Only You, Lord

Of late I have been feeling that life is getting crazier and crazier while speeding up. I know that change is a certainty in this life but it feels that each day brings some new massive occurrence somewhere in the world - from natural disasters to wars and fighting, violence and theft to excessive opulence versus utter poverty.

It would seem that we live in very new and uncharted times in global politics, cultures and polarised opinions, there is an attitude that prevails of “Either you agree 100% with me or you and I cannot proceed. There is a whole generation of online vigilantes and mercenaries who are very quick to mock, insult, bully and tear down anything or anybody that they feel to set their targets on – “just set up a profile or a website and Let Rip!”

Fake News is the buzz term - what’s genuine and what is just made up?

Our personal lives are full enough without all that, just seeing the month through can be more than some people can handle. Big decisions and little ones are needing to be taken all the time and to quote a line in the song We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel   -   “I can't take it anymore”

But then there is the sweetest of truths in all this and that is – But God. No matter how crazy things seem and how uncertain I am of the next decision to take I remind myself of all He has already done for me. In the past when all seemed lost and hopeless there was always definite – God and only God can make the way where there seems to be no way. Then I find myself reeling off all the Only You Lord things that come to mind at the time.

Only You can truly amaze, enthral and are limitless (Genesis 1:1)

Only You would choose to take the judgement and punishment meant for us (Isaiah 53:7)

Only You order the events which occur at different times and seasons (Daniel 2:21)

Only You have the bounty to feed me and the power to protect me   (Psalm 23:5)

Only You are the way-maker (Isaiah 43:19)

Only You are the peace-giver (John 14:27)

Only You can calm the storms (Matthew 8:26)

Only You can instil hope when all seems lost (Luke 8:50)

Only You can raise the dead (John 11:43 & 44)

Only You can heal the sick (Luke 4:40)

Only You can give sight to the blind (Mark 10:52)

Only You can heal the paralysed and lame (John 5:9)

And then because of Him and Only Him I can face tomorrow.

Drop the Gavel

I have been wrestling with this blog for a while now and tried to “move on” from writing it but find that Holy Spirit keeps bring it up again and again. Part of my wrestle is that as an occasional blogger I may be accused of being hypocritical but I really hope that my heart is reflected in anything I am writing below.

Have you ever noticed the increase of internet sites that have been created with the “intention” to warn-against or expose a Church Movement, Ministry or Individual by people that profess to be believers?

A vast number of these sites profess to have been given a mandate by God or feel it is their duty to expose the target of their choice and use any material they can find online that may seem to validate their point. They even quote scriptures that may appear to back up their agenda (which can often be quoted out of context).  It would seem that certain styles of worship, church models or even some individuals involved in ministry that they are “not comfortable with” become that target that they label as anything from Demonic to Brain Washing and Manipulative.

What then happens is that other “believers” read the content on these sites and leave comments either in agreement or disagreement which then in turn causes a response. Now discussion and debate can be a positive thing but it would seem that in a lot of instances these comments and responses turn personal and even insulting without the individuals having ever met or spoken in person.

It is with these things in mind that I weigh in with my 2 cents worth as my heart’s desire and fierce passion is to see the Bride of Christ (that is us – the Church) advancing and not be focused of fighting herself. We the church are in the world but not of the world!!!

Now I do understand that there are warnings in scripture and that we need to seek Gods wisdom and discernment but I also have an issue with assuming the “responsibility” to create websites specifically designed to slander others. We are called to be Jesus’ witnesses but not to assume the position of Judge or Advocate.

Acts 1: 7-8 says;

⁷And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”           _{Acts 1: 7-8    (NKJV)}

So as believers we are called to be witnesses.

A witness is someone who has, who claims to have, or is thought, by someone with authority to compel testimony, to have knowledge relevant to an event or other matter of interest.

 1 John 2:1-2 says that Jesus is our Advocate;

¹ My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.                                                                         _{1 John 2:1-2    (NKJV)}

An Advocate or Lawyer defends someone in a law court.

So Jesus is our Advocate, He defends us and we are only called to recount what we have witnessed.

