Musings

To BE in your TIME

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Between the Lines, Between the sheets, Between the pages, Between a rock and a hard place, BETWEEN TIMES…

Much of our lives are spent in a certain kind of mind-set, and experience.  it is often necessary to learn the skill to be able to enjoy the times of our lives.   How many of us are living between promise and accomplishments, between being told it’s coming and the arrival.   the Scriptures are filled with this, are they not?    We read the accounts and stories and miss one fundamental tool in Gods equipment, that is, a word comes but the distance between the utterance of the word and the arrival of that word, can be soooo looong!    take even the promise of the Messiah 100’s of years, and if you include the promise to Adam and Eve of the “crushed head” of the garden experience, 1000’s of years.   yet the words and the promises are no less relevant and potent, it is the skill of staying in and holding on, or better said it is learning to live in  the BETWEEN TIMES.   we are all, if loving God, between the times people, actually all of humanity are living between the times when it comes to Gods love and promise fulfilled, along with his intent and cause arriving.

There is a skill for between the times, the learned skill of trust, of continuing, of setting your face like flint when that which comes towards you looks different from the promise.   stay with the times by fully encountering the between times.

A classic  picture of this is Acts 1, having lost, the Christ gone, and being told to wait , setting in order the loss and appointment of Matthias, yet they were between times, were they not.   Christ had ascended and the Holy Spirit had not come, the fulfilment of Old Testament promise.   Living with each other while between times.   who would not say that’s enough, or I’m not sure if its true, let’s get out of here, long enough, certainly we miss heard, did God say?

Acts 1 is the story of 120 people in a room waiting for release along with arrival, it’s a skill of attitude and keeping faith, how many give up and change their theology because it’s not come quick enough, or even come as we determined it, between times are dangerous times and empowering times.    we have heard many expound the ‘Kiros’ moments, the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment) and direct it to a particular event, i would suggest to you that we live in constant ‘kiros’ moments, dangers and opportunity, always between the times – danger and opportunity

The dangers of when we see nothing happening, in these between times we try to make it happen, Abraham did it  with the promise of a child, he tried to make it happen in the between times.   I wonder about the appointment of Matthias, was that God breathed or were they also simply trying to make things happen.   You can not say that, well it is interesting that we hear nothing of him from that moment on?   be careful in ‘In between times’, if the command is wait, then wait, hold to the promise don’t let it go by trying to make it happen with your own with effort.

The lessons of between times must be, when God speaks, when simple direction is given, take hold of it  with both hands and live in it, not in another moment or event, simple really, between times is a time to keep to the directions given.   this opens up the reality when nothing is happening and there is a God creating between times.   it is the  Fathers problem not ours, hold to Him.

Like many at the beginning of any new year the question of what God is saying comes up and the pressure to say something of significance comes upon us, let us thank and celebrate the workings of the Holy Spirit in our world.  Lets stop being CSI Christians, scientifically looking into more and more detail of where God has been, and oh yes honour the past, but the past is surely for the future, learn  to live in the light of the promise, so that we can say where God will be and not where he has been, a truly prophet people.     I read recently some 1.2 million communities – families – churches have been established with 250 million people coming to Christ in the last 6 years World wide WOW wonderful testimonies of God at work,   yet in all that if I compare with whats happening to whats coming it is still a drop in the ocean, as Christ fills all things and the church moves towards its goal of Christ everywhere with creation transformed to be like heaven here and now, restoration to Fathers first intent, there is so much more to come.   As the old saying goes, made famous by a USA president “you ain’t seen nothing yet” we are between times!   The awakening, the times of refreshing, revivals that will bring the Season of Restoration is still breaking in on us, it is happening but  we are still  between times.   So what do I do, just do  what i have been directed, keep it simple, do what God has said, get on with it and nothing more, keep my thoughts, don’t try to make it happen and loose.  live and enjoy the in between the times, help others to live and welcome the promises fully with both hands and with excitement.

