A place called Rest

Mark 6:31 says, "And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat)". Unless we find a place to rest in the peace of the Lord then we will find that we will become weary in well-doing which is not what the scriptures advise. Let's not neglect the wisdom that the Lord Jesus has provided in these words to his disciples - "come away and rest for a while". It is not implied that you stop living your everyday life. The motivation behind the words is that we gain strength by working out of rest in the Lord. This is easy to quote yet difficult to apply at times when the world places pressures on you. However, the balance must be struck. The Lord cared for his discples well-being too as they had not stopped to eat due to the pressures placed on them by people's needs. Remember that the Lord cares for us both physically and spiritually. Let's find this placed called rest.

Father of Lights

James 1 v 17 says "every good and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of Lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning". God has no variation or shadow in Him. If we could fully look on God there would be no shadow, no dark side, or even hidden part to God. This is because God does not change. He is not fickle. He remains the same and we need not fear a shadow in God. God gives us good and perfect things and we can count on Him to do that in the midst of our struggles. It is not always clear what those good things will be, or how anything good could come out of the trial we are in. But we can't look directly at our situation to give us what is good. Rather, we look to "the Father of lights" who never changes.

The prosperous slave!

Genesis 39:2 says "And the LORD was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian". Surrounded by the extravagant riches of his master, yet serving as a slave; the word of God declares that Joseph was a prosperous man. This seems to defie all logic. Prosperity is knowing that God is truely with you. It's not based on the riches of man. Joseph operated in faith. He ministered wholeheartedly to meet the needs of others. He was a trustworthy person and was highly favoured. However he also went on to be imprisoned due to false accusations. Yet Joseph did not give up the vision and dream that he had been given. I often wonder was the test of his character more in the success and favour than in the hardships? Whether in success or hardship we must never lose our vision. Galations 6:9 says "and let us not become weary in well-doing; for in due season we will reap, if we faint not". Let's take some lessons from Joseph God's "prosperous slave".

God's delight

Isaiah 62:4 reads "It will no longer be said to you forsaken, nor to your land will it any longer be said desolate, for my delight is in her, and your land married; for the Lord delights in you and to Him your land will be married". In this passage we learn of Isaiah's love for Jerusalem and indeed the Lords love for His people. She shall be called by a new name, a pleasant name. She shall be married to Jehovah and be under His ownership and protection as is implied by the land being called married. What a glorious relationship we have with our God. We are His delight. His sole property.

Who do we see in the storm?

Matthew 14(22 – 28) tells us that the disciples were in their boat in the middle of a lake (3 miles from shore) between 3 – 6 in the morning. The disciples were exhausted after rowing for hours against the wind and were probably going nowhere fast. Then Jesus comes along and is mistaken for a ghost. Jesus then says "Don’t be afraid. It is I." The phrase "It is I" also means "I am." It was the normal response of a person identifying themselves, but with Jesus it takes on special significance. Here He is identifying himself to them as the one who can walk on the water, i.e. God. He will use the phrase later on in the Garden of Gethsemane and knock the soldiers back with the power of His words. It always seemed that whenever the disciples got into their boat they were surely heading for a test of faith. We can feel like that too. We are desiring to move forward but the wind of resistance seems to face us. These circumstances raise a cry from our hearts to the Great I Am who by the force of His words; calms the wind and secures our hope. God identifies with us in the storms of life. He comes to remind us that He has full control.

The Shining Ones.

Matthew 5:14 says, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden". Commentaries on this verse claim that Jesus was making reference to a city called Safed which could be viewed from most of Galilee even in the morning fog and at night it's lights could be seen from a distance. Ancient cities were set on hills as a means of defence and they most definitely were made to be seen. The business of the church is not just to save but to enlighten or give out light. Jesus Christ is the Light and as His disciples we shine His light. The church is made to reflect His glorious light that penetrates the fabric of society and gives hope to those living in darkness. We are called to be the "shining ones". Shine, Jesus, Shine!

Patched Up or Made new?

I Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, all things have become new". Jesus also said that no one puts a piece of new cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into new wineskins, and so both are preserved. Matthew 9:16-17. It seems that the condition of the container is of paramount importance. God is always willing to pour out of His goodness. There is no short supply of this divine source. We however, limit the capacity to contain this divine source. If we choose to live with patches instead of being made new then we will never know full freedom. Let's choose to make ourselves ready for the "new thing" by presenting ourselves pure and holy before the Lord our God. Pour over me today Lord Jesus Your precious Holy Spirit.

Now is the time!

On Sunday 5th April another wave of His glory swept into the hall where we met. Young and old worshipped with a new passion and reverence. Some experienced a burning sensation in their bodies and many lay prostrate on the floor in awe. In particular our young people were greatly impacted with 7 and 11 year olds laying on the floor receiving an impartation of Holy Spirit. We know that we are at a place called "near Him". We must like Moses be hidden in the Rock. Lord we cry, "Less of me and MORE of YOU!". Keep coming Holy Spirit!

Wave of the Holy Spirit hits PCC!

Hey faithful readers. Just wanted to thank the Lord for a mighty refreshing wave that hit us at our Refresh meeting on Tuesday 31st March 2009. The sermon was about receiving the fulness of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the meeting several people were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. This fresh outpouring is what we are beginning to witness all over our Partners in Harvest network. The Lord is equipping His people and then sending them into action. Keep coming Holy Spirit.

Creative Partnership.

I was emailed the most wonderful facts about the seahorse. Before you close this blog read on!
The love life of the sea horse is endearing. The couple court for several days. They change colour, swim side by side, hold the same strand of sea grass with their tails and wheel around. At last, letting go of any anchors, and snout to snout, they spiral up out of the sea grass. The female deposits her eggs in the male’s brood pouch. He then nurtures them for the next two or three weeks. During this time the female pays her partner regular visits each day. They change colour, and dance together in the sea grass fronds.Eventually the babies pop out, not from Mum, but from Dad! It was a creative partnership. What a blessing it is to have a creative spiritual partnership where we can pray together, hear God together, and help each other to bring visions into reality. It is not good to be alone, but if we are alone, we can say with Mary "be it unto me according to your will" for it is given to us to bring to birth words which God has put into our hearts.