Let’s get this straight once and for all…..  Jesus does not require or need us to defend Him and we are never to assume the position of Advocate but to only be His witnesses, so often we feel the need to cross over from giving our witness or testimony to arguing on Jesus’ behalf.

We are also not to assume the position of Judge, only God has that position.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-5 while teaching on the mountain;

“Judge not, that you be not judged. ²For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. ³And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? ⁵Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”                                                                                                                                 _{Matthew 7:1-5  (NKJV)}

So I guess the point I am trying to make is that as believers our attention, time and energy should be focused on witnessing for Jesus and reaching the lost and not be spent on thinking that we are somehow assigned to be Heavens FBI agents to expose what and who we consider ungodly and then to shout as loud as we can about it via online platforms that give us a feeling of importance. I believe that often arrogance and pride are the root issues in these websites sites being created and pride is fuelling our need to be right in the discussions and comments left for all to view.

God does not need our help in dealing with things that are not of Him. It is He who convicts, challenges and causes repentance, He raises up and removes, He judges and most importantly it is He who forgives.

We should be focused on building His church and not tearing her down. We should be passionately in love with her and protect her instead of attacking her from within like some internal disease or cancer. Let us trust that God will deal with any issues that are amiss and focus on beautifying His radiant bride.

Aware of the Flutter

Imagine one of those old sailing ship that used to cross the oceans with hoisted sails catching the wind and pushing the ship forward. There would be many sailors aboard all with 1 mission in mind to get the ship and its cargo and passengers to its destination safely as it was a dangerous job with potential hazards all the way. Each sailor had a function and purpose aboard the ship and each had a role to do.

 

One of the hazards would be a lack of wind and the ship being becalmed when it would slowly drift along for days or even weeks. Imagine how frustrating those times must have been for all aboard and how the days must drag.

Then after days and days of this – the flag at the top the main mast flutters ever so slightly, the watchman jolts to attention as eyes become fixed on that piece of material.  Then…..    the cry…..       “ALL HANDS ON DECK!!!!!!”

There is immediate action as sails go up and the sailors ready the ship.

 As the church we need to be aware that the “flag of the spirit” is stirring. There is a fresh and new move of God stirring of which has not been seen before. The way that we “do church” and the models that we have built by up to now will need to be held very loosely. Traditions and the good old “because we have always done it that way” statements will need to be looked at again in the light of this new move. If we as the church are malleable in Gods Hand then we are about to experience an outpouring that we have only dreamed of up till now. If we remain rigid and unwilling to embrace change then our gatherings will become dry and unfruitful, our outreaches will be ineffective and growth will become stunted.

In Acts chapter 10 there is an event that would change the dynamics of the early church significantly. Until then the church had an understanding that was predominately shaped by the Jewish culture and gentiles were seen as unclean, then God breaks in and what they had perceived as being clean or unclean was turned on its head. We know with the benefit of hindsight how this change would rock the early church and how they had to “wrestle” through what this would mean to the way they did things as now the gentiles with all their different cultures and habits would be introduced and added to the church. It was a huge adjustment for them. The “model had to fit with the changes and not the changes having to fit the model.

My only point in all this is that the Spirit is starting to stir. Awake church, prepare and adjust now in order to be the church for tomorrow.

Who am I?

 

The “Who am I?” question is pretty much something that everybody faces at some point in their life.

No matter your religion, cultural background, ethnicity or gender, at some point this question comes to “haunt” each us.

This is because we were created, yes… created, with purpose and destiny knitted into our being.

But way back when that serpent convinced mankind to follow the “lusts” of the heart, relationship and unity were destroyed and we surrendered our identity. And so begun the long and age old journey to “discover” Who am I and What is my purpose?

 

Many have tried to answer that question, books have been written, conferences and courses have been organised and vocations have been created all to deal with this one thing. Yet it still remains, Who Am I?

 

I have been on a journey this year with God that has challenged much of what I thought I knew about Him and stretched me beyond what I thought my capacity was.

