Musings

Earths Cry, Heavens Desire.

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images-11Have we not been encouraged and taught to raise a shout, or put it moe acceptable to PRAY “… as it is in heaven so shall it be on earth…”, is this not a disciples cry of heaven come to earth? along with heaven’s desire to come to creation, both being kaleidoscope together in words of power, words of purpose and the Will of the Father, words that align life with what God is saying.

I would strongly say that when the cry of heaven meets my cry, when we have the ‘…Spirit and the bride say come…’ one voice of heaven and earth, things are then about to change, heavens will and humanity submitted life.  There are so many colourful stories painted for us throughout the scriptures of human need being supplied by the hand of God.   More than that, the crying, of need and desire on earth often become the vessel of delivering Gods desire and requirement for the moment.

The wonderful story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, she was willing in her desperate cry to be mistaken as a drunk, but she gave voice to her desire for a son on earth, there was another desire acted out in the courtroom of heaven, for a prophet.  Two worlds merged, two minds have the same answer, a son was born and a prophet arrived.

Hannah had a voice that would change the situation, as a result of the anguish of Hannah interceding for a child great change would come. I wonder how many of us would put these two things together a woman who is desperate for a child and a nation who desperately needed a prophet.   The heart of Hannah is so God centred she sees the will of the Father being greater than the desperation that you see it in her response. She did not become one that received the child and duly forgot God, but said from the beginning, give me my desperate desire and I will make your will O God the highest in my life. So she said “… if I receive this child, I will give him to the Lord…”. It was the heart attitude, my need, I’m pleading for my need, I’m crying with my need, but when my need is met I will give it back to God for God’s highest interest. I will not run away with my child but my child will be yours. In this my fullest satisfaction will be that all I have will be in the service of the will of the Father.

 What change would we bring, what powerful moment would break if we saw and learned that hearts can become the womb of the prayer of God 

Samuel grew in his early days  in the ways of a prophetic hope I’ve outlined it says “… the lamp of God and not yet gone out…”. Of course this was a reference to the little boys’ duties of lighting the lights in the temple and holding  the lights until the small hours of the morning yet as Samuel Grew a deeper dimension of meaning in this context.   The lamp not gone out is a simple picture of God’s onward going commitment to the promises made, of God’s covenant that no testimony would be allowed to disappear before God acted to secure God’s purpose

Let me say now,  a prophetic promise people realise that God will never allow the circumstances and the spiritual state around to deteriorate to the point where the faith or testimony and commitment to the purposes of his will to be lost.   God has heard the prayers and cry’s of fathers and mothers that have gone before us, the sacrifices of generations God will uphold.

Realize now the covenant that God has been laid down, the covenant God made with Abraham and all those who stand in the lien of faith are all covenants of continuity.   This continuity is eternal, it will move through generation upon generation and age if necessary to accomplish itself there is a continuity in all that God is doing.

To every generation is given the time, the life and empowerment to serve God in freshness of its own word and vision,  a vision that has the hallmark of authenticity in its continuation of what has gone before.  Our authenticity is not that we are out there on the edge and different for the sake of difference but that there is a continuity of purpose even in the midst of dawning  a dynamic and ever arriving truth. We are to build upon and not be different to.

Anything that prides itself in building another foundation other than the foundation already laid is a falsehood, we talk about this foundation knowing there is only one foundation, only Christ, we see ourselves going all the way back to and aligning our the faith that goes back to Abraham.

We are to be a people who have an anchor who is Christ and not  just those with a prophetic flavour, but really to play with words what we are to have its prophetic fervour not flavour. To be in the line of Abraham means I need Abrahams fervour, his faith, his zeal, his vision of a city, his progress and his commitment.  The ability to passionately identify with God’s purpose should really be the catalyst this should sum up our generation, to bring out the prophetic fervour of God for the purpose of God.

