Grace and Truth

…all the words of this life…

Tag Archives: God


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The Runners’ (G)race

girl leapingAs I run along the path, each step requires that I watch where I put my foot.

Gravel can be treacherous in its inconsistency and so I need to be constantly vigilant.

A moment’s lapse in concentration could mean for me an injury, a twisted ankle, and so I look down.  With each step I scan the ground for a larger-than-usual rock, a dip in the path, an unusual rise in the ground.

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet…”

My legs hurt. Sometimes they feel as heavy as lead.  Other times I can leap like a deer, raise my hands as I run and praise my Jesus.  But even so, I have to keep watching the ground.

Yesterday as I was running, Jesus showed me something.

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He showed me that while it is important to keep watching where my feet tread, not to lose concentration, to be constantly aware, it is also just as important to regularly look up.

I realized that this is something I do automatically when I run, simply because it is essential.  As I am running, watching the gravel in front of me, looking at where my feet are to hit the ground next, I also look up regularly ahead of me to the path I am running on.  I need to focus in the distance too

To know where I am going,

To see what is ahead,

To ensure I am still on the path.

To never look up at all, would mean my running off the path and into a tree, a bush or even the lake – it wouldn’t just mean a twisted ankle, I would be in serious trouble.

With the pathway having been cleared in front of me, I can see it stretching into the distance and I know I am heading in the right direction.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path“

Then down again I look, at the ground, scanning for potentially dangerous obstacles, scan, scan.  Pound, pound goes my heart, crunch, crunch my runners on the gravel.  Then up again I look, the path ahead is still stretched out, I have not lost my way.

I am moving forward on the path laid out in front of me.pathway

It can be very hard.  It is definitely painful.  It requires endurance and discipline of mind and body.  It requires watching, being sober, being vigilant.

But there’s something else too – it also requires VISION.

It requires being able to see into the distance, even if it’s not quite all the way into the distance.

The pathway is ahead.  Look up sometimes.

As I ran I asked God for His vision for me, for us, for His work for the coming year.  I reminded Him that He said:

“Without a vision, the people perish.”

So help me Lord, help me to look up, help me to see as you see.  Give me Your vision for my life, especially for the coming year.

Be blessed in this festive season!


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Let God Arise

“LET GOD ARISE

Let His enemies be scattered”  Psalm 68:1

 

It is time for You to act O Lord,

Your law is being broken,

 

It is not time for a weak faith

that is shaken at every turn.

It is not time for our hands to hang down

And for our shoulders to shrug

“What can we do?”

 

NO

 

It is time to raise our heads

And our hands

It is time to “extol Him who rides on clouds

By His name YAH”

 

It is time for soldiers to rise up

Who will not shrink back

It is time to be as bold as a lion,

To take our courage by both hands.

It is time to advance

 

It is time to be filled with the Spirit

Of Almighty God.

 

It is time to trust Him

And have faith

That will not waver

Even in the face of a fearsome enemy

 

WHO WILL STAND?


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The Prayer of a Minor Prophet

 thThe Covenant and prayer of a preacher:

(From AW Tozer)

This is the prayer of a man called to be a witness to the nations. This is what he said to his Lord on the day of his ordination. After the elders and ministers had prayed and laid their hands on him he withdrew to meet his Savior in the secret place and in the silence, farther in than his well-meaning brethren could take him.

And he said: O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and was afraid. Thou has called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. Thou art about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, my Lord, Thou has stooped to honor me to be Thy servant. No man taketh this honor upon himself save he that is called of God as was Aaron. Thou has ordained me Thy messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected Thee, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the servant.

My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfittedness for the work. The responsibility is not mine, but Thine. Thou has said, “I knew thee – I ordained thee – I sanctified thee,” and Thou hast also said, “Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” Who am I to argue with Thee or to call into question Thy sovereign choice? The decision is not mine but Thine. So be it, Lord. Thy will, not mine, be done.

Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee Thou will honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live.

It is time, O God, for Thee to work, for the enemy has entered into Thy pastures and the sheep are torn and scattered. And false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock. The sheep are deceived by these hirelings and follow them with touching loyalty while the wolf closes in to kill and destroy. I beseech Thee, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice so like Thine own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow Thee.

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Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should be come a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet – not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that could make life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. Or if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I should have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.

And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven.

Though I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee, therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with Thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness, even Thine only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.

Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting. Amen

 


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Doing Church vs a Hell-Shaking Life

“LR preachingSome want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell.  I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”  (CT Studd)

Sitting passively in our favourite seat in a comfortable building every Sunday…Is this really what Jesus intended when He said,

“The gates of hell shall not prevail against my church.”

or

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)

or

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19)

or

“”All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19,20) ?

Hmmm….. not sure that’s what our Lord meant.  I think He had adventure in His mind, entailing both extreme hardship and extreme joy for His Church as it continues His work in seeking and saving the lost.

When I look at the Church in general this not what I see.

What do I see?

What does the world see?

And what does Christ Himself see?