The more I “reasoned” the more I came to realise that I had a lot of information. I could quote scriptures and recite the teachings and principles that I had heard over the many years that I have been a church going believer. I knew about God, His word and theologies, I had a relationship with Him and my heart’s desire was to serve Him with my all. Then back in January 2018 in a Sunday morning church service He spoke through a prophetic word that would “hit me in the guts” and change me.

I wrote about that prophetic word in my previous post and my choice in response, little did I know back then the journey He was about to take me on. That question “Who am I?” was being dealt with on multiple levels as only God can and He brought me to what at first seemed like the cliff edge. It was no cliff edge however and in fact was the river bank of His unchanging love, absolute faithfulness and unequalled power. I have always had an understanding of Jesus being in me and me being in Him but He has pulled me in deeper and deeper to the fact that as is said in John 14:20

 

“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

 

I know this seems obvious but the more time I spent on this 1 truth – Jesus is in the Father, I am in Jesus and Jesus is in me the more I found it taking root in my heart. So often we know lots and lots in our walk with God but that lots and lots can just sit as “data” in our brain. We can recall it at will, quote it regularly and use it in writings, teachings and debating - however it will always remain as data until it has made the + - 35cm journey from our brain to our heart.

 

Only in the heart can the real truths of God take root and then produce the Love, Life, Hope, Joy and Identity that will answer that question “Who am I” once and for all.

 

John 12 : 24 – 26

Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.

My identity, security, purpose and reason for being are only found in God. My mind needs to not be the filter through which I understand but my heart because I am in Jesus, He is in me and He is in the Father.

On Christ the solid rock we can have absolute confidence.

Release the Muselet

I had a vivid vision a few weeks back on New Year’s Eve of a multitude of people gathering together all carrying chains, these were chains that had been broken off them.

Some were chains of Oppression, others were Health issues, Sickness’ and Diseases.

They were bringing these chains to show what they had been set free from, to offer them up in worship and be rid of them for good. 

I heard God say that there will be multitudes saved and set free this next year.

That vision has stuck with me and I have been meditating on it as I felt there was more to it than the obvious.

I was in a church meeting recently when a leader shared a picture he had during worship which made my ears prick up. He described a picture of the wire cage that fits over the cork of a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine or beer, it is a safety device to stop the cork from popping out due to the pressure of the carbonated contents. The wire cage needs to be removed before the cork can be removed and the contents of the bottle be enjoyed.

At that same meeting this same leader was preaching and read a testimony from a book about Smith Wigglesworth’s life – the extract is below;

While staying in the home of a curate of the local Church of England, [Wigglesworth] and the curate were sitting together talking after supper. No doubt the subject of their conversation was that the poor fellow had no legs. Artificial limbs in those days were unlike the sophisticated limbs of today.

Wigglesworth said to the man quite suddenly (which he often did when ministering in cases like this), ‘Go and get a pair of new shoes in the morning.’

The poor fellow thought it was some kind of joke. However, after Wigglesworth and the curate had retired to their respective rooms for the night, God said to the curate, ‘Do as My servant hath said.’ What a designation for any person–My servant! God was identifying Himself with Wigglesworth.

There was no more sleep for the man that night. He rose up early, went downtown, and stood waiting for the shoe shop to open. The manager eventually arrived and opened the shop for business. The curate when in and sat down.

Presently and assistant came and said, ‘Good morning, sir. Can I help you?’

The man said, ‘Yes, would you get me a pair of shoes, please?’

‘Yes, sir. Size and colour?’

‘The man hesitated. The assistant then saw his condition and said, ‘Sorry, sir. We can’t help you.’

‘It’s all right, young man. But I do want a pair of shoes. Size 8, colour black.’

The assistant went to get the requested shoes. A few minutes later he returned and handed them to the man. The man put one stump into a shoe, and instantly a foot and leg formed! Then the same thing happened with the other leg! He walked out of that shop, not only with a new pair of shoes, but also with a new pair of legs!

Wigglesworth was not surprised. He had expected the result. He often made remarks like this: ‘As far as God is concerned, there is no difference between forming a limb and healing a broken bone.’