 

United we stand…

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UnknownI  have an appeal, I have a cry of the heart to make known.   It commenced as I was skipping along Facebook and Twitter submissions recently.   Watching the one line soundbites flooding in and being deeply aware that in no man or woman’s heart is the desire to separate or divide, but watching as the submissions pass by, some unknowingly even innocently will bring this about, asking people to stand on right or wrong sides, best or better, are you this persuasion or the other, do you subscribe or don’t you, this experience is the now way, it all sounds a little gnostic, I am saddened.   My cry is let us be united, I am so aware that God has done all in order that we are united with God, should we not do all to maintain this, for this is my cry.

We live in an age where other word carries more weight in our soul than the WORD of the Father, Son and Spirit, or at least that is how it seems.  The immense word that comes out of the divine circle, the dance that unceasingly goes on that we have been invited to participate with, and is not our passion our desire is for us to fill up this world with the life and therefore the Word of God. I read a submission recently, which seemed so good on the surface but I must admit it left me with a question, are we splitting hairs, through this it appears to be acceptable to separate once again on experiences. As one who has been baptized into belonging, like many of us through baptism, we are a people who are desirous to see the one body of Christ in our world, to see Christ filling all in all, allowing various viewpoints without undermining our heartfelt desire to be united as God is.  John 17 surely must become our priority not our theology, or experience, a question should it not all constructively direct us to the will of God?

John 17:21-23        I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 

22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 

23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

Now don’t get me wrong I strongly hold to diversity in every aspect of our faith and life, in our thinking and practice without being given over to every one doing what is right in their own eyes.     How can any one view, any one theology, any one experience deliver or fully describe our vast and wonderful God.      We live in a world where we recognize  that every culture, every colour, tribe and tongue is necessary to express God. There is no one person, no one age, no one culture that can faithfully express God in fullness, we are in need of every difference to make up the full testimony of the Father, Son and Spirit.    For is God not always presented to us in more than the one, God is covenantal.

Now back to my first thought, this submission that kicked this cry to the forefront of my mind was a quote that we do not need an encounter with the Bible but with the love of God.    Whereas I can agree and support the thought to a degree, it is the life encounter that transforms, appealing that we stay in the life of God, being sons of God ‘led by the Spirit, however here is my heartfelt plea, are not the Scriptures, the Word of God, the Bible the love of God, the Father made manifest?       Is not the word we can carry on our arms, hands, hearts and tongues, the Scriptures, the Bible the manifestation of the love of God, otherwise the love of God becomes an emotion, an encounter, an experience, whereas I experience the love of God and find my emotions stirred by the love of God through the Bible as I encounter their words, Christ is made manifest as I encounter him as the Word.    My appeal is simply let us not downgrade the Bible, the Scriptures but only love them, as yet another expression of the love of God, where we can encounter the Fathers love.  God’s words, Father Son and Spirit show their love through the Scriptures and in the Scriptures.

I am one that believes that the love of God through history has given us two Testaments the New Testament and Old Testament I also see God in the new covenant is writing a Third Testament.   You and I are to be a Testament written by the spirit and read by all men, letters that all can read and encounter Father, Son and Spirit.

Let us see the wide expression of vast different ways of the love of God, rather than set up what is right and wrong, person against person through our experience.   I know that is not our desire but unfortunately we do add to the practice the experience of who, what is superior or lesser on these matters.   God is love and his Word, the Scriptures, the Bible as we read it, is one place where we can, and do, encounter the Fathers love as in and through so many other vehicles 

 The love of God is delivered to us through many facets creation, scriptures, even modern-day films, anything really,  we can encounter the love of God in so much and we do!

 

“You Won…”

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images-9Subtitled “You won Arthur!”

We recently directed some guests of ours from overseas to Kings Cross station London as they wanted to see platform 9 ¾, I wondered what they wanted, 9 ¾ never heard of such a platform, cannot be really?  I had no idea what they were talking about, never heard of it, thought they are not from UK.    However I found out that they knew better than me, the platform was made famous through Harry Potter’s book, you go to the platform quite simply to get your photo opportunity… just in case you wish to see it take the Underground to Kings Cross / St. Pancras, (two main line stations that share the same Underground Station).        Follow the signs into Kings Cross Station when you get to the surface walk along Platform 8 (it’s totally free access).     When you see a sign directing you left to Platforms 9 to 11 keep going on along Platform 8 and the Platform 9 3/4 photo opportunity is a few yards further along on your left. There is normally a conspicuous sign on the platform pointing to the small alcove and out of the wall projects half a baggage trolley.   You have arrived at your destination.