Some might say, well I am going to get it now, i trust you will,  but the bible narrative is too full of lessons of having to hold the promises, just as Mary did with Jesus in hearing the coming promise of a son she learnt not only to say “be it unto me”  but also to “ponder it in your heart” and make it living, there giving room for the promise to be cultivated and grow.    It is important this year ahead, I believe much will come to pass this year, people are believing, faith is raising and much will break forth, but we have to live between the times, to see the promises of God come to pass in our ‘kiros’ day.  Are you willing to put your trust in God… even when nothing is happening?

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.       Albert Einstein

In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.                  Albert Einstein

Distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.        Albert Einstein

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.               Steve Jobs

Two what smile today

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A woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services, when she was startled by an intruder.. She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled: ‘Stop! Acts 2:38!’ 
(Repent and be Baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ , so that your sins may be forgiven.) 



The burglar stopped in his tracks.

The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done.



As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar: ‘Why did you just stand there?

All the old lady did was yell a scripture at you.’ 

’Scripture?’ replied the burglar.. ‘She said she had an Ax and Two 38s!’ 



He Stole My Bible again…

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I am not sure how you read your scriptures and what you draw from the arranged letters that are offered to us.    A number of years ago I was presented with a new translation of the scriptures every year, it was a planned and purposeful exchange, so i would change the way i read and listened to what I read.  It took me a few years to realize what was going on, I was a little slow, rather funny really, every year the question came “What bible are you reading?” I offered my translation and by the end of our conversation, in those first days of each new year my old bible walked out of the room and  a new translation was let in return.   Excuse me I said but my notations are in that bible, the reply was “Yes” my comment was  “Hmmm” and his “that’s exactly why I am taking it”.   But it instructed me to read from different a different vantage point the same word, it brought the scriptures alive again as I saw the different angles of the diamond of this book.   It was a challenging lesson initially, then every first of the year meeting I learned to present my old 1-year-old bible and open my hand for the new one to be exchanged.

One of the lessons of reading the Scripture is to grasp the fuller story, the panoramic view of Gods dealings with his people, some times we get so caught up with this and that little thing, and  we have not understood the over all panorama of Gods working, cause and purpose.   I long for more people to catch what God is doing from a distance rather than getting into the minutiae, when we don’t understand the wide aims of his purpose.   For instance You can look at the book of Joshua and see all the in’s and outs – all good stuff walls falling, inheritance gaining, conquering armies, trust and obedience, establishing a people etc.   But one thing that encourages me in the narrative is simple when we get across from the deliverance from Egypt the victory of transferring from supply upon supply, that is food, water, clothes never wearing out etc., to a place, as we enter the promise and realize there is still unfinished business!    The book is the story of unfinished business, the settlement in the land is the account of unfinished business. We often wish it was not so, why did God not do it all?     Perhaps its the issue of God making us partners with him in everything, he has done his bit, now we have to take hold of the unfinished business and bring it to pass “earth becoming like heaven, his likeness and image in you and me.   That’s another blog.

Unfinished business.    Each new episode of life, each new year each new day is the account of unfinished business.

So you wake up each day with unfinished business, not procrastination on yesterday’s stuff but today is the continuation of completing the purpose, the set course that God has for humanity and creation, your story and mine is the story of unfinished business until a generation comes to see Christ filling all things.    The small reading of Scripture can so easily introduce to us a narrative of me and the immediate, yet we are about a course of direction the Father has begun and we are involved in unfinished business.   I wonder what your unfinished business looks like?

Lets’ Keep Moving Hitting the Mark

You cannot get away from Paul’s encouragement to have one goal in mind and heart as we travel through our Christian journey, the goal to become more and more like Christ until ‘he fills all things’ or until he has the pre-eminence in our lives in book of Philippians he says we are to ‘press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’.    It was with this in mind that we set out every year to so call Hit the Mark, to get entwined with unfinished business of the cause of God.

