by Glenice Mills
The Lord bought to mind a prophetic word that He revealed on the 1st January 2010.
I remember the anguish I felt as the Lord showed His heart for this nation.
In recent days we have witnessed bloodshed on the streets of Sydney. This is a foretaste of greater unrest and spilt blood to come if we do not pray and repent for the ungodly alliances that have taken place in this city.
Our Prime Minister has issued an alert about increased activity among certain extremist groups.
We, the Lord’s body of Christ, need to be on alert too. Evil will have its way if we do not repent. We daren’t be asleep on our watch.
The enemy comes when our guard is down. It is easy to be lulled into self-comfort and complacency during the holiday season. Don’t fall into this trap. Be alert, we must stay on watch!
Following is the word that the Lord revealed on the 1st January 2010:
As a prophet, and a watchman for this nation of Australia, I declare a ‘high alert, code red,’ and a sounding of alarm bells like I’ve never heard before. Australia is in danger for we have grieved the heart of God. Those with eyes to see will know we have crossed a line as of midnight 2010. Doors of darkness have been released over Sydney particularly, but its impact and consequences will flow over the rest of Australia.
The last day of 2009 I was unsettled in my spirit, I had a sense of something changing, and a feeling of foreboding. I thought it was just me, but I knew deep down the Lord was going to show some things.
Every year since 2000 I have watched the fireworks at Sydney on television, as I knew there was always something significant happening on this night. Every year there has been a ‘sign’ on the Harbour Bridge that was like a declaration over Sydney and Australia. For example, some of the signs in the past have been love, peace, a dove, and eternity. It is like the Lord speaking through these signs, hence why I was interested in what the Lord was showing. However this year’s fireworks was different. The Lord was silent. It was like His hand had been removed. I was ‘Lord, what have I done wrong that I have grieved your heart? I quietly sought the Lord from a place of search my heart O God and see if there be any offensive way in me. Again the Lord was quiet. I thought I’d watch the fireworks, and maybe there was something in this that would show me what was wrong. I did not have the anticipation that I had previous years. I was reluctant to put the television on yet I knew something would be revealed. Little did I know what was going to be revealed and released.
The evening was titled ‘Awaken the spirit’. Emblazoned on the Harbour Bridge at various times were the yin yang, the ring of fire and the blue moon symbols. The Aborigines also held an indigenous smoking ceremony by the pylons under the Harbour Bridge. This was to cleanse the exclusion zone where the fireworks were held of ‘negative spirits‘. There were still and video projections on the eastern faces of the North and South pylons saying ‘Awaken the spirit’ of the 12 languages of the leading nations with the most population in Sydney. This was done to ‘emphasize the sense of community, acceptance and unity for the event‘. These twelve languages represented where ‘awaken the spirit’ was emblazoned included English, Gadigal, Arabic, Cantonese, French, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Dutch, Vietnamese, and Swahili.
It appears ‘right’ for it encourages the cultures of these people, however, a line was crossed, for we were not only embracing these people but we were saying ‘awaken the spirit’ of the culture of these nations. We were not only acknowledging these nations but also the religious gods that they serve. We have invoked spirits of worship of the dead. The question we need to ask is which spirit are we awakening? Which spirits of these nations were we invoking? It was not the Holy Spirit that is for sure!!! Clearly what was awakened had to have been asleep, in other word, lying dormant for the right time to come to life.
In the programme it said that ‘An Acknowledgment to Country’ would take place on the harbour to show our respect to the local Gadigal nation and all First Nations people, where the custodians ‘call up’ the first reveal of the Bridge Effect with a series of fireworks firings. It is interesting to note that the fireworks went for 12 minutes and there were 12 nations and their languages shown that night. 12 is the number of government. Government is about ruler ship, leadership, authority and positioning and this night a false government was set up.
This night this nation invoked the false gods and false religions of these nations and called down their deities. The result is a ‘wrong government’, ruler ship, authority positioning which has been bought forth. The door of evil has been released over Australia and it has happened on our watch!!! This is not my opinion, this happened as we ushered in a new year and a new decade.
Why am I writing this? This was the saddest and gravest day for this nation as there will be serious consequences to what occurred this night.
I am grieved of heart, for I know we have opened a door for evil to be released. What happened is an abomination in God’s sight!! He is grieved by the actions that took place, but He is more grieved for this nation as it will not stay a blessed nation.
This night the Lordship of Jesus Christ was challenged. There was a contending and warring in the spirit of the ruler ship of this nation. There was a contending in the spirit this night over who has ownership of this nation. This will manifest itself in the natural as ‘tribal fighting’; fighting will rise up between the young people of these nations as they fight for positions of power and authority on the streets. There will be bloodshed on the streets of Sydney as never seen before.
This nation has been a blessed nation, but it is no longer God’s land. It has been taken over by dark forces of evil, and the enemy will manifest in ways that are vicious. The fighting will be so vicious that many lives will be lost.
We have come in agreement with lies of the enemy. There has been and will continue to appear to be a unity, but it is a false unity. There has been a joining of hands in the spirit, as these false religions, idolatrous practices and falsehood have linked together to set up a strong hold of false peace. We are in a time when it appears there is ‘peace, peace when there is no peace‘. Underneath the peace is a simmering cesspool of evil being stirred up. The intention is to bring division, warring factions and great distress and disruption never seen before. This will cause a ripple effect, starting in Sydney, moving out, impacting and affecting every facet of life, as we have known it in Australia. There will be economic repercussions as word gets out that Australia is no longer a safe place and this will affect all tourism, hospitality, retail and every area of trade. We have become puffed up in pride, as we are the only nation to have not been affected by the global economic crisis. We have not seen that this was the blessing of God, that it was by His hand that He put in right leaders in Government in previous years that placed Australia in a strong position to withstand the world economic crisis.
However, this will change!!! The Lord will use other ways to bring this nation to its knees, and more importantly to bring Australia back to the Lord and His ways.
Jeremiah 10: 6 -16
6. Inasmuch as there is none like You, O Lord, (You are great, and Your name is great in might),
7. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is your rightful due.
For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.
8. But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.
9. Silver is beaten into plates; it is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skilful men.
10. But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King
At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
11. Thus shall you say to them: “The gods that have made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
12. He has made the earth by His power. He has established the world by His wisdom,
And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
13. When He mutters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
“And He causes the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
14. Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metal smith is put to shame by an image;
For his moulded image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
15. They are futile, a work of errors; in the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16. The portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things,
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the LORD of Hosts is His name.
Australia has known God’s grace and mercy, He has withheld His judgment but this time of blessing is coming to a close IF the church does not wake up, take a stand, speak for TRUTH and confront the evil that has been released over this nation.
Now is the time to act, we dare not stay in our place of complacency, and ‘she’ll be right mate’ for she will no longer be right, the nature and fabric of the unique way this nation has evolved will be changed forever if we do not rise up and stand for righteousness and for what is right and true!!! It is up to us. We can no longer remain quiet and accept this false sense of ‘peace’ for it is a false comfort; a false way of being and living and if we do not make a stand the consequences will be devastating.
It will change the ‘very fabric’ of this nation. This is the Lord’s word, not mine.
What is happening does not surprise God. It is part of His plan for this nation, however, He is looking for a people who are His, who will stand in the gap and repent and pray that what the enemy has planned will not come to pass.
We, the church of Australia, cannot stay apathetic and complacent. It is time to rise up. This is not a time to be dull-hearted, but to be stirred into action, to declare this nation belongs to the Lord, to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord over Australia and every plan and tactic of the enemy will fail.
The Lord is issuing a challenge at this time, whether we will stand by and see this nation taken over by demonic forces or rise up and fight, fight for truth, speaking and declaring the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
This is a warning, I sense warning, warning, warning!!!
Are we going to stay asleep on our watch? Are we going to stand by and see this nation being taken over by these demonic forces? Are we going to rise up and fight, fight for the Lordship of Jesus Christ to have His rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over this nation?
We need to cry out to the Lord for His forgiveness where we have allowed this evil to come and take a false authority position over Australia. We need His mercy - Lord have mercy on this land, upon the people of this nation. Lord withhold your hand of judgment. Forgive us for our complacency, our apathy, where we have become dull-hearted and sat back and allowed these evil powers to reign.
Lord we come against every false peace, where there has been a false unity, a false joining of hands and where false religions have been exalted.
Lord I cry out to you for mercy, have mercy upon us, I pray!!
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Showing posts with label Words For Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Words For Australia. Show all posts
Saturday, 27 December 2014
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Justice and Righteousness
by Belinda Jabore
Isaiah 42 and 43:1-19 Things are coming to us! There is a change happening to us right now! Justice and Righteousness is here - it is happening right now. My people are a people of justice and righteousness and there is a spear head - an arrow head (a wheel within a wheel) that is being released out into the realms of the Spirit. It will penetrate the realms of the Spirit to bring forth My plans and purpose right now. Unity, unity… Great signs and wonders… Cry out, moan and groan and bring to birth all the words which can’t be spoken. We are weak but you are strong Lord.
Too many things to mention - let the cry and the moans go out of righteousness and justice. Those who fear My name will have the heritage and the promises of the kingdom plan and purpose. My plans and promises that I have promised you are coming - they are coming to you. Get ready to receive My promises they have been released and they are drawing to you like a heat seeking missile nothing will stop it and they will come to you. This is your reward for the battle that lay ahead and what you have endured. You will need these things to accomplish the plan I have for you. Many great promises are coming, many things are coming…… There is a roaring in the Spirit - there is a moaning in the Spirit - there is a birthing in the spirit of the issues and things on My heart… roar , moan, and birth in the Spirit… We cry out for mercy… Mercy Lord…
The arrow is penetrating and it’s a wheel within a wheel… God’s government, God’s leaders, God’s servants and worshipers marching to the sounds of justice and righteousness the foundations of His throne.
Psalm 89:14
Mercy and Truth go before Your face.
Isaiah 42 and 43:1-19 Things are coming to us! There is a change happening to us right now! Justice and Righteousness is here - it is happening right now. My people are a people of justice and righteousness and there is a spear head - an arrow head (a wheel within a wheel) that is being released out into the realms of the Spirit. It will penetrate the realms of the Spirit to bring forth My plans and purpose right now. Unity, unity… Great signs and wonders… Cry out, moan and groan and bring to birth all the words which can’t be spoken. We are weak but you are strong Lord.
Too many things to mention - let the cry and the moans go out of righteousness and justice. Those who fear My name will have the heritage and the promises of the kingdom plan and purpose. My plans and promises that I have promised you are coming - they are coming to you. Get ready to receive My promises they have been released and they are drawing to you like a heat seeking missile nothing will stop it and they will come to you. This is your reward for the battle that lay ahead and what you have endured. You will need these things to accomplish the plan I have for you. Many great promises are coming, many things are coming…… There is a roaring in the Spirit - there is a moaning in the Spirit - there is a birthing in the spirit of the issues and things on My heart… roar , moan, and birth in the Spirit… We cry out for mercy… Mercy Lord…The arrow is penetrating and it’s a wheel within a wheel… God’s government, God’s leaders, God’s servants and worshipers marching to the sounds of justice and righteousness the foundations of His throne.
Psalm 89:14
Mercy and Truth go before Your face.
Friday, 21 March 2014
Hearts Hardening and Growing Cold
by Belinda Jabore
I saw an onslaught of small to medium meteorites coming at us this year and hitting us (the body of Christ).
On asking the Lord what this is, I believe He showed me that this year there was going to be much testing and trials and hearts hardening and growing cold towards the Lord and people. There will have to be a greater level of obedience to the Lord and dying to oneself and to the things we thought were going to happen. Some Apostles and Prophets have been through this already and are out the other side but it will come to the body of Christ this year in a larger scale and we will feel like we are getting bombarded with this stuff to distract us from our call and focus on the Lord. But the Lord wants us to be pre-warned about these things which will in fact bring us closer to Him.
These things that will come against our mind, our will, our heart and our emotions in the way of Disappointments; Bitterness; Resentment; Grief; Sorrow; Anxieties; Sickness; Depression; Feeling like we will loose our mind; Things not going the way we thought they would go; False and ungodly expectations towards others and the ones you hold closest (letting that go); Loved ones doing the wrong thing against you; Finances stretched to the max and little of them, (a glimpse of a Job experience) and the loss of friends and things we love more than the Lord. The intent if we let it, is to bring a hardening of our hearts and turning cold towards the Lord which allows in unbelief, bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness to reside in our hearts. We will say things like: “How could this have happened to me? Why is this happening to me and my family? Lord, what is going on?” We will feel like fainting and giving up but I want to encourage you not to give up and keep focused on the Lord. Running into Him and not away from Him and even though we feel we can’t feel Him or see Him through these things, be assured that He is at hand and with you in it.
Any of the things above that I have mentioned - take them, feel them, don’t just put on a ‘stiff upper lip’ and move on - examine them as to why they are there and your reaction to them. Separate the issue from the person and confess them to the Lord. Sort the issues out with Him. Refuse and repent of them if they do not line up with His heart and apply His promises and His Words to them. Say to Him, “I don’t know why this has happened Lord but I choose to trust and hope in You no
matter what.”
Philippians 4:4-14 I have had this scripture on me for at least 2 years now and in the tough times it got me through even when I thought I wouldn’t make it but you see the Lord guarded my heart and mind in Him, either I believe that He gave me that word or not. It is that simple but that complex. I would picture Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit put His hand over my heart and mind when I felt like I was going to loose it. When I would panic about being sick or becoming anxious over an issue (the ‘what ifs’). I would picture Him there knowing He was there with me in it and through it. When things seemed hopeless He was my only hope. He was always faithful to me and would always rescue me from myself mostly. Unfortunately some of these things do not go away straight away but don’t be fearful of them. Jesus himself was acquainted with grief and sorrow and all these things that I have mentioned above (the ‘what ifs’) but He took them on the cross for us. He overcome them for us today! We know this in our head but is it in our heart? Even though we may feel weak and defeated and have failed. The truth is the Lord has not left us in the trials and testings as He will never leave us in our darkest hour or forsake us in our darkest hour. He is with us in and through the trials and testings and this will show what we are made of. In our weakness He is strong! He is in it with us and we must look for Him in it.
Weaknesses are then turned and they become an agent of strength in Him. Psalm 116:15 says Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. So we will go through a greater dying to oneself daily further and further into Him, not letting anything or any one stop us. He will deliver us in due time. We will have a lot of deliverance this year too if we let Him. Things must drop off as well as anything that will hinder us from His presence. Then we will walk into our promised land that He has promised us if we are willing to die to anything that would keep us from Him and whatever these trials and testings throw at us. We must cry out in our hearts and say to our Lord Jesus, our Father and the Holy Spirit, “I can’t live if living is without you” as the Harry Nilsson song states and “I can’t do anything unless you are with me Lord” and humble ourselves under the Mighty hand of God. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Keep your eyes on Him and keep pressing forward to your call never giving up. If you do not know your call, keep on fixing your eyes and ears on Him and hang (belong) with the body of Christ that he has put you with, in relationship with, not forsaking the assembly of the saints. Be-long…….. Never give up! Lighten the load of life’s pressures if you have to and keep it simple. Whatever He has called you to, do not give up just because of people and circumstances that come around you and please don’t blame the Lord and turn your heart away from Him. One of the things to be aware of in the times ahead are getting bitter and being resentful in our hearts. Bitterness is a wormwood that the Bible speaks about that we are to be aware of. People and loved ones’ choices and circumstances may do things to you but people and loved ones can get us caught up in the bitterness and resentment of it all (if we let it). It might not be our fault but their choices will affect us if we let them. If someone does something wrong or not what you wanted, or how you would have liked it done to you - we then can become disappointed in the outcome and become bitter. Sometimes the other party can more easily move on and repent and forget about it and what they have done leaving us with the disappointment/bitterness of it all.
