healer.  She was really open and asked a few questions. We told her we would pray and that if she wanted to talk some more then to ring one of us.  She did - I had a text from R to say she has made contact and they were meeting up on 13th.  We will continue to pray for V that the Lord will do a remarkable thing in her life.

In the bible there is a lot on praying and Christians do pray in many different ways.  I am always struck by the phrase 'pray without ceasing'   and  have often wondered what it means to 'pray without ceasing' for we cannot pray every single minute of every single day.  This morning I thought of the word 'cease' which means to stop to end,  and it came to me that maybe pray without ceasing just means don't stop, don't let the prayer end. 
I was reminded of the widow in Luke 18:1-8

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

This judge was fearful that the widow would be persistant and unceasing in her coming to him to ask him to avenge her of her adversary.  He didn't even fear God but listened and did that which she asked.
 
How much more will the Lord listen to us and answer our prayer if we are unceasing in our asking. If we ask until we have an answer.   Sometimes prayer is more than just 'Lord do this for us' and then go on to something else. We need to be sincere if we are to pray for others salvation or others healing, in fact whatever we pray about.  We need to come humbly before the Lord, seeking his will and asking in faith believing.

I am glad there are 4 of us women now praying together and I am praying more will join us and .... Matthew 18:19
 
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Honeycombs

I have been encouraged over the years by the writings of ordinary people, like me, who have something to share about Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour: I would like this little corner of my blog to be on a similar theme and I've shared with you some of the things I've experienced in my own Christian walk or that has blessed me This is just a short testimony -

My mam and dad used to send me to Sunday School when I was about 12. It was a little Gospel Mission that was held in a local school hall and there seemed to be hundreds of children attending each week. The Sunday school teachers used to do a bible drill - we held our bibles to our side and said 'sheath swords, draw swords' and then held them in the air. We were given a bible verse to find and the first one who did so was given a sweet (I did at one time wonder if that was the only reason we went but I don't think it was - I think as youngsters we were just hungry to hear stories about Jesus). One week I found the verse first, got the sweet and to this day can still remember the verse "Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee".

I also listened to one of the Sunday school teachers telling us that Jesus was standing outside the door of our hearts and knocking. He wouldn't force his way in but wanted us to open the door. You know something, I gave my heart to Jesus that day. (Rev. 3:20).

I can't remember if I was different but I do know I said the Lord's prayer everynight, the 2 bible verses I knew and then asked the Lord to look after my family. This became a tradition and I never faltered in the way I prayed over the coming years.

A lot of time has passed since then, I married, had a child, moved house several times and the Lord has never once let go of my hand, even though I've let him down so many times along the way.

From that first asking of Jesus into my heart he slowly guided me until the day I fully realised my need of him and committed my life to him in a real way and became 'born again'. I was baptized at the age of 35 and am still today trying to walk in my Saviours footsteps. I get it wrong a lot of the time but He is so faithful, he never condemns me just lovingly picks me up and puts me back on my feet and shows me where I need to be.

My son is a Christian as is my daughter in law and they try to bring their 3 children up in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The years have not been easy at times but Jesus said I am with you always even unto the end of the world ' and  'I will never leave you nor forsake you' and I have hung onto these versesover the years.

I cannot imagine a life without my Lord and Saviour and I would say to anyone who does not know him, he truly is the only one who will never leave you.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, put your trust and faith in him and he will be with you always ...

Voice of Hope

You will see this was written a couple of years ago and I never did get it published on my blog as my computer has been playing up for a good couple of years but I have finally got a new one and hopefully I will be blogging a lot more so here goes with one from quite some time back.

Voice of Hope
I can't quite believe it but we are into April already and I can remember asking myself at the beginning of the year if I wanted to make a new year's resolution.
Once again the answer was no - I really don't make resolutions anymore simply because I know there's no hope of me ever keeping them.  I used to spend ages making them and thinking, "I'll not eat as much chocolate, I'll lose weight, I'll pray more, I'll be more patient or kinder", but do you know, I never kept any of them  .It took me ages to make them and only an instant to break them. So I think by far the best thing is not to make them at all and I wont have to hope I'll be able to keep any of them.
But I did ask myself what I hoped for in 2010.One of the things I've found, as a Christian, is that I have a totally different outlook on hope and what I hope for. The reason being because my HOPE is in Christ my Saviour. 