As ever Now in our journey we take steps forward, to grow from strength to strength, glory-to-glory, faith-to-faith and favour-to-favour, it is not the time to settle back and simply enjoy the inheritance we already have.     There is Unfinished business here.

The children of Israel had to be ready at all times to up stakes and move on whenever the cloud or the pillar moved, they moved, sometimes they stayed a month in one place other times a day, they had to be ready and willing at all times to be obedient to the call of the Lord.   As soon as they heard the trumpet sound they were to up camp and move on.    I wonder how they felt about the trumpet sound, did they wait eagerly to hear it knowing that they would be moving closer to Gods purpose for them, or did they dread the sound knowing that once again it would mean uprooting and change.     They journeyed and crossed into the inference which was full of unfinished business.

The trumpet of the Lord is certainly sounding across His church in these days calling us to wake up and step into the fullness of our calling.    It is calling us to move on and not simply camp around our experiences of the past whether good or bad, it is calling us to press on and embrace the revelation that is being birthed in this day.     Unfinished business prevents us from stopping around anything that is not the full cause of Christ.   People say this and that is the main event, the thing God is doing, this is the structure and pattern, it’s that theology and practice, it’s this experience and encounter, yet the main event has always been one thing God’s cause “Christ filling all things” and all is unfinished business until that happens.

Each generation have their own journey to walk, their own milestones to reach, and we are so aware of the continuity of the body of Christ knowing that the achievements of each generation build on the last and prepare the way for the next.   I remember once being told that God had no grandchildren, meaning that each generation will have their own encounter and task to fulfill in the great scheme of things.      It is our joy to be in the position to build on what we have received whilst knowing that we will advance a greater unfolding of what we had received – faith-to-faith.

We recognize that the children of Israel had certain milestones in their journey, and likewise we know that the Lord has given us certain milestones that we must reach towards in our journey together.   These are marks for us to hit, things for us to reach towards together and see achieved in our day and generation.

You and I have unfinished business and the grace and supply of god is there as we make his cause our unfinished business!    As you move further and further into this year may you truly finish unfinished business for this is the draw of God s work.  Complete that which is in our day to finish.

Interesting ‘New Wine’ Facts…

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There is a wonderful verse found in Is 65:8 which states that “…as new wine is found in the cluster…” it is a verse that has been in my heart for many years.   We live in a world of individuality and the success of self-made people, we so often make these individuals the pinnacles of life.   This simple scripture reminds me that true newness is found not in individuality but in the many.   New wine, the wine of God is not in a single grape but in the cluster all the grapes on the vine being worked together to become the new wine of God.

Unfortunately we have been so taken with achieving at any cost we forget that God is after cluster people, relationship, people who are willing to change their shape being pressed into each other to become the “New Wine”

Here are some wine facts I came across while being in our beloved South Africa, you may find it interesting to see how it takes a cluster to produce a single glass. The cup we must drink must be the cup of a cluster!   A TOGETHER life, a corporate body and people group, not individuals we so often see in our day with individual Celebrities, but a whole people given to become the new wine of God,  the church has to become the cluster of God.

1 grape cluster = 1 glass     

75 grapes = 1 cluster

4 clusters = 1 bottle

40 clusters = 1 vine     

1 vine = 10 bottles

1200 clusters = 1 barrel

1 barrel = 60 gallons

60 gallons = 25 cases

30 vines = 1 barrel

400 vines = 1 acre

1 acre = 5 tons

5 tons = 332 cases

 Determine that in 2012 you will invest into the cluster, and not only your own ministry or status.    

Be a part of the cluster of New Wine! 