We must move on and not get left holding the ball of bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness which then pollutes us bringing in torment, self pity, harassment to our mind and lack of peace in our heart and mind. This then affects our relationship with that person and the Lord leaving our hearts cold. Did you know that our heart actually thinks! Selah. It’s a very big thinker, our heart, and the Bible says to guard our heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life. The issues of life come through people and a lot of the time those closest to us. Bitterness comes from disappointments and expectations of someone or something, expectations we thought were going to happen. If we are truly with the Lord and work through it with Him this will not affect us. If it comes in we must give it to the Lord quickly over and over until we release it to Him fully.
Smith Wigglesworth said, ” One of the greatest mercies that you will have will be a revelation to your heart of how to get rid of yourself.” It would be wise for us to keep short accounts and be quick to have true repentance in our heart of the issues that can come through those closest to us, in our work place, with our husband, wife, children etc…. Let your gentleness be made known to all men and say the Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to Him and move on, keeping in mind, some things take longer than others do, depending what it is but if we have the Lord there in it with us directing us we can’t loose. Remember it is a process he will deliver us in time - keep saying I know You are with me Lord even though I can’t feel You in it yet but by faith I know You are there. Trust in Him, Hope in Him and rely and believe He is there. When trials and testings come God will be judging some things to see what you are made of, then you will come out as gold and you will realise that things cannot touch you as they used to do.
You can do it in Him.
I saw an onslaught of small to medium meteorites coming at us this year and hitting us (the body of Christ).
On asking the Lord what this is, I believe He showed me that this year there was going to be much testing and trials and hearts hardening and growing cold towards the Lord and people. There will have to be a greater level of obedience to the Lord and dying to oneself and to the things we thought were going to happen. Some Apostles and Prophets have been through this already and are out the other side but it will come to the body of Christ this year in a larger scale and we will feel like we are getting bombarded with this stuff to distract us from our call and focus on the Lord. But the Lord wants us to be pre-warned about these things which will in fact bring us closer to Him.
These things that will come against our mind, our will, our heart and our emotions in the way of Disappointments; Bitterness; Resentment; Grief; Sorrow; Anxieties; Sickness; Depression; Feeling like we will loose our mind; Things not going the way we thought they would go; False and ungodly expectations towards others and the ones you hold closest (letting that go); Loved ones doing the wrong thing against you; Finances stretched to the max and little of them, (a glimpse of a Job experience) and the loss of friends and things we love more than the Lord. The intent if we let it, is to bring a hardening of our hearts and turning cold towards the Lord which allows in unbelief, bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness to reside in our hearts. We will say things like: “How could this have happened to me? Why is this happening to me and my family? Lord, what is going on?” We will feel like fainting and giving up but I want to encourage you not to give up and keep focused on the Lord. Running into Him and not away from Him and even though we feel we can’t feel Him or see Him through these things, be assured that He is at hand and with you in it.
Any of the things above that I have mentioned - take them, feel them, don’t just put on a ‘stiff upper lip’ and move on - examine them as to why they are there and your reaction to them. Separate the issue from the person and confess them to the Lord. Sort the issues out with Him. Refuse and repent of them if they do not line up with His heart and apply His promises and His Words to them. Say to Him, “I don’t know why this has happened Lord but I choose to trust and hope in You no
matter what.”
Philippians 4:4-14 I have had this scripture on me for at least 2 years now and in the tough times it got me through even when I thought I wouldn’t make it but you see the Lord guarded my heart and mind in Him, either I believe that He gave me that word or not. It is that simple but that complex. I would picture Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit put His hand over my heart and mind when I felt like I was going to loose it. When I would panic about being sick or becoming anxious over an issue (the ‘what ifs’). I would picture Him there knowing He was there with me in it and through it. When things seemed hopeless He was my only hope. He was always faithful to me and would always rescue me from myself mostly. Unfortunately some of these things do not go away straight away but don’t be fearful of them. Jesus himself was acquainted with grief and sorrow and all these things that I have mentioned above (the ‘what ifs’) but He took them on the cross for us. He overcome them for us today! We know this in our head but is it in our heart? Even though we may feel weak and defeated and have failed. The truth is the Lord has not left us in the trials and testings as He will never leave us in our darkest hour or forsake us in our darkest hour. He is with us in and through the trials and testings and this will show what we are made of. In our weakness He is strong! He is in it with us and we must look for Him in it.
Weaknesses are then turned and they become an agent of strength in Him. Psalm 116:15 says Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. So we will go through a greater dying to oneself daily further and further into Him, not letting anything or any one stop us. He will deliver us in due time. We will have a lot of deliverance this year too if we let Him. Things must drop off as well as anything that will hinder us from His presence. Then we will walk into our promised land that He has promised us if we are willing to die to anything that would keep us from Him and whatever these trials and testings throw at us. We must cry out in our hearts and say to our Lord Jesus, our Father and the Holy Spirit, “I can’t live if living is without you” as the Harry Nilsson song states and “I can’t do anything unless you are with me Lord” and humble ourselves under the Mighty hand of God. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Keep your eyes on Him and keep pressing forward to your call never giving up. If you do not know your call, keep on fixing your eyes and ears on Him and hang (belong) with the body of Christ that he has put you with, in relationship with, not forsaking the assembly of the saints. Be-long…….. Never give up! Lighten the load of life’s pressures if you have to and keep it simple. Whatever He has called you to, do not give up just because of people and circumstances that come around you and please don’t blame the Lord and turn your heart away from Him. One of the things to be aware of in the times ahead are getting bitter and being resentful in our hearts. Bitterness is a wormwood that the Bible speaks about that we are to be aware of. People and loved ones’ choices and circumstances may do things to you but people and loved ones can get us caught up in the bitterness and resentment of it all (if we let it). It might not be our fault but their choices will affect us if we let them. If someone does something wrong or not what you wanted, or how you would have liked it done to you - we then can become disappointed in the outcome and become bitter. Sometimes the other party can more easily move on and repent and forget about it and what they have done leaving us with the disappointment/bitterness of it all.
We must move on and not get left holding the ball of bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness which then pollutes us bringing in torment, self pity, harassment to our mind and lack of peace in our heart and mind. This then affects our relationship with that person and the Lord leaving our hearts cold. Did you know that our heart actually thinks! Selah. It’s a very big thinker, our heart, and the Bible says to guard our heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life. The issues of life come through people and a lot of the time those closest to us. Bitterness comes from disappointments and expectations of someone or something, expectations we thought were going to happen. If we are truly with the Lord and work through it with Him this will not affect us. If it comes in we must give it to the Lord quickly over and over until we release it to Him fully.Smith Wigglesworth said, ” One of the greatest mercies that you will have will be a revelation to your heart of how to get rid of yourself.” It would be wise for us to keep short accounts and be quick to have true repentance in our heart of the issues that can come through those closest to us, in our work place, with our husband, wife, children etc…. Let your gentleness be made known to all men and say the Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to Him and move on, keeping in mind, some things take longer than others do, depending what it is but if we have the Lord there in it with us directing us we can’t loose. Remember it is a process he will deliver us in time - keep saying I know You are with me Lord even though I can’t feel You in it yet but by faith I know You are there. Trust in Him, Hope in Him and rely and believe He is there. When trials and testings come God will be judging some things to see what you are made of, then you will come out as gold and you will realise that things cannot touch you as they used to do.
You can do it in Him.
Monday, 3 February 2014
The Concept of LAW
by Tony Clark
There are many laws in existence that relate to humanity and the world around us. Laws of nature; state and federal laws; religious laws and rituals; moral laws and the law of God for example. Some people think they are a law unto themselves. Laws are set into place to protect something or someone. For example without the law of gravity we would all float off into space and living on this planet would never have been possible. Laws are meant to preserve things. Laws are meaningless without an enforcer, and without a penalty or consequence for breaking the law. Lawlessness abounds when there is no fear of God or of consequences, because seemingly I can transgress the law and no penalty is forthcoming.
There is also rebellion present and disregard towards God at the base level of human fallen nature. But we are told in the Bible that at the appointed time (which is an exact, precise and predetermined time) all will be judged and held accountable for their sin (transgression of the law) and also that God’s patience although great has a limit and the time comes when He judges situations and people, whether they know it is the judgement of God or not is another story.
God has made His law clear and has documented it within His Word. But an understanding of this law or the requirement of God upon us can be misunderstood if we have not learnt this law. Some laws are obvious to most, even without being taught i.e. thou shalt not kill. Although some do not have a knowledge or feeling of moral law, for example some serial killers, others continually rationalise their actions despite the pang of their conscience, causing their conscience to be seared so that it no longer condemns them of wrong.
This is the reason for laws: that a standard might be set, and governed by an authority who ensure penalty for transgression of that law, to maintain order and freedom in society and protection for its citizens. The highest law, is the law of Love. To “love” God and each other is to fulfil the whole law of God. It is not within our fallen nature to obey the law of God naturally. It is within our nature to serve ourselves. It is the conversion of the soul to Jesus Christ and the infilling with the Spirit of Christ that enables us to fulfil the law of God because we receive His nature. We then need to learn to deny our old nature and instead learn to do His will as it is revealed to us by Him and walk in newness of life according to the new nature within us. This does take time, and God chastens His own, and corrects, and purges them of sin. This is a process. By the renewing of the mind we are transformed and made able to live His Word and Will, and our conscience can be restored to a state of health according to His law, and no longer distorted or defiled by the rationalisation of man’s behaviour or incorrect views of what is right and wrong. The Bible says to be mature is to know the difference between right and wrong, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14.
A mature believer is a discerning believer, who by practise, has become able to divide between right and wrong – which interestingly enough shows that they have come into harmony with the Spirit of Christ in them, this nature, that shows them a new way, by the renewing of the mind by the word of God.
“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
Renewing of the mind by the Word of God (actual truth) is essential, because all of us have learnt different things, have made different conclusions about what truth is and about reality. Without an absolute standard there is no truth or reality, but only perceived truth and reality. And without an absolute standard of right and wrong, there is in effect no actual right or wrong, only man made laws and systems to suit mans’ own ends. So it all really comes down to what you believe. If you value and honour and believe the Bible to be the actual word of God that reveals His righteous requirements and truth, then you have an absolute standard to measure yourself by. If you don’t believe this then you are a law unto yourself and in effect lawless, in your own eyes, but if in actual fact God does exist and the Bible IS his revealed Will, then it doesn’t matter what you believe – you will be judged by God according to His Law/ Word/ Justice and choosing.
If God be real…we better obey. Because if He exists, then His ordained consequences for sin will be the punishment for our transgression whether we like it or not. If He doesn’t exist, all well and good, we have no Judge. All of the excuses under the sun will not suffice in that day, for God Himself says:
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21
God has made a way that we can be freed from the guilt of our sin, in that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for us, the penalty of sin being death. If God exists, and the Bible is His Word, then in the end it will be the way He has said, not the way we have rationalised or wanted it to be. If He is not real, and the Bible is not the Word of God, then there’s nothing to worry about – where God is concerned, although there is still plenty to worry about, for we are a mere accident, and have no future hope other than nothingness. Some may have made peace with that, but if He is real, that peace will be short lived. This all comes down to our way or His way. If He is real, our way, if it opposes His way, is sin. If He is not, then there is only our way, and it matters not.
There are many laws in existence that relate to humanity and the world around us. Laws of nature; state and federal laws; religious laws and rituals; moral laws and the law of God for example. Some people think they are a law unto themselves. Laws are set into place to protect something or someone. For example without the law of gravity we would all float off into space and living on this planet would never have been possible. Laws are meant to preserve things. Laws are meaningless without an enforcer, and without a penalty or consequence for breaking the law. Lawlessness abounds when there is no fear of God or of consequences, because seemingly I can transgress the law and no penalty is forthcoming.
There is also rebellion present and disregard towards God at the base level of human fallen nature. But we are told in the Bible that at the appointed time (which is an exact, precise and predetermined time) all will be judged and held accountable for their sin (transgression of the law) and also that God’s patience although great has a limit and the time comes when He judges situations and people, whether they know it is the judgement of God or not is another story.
God has made His law clear and has documented it within His Word. But an understanding of this law or the requirement of God upon us can be misunderstood if we have not learnt this law. Some laws are obvious to most, even without being taught i.e. thou shalt not kill. Although some do not have a knowledge or feeling of moral law, for example some serial killers, others continually rationalise their actions despite the pang of their conscience, causing their conscience to be seared so that it no longer condemns them of wrong.
This is the reason for laws: that a standard might be set, and governed by an authority who ensure penalty for transgression of that law, to maintain order and freedom in society and protection for its citizens. The highest law, is the law of Love. To “love” God and each other is to fulfil the whole law of God. It is not within our fallen nature to obey the law of God naturally. It is within our nature to serve ourselves. It is the conversion of the soul to Jesus Christ and the infilling with the Spirit of Christ that enables us to fulfil the law of God because we receive His nature. We then need to learn to deny our old nature and instead learn to do His will as it is revealed to us by Him and walk in newness of life according to the new nature within us. This does take time, and God chastens His own, and corrects, and purges them of sin. This is a process. By the renewing of the mind we are transformed and made able to live His Word and Will, and our conscience can be restored to a state of health according to His law, and no longer distorted or defiled by the rationalisation of man’s behaviour or incorrect views of what is right and wrong. The Bible says to be mature is to know the difference between right and wrong, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14.
A mature believer is a discerning believer, who by practise, has become able to divide between right and wrong – which interestingly enough shows that they have come into harmony with the Spirit of Christ in them, this nature, that shows them a new way, by the renewing of the mind by the word of God.
“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
Renewing of the mind by the Word of God (actual truth) is essential, because all of us have learnt different things, have made different conclusions about what truth is and about reality. Without an absolute standard there is no truth or reality, but only perceived truth and reality. And without an absolute standard of right and wrong, there is in effect no actual right or wrong, only man made laws and systems to suit mans’ own ends. So it all really comes down to what you believe. If you value and honour and believe the Bible to be the actual word of God that reveals His righteous requirements and truth, then you have an absolute standard to measure yourself by. If you don’t believe this then you are a law unto yourself and in effect lawless, in your own eyes, but if in actual fact God does exist and the Bible IS his revealed Will, then it doesn’t matter what you believe – you will be judged by God according to His Law/ Word/ Justice and choosing.
If God be real…we better obey. Because if He exists, then His ordained consequences for sin will be the punishment for our transgression whether we like it or not. If He doesn’t exist, all well and good, we have no Judge. All of the excuses under the sun will not suffice in that day, for God Himself says:
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21
God has made a way that we can be freed from the guilt of our sin, in that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for us, the penalty of sin being death. If God exists, and the Bible is His Word, then in the end it will be the way He has said, not the way we have rationalised or wanted it to be. If He is not real, and the Bible is not the Word of God, then there’s nothing to worry about – where God is concerned, although there is still plenty to worry about, for we are a mere accident, and have no future hope other than nothingness. Some may have made peace with that, but if He is real, that peace will be short lived. This all comes down to our way or His way. If He is real, our way, if it opposes His way, is sin. If He is not, then there is only our way, and it matters not.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Time of Victory - For The Obedient
by Glenice Mills
There are many prophetic words ‘out there’ at this time, the beginning of a new year. There has been a theme – it is a year of breakthrough.
It is good to know the seasons and times we live in, however there are a few things I think we in the body of Christ need to consider.
We are all excited about the ‘New Year’, but we need to look at the motive behind what this means.
The Lord knows the seasons and times and if this is so, does He think ‘Oh good it is the New Year, 2014?’ or does He look at time from the big picture of His plans and purposes for us on earth right now?
What makes December 31st different from January 1st?
In God’s scheme of things the days, times and seasons are in His hands.
Perhaps the New Year is more about us wanting things to change, rather than the Lord suddenly, as a result of a night of revelry and prayerful demands deciding He will do a new thing?
Perhaps this is very prideful of us and a bit presumptuous to think that we can tell God what we think He needs to do because it is a New Year? In fact if we are not careful we can cross over to divination – ‘calling up what we want rather than seeking the Lord about what He is wanting’.