An excerpt from - Smith Wigglesworth, The Secret Of His Power

by Albert Hibbert, page 33-34

As he was reading I was finding it harder and harder to fight the tears back. I have heard and read many of the miracles that took place around Wigglesworth and have always been left with and excitement in my spirit. This time however I was cut to heart and the tears began to flow as I questioned myself as to why we do not see these things happen in our day.

As I subtly wiped the tears away I heard the Holy Spirit whisper in my ear – “I have not changed, and Wigglesworth was just a man like you are.”

I was left a wreck on the inside.

Now there are a number of scriptures about God being the same, not changing – below are just 2

Malachi 3:6 (ESV) - “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV) - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

So it was pretty clear to me that the reason that we not see these types of miracles is not because God does not do that anymore or that Smith Wigglesworth was any different to us - i.e. just a man like me. After all there are numerous examples of mere men in the bible and through church history that God has used in powerful ways. In Mark chapter 16 Jesus also says;

¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

WHOEVER BELIEVES is what He said, not those special people who believe but WHOEVER.

That’s me and you!!!!!

So going back to the picture or the wire cage that fits over the cork that caused a TAKE NOTE response in my spirit.

I had been doing some basic research and found that this device is called a Muselet and it derives its name from the French museler, to muzzle. It is a safety device that is used to ensure that the cork does not pop and it must be removed before the cork can be removed. Apparently it always takes the same number of twists to open before removing the wire or muzzle, that number is 6.  6 quick twists of the wrist i.e. 180^o twists or three if you can actually manage to do full-circle turns i.e. 360^o twists, the 7^th movement is to remove the Muselet.

I am not going to go into the possible meaning of the numbers 6 & 7 and will leave that to you to decide its relevance. The name Muselet meaning Muzzle and that it is described as a safety device says it all, I need to remove the “safety devices” that are on my heart and mind if I want to experience and enjoy all that God has for me.

The choice and action is mine as to removing my muzzle – those things that keep me from taking the unsafe leaps of faith in response to Gods nudges. I need to be un-muzzled before I will get to experience the types of miracles that Smith Wigglesworth did. Yes it may feel unsafe and “my cork could be popped” at any point when I am surrendered to God but then is that not worth it??

God may move me to speak or act in some way that is not my comfort zone and I may even be rejected or taken as an offence at times but if that is the price then is God (and others) not worth it?

If I want to be part of seeing those multitudes getting free of their chains and coming to God then I need to remove my Muselet.

God Bless and Happy 2018.

When in The Valley

Have you ever felt like you were passing through the dark valley of the uncertainty or fear or despair and even hopelessness? If you have never felt those times then I really would love to know what your secret is.

However God is impressing on me more and more that when I enter those times in my life I am faced with a choice. I can shut my eyes tight and hope the end is near or I can take a breath, look with intent ahead and not just make it to the other side but see this valley changed into a green field. You may be wondering what I am on about, well I believe that as a Christian I am not only meant to survive those dark valleys but I have an opportunity to see them transformed into light and spacious places in my life.

In Ezekiel 37 (a very well-known portion of scripture) Ezekiel is taken by God in a vision and placed in a valley, Ezekiel could see that the valley was full of dry bones – does not sound like a nice place to “hang out”. God asks Ezekiel if those dry bones can live and Ezekiel gives an answer that is so often our response – “Only God knows”. That is not a wrong answer but it can often be an apathetic one.

God is not satisfied with that answer and tells Ezekiel to Prophesy to or Speak to those dry bones. God never wants us to become static in these valleys but to press through and even be active in seeing it transformed. In Psalm 23 David refers to such a valley, he says in verse 4 “Even though I walk through the darkest valley” – note that in those valleys we are meant to be moving forward and not staying still. David would have seen such a valley when he arrived at the Israelite Army’s camp to deliver some supplies to his brothers and the commander of their unit. There he found the soldiers “dismayed and terrified” because of that giant that was taunting them, what was of interest to me when working through this was that the Israel Army was camping at a valley - “Valley of Elah”. To that army it must have felt like a Valley of Death as they would see and hear the enemy giant mock them, how on earth were they going to overcome that!!!

I did a bit of research on the Valley of Elah and found another very interesting fact – according to Wikipedia the valley so called after the large and shady terebinth trees (Pistacia atlantica) which are indigenous to its parts.