I see predominantly a group of middle-class people driving expensive cars to a big, lavish, comfortable church on Sunday morning.  They sit and clap at the right time, they worship and praise and feel joy sometimes when the music reaches its crescendo.  They might hear a short message from the Word of God.  It may be inspired by the Holy Spirit or it may be a self-help motivational talk with the Bible as a convenient back drop.

I see a people whose comfort and convenience cannot be upset or unsettled.

I see a people who will not be disturbed for the sake of the lost on their way to an eternal hell.

When I think of the early Salvation Army getting pelted with rotten tomatoes and eggs as they marched into villages preaching the gospel, or I think of the Wesley brothers riding on horseback over miles and miles of countryside to take the gospel to the poor, my heart breaks and I wonder how it is so that we have lost our Lord’s heart.

Is there anyone that weeps over the lost multitudes on their way to hell?

Who will go out into the battle and warn them?

Are there any that even care?

I have found that when I speak or write on this topic it is the one that upsets Christians the most.  It is the topic that causes the most offense to Christians and the one that brings the most resistance. Often I hear in response, “Well if Jesus tells me to go then I will, but He hasn’t told me.”

Actually He has. Read the Great Commission.  He didn’t say that to a handful of evangelists, He said it to His followers.  Each one.  Unfortunately there is no way around it.

You don’t have to go to the city streets, but you do have to go to the lost.  There are people in your life, whom God has put around you, who do not know the Saviour.  If there is no heartfelt grief for the lost in your heart, nor desire to see them saved, then check your heart.  Go to the foot of the cross and ask Christ why not.  For this is His very heart.

If you’re upset or offended by this post of mine, then I think that may be a good thing.

God bless you


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Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles

IMG_2725On Saturday we went as a family to a local Messianic congregation to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).  It was such a joyous occasion.  Our daughter loves it when we visit this congregation as she loves the Messianic dancing and is always involved.

Messianic dancing

Messianic dancing

At the Feast of Tabernacles, on the Great Day of this 8-day Feast, was a spectacular water drawing ceremony.  Water from the pool of Siloam gushed out and was offered to God as a drink offering.

Jesus attended this Feast and on the Great Day, as the water was gushing He cried out in the Temple:

“If anyone thirsts, let Him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water!” (John 7:37-38)

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Can you imagine what the people must have thought?  Here was water gushing forth in a joyous celebration of this living-giving fluid.  In the Middle East in the first century water was not always easy to find and so it was symbolic of life and of God’s blessing.  There would have been a procession of people, singing and playing flutes.  And in the midst of this celebration here is Jesus standing in the Temple crying out for people to come to Him and drink.  He promised them mayim chayim – living water.

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So we see that the Feast of Tabernacles, as all of the Jewish Feasts, point to Christ.  In verse 39 John explains that :

“But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy  Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Blessing the children

Blessing the children

We see that the water gushing forth is a picture of the Holy Spirit.  That the great truth played out by this Feast is that when we put our faith in Jesus and are baptized in His Holy Spirit, rivers of living water will flow from us.

May we all go to Jesus and drink of Him! And may rivers of living water flow from our hearts!

In the name of Yeshua, our Messiah, Amen

Shabbat meal

Shabbat meal


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Once Upon a Moonlit Night…..

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Tonight was the first time I’ve been street preaching for a while.

Having recently lost two people I love within four days of each other, my life has obviously taken a rather different turn for a while.

But tonight I felt ready to go back out.  It’s funny how when you haven’t done something for a while, it suddenly becomes all big and scary.  All day I’ve been nervous about going into the city tonight.   The thought of going out there and shouting out a message that is generally unwelcome to most people made my stomach churn.   I thought of how I used to love going out there and couldn’t really remember why that was.

But I felt I should go, even though I didn’t really feel like it, if that makes sense.

I put my I-phone music on shuffle as I drove into the city.  I said to the Lord something I’ve never said before :

“Lord,” I said, “Whatever song randomly comes up first, I will take as a message from you.”  Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures…

Franz Family “Wherever You Are” came on:

“But the will of God won’t lead you,

Where the grace of God can’t keep you

You will never be out of His care,

Remember that the Lord’s already there….

Wherever you are,

Wherever you’re going

God is right there beside you, seeing and knowing

Wherever you go,

He already knows

What lies ahead

And what’s behind

You’ll always find He’s never too far from wherever you are.”

Wow. Ok thank you Jesus.

My usual 40 minute trip into the city took 1.5 hours tonight.  It was raining and there was heavy traffic.  But I felt there was something God had for me when I got there and so I sung and prayed.

However 1.5 hours later, trying to find a car spot, on the verge of tears, I almost turned around and went home.  I said to God,

“Please help me, I need this night to be easy Lord.”

After I’d parked the car I walked down to the station where we preach.  Standing at the corner waiting to cross the busy road, I realized I hadn’t been there for over 2 months.  I looked at our “spot” across the road and I felt like I was coming home.

…..An uncomfortable, dysfunctional home yes, but home nonetheless.

That surprised me.

I crossed the road and at that very moment a girl came over to me and asked me:

“What makes you come out here to do this?”