We as the body of Christ need to examine our motives for wanting what we want just because it is a New Year. It is a day in a calendar and in fact has nothing to do with God’s seasons and times. Yes we can perhaps claim it as a defining day, a new day of a new year according to a Gregorian calendar. But how much ‘power’ and ‘influence’ should this bring on our lives. Perhaps we need to see things with God’s eyes?
There has been a consensus among the body of Christ that everybody had a difficult ‘last year’. I prefer to call it a time rather than a year of testing and trials. It we think about it, the difficulties didn’t start ‘magically’ on the 1st January 2013. Many were going through difficulties earlier than January 2013, and some may not have experienced difficulties until later in the year. Does that make 2013 a difficult year? Wouldn’t it be better to say we have had a difficult season or time?
Let’s not forget a year is about our time frame rather than God’s time frame. He sees in seasons and times. In fact we need to know the Prophetic time we live in rather than our time. We are to know the seasons and times we live in, and this is where the prophet can and must speak about them. However I wonder if it is incorrect for a prophet to say in the 2014 time frame this will happen or will not happen?
We must be careful we don’t make blanket statements and say all are in this season. Ecclesiastes says there is a season and a time for every purpose so what is one person/ministry/nation’s season may not be what is happening to another. We can have a sense of what God is doing in His church but we dare not make a statement for all when in fact it might be for most. That puts shame and guilt on those who may not be experiencing what is happening to others.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
A time to weep, And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
A time to tear, And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
A time to love, And a time to hate;
A time of war, And a time of peace.
How many Christians are making new year’s resolutions believing that if they are faithful to consistently diet, exercise or what ever resolution they make, that God will endorse it?
Again who says that making a new year’s resolution is right in God. We all know our areas of weakness and what areas the Lord wants us to change. Therefore wouldn’t it be more accurate to pray, and to ask for the Lord’s help to overcome?
I wonder if ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ are actually right in God? I don’t think so.
We have to be careful that we don’t succumb to the world’s ways and come in agreement with them. It is very subtle.
So what is the Lord saying to us at this time?
Yes most Christians have been through difficulties in recent times. Many have spoken of 2013 being a year of great trials.
This is because we in the body of Christ have been going through a great transition time. There has been a contracting, a stretching and a time of deep forging that has produced great pain.
Transition is also a time of labour when a woman gives birth. This is the time of full dilation of the cervix and a change of action to push to bring to birth. We have in fact been in a season of birth pangs. There is always great discomfort, and a wanting to give up and go back to how it was before.
That has been the test for many. It has in fact been a season of opportunities – opportunity to push through, opportunity to give up, opportunity to sabotage what has been put in place by God, opportunity to run away from God and many other opportunities to walk in obedience or to choose to compromise and walk in disobedience.
We know we are in a season of the apostle and prophet. What we forget is their role is to equip the saints. If we are to adequately equip, then we must be trained. All training involves pain at some level.
God is concerned about our character – our integrity, our love of Truth and choosing to walk in obedience to what He requires of us.
The Lord is looking for a remnant – one’s who will stand for righteousness and truth no matter the cost.
For many it has been a time of war, but the next season is a time of peace.
When the Israelites were obedient there was peace on all sides. So it will be for those who have passed tests in recent difficult times.
They have warred for themselves, for others and for their nations and there is a reaping of rewards for their obedience.
We are coming into a time of victory. For there to be victory there had to have been a war. When war ends there is celebration. There is a new freedom and liberty. The constraints have been lifted. There are new beginnings.
However there is a condition to this word – time of victory. Victory will come to those who have been obedient to yield to the dealings of God in this past season, with a willingness to give up those areas the Lord wants us to let go of.
That is why it has been so difficult. A line has been drawn – those who have fully yielded to the Lord, and those who have chosen to walk their own path.
Rewards are coming to the faithful – not that they have asked or expected rewards but the Lord has seen. Expect the unexpected in this next season. Don’t hold onto old ways of doing things for He is doing a new thing. Many words have gone out about the ‘new thing’ however we have often had wrong expectations because the motive has been about self-promotion. The new thing will be obvious to those who have eyes to see.
Know that He is God!!!
Nothing, that is NO THING that has been built by the hands of man will stand in coming times. That which has been built on the rock – Jesus Christ – will stand.
By their fruit you will know them.
Watch and see what the Lord will do in coming times. Be ready for an exciting journey – one that will bring joy to the hearts of those who are battle weary and weary in well doing. This is your season to shine!!!
There are many prophetic words ‘out there’ at this time, the beginning of a new year. There has been a theme – it is a year of breakthrough.
It is good to know the seasons and times we live in, however there are a few things I think we in the body of Christ need to consider.
We are all excited about the ‘New Year’, but we need to look at the motive behind what this means.
The Lord knows the seasons and times and if this is so, does He think ‘Oh good it is the New Year, 2014?’ or does He look at time from the big picture of His plans and purposes for us on earth right now?
What makes December 31st different from January 1st?
In God’s scheme of things the days, times and seasons are in His hands.
Perhaps the New Year is more about us wanting things to change, rather than the Lord suddenly, as a result of a night of revelry and prayerful demands deciding He will do a new thing?
Perhaps this is very prideful of us and a bit presumptuous to think that we can tell God what we think He needs to do because it is a New Year? In fact if we are not careful we can cross over to divination – ‘calling up what we want rather than seeking the Lord about what He is wanting’.
We as the body of Christ need to examine our motives for wanting what we want just because it is a New Year. It is a day in a calendar and in fact has nothing to do with God’s seasons and times. Yes we can perhaps claim it as a defining day, a new day of a new year according to a Gregorian calendar. But how much ‘power’ and ‘influence’ should this bring on our lives. Perhaps we need to see things with God’s eyes?
There has been a consensus among the body of Christ that everybody had a difficult ‘last year’. I prefer to call it a time rather than a year of testing and trials. It we think about it, the difficulties didn’t start ‘magically’ on the 1st January 2013. Many were going through difficulties earlier than January 2013, and some may not have experienced difficulties until later in the year. Does that make 2013 a difficult year? Wouldn’t it be better to say we have had a difficult season or time?
Let’s not forget a year is about our time frame rather than God’s time frame. He sees in seasons and times. In fact we need to know the Prophetic time we live in rather than our time. We are to know the seasons and times we live in, and this is where the prophet can and must speak about them. However I wonder if it is incorrect for a prophet to say in the 2014 time frame this will happen or will not happen?
We must be careful we don’t make blanket statements and say all are in this season. Ecclesiastes says there is a season and a time for every purpose so what is one person/ministry/nation’s season may not be what is happening to another. We can have a sense of what God is doing in His church but we dare not make a statement for all when in fact it might be for most. That puts shame and guilt on those who may not be experiencing what is happening to others.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
A time to weep, And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
A time to tear, And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
A time to love, And a time to hate;
A time of war, And a time of peace.
How many Christians are making new year’s resolutions believing that if they are faithful to consistently diet, exercise or what ever resolution they make, that God will endorse it?
Again who says that making a new year’s resolution is right in God. We all know our areas of weakness and what areas the Lord wants us to change. Therefore wouldn’t it be more accurate to pray, and to ask for the Lord’s help to overcome?
I wonder if ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ are actually right in God? I don’t think so.
We have to be careful that we don’t succumb to the world’s ways and come in agreement with them. It is very subtle.
So what is the Lord saying to us at this time?
Yes most Christians have been through difficulties in recent times. Many have spoken of 2013 being a year of great trials.
This is because we in the body of Christ have been going through a great transition time. There has been a contracting, a stretching and a time of deep forging that has produced great pain.
Transition is also a time of labour when a woman gives birth. This is the time of full dilation of the cervix and a change of action to push to bring to birth. We have in fact been in a season of birth pangs. There is always great discomfort, and a wanting to give up and go back to how it was before.
That has been the test for many. It has in fact been a season of opportunities – opportunity to push through, opportunity to give up, opportunity to sabotage what has been put in place by God, opportunity to run away from God and many other opportunities to walk in obedience or to choose to compromise and walk in disobedience.
We know we are in a season of the apostle and prophet. What we forget is their role is to equip the saints. If we are to adequately equip, then we must be trained. All training involves pain at some level.
God is concerned about our character – our integrity, our love of Truth and choosing to walk in obedience to what He requires of us.
The Lord is looking for a remnant – one’s who will stand for righteousness and truth no matter the cost.
For many it has been a time of war, but the next season is a time of peace.
When the Israelites were obedient there was peace on all sides. So it will be for those who have passed tests in recent difficult times.
They have warred for themselves, for others and for their nations and there is a reaping of rewards for their obedience.
We are coming into a time of victory. For there to be victory there had to have been a war. When war ends there is celebration. There is a new freedom and liberty. The constraints have been lifted. There are new beginnings.
However there is a condition to this word – time of victory. Victory will come to those who have been obedient to yield to the dealings of God in this past season, with a willingness to give up those areas the Lord wants us to let go of.
That is why it has been so difficult. A line has been drawn – those who have fully yielded to the Lord, and those who have chosen to walk their own path.
Rewards are coming to the faithful – not that they have asked or expected rewards but the Lord has seen. Expect the unexpected in this next season. Don’t hold onto old ways of doing things for He is doing a new thing. Many words have gone out about the ‘new thing’ however we have often had wrong expectations because the motive has been about self-promotion. The new thing will be obvious to those who have eyes to see.
Know that He is God!!!
Nothing, that is NO THING that has been built by the hands of man will stand in coming times. That which has been built on the rock – Jesus Christ – will stand.
By their fruit you will know them.
Watch and see what the Lord will do in coming times. Be ready for an exciting journey – one that will bring joy to the hearts of those who are battle weary and weary in well doing. This is your season to shine!!!
Thursday, 9 January 2014
The True Living Water
by Tony Clark
I love that God revealed from the beginning to the end in the Bible. A time line of earth’s history. God cares about His people, He wants them to know Him. Closeness and intimacy has always been His greatest desire! Men in their fallen, fearful, arrogant, proud and rebellious state, resist God and turn to their own way for fulfilment and getting their needs met, but they don’t realise only the PURE LIVING WATER can satisfy the soul.
God is not out to condemn you, take away what you care about, or put restricting laws or burdens on you. You are already bound! You are already restricted!
Being BIRTHED into His kingdom by the true revelation of His love for you, and being made TRULY ALIVE by His power causes men to see for the first time, just like Neo in the Matrix.
Do you want to live in a dream world, a world that just keeps you distracted and deceived enough to make you think this is LIFE? When you are AWOKEN by a very real God, who brought everything into existence, including your life, the scales fall off your eyes and you don’t just begin to see things differently - that’s just a by-product. You ARE different. NEW. Clean. The difference is so extreme that it is likened to being dead and then made ALIVE. And when you are alive to God, which means you are consciously aware of His presence and person, at a genuinely interactive level, you will/can never be the same.
God loves you. He is not angry or vengeful toward you, he sent His Son (God born in human flesh) to die for you??? Does that sound like ILL WILL? God knows that you are lost without Him. You were made to be together. Don’t listen to false religions that will tell you that you can get to/ become God some other way!
Jesus Christ is the DOOR - no one comes to the Father except by Him. He died for your sin - you fall WAY short of the holiness and majesty of God, and sin every day by going your own way in the face of Truth.
If a man repents of his own wicked ways, and humbles himself and recognises that Jesus who KNEW NO SIN died for you so that you could be saved and brought back into relationship with God, by trusting in His sacrifice to pay for your sin - not relying on your OWN self righteousness which is unable to meet the required standard - you will be encountered by God. I did, 17 years ago. I was addicted, broken, hurting, self conscious, lost and afraid, but God saved me by a revelation of His love for me. My eyes were made OPEN, and I was filled with newness. I was made alive to God. And all these years later I must say, I have dug, and I have sought after this God that revealed Himself to me, and I have found TREASURE like I never thought possible. I could write 50 books about what has happened in my life due to meeting my Maker. I have found what I was looking for. And every well of promised nourishment that the world has to offer, is but an illusion, so fresh to the taste just like the real thing when you first find it - because you are THIRSTY! But as you continue to drink this water that promised so much, it dries up and no longer quenches your thirst. JESUS CHRIST is the only TRUE LIVING WATER. He said, in His own words “the water I give, when you drink it, YOU WILL NEVER THIRST AGAIN.” We need water to survive. That’s why the bible days Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. And that “For God SO LOVED the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER believes on Him, will not PERISH but have EVERLASTING LIFE.” (the result of living water). God says you are perishing. You try your hardest to survive in the false waters that are only a trick to keep you from the true, and the end is death, because just like in the desert, without water you die. This is the context that God declares you are perishing. But Jesus came with the true living water, so that “you may not perish, but in drinking, and continuing to drink of His true water (His words) you WILL NOT PERISH but have ETERNAL LIFE.” It’s a promise. God CANNOT lie. Bless you.
I love that God revealed from the beginning to the end in the Bible. A time line of earth’s history. God cares about His people, He wants them to know Him. Closeness and intimacy has always been His greatest desire! Men in their fallen, fearful, arrogant, proud and rebellious state, resist God and turn to their own way for fulfilment and getting their needs met, but they don’t realise only the PURE LIVING WATER can satisfy the soul.God is not out to condemn you, take away what you care about, or put restricting laws or burdens on you. You are already bound! You are already restricted!
Being BIRTHED into His kingdom by the true revelation of His love for you, and being made TRULY ALIVE by His power causes men to see for the first time, just like Neo in the Matrix.
Do you want to live in a dream world, a world that just keeps you distracted and deceived enough to make you think this is LIFE? When you are AWOKEN by a very real God, who brought everything into existence, including your life, the scales fall off your eyes and you don’t just begin to see things differently - that’s just a by-product. You ARE different. NEW. Clean. The difference is so extreme that it is likened to being dead and then made ALIVE. And when you are alive to God, which means you are consciously aware of His presence and person, at a genuinely interactive level, you will/can never be the same.
God loves you. He is not angry or vengeful toward you, he sent His Son (God born in human flesh) to die for you??? Does that sound like ILL WILL? God knows that you are lost without Him. You were made to be together. Don’t listen to false religions that will tell you that you can get to/ become God some other way!
Jesus Christ is the DOOR - no one comes to the Father except by Him. He died for your sin - you fall WAY short of the holiness and majesty of God, and sin every day by going your own way in the face of Truth.
If a man repents of his own wicked ways, and humbles himself and recognises that Jesus who KNEW NO SIN died for you so that you could be saved and brought back into relationship with God, by trusting in His sacrifice to pay for your sin - not relying on your OWN self righteousness which is unable to meet the required standard - you will be encountered by God. I did, 17 years ago. I was addicted, broken, hurting, self conscious, lost and afraid, but God saved me by a revelation of His love for me. My eyes were made OPEN, and I was filled with newness. I was made alive to God. And all these years later I must say, I have dug, and I have sought after this God that revealed Himself to me, and I have found TREASURE like I never thought possible. I could write 50 books about what has happened in my life due to meeting my Maker. I have found what I was looking for. And every well of promised nourishment that the world has to offer, is but an illusion, so fresh to the taste just like the real thing when you first find it - because you are THIRSTY! But as you continue to drink this water that promised so much, it dries up and no longer quenches your thirst. JESUS CHRIST is the only TRUE LIVING WATER. He said, in His own words “the water I give, when you drink it, YOU WILL NEVER THIRST AGAIN.” We need water to survive. That’s why the bible days Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. And that “For God SO LOVED the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER believes on Him, will not PERISH but have EVERLASTING LIFE.” (the result of living water). God says you are perishing. You try your hardest to survive in the false waters that are only a trick to keep you from the true, and the end is death, because just like in the desert, without water you die. This is the context that God declares you are perishing. But Jesus came with the true living water, so that “you may not perish, but in drinking, and continuing to drink of His true water (His words) you WILL NOT PERISH but have ETERNAL LIFE.” It’s a promise. God CANNOT lie. Bless you.
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!
by Belinda Jabore
I was saying to the Lord many Australian people (in their many nationalities) all have an opinion. They all have an opinion and very strong opinions, I might add, and they all have a right to their opinions but people will not put their words and life where their mouth is?