And also that

In the late 19th century, Conder and Kitchener described the Elah valley as being "one of the most fertile districts in Palestine. It is an open flat vale about half a mile across, and covered with corn; a narrow trench runs down the centre full of white pebbles worn by the water in winter. Here and there large terebinths grow along its course (Butmet Wâdy es Sûr), and solitary oak trees (Ballûtet Kŭssis). On either side rise the stony hills covered with brushwood and wild growth. 

So that sounds like a “not too bad a place” – a fertile place with large shady trees.

To conclude, what God has been impressing on me more and more is that we are not only meant to keep going forward through those dark valleys but that He is inviting us to see the darkness, fear and hopelessness transformed into a fertile place. That He is encouraging us to Prophesy or Speak to those places and see life take over, that those Valleys in our lives would be transformed to the green pastures and still waters that David refers to in that same Psalm 23.

Maybe, just maybe we can take God at His word. That those great biblical hero’s like Ezekiel and David could actually be you and me in this day.

Chimneys

Ever noticed how many buildings have chimneys?  Society used to gather around the presence of fire. Buildings were designed around the presence of fire. How many of all those chimneys are still in use today? Not many I would venture to say. Fire is Dangerous, its a Health & Safety risk. Fire has been removed and chimneys have been condemned, we have invented alternate way of heating. We have nice heaters that look like fire places and make a nice but fake flame. Fire has been removed. 

Has the church removed the Fire of God, the Presence of God and made ways of "faking" or replacing it with programmes, watered down truth, the feel-good factor and political correctness.

When His Fire comes it consumes everything. When Elijah confronts the King, the prophets of Baal and the people of Israel on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18 he says that the God who answers with fire is the true God. After the prophets of Baal had been calling on their god for hours with no result Elijah builds an altar and prepares the sacrifice. His has it "flooded" with water then he prays. Verse 18 says;
" Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench."

The Fire of God consumes which can be scary, its not a "safe and in control" place to be unlike a nice warm heater. But a heater can never captivate us like a fire does. Have you ever gazed at a fire burning and been captivated? Now ask yourself - have you ever been captivated by a heater?

By removing the fire or presence of God we can control our meetings but will never see the healing, restoration and freedom that comes with the Fire of God.

My prayer is that I would never block the fire of God in my own life by choosing a safe and in control way of life

What are the Odds?

The story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel is well known and has been used for all sorts of scenarios

It says in 1 Samuel 17:20 that when David arrived at the Israelite camp in the Valley of Elah that “he reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.” Despite this attempt to get psyched up by shouting / chanting their war cry as they went the atmosphere in the camp was one of hopelessness and fear.

It is into this atmosphere that David arrives and he is surprised at their state of mind and spirit and asks what will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel. He is not traumatised by the sight and sound of Goliath as the rest of the Israelites were and is in a way angered and annoyed by the impact Goliath is having on the Israelite Army. His dismissal of Goliath angers his brother Eliab who responds to David with belittling accusations. Even that does not dissuade David and instead of shrinking back or getting into a defensive argument with Eliab he turns aside to continue his enquiry.

We know how this story ends and many messages, inspirational talks and other stories have been based around this defeat of the giant Goliath by the shepherd boy David.

What is interesting to me is how the “odds” changed when David arrived in the Israelite camp. His unwavering belief and security in the fact that his God would deliver him from the giant is an attitude that we should be emulating. We as individuals as well as our corporate gatherings carry the Presence of the Living God and therefore the odd should change when encounter negative circumstances and situations in life. As with the Goliath scenario - Sickness, Infirmity, Poverty, Hopelessness and Loneliness should all be “disarmed” when a believer in Jesus Christ enters the fray but do we as “believers” have an assuredness as David did?

Another thing is, how often we see that when an individual or a group of people begin to rise up in that spirit of belief and trust in God that another member or group of the faith reacts with negative comments and even make it their “project” to bring belittling and slander.

Often the same response that Eliab had is displayed because the comfort zones are challenged by a lifestyle of somebody with unwavering belief and security. It brings out all the insecurities and wobbles in lives and then a defensive reaction is produced instead of allowing inspiration and encouragement to be imparted and the odds over lives to shift.