I had no idea of how to get there or how to help others arrive there then the thought came to me, it is a real challenge for us all to answer the question   “where are we going and how can we help each other get there?”.    It is a timely question in the hour we live, with so many changes in society, politics and the economic world , in the business world and in the world of faith, the church change is coming at us as a fast speeding train, whether we want it or not.    Where is it taking us and how can we help each other get  there?

It  is a day for the prophetic people of God to come to the forth, a day in the midst of much noise and debate, to take hold of the word of God.     Gods’ words when uttered in the past created, they also sustained people who took them up.    These spoken words gave direction and knowledge to those who listen and heard them, those who listened  did not find themselves with out understanding.

Clearly we are in a day of discovering a deeper trust of the Father a new listening and obedience that will lead us into freedom and to the land of promise.    We have to grasp the idea that we are on journey,  that in itself  will empower, challenge and  mature all who embark.

Today as people of God in the west, we find ourselves so much part of societies thinking at large, that it has invaded the church and they way we think, becoming consumers in every way.   Seeking ever-increasing experiences for our emotions, listening to the word of God to consume that which we believe that will give us a quick advance, an edge on life or even fix?    Making decisions on that which we can get hold of immediately, the NOW rules us.    Yet the Journey men and women of old, the pictures of lives of people between the covers of the scriptures walked a journey, not a quick dash with immediate consumer gratification.    Consider the lesson of one of these journey men, Abraham, here is a man who had promise upon promise spoken to him, of people’s, fathering, sons, nation and land, God promises to bless all nations through Abraham, yet Abraham received none of these in his day, but  even 1000’s of years on the promises are still coming to pass.

Even more than that Abraham had a 644 Kilometer journey, once he was willing to entertain the promise.   A 644 Kilometer journey and a 4000+ year, time frame, to get the promises.   Now that is a challenge once he become obedient to the promise words of God it was a long haul walk and a massive time frame to content with.    Now don’t get me wrong on the journey there where evidences, victories of the promise but its fullness took walking on investing time, he become wealthy in his day, he had influence and did finally get a true son of promise, but certainly one son does not constitute a nation!   Once Abraham believed and entered the journey it was counted as righteousness to him, that is keeping in right line with the journey, and keeping it foundational to life’s actions and decisions.   The words of God are living, but how living are they ?  They require movement, obedience, a change of vicinity, a change of surroundings, a departure and a step in front of you.    Actually the words of promise to us all are to bring about sons of God who are led by the Spirit, to bring maturity in light of eternal promise.

I think its time to discover not only the joy of the immediate but the eternal will of the Father, knowing that we have been called to an eternal purpose, to depart from the tent of  the immediate and become the tent of meeting for our life and then our world around us.     We are, the people of God, the ecclesia, the church are to be the place where people will meet the love of God along with a people who are a prophetic journeying people

Let me encourage you to find others people who will also ask, where is all this taking us?  where are we going and how can i help you get there rather than making sure i can get there.

Traveling in a plane has its challenges, but no more for me than the initial film or safety demonstration, we are all shown, there is one difficult line there to listen  to, it goes something like this …make sure your mask when it drops from the roof goes on you first before you see to children or others… that is so against the journey of prophetic people,  firstly seeing to ourselves before others, so that we can all arrive together.    Many years ago  we were taught to play croquet by a great Godly man called Arthur Wallis some 15 or so of us, in a retreat centre in Sheffield.   As we came to the end of our game and lesson Arthur being the master crossed the line, won the game and a shout of “…you have won Arthur…” went up from all,  with this he turned and said “…no I only cross the line when all my brothers cross…” and with that he went to  be with the Lord.   What a line to enter eternity with, to depart this expression of life with, what a way to live, asking more how can i help you get to the destination of the will of God rather than consuming, to get there myself.

So find journey men and women, young people, children sojourners who are pursuing the will of the Father in eternal promise and plan and seek to help each other fulfill the prophetic purpose of God.

Our Time…

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“And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. 