I felt the Lord say back to me their words and opinions are cheap, and unless they line up with Mine and My word they are just their opinions. We tend to say all these words and they fall into the pit of nothingness not accomplishing anything or really helping anyone – worse still bringing negativity. Not bringing life, but death. Words words words!!! Opinions opinions opinions!!! Blah blah blah!!! Then I heard the Lord say, “You will be held accountable for your words and opinions, how you shared them, how you valued them and if they lined up with Mine and if you did something to make a change.” The Lord had my undivided attention. He then reminded me of a throw-away line of a politician who stated, “If you say something long/often enough - people will eventually believe it.” Interestingly as I did some research as to who might have made this statement I discovered that it came from a speech by none other than Adolf Hitler. Interesting that mostly we do not take the time to think what and where these quotes come from and the heart behind them. How sad that we have these people in Government - there is good and bad in everything and we have to look at the person not the political party and look at what they believe and if they are standing for God’s stand on these issues and if their opinions are valid or not. This is a piece taken out of Wikipedia which I found interesting?
”Big Lie”
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For the 1951 anti-communist propaganda film, see The Big Lie.
The Big Lie (German: Große Lüge) is a propaganda technique. The expression was coined by Adolf Hitler, when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf, about the use of a lie so “colossal” that no one would believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” Hitler asserted the technique was used by Jews to unfairly blame Germany’s loss in World War I on German Army officer Erich Ludendorff.
Hitler’s use of the expression
The source of Big Lie technique is this passage, taken from Chapter 10 of James Murphy’s translation of Mein Kampf: But it remained for the Jews, with their unqualified capacity for falsehood, and their fighting comrades, the Marxists, to impute responsibility for the downfall precisely to the man who alone had shown a superhuman will and energy in his effort to prevent the catastrophe which he had foreseen and to save the nation from that hour of complete overthrow and shame. By placing responsibility for the loss of the world war on the shoulders of Ludendorff they took away the weapon of moral right from the only adversary dangerous enough to be likely to succeed in bringing the betrayers of the Fatherland to Justice.
All this was inspired by the principle–which is quite true within itself–that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.
—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, volume I
"We must never forget what the Jews went through and how they paid with their lives when the world ’sat on its hands’ watching and let it happen.”
This I believe is a prophetic sign and reflection of the state of what we are under in Australia that we are so bombarded with untruths and judgements, which are in the form of lies and opinions.
The word opinion means: 1. A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. 2. The beliefs or views of a large number or majority of people about a particular thing. 3. A belief or judgement that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
Most of these opinions are not based on God’s statutes and commandments and His thoughts and heart. We are a bit like a frog in the water that eventually gets boiled to death and we do not feel it till it is too late. There are a lot of things that are going on at the moment that God is not pleased with such as the refugee issues /boat people, abortion, euthanasia, violence against women, same sex marriage issues who are trying to be married which is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman before God. Why I ask when most of these men and women do not follow God want to have a sacred God covenant in their life? Maybe deep down they do want to follow God? Or do they? Or do they just want to have something that is just not theirs to have? Marriage.
True Christians must make a stand for these issues and make a change and speak up on the truth and opinions of God’s law and what He says. If it does not line up with God’s word or commands then we should do all we can as Christ like people to stop it. If we do not stand up and say something everyone else will and Australia is in danger of falling more into the hands of un-Godly opinions. We have already allowed these things to affect us in Australia. We do not have to follow any other countries but make strong moral standards of our own to be heard loud and clear. If good men and women do nothing evil will prosper a quote by Dr Martin Luther King.
If we go blindly and do not search out the truth of an individual’s heart and find out what he/she believes we will choose incorrectly. As we have found out recently that one of the main candidates have said that if he gets elected within the first 100 days same sex marriage will be passed. Now if any Christian worth his/her salt voted for this politician then you are not really a Christ-like person because if you read God’s word you would know He made marriage as a sacred covenant for a man and woman only. We must say no way to any change for our sacred marriage covenant that God put in place to make the family unit safe and protected since before all time. Even if you are not following God but believe in Him and you want right morals to be in place in Australia surely you would not vote for this politician. Some people say oh but they love one another why not let them it is not hurting any one. Oh - make no mistake it will damage the foundation of the family unit and there will be consequences for it. God Almighty Himself put in place marriage to protect the family unit and we must not allow this to be compromised in any way if we truly stand for what is right. The last time I looked Australia was and is built on Judah/Christian beliefs and people’s opinions, tradition, cultures and whatever feels good are trying to change the foundations of what Australia is and always has been. We must stand for Truth, Righteousness and Justice.
How long do we continue to ‘turn a blind eye’ – leaving it for others to do or say what is right. We must do it! Australians are known to hate injustice and when truth is revealed they rally to the cause in an effort to put right the wrong - no matter what the cost or personal risk to themselves. Our fathers and grandfathers fought for this and we will not let other opinions and traditions shift the goal posts. We can not say ‘she will be right mate’ or leave it to someone else. We must say something and make a stand for a moral standard in Australia. It is up to us.
The Kingdom of God is much more powerful than any governmental power on the earth. When the Kingdom of God starts to manifest on the earth that’s when we will see change and revival in our heart’s first. We need to change and make the change. We as Christian people need revival in our hearts so that we will make a stand against all unrighteousness and then others will follow and to know our Kingdom authority will bring change. God is passing the baton to those who revere and value greatly His order and authority. When the church is in FIVE FOLD order, to a greater level of one mind, one heart, one accord and have His love for each other……. then the change will come. To a greater capacity. We will change communities, government, cities and nations - the church needs to lead the way.
First the church in Godly order then the world. 1Peter 4:17 God is looking for men and women to speak and change the status quo (existing state of affairs or that which existed previously).
God said that He is the same yesterday, today and forever and if one person stands for His Truth and Righteousness, He will have mercy on us and save us from calamities of the future.
We need to take a look at our words and the statements/opinions we are making/saying and why we are making/saying them. Then ask God to sort them and the ones that line up with His - do something about it. What are we going to do about it? Revelation 3:13-22 We as God’s people need to do what it takes. Send that letter to parliament and to our federal and state members and our local candidates to let them know that no that is not alright to have bills passed that are not in line with God’s plan.
Visit and make an appointment with them. Ask them what you can do? Become involved. Pray that righteous true believers of God will lead and have influence in government and they would speak into the lives of other leaders Godly wisdom and understanding and that they would have influence. Vote for God’s leaders in that sphere of influence - ones that will not compromise and will stand for God’s Truth and statutes. People that hate make bad choices.
Be the spokesperson for your church and community.
“Remember, if good men and women do nothing, evil will prosper.”
Make your words count and then BE the solution.
I was saying to the Lord many Australian people (in their many nationalities) all have an opinion. They all have an opinion and very strong opinions, I might add, and they all have a right to their opinions but people will not put their words and life where their mouth is?
I felt the Lord say back to me their words and opinions are cheap, and unless they line up with Mine and My word they are just their opinions. We tend to say all these words and they fall into the pit of nothingness not accomplishing anything or really helping anyone – worse still bringing negativity. Not bringing life, but death. Words words words!!! Opinions opinions opinions!!! Blah blah blah!!! Then I heard the Lord say, “You will be held accountable for your words and opinions, how you shared them, how you valued them and if they lined up with Mine and if you did something to make a change.” The Lord had my undivided attention. He then reminded me of a throw-away line of a politician who stated, “If you say something long/often enough - people will eventually believe it.” Interestingly as I did some research as to who might have made this statement I discovered that it came from a speech by none other than Adolf Hitler. Interesting that mostly we do not take the time to think what and where these quotes come from and the heart behind them. How sad that we have these people in Government - there is good and bad in everything and we have to look at the person not the political party and look at what they believe and if they are standing for God’s stand on these issues and if their opinions are valid or not. This is a piece taken out of Wikipedia which I found interesting?
”Big Lie”
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the 1951 anti-communist propaganda film, see The Big Lie.
The Big Lie (German: Große Lüge) is a propaganda technique. The expression was coined by Adolf Hitler, when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf, about the use of a lie so “colossal” that no one would believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” Hitler asserted the technique was used by Jews to unfairly blame Germany’s loss in World War I on German Army officer Erich Ludendorff.
Hitler’s use of the expression
The source of Big Lie technique is this passage, taken from Chapter 10 of James Murphy’s translation of Mein Kampf: But it remained for the Jews, with their unqualified capacity for falsehood, and their fighting comrades, the Marxists, to impute responsibility for the downfall precisely to the man who alone had shown a superhuman will and energy in his effort to prevent the catastrophe which he had foreseen and to save the nation from that hour of complete overthrow and shame. By placing responsibility for the loss of the world war on the shoulders of Ludendorff they took away the weapon of moral right from the only adversary dangerous enough to be likely to succeed in bringing the betrayers of the Fatherland to Justice.
All this was inspired by the principle–which is quite true within itself–that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.
—Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, volume I
"We must never forget what the Jews went through and how they paid with their lives when the world ’sat on its hands’ watching and let it happen.”
This I believe is a prophetic sign and reflection of the state of what we are under in Australia that we are so bombarded with untruths and judgements, which are in the form of lies and opinions.
The word opinion means: 1. A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. 2. The beliefs or views of a large number or majority of people about a particular thing. 3. A belief or judgement that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
Most of these opinions are not based on God’s statutes and commandments and His thoughts and heart. We are a bit like a frog in the water that eventually gets boiled to death and we do not feel it till it is too late. There are a lot of things that are going on at the moment that God is not pleased with such as the refugee issues /boat people, abortion, euthanasia, violence against women, same sex marriage issues who are trying to be married which is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman before God. Why I ask when most of these men and women do not follow God want to have a sacred God covenant in their life? Maybe deep down they do want to follow God? Or do they? Or do they just want to have something that is just not theirs to have? Marriage.
True Christians must make a stand for these issues and make a change and speak up on the truth and opinions of God’s law and what He says. If it does not line up with God’s word or commands then we should do all we can as Christ like people to stop it. If we do not stand up and say something everyone else will and Australia is in danger of falling more into the hands of un-Godly opinions. We have already allowed these things to affect us in Australia. We do not have to follow any other countries but make strong moral standards of our own to be heard loud and clear. If good men and women do nothing evil will prosper a quote by Dr Martin Luther King.
If we go blindly and do not search out the truth of an individual’s heart and find out what he/she believes we will choose incorrectly. As we have found out recently that one of the main candidates have said that if he gets elected within the first 100 days same sex marriage will be passed. Now if any Christian worth his/her salt voted for this politician then you are not really a Christ-like person because if you read God’s word you would know He made marriage as a sacred covenant for a man and woman only. We must say no way to any change for our sacred marriage covenant that God put in place to make the family unit safe and protected since before all time. Even if you are not following God but believe in Him and you want right morals to be in place in Australia surely you would not vote for this politician. Some people say oh but they love one another why not let them it is not hurting any one. Oh - make no mistake it will damage the foundation of the family unit and there will be consequences for it. God Almighty Himself put in place marriage to protect the family unit and we must not allow this to be compromised in any way if we truly stand for what is right. The last time I looked Australia was and is built on Judah/Christian beliefs and people’s opinions, tradition, cultures and whatever feels good are trying to change the foundations of what Australia is and always has been. We must stand for Truth, Righteousness and Justice.
How long do we continue to ‘turn a blind eye’ – leaving it for others to do or say what is right. We must do it! Australians are known to hate injustice and when truth is revealed they rally to the cause in an effort to put right the wrong - no matter what the cost or personal risk to themselves. Our fathers and grandfathers fought for this and we will not let other opinions and traditions shift the goal posts. We can not say ‘she will be right mate’ or leave it to someone else. We must say something and make a stand for a moral standard in Australia. It is up to us.
The Kingdom of God is much more powerful than any governmental power on the earth. When the Kingdom of God starts to manifest on the earth that’s when we will see change and revival in our heart’s first. We need to change and make the change. We as Christian people need revival in our hearts so that we will make a stand against all unrighteousness and then others will follow and to know our Kingdom authority will bring change. God is passing the baton to those who revere and value greatly His order and authority. When the church is in FIVE FOLD order, to a greater level of one mind, one heart, one accord and have His love for each other……. then the change will come. To a greater capacity. We will change communities, government, cities and nations - the church needs to lead the way.
First the church in Godly order then the world. 1Peter 4:17 God is looking for men and women to speak and change the status quo (existing state of affairs or that which existed previously).
God said that He is the same yesterday, today and forever and if one person stands for His Truth and Righteousness, He will have mercy on us and save us from calamities of the future.
We need to take a look at our words and the statements/opinions we are making/saying and why we are making/saying them. Then ask God to sort them and the ones that line up with His - do something about it. What are we going to do about it? Revelation 3:13-22 We as God’s people need to do what it takes. Send that letter to parliament and to our federal and state members and our local candidates to let them know that no that is not alright to have bills passed that are not in line with God’s plan.
Visit and make an appointment with them. Ask them what you can do? Become involved. Pray that righteous true believers of God will lead and have influence in government and they would speak into the lives of other leaders Godly wisdom and understanding and that they would have influence. Vote for God’s leaders in that sphere of influence - ones that will not compromise and will stand for God’s Truth and statutes. People that hate make bad choices.
Be the spokesperson for your church and community.
“Remember, if good men and women do nothing, evil will prosper.”
Make your words count and then BE the solution.
Labels:
F.I. Members,
Words For Australia
Location:
Gold Coast QLD, Australia
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
The Voice
by Glenice Mills
There are many voices out there - voices trying to influence people’s thinking. However, the bulk of these voices come from groups built on an unrighteous foundation, who have an agenda for their viewpoints to be pushed, with no regard to others’ opinions. Though often small in number, they hold great influence. We see groups such as unions, gay rights, the greens, pro-abortionists, and extreme Muslims appearing to express the viewpoints of the multitudes. We could say these individual organisations are ‘a’ group.
The good news is: there are groups representing Christians, such as the Australian Christian Lobby, who are the voice expressing our viewpoint, and reminding those in government positions of our Judaeo-Christian values.
This sounds arrogant but we have ‘the’ voice. Why? Because we are representing the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He stands for. There is a clear differentiation between ‘a’ and ‘the’.
If we take the Scripture ‘Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life’ and make it ‘Jesus is a Way, a Truth, and a Life’ we completely change the authority He holds and all that Jesus represents to us. We diminish His power and authority and bring Him and what He represents down to the level of ‘other gods and viewpoints’.
The Lord is issuing a challenge about how we, as Christians, see ourselves. When and if we have a thinking that says ‘we are a voice’ rather than ‘we are the voice’ we don’t truly express who the Lord says we are. We see ourselves as ‘lesser than’ as ‘being embarrassed by the viewpoints we hold’, and we inadvertently come in agreement with the enemies thinking and way of looking at things.
We, as women can also easily fall into the trap of believing our voice is ineffective because of how we see ourselves. We have a distorted mindset that says that those in government listen to the voice of men and somehow our voice does not have the power and influence it should. Again we diminish our unique expression of the Lord through His voice, the voice of women. It is subtle and these wrong strongholds of thinking become a way of being that cause blindness to come upon us, again causing us to come in agreement with the enemy.
There is the voice from 5 fold women and men each with their unique expression, their unique sound. Each one: the voice of the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor, the teacher comes from a different base, each a representative of the Lord as they serve in their function.
It is the time for the voice of 5 fold women to arise. This is not about making a name for ourselves, but rather about the Lord’s voice through His women going out there to bring change in the Spiritual realm. When it comes to governance it is about position - positioned to influence. 5 fold is a governmental positioning that is - God’s government to the church.
I want to take it one step further - as a prophet - to speak and declare the voice of the prophets - the prophets to be received, their voice to be heard and for reform to take place. The heart of a prophet is always repentance - God’s heart of ‘return to Me’.
It is the hour for the voice of women prophets to speak for justice, truth and righteousness. No longer on the back foot, quietly submissive, in false humility, appearing to do the right thing, when deep on the inside of them is a burning fire, a burning desire to speak, to confront, to declare the Lord’s heart in this day and time!
