Home

Caught up in God's plans

2009-12-17T14:57:44Z

'Let it be to me according to Your word'

We take the Christmas story so for granted and know it so well that we almost expect the bible characters themselves to be bored with it as it happens! We can forget the shock and amazement they must have felt to be caught up in God's plans in their generation. God wants us to be similarly amazed as He takes hold of us and partners with us in bringing revival in our day.

]]> People in the nativity story were caught up in God's purposes in different ways.

Zechariah & Elizabeth were faithful people of God with lifelong longings & hope but who never saw the bigger picture. The last years of their lives were a true fulfilment of hopes and dreams. Mary was a youngster open to God but who could never be truly prepared for the huge stigma & change of life plans that came with partnering with the Lord. Joseph too was being forced to adjust to what God was doing until a heavenly dream brought him peace and the courage to cooperate with God.

The shepherds had an encounter of a lifetime that brought about an amazing witness. They may never have been touched like that before or afterwards, but just one touch from heaven gave a burning testimony to God's glory in their community. The wise men made a discovery in the stars, and had to follow trough an urge to make a pilgrimage of a lifetime drawn by a God they didn't know and played their part in a bigger drama which they never understood in their lifetime.

I believe that we too are in the season of finding ourselves in the middle of something bigger of God. There is an acceleration of kingdom activity - light in darkness - and we are being called to 'arise and shine for our light has come'. Living in revival outpourings of the Spirit and a spiritual harvest will for different ones of us be the fulfilment of our hopes, a reluctant change of plans, a call to a new journey or a powerful testimony of a God encounter.

May we too play our part well and, like Mary, be truly willing to say 'let it be to me according to Your word'.

God's blessings this Christmas time.

William

'Rise up O Lord' - Numbers 10v13

2009-11-05T15:01:26Z

'Rise up, Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you'. (Numbers 10v13)

There has been an amazing find of gold in a North Staffordshire field in the last few weeks.

God's people in the area have been getting excited, partly because of a prophetic word to the local church leaders a few months before about 'mining for gold'. Partly too, because of what was found written on a cross which was part of the hoard of gold discovered. There was a scripture from Numbers 10v13 declaring 'rise up, Lord'! What a cry from the people of God echoing down the centuries.

]]>

Although God's Spirit is always on the move, there are the special revival times when the release of his power feels like a fresh rising up of the Lord's supernatural activity.

For many of us, the autumn has marked a new spiritual season, unusual in its timing. A number of prayer journeys have finished and laid down, ready for the new things God wants to show his people. There is a clear sense of being on the edge of a new kingdom advance, a revival move of God.

When God rises up, of course, His stirring shakes what can be shaken. The rising of the glory of God amongst us disturbs the agnostic and the religious alike. Yet what else can we pray for, if not the increase of his presence and power in a society which so desperately needs it? Now is the time for us to stir ourselves to see with eyes of faith what new release of kingdom power God wants to do in our lives and our communities. Now is a great opportunity to ready ourselves for outpourings of the Spirit, both personally but also locally and internationally. 'Lord God, would you rise up and demonstrate your awesome glory and amazing mercy in fresh ways to our generation. Would you bring the kingdom transformation that only you can bring and reveal more of your glory to a world hungry for spiritual reality.'

William

Watched over in love

2009-10-09T14:22:41Z

'He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep' (Psalm 121v3-4)

According to the media we are the most watched over society in the world. We are watched, we are listened to, our communications intercepted, we are trailed and what we do is recorded. Apparently the Government commissioned some computer experts to produce a system of recording every click on a mouse button that selects internet or email sites or addresses. That information, despite many objections, is held on data bases. It seems to me that there is no such thing really as human rights in the UK. Our spending is monitored through credit, store and debit cards and the data stored (and sold or sometimes stolen!). Our journeys are monitored the same way or by roadside cameras, Police cameras, surveillance cameras and our conversations are not sacrosanct either. Phone calls are recorded whether mobile or land line by GCHQ and screened in case we use the 'T' word or something similar.