25 “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

images-9Acts 3:24-25

I’m not sure how long I have heard certain types of comments and messages going around the church, not only the church but in politics and society, messages on ‘times of transition’. I think I can truthfully say there has rarely been a year not hurt teams such as ‘days of transition’, ‘changing seasons’, and ‘new day’ and even the buzz term of today ‘paradigms shifts’. Why is it that every New Year we feel we’ve entered into the time of transition and without playing semantics I think a better summation of what has been taking place would be to say, we’ve been caught up in the purpose that his constant change therefore you feel you are in constant transition.

Unfortunately what is meant by transition often is to move from one fixed state of existence to another. Yet with great joy we experience something better than that. We are involved in the progressive and sure emergence of God’s kingdom in life and power in the progress towards maturity of the people.

In recent years it’s become popular paint on walls or to purchase planks with pithy sayings on, I came across one recently which stated, ‘if you only do things the way you have always done them, then you only get what you’ve always got’. Progress to the fullness of Christ, showing the Father that is, is only possible if we escape the fossilized influence of the status quo, of religious acceptance.

I believe we live in a generation that is calling out for Prophets who when they prophesy it’s not insipid prophesying passionate prophets.   Those in-home everything about their life his passion. What they hate they hate absolutely, what they love the love totally. What they do knows no half measure. There is an inch to their sword, conviction and their voice, men and women deeply moved by the spirit of God, men and women carry the burden can’t…Passion.

Over the years we have all recognise passionate preachers. The non-always held, you can be loud and not passionate, and you can be passionate and not allowed. But we could tell if their heart) in one memo from speaking we knew when there was passion inside them. The men and the women believe what they were saying, they believed they carried the word of God and love to such an extent they believe they were the most important person in the building at the moment, and what they were saying was the most important thing in the world at that moment…Passion.

And let me say they were not arrogant, they were not totally sure of themselves but they were sure of the God of the call and the word of the burden. That poured outness, giveness, their abandonment to thy God propelled them.

Passion by itself is not guarantee of truth, but also the passion instead. ‘The letter kills, it is the spirit that gives life’…Passion.

We could join with those 2 disciples that pass comment when they realise that Christ had walked on the Emmaus Road with them and say ‘ did not our heart burn inside this’ when they heard the word of God. We know very well that communicating with heart must be a way forward. There are so many able people to communicate information and do it with such creativity, you when I will be much the better from hearing them, but it also deliver their heart…Passion that captures us.

Should not the things of God, the interests of the creator, the seal of the Lord that will accomplish it be that which triggers and fires a passion?

Samuel and his successors were at the forefront of the purpose of God for their time, and brought to each and burning messages of God’s word. O Lord give us a fire back in words, not empty with no substance words, but words of revelation that carry a fire of heavens throne.They spoke to kings and rulers, who in turn put pressure on them to change their throne to change their message, to change their prophesy. Yet these prophets were 1st and foremost servants of God, and despite all pressures remained such. Political engineering  and electioneering in our day shawls politicians seeking to discover through opinion polls what the people want them to say on issues. When they find this they often change the emphasis opposition accordingly. We have politics of single issues. Not so all the prophets, they know the purpose, they know the heart of God and they press the issue. They are not politicians but prophets.  Men and women who love God and deeply loved the people of God, folding after Christ the great prophet who loved people.

These never measured themselves by people’s response to the word they carried. The fulfilling release they have is knowing that they’ve been the voice of God that time. The response of the word is an issue between people and their God. The prophet is to deliver what is known to be the word of God.

Think about it…your passion, your burden, your abandonment…

 

Change Why? it’s so Difficult…

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images-8Repentance, turning around, growing, maturing, taking on new ideas, new journeys, new ventures, what do they all have in common.   There is a thread that fixes these and other challenges of living together, it is called CHANGE.  If we are to move forward and live our Christian life to the full we must be able to embrace change, knowing it is imperative for us to understand the full elements of change.      Change brings about insecurity, emotionally.   I like the picture from the sporting world in the area of boxing; the unstable time for a boxer is when the boxer changes their stance it is an unstable moment; change brings instability, which we have to negotiate.   The church asks for change but very rarely helps us in the instability and emotional challenge of the change.      Wise people understand that lasting change requires them as individuals to change first before anything around them will change, in the same way influencers or leaders know if they change that which they are responsible for in their stewardship of people or organizations will also change.