It is time for the unique sound, the unique expression of God to come forth. It is time to come out of hiding, to come out, and to be known. Arise women of God!!!
Religious agendas, old ways of doing things, the traditions of man, the wrong doctrine of women and their role in church - it is time for these ungodly strongholds to be debunked, to be smashed and for truth to reign like never before! How long must women bow to the lies of the enemy that would hold them back, that would keep them in captivity, and be a muzzle on the Lord’s dear precious ones?
John the Baptist was the voice declaring ‘prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ‘. We are in a time when the voice, the voice of both men and women, standing together, encouraging one another, in unity and of one accord, declaring the way of the Lord, the return of the Lord! It cannot and will not happen until men and women stand alongside one another in right balance, each free to be full expressions of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord is looking for ones of courage - women of courage prepared to stand out, to be the voice for truth, and men of courage prepared to stand with, and back their women up. Men’s voices also need to rise up and stand against all oppression and discrimination against women.
The apostolic is always about reformation - that is re - forming something. Perhaps it could be described as being instrumental in changing the shape of something into another form. Re means to go back and do again. This reformation cannot and will not happen until and unless the voice and input of women is allowed to be freely expressed. Perhaps the next reformation to the church will be the full acceptance and receiving of women for ALL they truly are without fear, prejudice, judgment and criticism. Reformation, that is apostolic change, will radically influence and redefine culture. It will be history making. The free expression of the voice of women must happen before the Lord returns. The Lord is coming back for His Bride, and His Bride means and includes His women.
There are many voices out there - voices trying to influence people’s thinking. However, the bulk of these voices come from groups built on an unrighteous foundation, who have an agenda for their viewpoints to be pushed, with no regard to others’ opinions. Though often small in number, they hold great influence. We see groups such as unions, gay rights, the greens, pro-abortionists, and extreme Muslims appearing to express the viewpoints of the multitudes. We could say these individual organisations are ‘a’ group.
The good news is: there are groups representing Christians, such as the Australian Christian Lobby, who are the voice expressing our viewpoint, and reminding those in government positions of our Judaeo-Christian values.
This sounds arrogant but we have ‘the’ voice. Why? Because we are representing the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He stands for. There is a clear differentiation between ‘a’ and ‘the’.
If we take the Scripture ‘Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life’ and make it ‘Jesus is a Way, a Truth, and a Life’ we completely change the authority He holds and all that Jesus represents to us. We diminish His power and authority and bring Him and what He represents down to the level of ‘other gods and viewpoints’.
The Lord is issuing a challenge about how we, as Christians, see ourselves. When and if we have a thinking that says ‘we are a voice’ rather than ‘we are the voice’ we don’t truly express who the Lord says we are. We see ourselves as ‘lesser than’ as ‘being embarrassed by the viewpoints we hold’, and we inadvertently come in agreement with the enemies thinking and way of looking at things.
We, as women can also easily fall into the trap of believing our voice is ineffective because of how we see ourselves. We have a distorted mindset that says that those in government listen to the voice of men and somehow our voice does not have the power and influence it should. Again we diminish our unique expression of the Lord through His voice, the voice of women. It is subtle and these wrong strongholds of thinking become a way of being that cause blindness to come upon us, again causing us to come in agreement with the enemy.
There is the voice from 5 fold women and men each with their unique expression, their unique sound. Each one: the voice of the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor, the teacher comes from a different base, each a representative of the Lord as they serve in their function.
It is the time for the voice of 5 fold women to arise. This is not about making a name for ourselves, but rather about the Lord’s voice through His women going out there to bring change in the Spiritual realm. When it comes to governance it is about position - positioned to influence. 5 fold is a governmental positioning that is - God’s government to the church.
I want to take it one step further - as a prophet - to speak and declare the voice of the prophets - the prophets to be received, their voice to be heard and for reform to take place. The heart of a prophet is always repentance - God’s heart of ‘return to Me’.
It is the hour for the voice of women prophets to speak for justice, truth and righteousness. No longer on the back foot, quietly submissive, in false humility, appearing to do the right thing, when deep on the inside of them is a burning fire, a burning desire to speak, to confront, to declare the Lord’s heart in this day and time!
It is time for the unique sound, the unique expression of God to come forth. It is time to come out of hiding, to come out, and to be known. Arise women of God!!!
Religious agendas, old ways of doing things, the traditions of man, the wrong doctrine of women and their role in church - it is time for these ungodly strongholds to be debunked, to be smashed and for truth to reign like never before! How long must women bow to the lies of the enemy that would hold them back, that would keep them in captivity, and be a muzzle on the Lord’s dear precious ones?
John the Baptist was the voice declaring ‘prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ‘. We are in a time when the voice, the voice of both men and women, standing together, encouraging one another, in unity and of one accord, declaring the way of the Lord, the return of the Lord! It cannot and will not happen until men and women stand alongside one another in right balance, each free to be full expressions of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord is looking for ones of courage - women of courage prepared to stand out, to be the voice for truth, and men of courage prepared to stand with, and back their women up. Men’s voices also need to rise up and stand against all oppression and discrimination against women.
The apostolic is always about reformation - that is re - forming something. Perhaps it could be described as being instrumental in changing the shape of something into another form. Re means to go back and do again. This reformation cannot and will not happen until and unless the voice and input of women is allowed to be freely expressed. Perhaps the next reformation to the church will be the full acceptance and receiving of women for ALL they truly are without fear, prejudice, judgment and criticism. Reformation, that is apostolic change, will radically influence and redefine culture. It will be history making. The free expression of the voice of women must happen before the Lord returns. The Lord is coming back for His Bride, and His Bride means and includes His women.
Monday, 24 June 2013
God Is Not Dealing With Sin…
by Trish Whelan
‘God is not dealing with sin…He is establishing your righteousness’ - Graham Cooke
Then the ability to become ‘righteous’ in God’s eyes (to do the right thing) over temptation (the voice in your head that says ‘Go on, no-one is looking.’, or ‘Who cares - I am not accountable to anyone.’) then becomes an established eternal and internal change, and not a constant guilt trip of human failing…
We are then ‘by Grace’ given the ability to resist temptation by engaging our will to align with God’s. This is true Love because we have not lost the ability to choose, a religious spirit does not harness us, nor are we cornered by guilt or shame to correct a habitual ‘base level’ nature of sin.
We are given an opportunity to step into the light right here, at this point in our decision making process, to become an act of resurrection, when the old nature died with Christ on the cross. This is our ‘choose life’ moment to be a new creature of righteous moral fibre, and so by this act we are now deemed fit for an expression of kingdom power.
Our ‘Free will’ is now preferring good, ushering in the new, adhering to the right decision, allowing our mind, will and emotions to be at rest. It has given up a soulish need to sin and acquire tempting surroundings and has been wooed by LOVE to LIVE a righteous way.
The ‘To Do List’ now becomes purposeful and fully outweighs the ‘What not to do’ list.
‘God is not dealing with sin…He is establishing your righteousness’ - Graham Cooke
Then the ability to become ‘righteous’ in God’s eyes (to do the right thing) over temptation (the voice in your head that says ‘Go on, no-one is looking.’, or ‘Who cares - I am not accountable to anyone.’) then becomes an established eternal and internal change, and not a constant guilt trip of human failing…
We are then ‘by Grace’ given the ability to resist temptation by engaging our will to align with God’s. This is true Love because we have not lost the ability to choose, a religious spirit does not harness us, nor are we cornered by guilt or shame to correct a habitual ‘base level’ nature of sin.
We are given an opportunity to step into the light right here, at this point in our decision making process, to become an act of resurrection, when the old nature died with Christ on the cross. This is our ‘choose life’ moment to be a new creature of righteous moral fibre, and so by this act we are now deemed fit for an expression of kingdom power.
Our ‘Free will’ is now preferring good, ushering in the new, adhering to the right decision, allowing our mind, will and emotions to be at rest. It has given up a soulish need to sin and acquire tempting surroundings and has been wooed by LOVE to LIVE a righteous way.
The ‘To Do List’ now becomes purposeful and fully outweighs the ‘What not to do’ list.
God Just Wants To Communicate With Us
by Tony Clark
God just wants to communicate with us, interaction, give and receive, to and fro, like a dance. And how we communicate with Him can be so varied; it can be a song, in prayer, by journaling. He wants to know our hearts, wants us to express ourselves to Him. It’s what He finds most important, most precious.
God doesn’t want us to be isolated, stuck within ourselves, with no one to speak with or share. He has come to abide with us, in our innermost heart. We don’t need to be alone. When Jesus drew aside and prayed to the Father, He communed with Him, in His innermost parts, He drew life from Him and made an exchange with God. He took His concerns to Him and He took His joys. Remember God said “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” There was nothing in God that didn’t want to be with Him, be near Him. He was the delight of God’s heart.
God doesn’t look at our flaws or failings, He looks at our hearts and He loves us. We look at our failings and withdraw, feeling worthless, but that’s when we should turn and push into God because He is our strength and He is our perfection, and He heals us. He is not a God that cannot empathise with our weakness because He also was tempted and subject to weakness. This is the victory! That in our sin, in our weakness He saved us! And because Christ paid for our sin we can come boldly to the throne in grace and seek mercy. It’s the only gospel that can save us, it’s the only good news that will liberate us to go to the world. To know that you are forgiven is the greatest power on earth. When we can believe that we are forgiven it will be easy to believe God for healing, or to meet our needs, because the forgiveness of God displays and reveals His mercy and favour towards us. And His desire to unleash His goodness upon us.
God just wants to communicate with us, interaction, give and receive, to and fro, like a dance. And how we communicate with Him can be so varied; it can be a song, in prayer, by journaling. He wants to know our hearts, wants us to express ourselves to Him. It’s what He finds most important, most precious.
God doesn’t want us to be isolated, stuck within ourselves, with no one to speak with or share. He has come to abide with us, in our innermost heart. We don’t need to be alone. When Jesus drew aside and prayed to the Father, He communed with Him, in His innermost parts, He drew life from Him and made an exchange with God. He took His concerns to Him and He took His joys. Remember God said “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” There was nothing in God that didn’t want to be with Him, be near Him. He was the delight of God’s heart.
God doesn’t look at our flaws or failings, He looks at our hearts and He loves us. We look at our failings and withdraw, feeling worthless, but that’s when we should turn and push into God because He is our strength and He is our perfection, and He heals us. He is not a God that cannot empathise with our weakness because He also was tempted and subject to weakness. This is the victory! That in our sin, in our weakness He saved us! And because Christ paid for our sin we can come boldly to the throne in grace and seek mercy. It’s the only gospel that can save us, it’s the only good news that will liberate us to go to the world. To know that you are forgiven is the greatest power on earth. When we can believe that we are forgiven it will be easy to believe God for healing, or to meet our needs, because the forgiveness of God displays and reveals His mercy and favour towards us. And His desire to unleash His goodness upon us.
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Saturday, 1 June 2013
Challenging Conservative Thinking
by Glenice Mills
Recently I was in New Zealand and was very aware of the huge resistance to change, particularly to infrastructure and proposed change to building redevelopment in their largest city, Auckland.
There was such public opposition that the voice of the people has again held New Zealand back and kept them the same. The problem is - there is no resolution to existing issues, such as housing and transport.
So how does this relate to us as Christians? Perhaps one of the most subtle oppositions to the powerful move of the Holy Spirit is conservative thinking.
I was very mindful while over there that there is little change in Christian circles, that this conservative thinking is resistant to the ongoing release of the rise of the Apostolic/Prophetic in New Zealand.
In the big picture I saw this conservative thinking as a ruling stronghold over not only New Zealand, but many other nations also.
If we think of conservative nations, Britain would be our first thought. Conservatism is rooted in our colonial past and could in fact be related to our western culture. Perhaps this is a reason why we don’t see powerful miracles of God taking place that Africa and other nations see.
To be conservative means to be averse, opposed to rapid changes. It is moderate in thinking, avoiding extremes.
Perhaps like no other time in history we need to look at where conservative thinking has held the church back and in particular where we have been innocent victims of this wrong way of thinking.
So what does conservative thinking look like and how does it manifest in and through the body of Christ?
IT IS RESISTANT: Scripture tells us to resist the devil and he will flee. However we are more likely to resist the leading of the Holy Spirit if He wants to come in a way that is not familiar to us. We tell ourselves things like, “This has never been done this way before,” or “This cannot happen this way as I don’t feel comfortable with what is happening.” “This is the way I like it and I want it to stay the same.”
IT OFFENDS: Because it unsettles our sense of comfort we feel challenged and will react in offence. This offence will be directed at the leader or the one instigating the new thing. Why does it offend? Because it challenges the status quo.
WE LIKE TO SETTLE: We put our roots down, become secure, and think that is all that is involved. Like the pot plant in its pot, it looks good until it withers because it has grown out of its space. Its roots become twisted, the plant starts to lose nutrients, and before long it is dying from the inside out. The good news is if the plant is transferred to a bigger pot it can begin to grow and flourish again. It does need to be taken out of the old pot and into the new. So it is with us and our walk with the Lord.
We dare not settle.
CONCERN FOR OUR REPUTATIONS: Perhaps one of the biggest ways we can oppose the Holy Spirit is by being concerned about what others think. This holds us back as we place man’s opinions higher than wanting to please the Lord. It is in fact disobedience and is grounded in selfish thinking resulting in bowing to others.
IT IS A CULTURAL PROBLEM: Culture resists the Spirit of God. When culture says that ‘we must keep things the same, that we should stick with what we know’ then we have subtly bowed to an ungodly way of living and being. Culture must bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and so our conservative thinking must have no stronghold over us.
TRADITION DICTATES US: We always need to be checking ourselves and seeing where we have subtly come in agreement with wrong thinking that says ‘we need to do this the same way as it always works.’ Tradition is man’s own thinking and has nothing to do with the leading of the Holy Spirit. Tradition takes on many forms and guises.
Who says church should go for an hour and a half following set formulas? Perhaps the Holy Spirit wants to have permission to move upon His people and come in ways that would upset our sensibilities? Tradition is doing the same things over and over again expecting the same results. How does that work when the Holy Spirit comes to bring change in the hearts and minds of those who are His?
FEAR RULES: Sadly we easily submit to ungodly fear - fear of being different, fear of what others think, fear of looking foolish. This holds us back and keeps us in conservative thinking. Fear has rulership over our lives rather than submitting to what the Lord wants.
SUSPICION: Conservative thinking is always suspicious of anything new and will find any excuse to keep things the same. It is mistrusting of any who would be different and are often the greatest resisters to any who want to bring change. They do not believe that anything good could come out of something new.
REBELLION: When we know what we should be doing and don’t do it, we are in rebellion. When we settle for what feels good we are in rebellion. It is sin. The Lord will come to us in many ways to try and make us uncomfortable, but we have choices.
It is about whether we are prepared to count the cost, to be different and to choose to change. There is risk, it takes faith, but it can be done.
The challenge is: WHAT ARE WE HOLDING ONTO?
Conservatism is birthed in and out of a selfish desire to hold onto something because it feels good.
This is opposite to the message of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The truth is: someone has got to go first. Jesus, His disciples, and followers were change agents. They were radical and wherever they walked they challenged the culture, and religious thinking of the day. Throughout history men and women have been raised up to bring change whether it be through inventions or the proposing of new ideas. Whatever it is and through whom it comes it brings radical change in the present time and for generations to come. If we look back in history and we think of ones such as William Wilberforce and his law banning the slave trade or Martin Luther King and his stand against racism, the world today would not be where it is without these radical men. We dare not be a resister when the Lord is challenging us in this hour to embrace the new things He is wanting to do. The Holy Spirit is ever changing and for Him to have His way we must be flexible. Perhaps it could be said that the opposite to conservatism is flexibility. It is being prepared to go, to do and to be obedient to follow and obey all that is required of us in this time. It will mean being different, standing out and perhaps coming at great personal cost.
The choice is yours. Do you want to stay under conservative thinking or be one who is prepared to be different?