Let us be a spiritual generation of Odds Changes regardless of age, gender or nationality and see Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.  

A Reflection rather a Campaign

It has been a while, where does time disappear to?

I have been working through the whole “Let you light shine” thing with God over the last while and have reached a rather obvious revelation in my walk with God.

My passion is to see Kingdom more and more as part of my everyday life. While much of the day is taken up with the mundane tasks that must be done I am desiring to see these times filled more and more with “God moments”. Taking more risks is something a group of us are feeling encouraged to do more and more by God and we have been encouraged by the testimonies that we have been hearing.

But then taking a risk is exactly that – Risk, and the comfort of my “comfort zone” can seem quite appealing at those times. To take a risk will require me to maybe speak with a stranger or do something that will require courage which I may not always have an abundance of. In this journey of wanting to take more God risks and seeing more of Kingdom in my everyday life I have felt heard the voice of God tell me that He does not need a Marketing Department. How often do we as Christians feel the need to mention that we are Christians to preach the gospel if we were to take a risk in God but He said to me that He really does not need me to market Him. My role is to reflect Him which could be in many ways. When I engage somebody in any way I will begin to see more of Kingdom breaking out by reflecting Jesus and not by feeling the need to have to market Him. An act of kindness will reflect Him in greater ways and be more of an example for Him that stumbling over a bunch of words about how I am a Christian and why I have said or done anything for God.

As His bride – us the church need to stop trying to be the Marketing Department of heaven and just focus on Him and taking risks in Him. We will then be a reflection of Him and carry His presence which will be the only thing that will actually appeal to a world that is sick of being the target of marketing campaigns of all types on a daily basis.  

Stay true to the calling on your life

I recently had a conversation after a church service with somebody I had not met before and found myself being encouraged to enter into a discussion / debate on the subject of “who Christians should be voting for in an upcoming election” the latest End Times  theory that the Tribulation will begin in September this year. I am not somebody that is obsessed with End Times signs and theories and was feeling very uncomfortable with entering into the discussion as I had not been expecting it and more so it was not the time and place. I tried to steer the conversation back to less intense topics and suggested going for a cup of tea but to no avail. The harder I tried to politely change the direction of conversation the more intense it seemed to get. In the end I had to ask to cut the conversation but was accused of being too naïve and being “one of those Christians that bury their heads in the sand”.  I managed to end the conversation in as much of a polite manner as possible but found that I had been quite affected by it.

For the next couple of days I found myself questioning if I was naïve and not seeking God, not specifically regarding the signs of the end times but was there any truth in the accusation in any way. Was I as committed to the Word of God as a whole as some of the fanatics are with regards to a specific topic?

A very wise man who is also a very good friend then gave me the best advice that I needed to be hearing.

He basically reminded me that our focus should be Jesus in all things and that Jesus is in control. No matter the political climate of the day – He is In Control, despite the latest claims of revelation regarding End Times – He is in Control. We should be fanatical about Jesus and partnering with Him in building His Kingdom.

He also reminded me to “Stay true to the calling on my life” and to walk in Freedom.

When I received that advice my spirit leapt again and I heard God say “Yes, now I have your attention again! Stop looking inwards and allowing distractions to rob.”

I was reminded of a verse in Geneses 26 v 18 where it tells of Isaac unstopping the wells that his father Abraham had dug which the Philistines has blocked up by throwing stones and junk in.

“ ¹⁸ Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.”

I had allowed the well within me to be blocked up by distractions, accusations and lies from the enemy which had meant my focus dropped from Jesus to myself.

I thank God for His faithfulness that even when we may not really know what it is that we are grappling with or that our focus has dropped from Him, He still reaches out to us just like He did when He reached out and caught Peter as Peter began to sink when taking his eyes off Jesus while walking on the water. I also thank Mike for being quick to respond with Gods encouragement to me.

So to anybody out there that may feel like your focus has dropped, I would say the same words to you that impacted me with such freeing power, clarity and love;

“Stay true to the calling on your life and to walk in Freedom”