Titus 2: vs 11-14 says For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and wordly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world;Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

One of the things I so easily forget about as I go into a new year is that blessed hope and this year I asked myself - could this be the year of our Lord's return.  We only have to look at the news to see what's happening in Israel and around the world to know that we live in desperate times, so could this be the year that we hear the shout and find that we're going up to meet the Lord in the air.  This is my hope and I believe it should be the hope of every believer in Christ.
I get excited when I read scripture that tells me about the Lord's, return and, well, I'm not going to write about whether I believe it's pre trib, mid trib or a post tribulation rapture but I do know the rapture will happen. 1 Cor 15:51 says Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The rapture is an 'end times' event where Jesus Christ returns for His Church and believers who are alive and remain shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  1 Thess 4:16 says For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
You know, we don't have to wait until the church gets everything right, as some people think, before the Lord comes back. I don't see in scripture that the church has to restore everything first; I see a Saviour who will come for his church at any time and I'm reminded of that when Peter says -But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10)
We, the living saints, should be waiting for the rapture - that is our HOPE. Jesus himself says in John 14:2-3 "For I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when I have gone and have prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself that where I am, you also will be".
We just need to be watching and looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour. We need to be crying out Maranatha 'Come Lord Jesus'.
I know for a lot of people their hope is in worldly things. When something goes wrong in their lives they just hope things will get better - if only they would put their trust and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 17:17 says Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 
Paul even opens his first letter to Timothy by saying that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope.  Paul here, knows that Christ, and He alone is our hope, and I like to remind myself of HOPE by thinking of it as a type of acrostic -
We are Happy
We are Overcomers
We are Peacemakers
We are Entering in

We are happy - because we have a Saviour who is always there for us, who never fails us or lets us down and because of this
We are Overcomers - no matter what the world throws at us, when storms of adversity surround us, we may feel down but Christ helps us to overcome our circumstances and we know his Peace.  I only have to think of my own circumstances and it never ceases to amaze me that when all around me is in turmoil and there's rantings and ravings I so often find I've become a Peacemaker and I'm sure that's because my hope in Christ helps me to know his peace, the peace that passes all understanding (Phil 4:7), because He is the Prince of Peace.
I also know that I can Enter in to the holy place and pray for these situations because of the shed blood of Jesus and because my hope is in Christ.
When I was praying the Lord seemed to show me at 3 a.m. one morning a type of Tsunami. He seemed to be saying to me that just as a tsunami has devastating effects on the lives of others, so it will be for those who don't know the Lord Jesus, those who don't Hope in him. It will be like a wave hitting and washing over them and they will be lost for eternity.  We really do need a heart for those people, for those who don't know Christ.
We do live in desperate days and time is getting shorter. There may be people in our homes and wider family circle who don't know the Lord and we need to be telling them about Jesus. It's almost as if over the years I've thought to myself, well they heard the gospel when I first knew Christ so it's OK, but you know it's not OK. Jesus didn't let go of my hand. He didn't give up on me or just let me hear the gospel once. I heard it from Sunday School teachers, I heard it from a Christian aunt and I even had someone praying for me, someone who I didn't really know, a great grandmother praying for her children's children before they were even born.
My great grandma Murray had Hope in her Saviour and that hope saw a great grandchild come to know her Saviour too.
I heard a song called the Voice of Hope when I was driving to visit my family. This song had me crying as I drove and it showed me so many things. I was reminded, on my visit, of the adversity that can come into peoples lives but you know there is a voice of hope out there. A voice that whispers to every man, woman and child "I am the way, the truth and the life, No man comes to the father but through me". This voice of hope is an anchor in any storm. If misfortune has come your way, whether it be the break up of a marriage, a sickness, money problems, this voice of hope will hold onto us until all these storm clouds pass.
If your circumstances look to be so bad there seems to be no way out, this voice of hope will make a way. Your circumstances may seem impossible but this voice of hope can make possible the impossible. He will make a way out if you just ask him.
This voice of hope is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, amidst any adversity, and He just wants us to bring everything to him so that if we still find we are in difficult times the Holy Spirit will help our hearts to rise up within us so that we can still sing His praises
.I hope that if anyone reading this does not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour they will put their hope in him, that they will repent of their sins and follow Christ.I
've realised that this year I want to follow so close to my Lord that I hear every word he says to me, I hope I'll be close enough to hear him call my name, even if it's only a whisper. I hope the wordly things that seem to crowd in ever so easily will again drift away as I hear the still small voice, and as I go through 2010 I'd like these words to be on my lips - MARANATHA - come Lord Jesus

I just heard this beautiful song by T Graham Brown and wanted to share it with you.  For anyone in need of a touch from the Lord right now, for whatever reason ...

Clear the Stage

Prayer meeting with a difference tonight. Mark played us Clear the Stage by Ross King - wow - if you want the Holy Spirit to move in lives this was the song to do it. There was complete silence when the song had finished and when people eventually did offer up prayer it was a very humbling experience. Take a listen, I'm sure you will know what I mean, and I don't think any more words from me are necessary on this post.