Recently I was in New Zealand and was very aware of the huge resistance to change, particularly to infrastructure and proposed change to building redevelopment in their largest city, Auckland.
There was such public opposition that the voice of the people has again held New Zealand back and kept them the same. The problem is - there is no resolution to existing issues, such as housing and transport.
So how does this relate to us as Christians? Perhaps one of the most subtle oppositions to the powerful move of the Holy Spirit is conservative thinking.
I was very mindful while over there that there is little change in Christian circles, that this conservative thinking is resistant to the ongoing release of the rise of the Apostolic/Prophetic in New Zealand.
In the big picture I saw this conservative thinking as a ruling stronghold over not only New Zealand, but many other nations also.
If we think of conservative nations, Britain would be our first thought. Conservatism is rooted in our colonial past and could in fact be related to our western culture. Perhaps this is a reason why we don’t see powerful miracles of God taking place that Africa and other nations see.
To be conservative means to be averse, opposed to rapid changes. It is moderate in thinking, avoiding extremes.
Perhaps like no other time in history we need to look at where conservative thinking has held the church back and in particular where we have been innocent victims of this wrong way of thinking.
So what does conservative thinking look like and how does it manifest in and through the body of Christ?
IT IS RESISTANT: Scripture tells us to resist the devil and he will flee. However we are more likely to resist the leading of the Holy Spirit if He wants to come in a way that is not familiar to us. We tell ourselves things like, “This has never been done this way before,” or “This cannot happen this way as I don’t feel comfortable with what is happening.” “This is the way I like it and I want it to stay the same.”
IT OFFENDS: Because it unsettles our sense of comfort we feel challenged and will react in offence. This offence will be directed at the leader or the one instigating the new thing. Why does it offend? Because it challenges the status quo.
WE LIKE TO SETTLE: We put our roots down, become secure, and think that is all that is involved. Like the pot plant in its pot, it looks good until it withers because it has grown out of its space. Its roots become twisted, the plant starts to lose nutrients, and before long it is dying from the inside out. The good news is if the plant is transferred to a bigger pot it can begin to grow and flourish again. It does need to be taken out of the old pot and into the new. So it is with us and our walk with the Lord.
We dare not settle.
CONCERN FOR OUR REPUTATIONS: Perhaps one of the biggest ways we can oppose the Holy Spirit is by being concerned about what others think. This holds us back as we place man’s opinions higher than wanting to please the Lord. It is in fact disobedience and is grounded in selfish thinking resulting in bowing to others.
IT IS A CULTURAL PROBLEM: Culture resists the Spirit of God. When culture says that ‘we must keep things the same, that we should stick with what we know’ then we have subtly bowed to an ungodly way of living and being. Culture must bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and so our conservative thinking must have no stronghold over us.
TRADITION DICTATES US: We always need to be checking ourselves and seeing where we have subtly come in agreement with wrong thinking that says ‘we need to do this the same way as it always works.’ Tradition is man’s own thinking and has nothing to do with the leading of the Holy Spirit. Tradition takes on many forms and guises.
Who says church should go for an hour and a half following set formulas? Perhaps the Holy Spirit wants to have permission to move upon His people and come in ways that would upset our sensibilities? Tradition is doing the same things over and over again expecting the same results. How does that work when the Holy Spirit comes to bring change in the hearts and minds of those who are His?
FEAR RULES: Sadly we easily submit to ungodly fear - fear of being different, fear of what others think, fear of looking foolish. This holds us back and keeps us in conservative thinking. Fear has rulership over our lives rather than submitting to what the Lord wants.
SUSPICION: Conservative thinking is always suspicious of anything new and will find any excuse to keep things the same. It is mistrusting of any who would be different and are often the greatest resisters to any who want to bring change. They do not believe that anything good could come out of something new.
REBELLION: When we know what we should be doing and don’t do it, we are in rebellion. When we settle for what feels good we are in rebellion. It is sin. The Lord will come to us in many ways to try and make us uncomfortable, but we have choices.
It is about whether we are prepared to count the cost, to be different and to choose to change. There is risk, it takes faith, but it can be done.
The challenge is: WHAT ARE WE HOLDING ONTO?
Conservatism is birthed in and out of a selfish desire to hold onto something because it feels good.
This is opposite to the message of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The truth is: someone has got to go first. Jesus, His disciples, and followers were change agents. They were radical and wherever they walked they challenged the culture, and religious thinking of the day. Throughout history men and women have been raised up to bring change whether it be through inventions or the proposing of new ideas. Whatever it is and through whom it comes it brings radical change in the present time and for generations to come. If we look back in history and we think of ones such as William Wilberforce and his law banning the slave trade or Martin Luther King and his stand against racism, the world today would not be where it is without these radical men. We dare not be a resister when the Lord is challenging us in this hour to embrace the new things He is wanting to do. The Holy Spirit is ever changing and for Him to have His way we must be flexible. Perhaps it could be said that the opposite to conservatism is flexibility. It is being prepared to go, to do and to be obedient to follow and obey all that is required of us in this time. It will mean being different, standing out and perhaps coming at great personal cost.
The choice is yours. Do you want to stay under conservative thinking or be one who is prepared to be different?
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
False Witness
by Lynne Hamilton
Proverbs 6:16-19
“These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, A FALSE WITNESS WHO SPEAKS LIES, and one who sows discord among brethren.”
If we love God then we will love what He loves and hate what He hates. God is capable of hate, as we can see from the above scripture. He has feelings and I have grown to care about them. I also know that He cares deeply about how I feel.
Most of the New Testament addresses the way in which we, His children, treat one another. He cares deeply about this and Jesus made it very clear that His main desire is that we love one another. The church at large is presently sailing treacherous waters since we are in the very last days and the scriptures pertaining to them. The wheat and the tares are growing fast together.
Years ago I was impacted by the opening chapter of Rick Joyner’s book The Final Quest, which described a vision he had seen of the awful behaviour of the saints towards each other, as they fell under the influence of the end time demonic hordes who drove them to extreme hateful antics. I remember thinking that this must break the Father’s heart. It does.
As an apostle I am burdened both by and for the church, and in recent times have been afflicted by many attacks of FALSE WITNESS which have been weapons formed against me. I am not writing this article in an attempt to defend myself – God will defend me – but rather to appeal to Christians who name the name of Jesus Christ yet are pro-active in broadcasting untruths about other Christians.
We are regularly warned from pulpits all over the world concerning the issue of GOSSIP, and so we should take heed. There is a difference between GOSSIP and FALSE WITNESS though, since it is possible to gossip the truth about people and things yet be violating a confidence and broadcasting things which should remain private and confidential. Just because we know something does not mean we have permission to inform others.
FALSE WITNESS however is lying about someone or something supposedly pertaining to them. It’s about broadcasting the wrong facts on purpose in order to discredit them by attacking their character or name. It can ruin a person’s good reputation and is a gross evil, which is why God hates it. It can be fuelled by jealously, envy, revenge or pure malice, or even by pharisaical religious zeal wanting to ‘fix’ someone, which is pure vindictiveness. It is a spirit of MALICE, which means ‘active ill-will!’ The devil is the ‘father of lies’ and those who insist on practicing FALSE WITNESS are in danger of becoming his children if they don’t arrest their tongues!
One of the ways this spirit has attacked me personally has been via assumption and presumptuous judgmentalism i.e. some people have presumed to know what they ‘think’ I believe, have been opposed to it and judged me by it and then broadcast it to anyone who would listen to their opinion of the supposed ‘error of my ways/ false doctrine’ etc. This results in me being misrepresented and lied about in and to the public arena, causing people to suspect and distrust me as a minister.
Of course I’m not the only minister victimised by this. Rick Joyner and others have whole websites dedicated to destroying them! I am not claiming to be on their level and I don’t have a persecution complex. My main concern is that the saints and other ministers should STOP practicing these behaviours – IF they love God that is?
How the devil loves it when the saints slander one another and fight on FACEBOOK and other electronic media! Especially if they name one another in a way that exposes them. This is disgusting and the PROPHET in me must WARN about it. Why? Because God’s children must walk in a manner worthy of our call. Apostles are burdened and in labour UNTIL Christ (not the enemy) is formed within the saints.
Something to consider – how do you know that what you are being told about someone is the truth? If it’s something negative and unsavoury it should not be passed on even if it is true – we can pray for people if we believe them to be wrong. The scripture warns us not to ‘judge the servant of another’ (Romans 14:4,10)
It’s interesting to me that in Proverbs 6 it says that God hates the PERSON who speaks the lies! Wow! That’s serious! Personally I don’t wish to be hated by God. There are other places in scripture where God is said to hate the PERSON/PEOPLE. I am grateful for His grace and the time He gives to us to repent. Please guys – we live in a nasty world plagued with opinions and arguments, arrogance and criticism, fault – finding, mocking and ridicule, competition and bitterness. This should not be within the Bride of Christ, and one more point please- criticism is NOT ‘truth spoken in love’, as some use as an excuse. Love is KIND – can we please be KIND TO GOD?
Grace to you all,
Apostle Lynne
Proverbs 6:16-19
“These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, A FALSE WITNESS WHO SPEAKS LIES, and one who sows discord among brethren.”
If we love God then we will love what He loves and hate what He hates. God is capable of hate, as we can see from the above scripture. He has feelings and I have grown to care about them. I also know that He cares deeply about how I feel.
Most of the New Testament addresses the way in which we, His children, treat one another. He cares deeply about this and Jesus made it very clear that His main desire is that we love one another. The church at large is presently sailing treacherous waters since we are in the very last days and the scriptures pertaining to them. The wheat and the tares are growing fast together.
Years ago I was impacted by the opening chapter of Rick Joyner’s book The Final Quest, which described a vision he had seen of the awful behaviour of the saints towards each other, as they fell under the influence of the end time demonic hordes who drove them to extreme hateful antics. I remember thinking that this must break the Father’s heart. It does.
As an apostle I am burdened both by and for the church, and in recent times have been afflicted by many attacks of FALSE WITNESS which have been weapons formed against me. I am not writing this article in an attempt to defend myself – God will defend me – but rather to appeal to Christians who name the name of Jesus Christ yet are pro-active in broadcasting untruths about other Christians.
We are regularly warned from pulpits all over the world concerning the issue of GOSSIP, and so we should take heed. There is a difference between GOSSIP and FALSE WITNESS though, since it is possible to gossip the truth about people and things yet be violating a confidence and broadcasting things which should remain private and confidential. Just because we know something does not mean we have permission to inform others.
FALSE WITNESS however is lying about someone or something supposedly pertaining to them. It’s about broadcasting the wrong facts on purpose in order to discredit them by attacking their character or name. It can ruin a person’s good reputation and is a gross evil, which is why God hates it. It can be fuelled by jealously, envy, revenge or pure malice, or even by pharisaical religious zeal wanting to ‘fix’ someone, which is pure vindictiveness. It is a spirit of MALICE, which means ‘active ill-will!’ The devil is the ‘father of lies’ and those who insist on practicing FALSE WITNESS are in danger of becoming his children if they don’t arrest their tongues!
One of the ways this spirit has attacked me personally has been via assumption and presumptuous judgmentalism i.e. some people have presumed to know what they ‘think’ I believe, have been opposed to it and judged me by it and then broadcast it to anyone who would listen to their opinion of the supposed ‘error of my ways/ false doctrine’ etc. This results in me being misrepresented and lied about in and to the public arena, causing people to suspect and distrust me as a minister.
Of course I’m not the only minister victimised by this. Rick Joyner and others have whole websites dedicated to destroying them! I am not claiming to be on their level and I don’t have a persecution complex. My main concern is that the saints and other ministers should STOP practicing these behaviours – IF they love God that is?
How the devil loves it when the saints slander one another and fight on FACEBOOK and other electronic media! Especially if they name one another in a way that exposes them. This is disgusting and the PROPHET in me must WARN about it. Why? Because God’s children must walk in a manner worthy of our call. Apostles are burdened and in labour UNTIL Christ (not the enemy) is formed within the saints.
Something to consider – how do you know that what you are being told about someone is the truth? If it’s something negative and unsavoury it should not be passed on even if it is true – we can pray for people if we believe them to be wrong. The scripture warns us not to ‘judge the servant of another’ (Romans 14:4,10)
It’s interesting to me that in Proverbs 6 it says that God hates the PERSON who speaks the lies! Wow! That’s serious! Personally I don’t wish to be hated by God. There are other places in scripture where God is said to hate the PERSON/PEOPLE. I am grateful for His grace and the time He gives to us to repent. Please guys – we live in a nasty world plagued with opinions and arguments, arrogance and criticism, fault – finding, mocking and ridicule, competition and bitterness. This should not be within the Bride of Christ, and one more point please- criticism is NOT ‘truth spoken in love’, as some use as an excuse. Love is KIND – can we please be KIND TO GOD?
Grace to you all,
Apostle Lynne
Friday, 29 March 2013
The Sabbath
by Tony Clark
Yes, Jesus healed on the Sabbath and He taught on the Sabbath, but He also observed the Sabbath. If He didn’t, then He didn’t keep the whole law and was a transgressor. Just because He is Lord of the Sabbath doesn’t mean that He didn’t observe the Sabbath. The Pharisees confronted Jesus’ action on the Sabbath because they had become so legalistic that in their mindset concerning the Sabbath that they lost its true meaning…? This is why in Colossians 2:16 Paul taught to not allow anyone to judge you in the practice of Sabbath because just as Jesus was judged, the Pharisees would also judge you being extremely technical and missing the point! Colossians 2:16 is not saying don’t let people judge you for not observing the Sabbath but don’t let them judge you in how you observe it. Because the version of Sabbath they are trying to get you to ascribe to is not the way that God intended. They have added laws that totally remove the spirit of the observance.
Relying on obedience to the ‘law’ delivered in Moses for justification is what severs you from the head and cuts you off from life, because they are incompatible. Because you believe that Christ is not sufficient for justification, and that obedience to a law is also required to justify. You either believe in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, or you believe that it wasn’t perfect. If it wasn’t perfect then God is still using the old system of sacrifices of animals under the law of the old covenant to make payment for sin, which I think we all know - that God has implemented a new covenant with the blood of Christ being sufficient to cleanse us of all sin.
The whole reason for the letter to the Galatians was because so soon after the change of covenants some Jews thought that they still needed to be circumcised to become one of the people of God. (The early church leaders, including Paul, had to call a council to judge whether or not it was still necessary for Gentiles becoming Christians to be circumcised.) They had a simple misunderstanding of the nature of Christ’s sacrifice being all that is needed. This is where the confusion comes when people want to observe the Sabbath. People think that we are doing it because they need to obey the law of God; I personally see it more that the law enabled us to see something that was invisible – the Sabbath – it gave it dimensions and depth, but the Sabbath always existed, from the time of creation. God demonstrated it on the 7th day, the law just taught us concerning it. So the law is great in that respect – it teaches us what is right and wrong and what God loves and hates. So I observe the Sabbath because God showed through the law how much He treasures the Sabbath in His heart, and loves it, and so I love it. I don’t observe it because I have to (Law) I observe it because I want to (Love).