]]> It is the Brave New World of Aldous Huxley or the big brother world of '1984' by George Orwell. We are watched over in every way, overtly and covertly. Our personal details from cradle to grave are recorded and held by some part of Government. But much more worrying is the use that is made of all this information. Anyone working in education, health or financial services will know if the endless forms to be filled in and the checks to be carried out before things can be done. No one is believed. We are guilty until proved innocent. Our personal integrity is denied all the time and we are being micro managed in such a way that our humanity is now defined by our Police record, CRB check, DNA profile, retina scan and the micro chip containing all our health, education and financial information. More and more irrelevant information is demanded of us before we can book a flight, by a car, open a bank or store account, get married or find a school. So many basic aspects of living are now watched over and managed, mostly by unelected people against whom we have no redress.

I apologise if this seems very negative but as many see it this is where we have come as society. No wonder our young people find it hard to get out of the traps of poor education, family break-ups, financial poverty and bad housing. No wonder many are looking to live elsewhere in the world. If we are not in control of our lives then who is?

The bible reveals to us that God watched over us in love. He never sleeps so is always looking over us. He sees the meanest sparrow fall and even knows the number of hairs on our heads! (for me that won't challenge Him too much!!). He doesn't manipulate or control us. He loves us all the time and never changes in his desire for our future to be with Him. He guards our comings and goings and will guide our footsteps if we let him. His whole purpose is for our good. In fact the scripture tells us that God has a perfect plan for each of us. This plan is to prosper us and give us true happiness. Whilst God does and will prosper us by providing for our material and financial needs He is more concerned with our spiritual and emotional needs. He watches over us so that we can be whole. That means truly human with dignity and self worth. I am glad that I am watched over in love and for good by God. Soon the Machiavellian games of government watching us will end and the eternal surveillance of God will come.

Andrew

Ephesians 1v17

2009-09-08T10:27:50Z

'I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.'

How many people live with a dull heart, where life is in grey, worn down by issues of life?

That is not the call of a Christian. God wants us to live with a vibrant sense of purpose, peace and joy, with His bright presence in front of our eyes. In short God want us to live with a bright, or enlightened, heart.

]]>

1) that we will know God better

v17 - this is where revival starts, the reminder that we have a glorious heavenly Father, a throne anchored in eternity. However it it not just a description of God but He is a Father of glory who wants to bestow increasing measures of His glory with His people that we radiate to the world.

The key prayer is for a spirit of wisdom and revelation. In our faith we have to constantly move beyond mere knowledge about God to revelation that changes our heart. Any Christian can do this, but we must ask Him.

'That you might know Him better' or 'as you come to know him' (NRSV). As the Holy Spirit moves in revival in these coming years he will show us the Lord, in amazing dimensions of his love and holiness and his heart for this world.

How well do we know him? Abraham, Moses, Paul and John - men who had been given intimate knowledge of God in their generation - all realised how much more there was to experience of him - of his person, his heart of love and holiness to impart to us, his desire to revive us as his people.

This is a great prayer to pray:

God I know you a little, please give me greater revelation of who you are and what you're like in your glory. Brood over me to open my heart up to increased fiery visions of you and your throne in heaven. Give me more wisdom to know how Your love and beauty can transform my life and how eternity shapes my destiny as I grow in knowing you. May your church in this nation be given a spirit of greater wisdom and revelation that will bring us to a place of increased passion for you and radical abandonment to you and your kingdom.

Psalm 46

2009-08-02T10:45:26Z

'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.'

]]> For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
       an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
       and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
       and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
       the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
       God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
       he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the LORD has done,
       the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
       to the ends of the earth.
       He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
       he burns the shields with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Main point: Growing peace
The presence of God in this hymn of praise is not transient, short-term or temporary. God is always with us and with all people (v 1), and despite all the calamities we fear, he remains constant.

Life and hope
The river of God's presence flows through the city bringing life and hope in the same way as many great cities have rivers as their focus (vs 4,5). This reference to Jerusalem reminds us of God's lasting presence in our lives - God was with us, is with us, and will be with us.

Blessing, safety and calm
The God of Jacob, who blessed him with so much and kept him safe despite so many threats, is the God in whom we can trust (vs 7,14). So we see calm and an end to conflict brought about by God's power, as we will go on to see in the story of Jacob.

Rest in God
How sad do you feel about the world's attitude to God? Do you feel that disaster looms?

In the busyness and noise of modern life we can easily think that all our mission and work for the Lord is futile, and we'll never make a difference. But God will prevail, he will be exalted, and we will find peace if we simply rest in him (v 10).