Your change won’t last, or disrupt your community, unless those around you personally embrace the change first, at least at some level.    Let us try to understand why most people initially resist change.

There are processes that must be engaged in to bring and complete any change, often these are actions and thought patterns that are hidden. If we are to be Gods Change agents it is necessary that we become aware of our minds and people’s thinking.    As we become more people aware we can devise ways of helping lasting change.

Here are some change blockers, hindrances we will have to deal with:

Assume the worst.      We are wired to pick up threats and negative possibilities around us more than the positive. Before you say “I’m not like that”, 2/3’s of the brain cells are in the flight-fight part of our brain, the amygdala, are wired to pick up on the negative (Hanson, 2010).  Generally people’s initial response to change comes from these emotional centers rather than from their thinking centers.

Knowledge gaps fill with fear instead of faith.  The insecurity and instability about change does cultivate fear. The less information that people have to fill in the knowledge gaps, the greater the fear, which in turn brings about resistance to any change.

No second chances to make a good first impression.       Neuroscientists have shown it to be true (Lount et al., 2008). Poorly introduced change will always start your change on the wrong footing.

Change is emotional.                 Just presenting facts without engaging positive and hopeful emotions will seldom move your forward.    A large number of people make decisions based on emotion.

I can’t handle it.                 Trying to create too much change too quickly can engage the brain’s fear center and cause people to resist, thus hindering change (Hemp, 2009).

“Old habits die-hard” We all have a tendency to return to where we have been or what we have known, they say, as we get older we default quicker to what we know.   How easy is it for us to think about other options.   We have set up habits and it’s a tug-of-war between the familiar and easy

The nearer the change the more resistant we become.      Peoples’ response to change, changes over time.   Introduce a change a year ahead and initially the benefits are seen, the options look good. The negatives such as more work, recruiting more people more time needed don’t seem very large at that point.    Neuroscientists have discovered that when the change is far away, the positives usually outweigh the negatives (Löw et al., 2008). However, the closer we think about the implications and the personal cost. Uninformed optimism gives way to informed pessimism.

Change is interpreted as a threat.             We are told the brain is organized around a fundamental principle—minimize threat-maximize reward—that results in either resistance or openness. Change perceived as a threat produces resistance. Change brings uncertainty and we don’t like it, well our brain does not like it.

when ever change is presented keep these insights in mind so you can work out a plan to Unknownovercome them.

The bible quotes “who builds a house without first counting the cost” the counting the cost is not to prevent but to be realistic in the demands that will be put upon us, Abraham “counted his body as good as dead yet believed God” when the promise of a son was made.   That is, he saw the impossibility, the change at the age he and Sarah was, yet believed a promise, believed God, a God word over the negative emotions of “you cannot be serious”.

We are to “set our eyes on the Christ”’ Paul encouraged us to forget what has happened and press on through to the gain.   There is something so strong in seeing what God has said in all our change and holding on when the insecurity of the change comes.

Find a friend in time of need, that when we are in that place find others who are not in their negative but who have worked through the change and talk, tell of your patterns of thought and walk together learning from others who have changed and are changing.

FUNDAMENTALLY DEVELOP A CULTURE OF CHANGE, readiness to change and a willingness to constantly embrace change, some times keep flexible in making changes in your life to keep change alive, change room layouts, move your desk, change decoration, change your habit patterns, change eating try something new, try something uncommon to you, do something that demands you to say ‘I don’t know how to do this’ or ‘what I am doing’, find a new sport all these and other ways of cultivating change help us to be change agents first to us then to those we touch.

Questions to ponder:

What have you seen in others that make them averse to change?

Who around me deals well with change?

How can I make the benefits of change be big in mind and experience constantly?

How can I build a reason for change that out weights the insecurity and instability I will feel, CHANGE is part of life, it is maturing, growing up and older it will not go away it will knock on the door of your life daily, LEARN TO EMBRACE IT.