All the Old Testament types are patterns and shadows do point to Christ, but that doesn’t mean that we no longer celebrate them. Funny how most Christians don’t fully understand the gospel, or their inheritance, but the Jews were TRAINED in these things through the feasts and types that God set up for them to observe. I see no problem with observing Sabbath or any of the feasts, and I think there would be great benefit from it. Just don’t put your trust in it for justification. The Jews were instructed in these things as LAW, and there were heavy penalties for failing in that law, but what was law became custom which became CULTURE, and something beautiful and precious. God established a nation in His likeness, not like any other nation, like a light on a hill, and after thousands of years, Christ came into that culture and redeemed mankind. By the time Christ came, it wasn’t just a law it was a life, because by repetition and practice the lifestyle would have become a part of them. Now after Christ died, did all those that believed say, “Well now we no longer have to celebrate the feast at Passover, nor do we need to rest on the Sabbath!”?? I don’t think so, in fact I think the Passover would have more significance and beauty in the fullness of Christ’s coming and in receiving the substance that is Christ. I don’t think the Christian Jews stopped celebrating all of the feasts and did nothing. That doesn’t make sense, and it isn’t what we see from early church history. (The book ‘The Messianic Church Arising’ by Dr Robert D Heidler covers some of this.) I don’t believe that the new Christians forsook their heritage, but I think they would have felt pretty awesome now that they have found their justification in Christ, and that they had been freed from the condemnation of the Law. Christ fulfilled the requirement of the law and by faith in Him they were made righteous! And Christ deserves our full trust in Him for that righteousness. Because what we can do for God is not good enough. If we do something for God and think that we are righteous because of it, then we are fooled, that righteousness is as filthy rages to God. Christ’s perfect righteousness has been imputed to us - we can’t get more righteous. But now with faith in Christ, because of that faith, we will do what’s right because we will have a love for what’s right - but that’s a process, there’s still a lot of Egypt in us, thank God for His mercy and long-suffering! We know what sin is because of the law, and when we sin we feel the condemnation that the law brings, but God is faithful to forgive when we repent, and restores us.
Now, the Sabbath spoke of rest in Christ, the Bible says this, in this way: I am a sinner. The law was delivered by God to reveal just how much of a sinner! I must obey the law to the letter to be justified, or I fail in the whole law. This effort to attain perfection by the law, in doing deeds required by the law is called WORK. Jesus Christ came, a sinless man, perfect in the law, righteous, God’s own Son, (type seen in God’s request to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac) and laid down His life for me. Jesus as the perfect lamb of God, a sacrifice according to the requirement and pattern of the law, and paid for the sin of mankind once, for all, it is FINISHED. Therefore, I no longer have to WORK for my righteousness in obeying the law, I now have REST in that Christ has done it for me. OH SWEET REST! Thank you JESUS! Does that mean I no longer have to work at my secular job, because Jesus has now come and died for me… no..!? Of course not. So now that Jesus has come, should I now work 7 days a week instead of 6 and resting on the 7th?? I would have to say no. Man is not for the Sabbath, the Sabbath is for man. I believe that man needs the Sabbath and that as long as there is WORK on this earth then there needs to be a REST and that is the Sabbath I observe, 6 days I am available for work, 1 day I am not and I don’t just take a day off, I observe the Sabbath of God, in honour of Him, declaring that the God who created the whole universe in 6 days and rested on the 7th day is my God.
Sabbath is rest. And it is in relation to work. 6 days man will work and then on the seventh he will rest, just like God did on the seventh day of creation. God demonstrated the Sabbath powerfully way back, before the law, on the 7th day of creation. Through the law He expounded on the concept of the Sabbath, and taught His chosen people what it was, what it was for, and how important it was to Him. I think that it was just as important to Him before the law, but it wasn’t revealed to man until the law, in Moses. God’s people were to observe the Sabbath in celebration of and as a reminder that their God was the creator of the universe, and it separated and differentiated the nation of Israel from every other nation and people on the planet, because God chose Israel to represent Him. The law is the PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS of God that was taught to the people of God through Moses. Before the law, the Israel’s didn’t know what God loved and what He hated. The perfect righteousness of God was perfectly displayed in the man Jesus Christ, not just in deed, but in thought and motive of the heart. Jesus was the perfect person to explain the true application of the law to the people of God, because He understood its true nature and the Spirit behind it. Christ demonstrated the law PERFECTLY and in doing so ‘fulfilled’ it 100% and I’m sure that God the Father said “YES! That’s what I MEANT!! Look at my SON! He’s just like ME!!.”
The Pharisees, including Paul, were BLAMELESS according to the law, but Jesus condemned them! Because they looked beautiful on the outside and on the inside they STUNK! God says if you don’t LOVE, you don’t know God! They DID NOT LOVE. In demonstrating perfect obedience to the law, Jesus demonstrated perfect obedience to the fourth commandment of the 10 commandment law of Sabbath. And because the Pharisees were so legalistic and had no idea what the Sabbath was about, judged Him.
Yes, Jesus healed on the Sabbath and He taught on the Sabbath, but He also observed the Sabbath. If He didn’t, then He didn’t keep the whole law and was a transgressor. Just because He is Lord of the Sabbath doesn’t mean that He didn’t observe the Sabbath. The Pharisees confronted Jesus’ action on the Sabbath because they had become so legalistic that in their mindset concerning the Sabbath that they lost its true meaning…? This is why in Colossians 2:16 Paul taught to not allow anyone to judge you in the practice of Sabbath because just as Jesus was judged, the Pharisees would also judge you being extremely technical and missing the point! Colossians 2:16 is not saying don’t let people judge you for not observing the Sabbath but don’t let them judge you in how you observe it. Because the version of Sabbath they are trying to get you to ascribe to is not the way that God intended. They have added laws that totally remove the spirit of the observance.
Relying on obedience to the ‘law’ delivered in Moses for justification is what severs you from the head and cuts you off from life, because they are incompatible. Because you believe that Christ is not sufficient for justification, and that obedience to a law is also required to justify. You either believe in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, or you believe that it wasn’t perfect. If it wasn’t perfect then God is still using the old system of sacrifices of animals under the law of the old covenant to make payment for sin, which I think we all know - that God has implemented a new covenant with the blood of Christ being sufficient to cleanse us of all sin.
The whole reason for the letter to the Galatians was because so soon after the change of covenants some Jews thought that they still needed to be circumcised to become one of the people of God. (The early church leaders, including Paul, had to call a council to judge whether or not it was still necessary for Gentiles becoming Christians to be circumcised.) They had a simple misunderstanding of the nature of Christ’s sacrifice being all that is needed. This is where the confusion comes when people want to observe the Sabbath. People think that we are doing it because they need to obey the law of God; I personally see it more that the law enabled us to see something that was invisible – the Sabbath – it gave it dimensions and depth, but the Sabbath always existed, from the time of creation. God demonstrated it on the 7th day, the law just taught us concerning it. So the law is great in that respect – it teaches us what is right and wrong and what God loves and hates. So I observe the Sabbath because God showed through the law how much He treasures the Sabbath in His heart, and loves it, and so I love it. I don’t observe it because I have to (Law) I observe it because I want to (Love).
All the Old Testament types are patterns and shadows do point to Christ, but that doesn’t mean that we no longer celebrate them. Funny how most Christians don’t fully understand the gospel, or their inheritance, but the Jews were TRAINED in these things through the feasts and types that God set up for them to observe. I see no problem with observing Sabbath or any of the feasts, and I think there would be great benefit from it. Just don’t put your trust in it for justification. The Jews were instructed in these things as LAW, and there were heavy penalties for failing in that law, but what was law became custom which became CULTURE, and something beautiful and precious. God established a nation in His likeness, not like any other nation, like a light on a hill, and after thousands of years, Christ came into that culture and redeemed mankind. By the time Christ came, it wasn’t just a law it was a life, because by repetition and practice the lifestyle would have become a part of them. Now after Christ died, did all those that believed say, “Well now we no longer have to celebrate the feast at Passover, nor do we need to rest on the Sabbath!”?? I don’t think so, in fact I think the Passover would have more significance and beauty in the fullness of Christ’s coming and in receiving the substance that is Christ. I don’t think the Christian Jews stopped celebrating all of the feasts and did nothing. That doesn’t make sense, and it isn’t what we see from early church history. (The book ‘The Messianic Church Arising’ by Dr Robert D Heidler covers some of this.) I don’t believe that the new Christians forsook their heritage, but I think they would have felt pretty awesome now that they have found their justification in Christ, and that they had been freed from the condemnation of the Law. Christ fulfilled the requirement of the law and by faith in Him they were made righteous! And Christ deserves our full trust in Him for that righteousness. Because what we can do for God is not good enough. If we do something for God and think that we are righteous because of it, then we are fooled, that righteousness is as filthy rages to God. Christ’s perfect righteousness has been imputed to us - we can’t get more righteous. But now with faith in Christ, because of that faith, we will do what’s right because we will have a love for what’s right - but that’s a process, there’s still a lot of Egypt in us, thank God for His mercy and long-suffering! We know what sin is because of the law, and when we sin we feel the condemnation that the law brings, but God is faithful to forgive when we repent, and restores us.
Now, the Sabbath spoke of rest in Christ, the Bible says this, in this way: I am a sinner. The law was delivered by God to reveal just how much of a sinner! I must obey the law to the letter to be justified, or I fail in the whole law. This effort to attain perfection by the law, in doing deeds required by the law is called WORK. Jesus Christ came, a sinless man, perfect in the law, righteous, God’s own Son, (type seen in God’s request to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac) and laid down His life for me. Jesus as the perfect lamb of God, a sacrifice according to the requirement and pattern of the law, and paid for the sin of mankind once, for all, it is FINISHED. Therefore, I no longer have to WORK for my righteousness in obeying the law, I now have REST in that Christ has done it for me. OH SWEET REST! Thank you JESUS! Does that mean I no longer have to work at my secular job, because Jesus has now come and died for me… no..!? Of course not. So now that Jesus has come, should I now work 7 days a week instead of 6 and resting on the 7th?? I would have to say no. Man is not for the Sabbath, the Sabbath is for man. I believe that man needs the Sabbath and that as long as there is WORK on this earth then there needs to be a REST and that is the Sabbath I observe, 6 days I am available for work, 1 day I am not and I don’t just take a day off, I observe the Sabbath of God, in honour of Him, declaring that the God who created the whole universe in 6 days and rested on the 7th day is my God.
Sabbath is rest. And it is in relation to work. 6 days man will work and then on the seventh he will rest, just like God did on the seventh day of creation. God demonstrated the Sabbath powerfully way back, before the law, on the 7th day of creation. Through the law He expounded on the concept of the Sabbath, and taught His chosen people what it was, what it was for, and how important it was to Him. I think that it was just as important to Him before the law, but it wasn’t revealed to man until the law, in Moses. God’s people were to observe the Sabbath in celebration of and as a reminder that their God was the creator of the universe, and it separated and differentiated the nation of Israel from every other nation and people on the planet, because God chose Israel to represent Him. The law is the PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS of God that was taught to the people of God through Moses. Before the law, the Israel’s didn’t know what God loved and what He hated. The perfect righteousness of God was perfectly displayed in the man Jesus Christ, not just in deed, but in thought and motive of the heart. Jesus was the perfect person to explain the true application of the law to the people of God, because He understood its true nature and the Spirit behind it. Christ demonstrated the law PERFECTLY and in doing so ‘fulfilled’ it 100% and I’m sure that God the Father said “YES! That’s what I MEANT!! Look at my SON! He’s just like ME!!.”
The Pharisees, including Paul, were BLAMELESS according to the law, but Jesus condemned them! Because they looked beautiful on the outside and on the inside they STUNK! God says if you don’t LOVE, you don’t know God! They DID NOT LOVE. In demonstrating perfect obedience to the law, Jesus demonstrated perfect obedience to the fourth commandment of the 10 commandment law of Sabbath. And because the Pharisees were so legalistic and had no idea what the Sabbath was about, judged Him.
Thursday, 28 March 2013
The Unseen
by Tony Clark
Things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes we battle from a perceived perspective but there is another reality at work - another player in the game. There are more personalities at work than just the natural human ones. God has an interest in our activities, and so does the enemy and they have means and ends. We should be true to what we know, and believe and hold on to our convictions but we must know that there is more at work than what we see. And what is unseen makes all the difference. Let it be our goal to enquire and seek out the will of The Lord and what He is doing, and be alert to what our enemy plans. This information needs to be what guides our decisions in this life. Good questions to ask yourself would be: What is God’s heart in this situation? What would He like to see? What opposition to this could possibly be at work? Knowing the character of God and the enemy will help in this situation. As the Word says “our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” Ephesians 6:12. If we war naturally, we will spend a lot of time and energy not accomplishing much. But with the wisdom that is from above, every action will devastate the enemy’s plans and bring about the kingdom of God on earth.
Things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes we battle from a perceived perspective but there is another reality at work - another player in the game. There are more personalities at work than just the natural human ones. God has an interest in our activities, and so does the enemy and they have means and ends. We should be true to what we know, and believe and hold on to our convictions but we must know that there is more at work than what we see. And what is unseen makes all the difference. Let it be our goal to enquire and seek out the will of The Lord and what He is doing, and be alert to what our enemy plans. This information needs to be what guides our decisions in this life. Good questions to ask yourself would be: What is God’s heart in this situation? What would He like to see? What opposition to this could possibly be at work? Knowing the character of God and the enemy will help in this situation. As the Word says “our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” Ephesians 6:12. If we war naturally, we will spend a lot of time and energy not accomplishing much. But with the wisdom that is from above, every action will devastate the enemy’s plans and bring about the kingdom of God on earth.
Labels:
Words For Australia,
Words to the Nations
Location:
Gold Coast QLD, Australia
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Remote Control
by David Robinson
It seems there is currently, an arms’ race to produce improved, even independent - ‘drone’ warplanes; rail-guns; depleted uranium ordinance; sonic cannons; brainwave interpretation research. There’s the development of (rather creepy) all-terrain, robot “mules” for logistics, Infantry Heavy Duty Exoskeletons (think the movie Avatar); and then, down the road, cognitive, but unemotional robot troop units? (It’s the unemotional bit, that is a real concern.)
All this to say - sci-fi is here, now!
The most visible manifestation of all this arms’ development, is in the area of aerial drones, either equipped with weapons or surveillance cameras. If news’ reports are to be believed, missile strikes by air-drones are used extensively in the “middle east” today. However, it’s easy to forget, with the remote drone strikes, that there are human beings (or were) at the end of it. The point of writing part of this article, was to draw attention specifically to an aspect of this “REMOTE” warfare, where the controls and execution (literally) are in the hands of a service personnel, sometimes many miles away from the “killing-zone”. It’s the potential for a culture of “sociopathic warfare” to develop in a person, that this particular way of conducting military tasks could bring; especially when they leave the service. i.e. regarding natural feelings of guilt or more worrying, having No guilt or empathy at all.
The second area for concern, is where all this new technology can affect a “national” CULTURE. Here, in the safety of our bedrooms, we can play ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Assassin’s Creed’ on our Xbox, without the responsibility of people, in reality, dying. This whole TV/movie violence thing, is a bigger issue in itself, of course. More so, because of the coverage in the media. The gulf war in the early 1990’s, brought to the news coverage, via the nose-cam footage of smart-bombs and cruise missiles etc for the first time; and brought an illusion that this was a clinical, precise tool of war. Only the bad guys, copped it! Compared to cluster or carpet bombing, yes, that’s probably true (relatively). Initially the “Shock and Awe” of these new weapons, brought pride and confidence in our allied forces. These weapons did the job!!! However, a consensus arose that it felt like we were watching a realtime “video-game”. There then dawned a sense of, oh “someone” just got incinerated.
Prince Harry stated in a recent television documentary, whilst on tour in Afghanistan, the midi-cannon he operated, mounted on the apache attack helicopter, had a control system reminiscent of his Xbox 360 hand held controller.
In nazi Germany, the Jews were reduced to “sub-human” in the eyes on that nation. The propaganda machine, made sure that public were groomed to accept this attitude. The result was a (general) lack of empathy towards the mistreatment and then murder of the Jews in Europe. Of course not everybody in Germany, was so convinced. e.g. Bonhoeffer etc… it is a concern for human life and righteousness he had, that we need to champion!
When a group, be it identified as a “racial group” or even socially, are marginalised and viewed as somehow “sub-human”, it puts in place a deluded precedent, for justifying all sorts of ill treatment and evil.
This is the crux of the matter with remote “tech”… that people are thought of only as a target-reticule on a computer screen, and not someone’s son or daughter… with a name. As mentioned, the caveat to this of course, is that in war, tactical decisions have to be made. I know, they would not be made lightly and that I certainly, would not like to be the one to make them! But my hope is, that care is taken, in this technology, that it does not become an “emotionally remote” thing. When someone pushes a button somewhere and a missile is launched, it’s going to take a life… take away all somebody has! I guess my heart in all this, is for the populations that governments are elected to serve. The innocent. They say, in war the first casualty IS innocence.