Power in our World of Words

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As Christians we are taught of the power one carries in our spoken words they can encourage, discourage, and affect atmospheres.   The scriptures say, “…the power of life and death is in the tongue…” In other words what comes out of the mouth will have some effect in the world that surrounds us as well as affect me.    Words can transform environments yet our society tells that the seat of power lies in the brain or our minds, I would suggest we realize that really it is in our mouths and what comes out is more powerful than any thought.    As I speak I groom my mind, it sets a course, along with this, what I say tells you where my thoughts are, “…out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks…” the bible says this is where real transformational power lies.  “…As a man thinks so he becomes…” is only true when first it’s in the heart in our inner person and then our mouth speaks it then we can begin to become it.   Our words can transform first our selves and the worlds we live in.   Words spoken over children, words spoken to loved ones; friends and enemies all have an effect that will produce.   Perhaps that’s why we are to forgive those who come against us not just as a thought but verbalizing our forgiveness as part of the process of transformation allowing the words sown to lodge in hearts and begin their transformation changing actions accordingly.   

In the same way words spoken to each other affect words uttered over nations and people groups also have within them a seed of change, of transformation, of molding their listeners.   Before I write any more I need to say I am not a monarchist yet our Queen has a unique impact in our nation and beyond, she does carry an authority and has a unique way of entering our homes every year on 25th December.  The clock turns each Christmas day to 3:00 PM and a long tradition across our nation begins to sit and listen to her words over the UK and beyond.   This year was no different to any other yet the content this year seemed, from a faith in Christ perspective, a different ring.   I have copied her 5 min speech, which of course can be down loaded on any computer to watch, but here is the text and her presentation of a faith in Christ over our world.   Thank you for your words may they impact 2012 and beyond in finding “…It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord….”.    Thank you Ma;am’.

Here is the text in full of the Queen’s 2011 Christmas message, which was recorded on 9 December – before her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was treated in hospital for a blocked coronary artery.

“In this past year my family and I have been inspired by the courage and hope we have seen in so many ways in Britain, in the Commonwealth and around the world.

We’ve seen that it’s in hardship that we often find strength from our families; it’s in adversity that new friendships are sometimes formed; and it’s in a crisis that communities break down barriers and bind together to help one another.

Families, friends and communities often find a source of courage rising up from within. Indeed, sadly, it seems that it is tragedy that often draws out the most and the best from the human spirit.

When Prince Philip and I visited Australia this year, we saw for ourselves the effects of natural disaster in some of the areas devastated by floods, where in January so many people lost their lives and their livelihoods.

We were moved by the way families and local communities held together to support each other.

Prince William travelled to New Zealand and Australia in the aftermath of earthquakes, cyclones and floods and saw how communities rose up to rescue the injured, comfort the bereaved and rebuild the cities and towns devastated by nature.

The Prince of Wales also saw first-hand the remarkable resilience of the human spirit after tragedy struck in a Welsh mining community, and how communities can work together to support their neighbours.

This past year has also seen some memorable and historic visits – to Ireland and from America.

The spirit of friendship so evident in both these nations can fill us all with hope. Relationships that years ago were once so strained have through sorrow and forgiveness blossomed into long-term friendship.

It is through this lens of history that we should view the conflicts of today, and so give us hope for tomorrow.

Of course, family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community, organisation or nation. The Commonwealth is a family of 53 nations, all with a common bond, shared beliefs, mutual values and goals.

It is this which makes the Commonwealth a family of people in the truest sense, at ease with each other, enjoying its shared history and ready and willing to support its members in the direst of circumstances.

They have always looked to the future, with a sense of camaraderie, warmth and mutual respect while still maintaining their individualism.

The importance of family has, of course, come home to Prince Philip and me personally this year with the marriages of two of our grandchildren, each in their own way a celebration of the God-given love that binds a family together.

For many, this Christmas will not be easy. With our armed forces deployed around the world, thousands of service families face Christmas without their loved ones at home.

The bereaved and the lonely will find it especially hard. And, as we all know, the world is going through difficult times. All this will affect our celebration of this great Christian festival.

Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: ‘Fear not’, they urged, ‘we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

‘For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’

Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed.

God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.

Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.

In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, there’s a prayer:

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,

Descend to us we pray.

Cast out our sin

And enter in.

Be born in us today.

It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas.”