We had a beautiful conversation.  She was only 16 years old, and currently homeless – couch-surfing between her dad’s and a friend’s place.  And in the city at night, all by herself.  She looked as if she’d been through a rough time.  Yet she was so lovely and soft and tender still, still a child.  Poor kid.

I shared my testimony with her, how God set me free from a cult, from depression, from anxiety, from a hard and cold heart.  How He has changed me, how He loves me, and how He loves her.  I shared the precious gospel with her.  She got tears in her eyes and said that she hopes she has the strength to find Jesus too one day.  She said she was just so tired.

“You know what” I said, “You don’t need strength. Just come to Him as you are, He will not turn you away.  He said for all who are weary and heavy burdened to come to Him and He will give them rest.”

She asked me :

“How do I find Him..?”

We prayed together.

I cried for her on my way home, beautiful child that she is.  I felt His compassion for her.  How greatly He loves her and is calling her home.

And I remembered why it is that I love going out there.

But…I have two questions:

How many more of these kids are out there?

and

“Who will go?”


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Hold Onto Your Joy

Written by the Holy Spirit, 12 Sept 2013

We have this inheritance

Incorruptible and undefiled

To which God

Has begotten us

Through our faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Though now, for a little while,

You’ve been grieved

Through various trials

Know that your faith is being tested-

Refined through fire.

 

No matter how the enemy comes

To try to kill, steal and destroy-

Make sure of one thing through it all-

That you hold onto your joy

 

When the fire burns hottest,

When the trials come thick and fast,

The joy of the Lord will be your strength

And soon it will be past.

 

But our living hope in Christ remains

For we will receive our faith’s end –

With joy unspeakable-

The salvation of our souls

To this we must contend.

 

Amen and amen.

1 Peter 1:3-9


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Marriage, yep, marriage

Hmmmm… so much has been written on marriage over the years. Books and articles, people’s varying opinions on it, feminism, chauvinism, whatever… Why then am I also writing on this much-discussed topic? Because we are living in unprecedented times. We are living in an age where human-kind, at least in the West, is seeking to re-define this ancient and divine institution and interpose its own humanistic will onto it.

It was probably about two years ago that the Holy Spirit brought to my heart the necessity to pray for marriage in this country. There was much talk at the time about changing the legal definition of marriage from one man and one woman to also allow man and man and woman and woman marriage.

So I prayed as well as I could. Yet I felt I was ineffective, working in my own flesh, rather than that of the Spirit. So I asked God how I should pray.

And He showed me.
rings
I opened the Word to Ephesians 5:22-33 and read this passage of scripture, which I had read so often before. This time though, verses 31 and 32 got hold of me:

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:31, 32)

I saw at once that marriage is a testimony that God has put in this earth of Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church. That this has always been God’s intention since even before the creation of Adam and Eve. The very gospel is rooted in marriage.

In brief, when a man leaves his father and mother and marries his wife it is a picture of Christ leaving His Father’s heavenly home and coming to earth for His Bride. On earth, Jesus Christ laid down His life for His Bride and through His death and resurrection the two, Jesus and His Bride, become one – “we are members of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones.” (verse 30). Therefore every time a man and woman are joined in Holy Matrimony a testimony and a signpost is established on this earth of Jesus Christ and His ultimate purpose – the Church.

No wonder Satan wants to destroy marriage. He will do whatever he can to destroy or remove this testimony of Christ out of the earth.

Therefore, as Christ’s Bride, it is our job, nay our command, to pray. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY.

I DO NOT accept that gay marriage is inevitable. No I don’t.

If…. The Church will do what she has been called to do. Salt and light remember….?

And Jesus Himself said “the gates of hell shall not prevail against my church.” (Matthew 16:18)

I do not believe that as His Bride we should stand back passively, and let the enemy of our souls systematically destroy God’s holy testimony in this earth.

No. No way.

It is time to rise up as the Church, the Body and the Bride of Jesus Christ and do what we have been called to do – PRAY. Wrestle.  Fight.

Our enemy is not flesh and blood. Our enemy is not homosexuals, nor politicians, nor any human being. We are called to love others and to pray for our leaders. The Bible says:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places…….Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:12-18

So how do we pray? It’s simple.

We ask God to uphold the testimony in this earth of Christ and His Bride, of which marriage between a man and a woman points to.

Next time….The Significance of Jewish Marriage Customs


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God of All Comfort

Jesus I love you so much.
I thank you that you are in control of everything.
The times and seasons are truly in your hands.
You are the great and mighty God,
How wonderful are your ways.

What you take from us with your left hand,
You give back to us with your right hand.
You will never leave us comfortless
Because you have sent the Comforter.

God you know what we feel,
God you know what we go through,
God you know loss,
Your only begotten Son died too.

But He rose again
And He is the first fruits
The others will be resurrected in the last day too
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
With them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
And so shall we ever be with the Lord”

I choose to praise you
I will exalt your Holy Name
‘Cause even though I don’t understand everything
One thing I know for sure
Is that you are worthy to be praised
And you are on the Throne
My Jesus