Rapid advances in technology, in a civilian context, are a concern also!!!
Why? Well, we can delete a “Friend” from our Facebook, with the click of a mouse. Virtual relationships. You upset me there - goodbye, click. It is so easy to play god on the internet. Some young people have committed suicide after becoming the victim of cyber-bullying. But to the bully, it was an offhand swipe of the heart and a click of the mouse. Jesus said when you “hate” someone, you’ve murdered them in your heart. That’s an everyday thing we all have to guard against, but technology makes “dismissing people”, slander, gossip and “detached sniping” much easier. When we send that text or post a comment on (Two) Facebook, is that click of the mouse button like a pilot sending a missile on it’s way? There’s somebody’s daughter or son on the other end of that… please be careful and let God’s love bring wisdom and His Spirit develop the fruit of “self-control”.
Also, market forces pushing these advances, via the sale of the latest gadgets, could see a race into what is essentially trans-humanism.
An example of this change in culture is with the smartphone advances in the last few years… every five minutes a new feature is integrated (driven by the need to make money); and it is bought by the public (driven by the urge to have the latest advantage now!)
In a few years, will the advantage in life, (for those that can afford it), be to those that get themselves “upgraded”. The whole issue of trans-humanism is a potential article in itself. Nano “creatures” and cyber implants, silicon tattoos, GM virus/vectors in our blood, designed to repair us from within. Will such “trans-humans” think of the rest of us as lesser? The same temptation is there in the area of consulting dark occult forces too of course.
The heart of this article is about, how we as Men and Women - God’s creation! could loose ourselves and our compassion for others. Without receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, individuals are lost anyway. However, some of the technology used for our “defence” and some we may selfishly and ambitiously “integrate” physically or genetically, could result in the mutilation of our bodies and conscience before The Lord God, Creator of all.
Remember Eden… do not be overly impressed with this availability and acceleration in knowledge. Aw, that won’t happen to me? No? Got the latest SmartPhone, yet? Do you feel disadvantaged, if you haven’t? What if in a few years they can feed the screen directly into your mind? What if those with upgrades get the job, you want. What if… you need a mark on your right hand or forehead to do any trading. What if? What if? The nations are being groomed into a culture of coveting right now. The motive is selfish advantage. The next “must have” is just around the corner!
I’m not against technology, by the way, but let us NOT loose ourselves or sight of others (also fearfully and wonderfully made), because of it. Please pray for your government regarding the motives for producing technology.
Pray for your news media. Let us not loose ourselves as a nation, by becoming sociopathic* to the suffering of others, because we think “they deserve it”.
*If we do… what exactly is it, we are fighting to defend anyway?
It seems there is currently, an arms’ race to produce improved, even independent - ‘drone’ warplanes; rail-guns; depleted uranium ordinance; sonic cannons; brainwave interpretation research. There’s the development of (rather creepy) all-terrain, robot “mules” for logistics, Infantry Heavy Duty Exoskeletons (think the movie Avatar); and then, down the road, cognitive, but unemotional robot troop units? (It’s the unemotional bit, that is a real concern.)
All this to say - sci-fi is here, now!
The most visible manifestation of all this arms’ development, is in the area of aerial drones, either equipped with weapons or surveillance cameras. If news’ reports are to be believed, missile strikes by air-drones are used extensively in the “middle east” today. However, it’s easy to forget, with the remote drone strikes, that there are human beings (or were) at the end of it. The point of writing part of this article, was to draw attention specifically to an aspect of this “REMOTE” warfare, where the controls and execution (literally) are in the hands of a service personnel, sometimes many miles away from the “killing-zone”. It’s the potential for a culture of “sociopathic warfare” to develop in a person, that this particular way of conducting military tasks could bring; especially when they leave the service. i.e. regarding natural feelings of guilt or more worrying, having No guilt or empathy at all.
The second area for concern, is where all this new technology can affect a “national” CULTURE. Here, in the safety of our bedrooms, we can play ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Assassin’s Creed’ on our Xbox, without the responsibility of people, in reality, dying. This whole TV/movie violence thing, is a bigger issue in itself, of course. More so, because of the coverage in the media. The gulf war in the early 1990’s, brought to the news coverage, via the nose-cam footage of smart-bombs and cruise missiles etc for the first time; and brought an illusion that this was a clinical, precise tool of war. Only the bad guys, copped it! Compared to cluster or carpet bombing, yes, that’s probably true (relatively). Initially the “Shock and Awe” of these new weapons, brought pride and confidence in our allied forces. These weapons did the job!!! However, a consensus arose that it felt like we were watching a realtime “video-game”. There then dawned a sense of, oh “someone” just got incinerated.
Prince Harry stated in a recent television documentary, whilst on tour in Afghanistan, the midi-cannon he operated, mounted on the apache attack helicopter, had a control system reminiscent of his Xbox 360 hand held controller.
In nazi Germany, the Jews were reduced to “sub-human” in the eyes on that nation. The propaganda machine, made sure that public were groomed to accept this attitude. The result was a (general) lack of empathy towards the mistreatment and then murder of the Jews in Europe. Of course not everybody in Germany, was so convinced. e.g. Bonhoeffer etc… it is a concern for human life and righteousness he had, that we need to champion!
When a group, be it identified as a “racial group” or even socially, are marginalised and viewed as somehow “sub-human”, it puts in place a deluded precedent, for justifying all sorts of ill treatment and evil.
This is the crux of the matter with remote “tech”… that people are thought of only as a target-reticule on a computer screen, and not someone’s son or daughter… with a name. As mentioned, the caveat to this of course, is that in war, tactical decisions have to be made. I know, they would not be made lightly and that I certainly, would not like to be the one to make them! But my hope is, that care is taken, in this technology, that it does not become an “emotionally remote” thing. When someone pushes a button somewhere and a missile is launched, it’s going to take a life… take away all somebody has! I guess my heart in all this, is for the populations that governments are elected to serve. The innocent. They say, in war the first casualty IS innocence.
Rapid advances in technology, in a civilian context, are a concern also!!!
Why? Well, we can delete a “Friend” from our Facebook, with the click of a mouse. Virtual relationships. You upset me there - goodbye, click. It is so easy to play god on the internet. Some young people have committed suicide after becoming the victim of cyber-bullying. But to the bully, it was an offhand swipe of the heart and a click of the mouse. Jesus said when you “hate” someone, you’ve murdered them in your heart. That’s an everyday thing we all have to guard against, but technology makes “dismissing people”, slander, gossip and “detached sniping” much easier. When we send that text or post a comment on (Two) Facebook, is that click of the mouse button like a pilot sending a missile on it’s way? There’s somebody’s daughter or son on the other end of that… please be careful and let God’s love bring wisdom and His Spirit develop the fruit of “self-control”.
Also, market forces pushing these advances, via the sale of the latest gadgets, could see a race into what is essentially trans-humanism.
An example of this change in culture is with the smartphone advances in the last few years… every five minutes a new feature is integrated (driven by the need to make money); and it is bought by the public (driven by the urge to have the latest advantage now!)
In a few years, will the advantage in life, (for those that can afford it), be to those that get themselves “upgraded”. The whole issue of trans-humanism is a potential article in itself. Nano “creatures” and cyber implants, silicon tattoos, GM virus/vectors in our blood, designed to repair us from within. Will such “trans-humans” think of the rest of us as lesser? The same temptation is there in the area of consulting dark occult forces too of course.
The heart of this article is about, how we as Men and Women - God’s creation! could loose ourselves and our compassion for others. Without receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, individuals are lost anyway. However, some of the technology used for our “defence” and some we may selfishly and ambitiously “integrate” physically or genetically, could result in the mutilation of our bodies and conscience before The Lord God, Creator of all.
Remember Eden… do not be overly impressed with this availability and acceleration in knowledge. Aw, that won’t happen to me? No? Got the latest SmartPhone, yet? Do you feel disadvantaged, if you haven’t? What if in a few years they can feed the screen directly into your mind? What if those with upgrades get the job, you want. What if… you need a mark on your right hand or forehead to do any trading. What if? What if? The nations are being groomed into a culture of coveting right now. The motive is selfish advantage. The next “must have” is just around the corner!
I’m not against technology, by the way, but let us NOT loose ourselves or sight of others (also fearfully and wonderfully made), because of it. Please pray for your government regarding the motives for producing technology.
Pray for your news media. Let us not loose ourselves as a nation, by becoming sociopathic* to the suffering of others, because we think “they deserve it”.
*If we do… what exactly is it, we are fighting to defend anyway?
Friday, 22 March 2013
Embrace - Take Hold Of !!!
by Glenice Mills
Every year, at the New Year’s Eve fireworks on Sydney Harbour, they have a word or statement for the year. Over the years there have been ones such as hope, love, eternity, and ‘awaken the spirit.’ So it was that I waited with anticipation to see what the word was for this year.
The Lord speaks to me about the word because it is a prophetic sign, a prophetic declaration over Australia for the year.
This year’s word is EMBRACE. When I first saw and heard the word I immediately thought of loving, hugging one another. I thought ‘oh that is a nice word, loving one another.’ However that is only one aspect of this word. As I have quietly sought the Lord and searched out the meanings, I realised there was so much more in this little word.
So what does embrace mean and what does Scripture say about this word?
Embrace means to hold closely in the arms, especially as a sign of affection.
It also means to accept, and adopt an idea or belief willingly.
Most people would take this word at a superficial level - that is to love and receive one another. However, I believe the Lord is wanting us as Christians to examine what He is saying through this word. There is a depth of truth that is very important for us to ‘get’ at this time. It is actually a wake up call and warning to us all in Australia.
We are at a crucial time in the history of this nation, a time when the Lord is sounding a call to embrace - to take hold of truth, and to be willing to receive new truth.
The Holy Spirit leads us into ALL truth and it must always be based on the Word of God. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In this season there is a choice: to embrace His truth at a deeper level, and to be willing to embrace new revelation also.
As the Lord was speaking to me about embrace He said, ‘it was an external response from an internal acknowledging and willingness - it is a heart issue.’
Just as when we physically embrace someone, it requires us to have a heart of love and affection. We then hold our arms out, to give and to receive love from one another. This paints a prophetic picture of embrace.
Embrace speaks of choices - to choose good or evil, obedience or disobedience.
It is so interesting to see and hear how this word suddenly has a higher profile - it is being used often by many in leadership positions. It is like the new ‘buzz word.’
The problem is: we have to be very careful what we embrace. When we embrace anything that is ungodly, we actually open doors for the enemy to have a foothold.
The sad fact is, if we hear something said often enough, we will come to believe it, then the next step comes, and we subtly embrace it. That is how the media, politicians, and the advertising industry seduce the people, until they fully accept something, embracing it and believing it as truth. This is a very dangerous thing, it is manipulative in nature. It will darken a person’s thinking until a spiritual blindness comes. There is a warning in this.
So what are you embracing? What are you taking hold of? Is it grounded in truth or on a lie?
If we come back to Scripture, there are keys revealed when the word embrace is used - for good or for evil.
Embrace is used in reference to wisdom as found in Scriptures in Proverbs.
Proverbs 3:13,18
Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding.
She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who retain her.
We need the Lord’s wisdom like no other time in history. Many things assail us in the world today as evil increases and pressures of society come to try and rob us of our peace.
Seductive influences and manipulation come at us in many guises, even in church, so much so, that we need to draw on the Lord’s wisdom like never before. It is a fine line between being the ‘fool’ as found in Proverbs, and choosing wisdom in our day to day decisions. The enemy is prowling devouring who he so wills. We must be on guard in this hour.
Proverbs 4:7,8
Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honour, when you embrace her.
There is something powerful about embracing wisdom and understanding. It is our protection from all that would try and take us off course. When we are told to embrace and take hold of something, it is a pro-active willingness to make a choice, to follow the Lord and what He wants for our lives. It kills all unbelief as we choose the Lord and His ways. To embrace is to be fully convinced. Keeping our feet in two camps brings compromise. It may appear safe, however no faith is involved, and in fact it holds us back and keeps us in immaturity.
We see in the following verses an example of where there is a consequence to embracing the worship of other gods.
1 Kings 9:8,9
And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’
Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshipped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.’
So what are you embracing? Are you embracing truth or lies? It is a time to examine ourselves and check we are walking in the Lord’s truth.
Every year, at the New Year’s Eve fireworks on Sydney Harbour, they have a word or statement for the year. Over the years there have been ones such as hope, love, eternity, and ‘awaken the spirit.’ So it was that I waited with anticipation to see what the word was for this year.
The Lord speaks to me about the word because it is a prophetic sign, a prophetic declaration over Australia for the year.
This year’s word is EMBRACE. When I first saw and heard the word I immediately thought of loving, hugging one another. I thought ‘oh that is a nice word, loving one another.’ However that is only one aspect of this word. As I have quietly sought the Lord and searched out the meanings, I realised there was so much more in this little word.
So what does embrace mean and what does Scripture say about this word?
Embrace means to hold closely in the arms, especially as a sign of affection.
It also means to accept, and adopt an idea or belief willingly.
Most people would take this word at a superficial level - that is to love and receive one another. However, I believe the Lord is wanting us as Christians to examine what He is saying through this word. There is a depth of truth that is very important for us to ‘get’ at this time. It is actually a wake up call and warning to us all in Australia.
We are at a crucial time in the history of this nation, a time when the Lord is sounding a call to embrace - to take hold of truth, and to be willing to receive new truth.
The Holy Spirit leads us into ALL truth and it must always be based on the Word of God. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In this season there is a choice: to embrace His truth at a deeper level, and to be willing to embrace new revelation also.
As the Lord was speaking to me about embrace He said, ‘it was an external response from an internal acknowledging and willingness - it is a heart issue.’
Just as when we physically embrace someone, it requires us to have a heart of love and affection. We then hold our arms out, to give and to receive love from one another. This paints a prophetic picture of embrace.
Embrace speaks of choices - to choose good or evil, obedience or disobedience.
It is so interesting to see and hear how this word suddenly has a higher profile - it is being used often by many in leadership positions. It is like the new ‘buzz word.’
The problem is: we have to be very careful what we embrace. When we embrace anything that is ungodly, we actually open doors for the enemy to have a foothold.
The sad fact is, if we hear something said often enough, we will come to believe it, then the next step comes, and we subtly embrace it. That is how the media, politicians, and the advertising industry seduce the people, until they fully accept something, embracing it and believing it as truth. This is a very dangerous thing, it is manipulative in nature. It will darken a person’s thinking until a spiritual blindness comes. There is a warning in this.
So what are you embracing? What are you taking hold of? Is it grounded in truth or on a lie?
If we come back to Scripture, there are keys revealed when the word embrace is used - for good or for evil.
Embrace is used in reference to wisdom as found in Scriptures in Proverbs.
Proverbs 3:13,18
Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding.
She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who retain her.
We need the Lord’s wisdom like no other time in history. Many things assail us in the world today as evil increases and pressures of society come to try and rob us of our peace.
Seductive influences and manipulation come at us in many guises, even in church, so much so, that we need to draw on the Lord’s wisdom like never before. It is a fine line between being the ‘fool’ as found in Proverbs, and choosing wisdom in our day to day decisions. The enemy is prowling devouring who he so wills. We must be on guard in this hour.
Proverbs 4:7,8
Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honour, when you embrace her.
There is something powerful about embracing wisdom and understanding. It is our protection from all that would try and take us off course. When we are told to embrace and take hold of something, it is a pro-active willingness to make a choice, to follow the Lord and what He wants for our lives. It kills all unbelief as we choose the Lord and His ways. To embrace is to be fully convinced. Keeping our feet in two camps brings compromise. It may appear safe, however no faith is involved, and in fact it holds us back and keeps us in immaturity.
We see in the following verses an example of where there is a consequence to embracing the worship of other gods.
1 Kings 9:8,9
And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’
Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshipped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.’
So what are you embracing? Are you embracing truth or lies? It is a time to examine ourselves and check we are walking in the Lord’s truth.
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