by Paul Mills
For many years I have worked in the building industry as a builder. I cannot stress enough about the safety and correct installation of electrical wiring in a building. To remove excess insulation and leave exposed wire is dangerous and irresponsible on the part of the contractor. It is without regard to the safety of another and the potential possibility of property damage. Over the years the regulating authorities that are there to protect people and property, has been eroded and the checks and balances have been compromised as they move towards a more self-regulated industry. In so doing they are encouraging contractors to cut corners in order to be able to compete on price. This is because of the competitive nature of the business.
The authorities over us, those in positions of power, those we have elected to represent us, those that serve the people for the good of the nation, those that hold the highest level of government, have deliberately neglected to inform us of the inherent dangers that lie hidden beneath the surface. Governments, knowingly or unknowingly, have removed and stripped back all protection in some areas of society, to promote man’s agendas over God’s laws, without regard to the consequences to this nation.
They have perverted justice and truth as they have introduced laws that are an abomination in the sight of God.
I see this behaviour no different from the electrical contractor as described above. Governments have been irresponsible and out right dangerous in stripping back the protection God has placed around this nation. Governments think they can self-regulate but in fact without God’s Word to insulate our society, we are destined to failure and a ‘less than’ nation in the future.
Churches and Christians have been hoodwinked in this season in embracing and believing a lie. The protection of His Word has been compromised, causing a short circuit to occur, with the power diverted elsewhere, disempowering Christians and churches to represent the Lord correctly.
Christmas is a pagan festival and we need to make an informed decision based on Truth and not on culture.
God is the Master builder, His work is without fault.
Food for thought.
Paul
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Friday, 23 November 2012
America, The Land Of The Free???
by Glenice Mills
There have been many commentaries and words spoken and written about the election of President Obama. I have been reluctant to add to what is already out there, however, the Lord has burdened me for quite some time about America.
The truth is: America is on God’s heart. It was a nation founded on God’s truth, and prides itself on its Christian heritage. However, this heritage has quietly been eroding over past decades and the question must be asked: Is America truly a Christian nation? What has happened that things have changed so radically over a short period of time?
When one thinks of America we see it as a nation that has freedom: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, a land of democracy and capitalism, that allows its people to be and do all it chooses. It encourages free enterprise and is known as the land of opportunity. This is how it appears, but appearances can be deceptive. Hype and spin can paint a picture of ‘all is well’, we are the great ‘super power’, but underneath is a cesspool of lies, falsehood and every evil thing. Veneer and façade is founded on delusion and lies, and when pressure comes, the shallowness of its appearances soon reveals what is truly going on underneath. Such is America at this time.
God’s heart is always ‘Return to Me’ and that is His heart for America at this time.
For something to return, it means it has gone astray, gone down a wrong road, and needs to come back on track. It cannot come back on track until it realises it has gone off track. America is starting to realise it is off track. The only way it can return is through repentance, and humbling itself before a Holy God.
Scripture says pride comes before destruction, destruction being the operative word.
America has known destruction coming at it in recent times on many fronts: extreme weather patterns, financial collapse with resulting hardships, and increasing divisions among its people. There is a severe schism among its people expressed through the wealthy getting wealthier and the poor becoming poorer.
The racial divide is more pronounced than ever. The seedy underbelly of racial hatred is rearing its ugly head and will do so in greater expressions of hatred not seen before.
There will be a contending for power between the African Americans and the Hispanics which will come out on the streets in increased racial tensions. There will be increased violence and unrest between these groups. It is a spiritual battle being expressed in the natural. It is a power play over who has the greater voice in the nation, that will on flow and affect the core fabric of the society of America.
Recently we saw the largest storm, super storm Sandy, hit landfall in one of the most populous areas of America.
The resulting loss of life, and damage sustained, is beyond our natural mind. This was the biggest storm hitting at the core of the financial hub of America and the site of the government of this nation. The severity of the storm has been downplayed in the midst of the election of a new president, however, it is a wake up call, a sign sent by God.
I have been seeking the Lord about what this means. The hand of God moved at a critical, defining time, in the race for president. It was sent by God and the timing must not be overlooked. This devastating storm came exactly at a point when it looked like Governor Mitt Romney was gaining momentum and the swing of popular opinion was heading his way. The storm came and with that a shift of public opinion back into favour with Barack Obama. Why? The Lord knows men’s hearts and He knew that when disaster strikes, people will always stay with what they know. Fear is a powerful emotion and when fear strikes at the heart, people will freeze.
God intervened to bring about His purposes. Man had a purpose but the Lord overrode that. It was a radical sign, but it was part of His plans and purposes for America.
The reality is: God puts people into positions of authority whether that answers what the Christians of a nation want, or not. God will take His people through whatever the nation is going through and they will be graced and equipped to do it. We as Christians will not necessarily by pass the hardships of a nation, but we can be used to stand alongside in prayer, support, and love toward those who are also going through these difficult times.
Sadly a stronghold over America is idolatry. Idolatry comes in many guises and the enemy has subtly come in and deceived its people. At the root of this idolatry is the ‘looking for a king’. They have succumbed to looking to man, whether that be in their government or to movie stars and so called ‘famous people’ to be like a ‘saviour’. Everything in the media, what is spoken about, and coming at people, is to distract and have them bowing to something that is not of God. Lives have become all consumed with worship of everything but the Lord Jesus. Just like the Israelites, a chosen people, America is a chosen nation. Unfortunately their people have been caught in the trap of finding other things to distract, derail and bring bondage. The root of it is discontent. Discontent comes from two angles - discontent that the Lord is bringing in order to bring frustration, leading to change, and discontent caused by man’s flesh because things aren’t going the way they want it too. There is a discontent being sent by God that is a stirring to bring focus back to the Lord’s ways, and leading ones to cry out to Him for change.
We see a good example of discontent being expressed in 1 Samuel 8 where the Israelites demanded a king.
1 Samuel 8:6-7
“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.”
So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”
1 Samuel 8:19,20
“Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
The question needs to be asked, is this so in America? I think so. Then the root issue is: the people looking for a king, instead of looking to the King, King Jesus. There is deep discontent among the Americans that is under the surface, about to burst. It is a bit like a volcano ready to erupt. When it does burst there will be uprising, violence, and rebellion by ones that would not normally behave like this. The unrest will boil over bringing factions, and the rising of militant groups all with their demands. Perhaps this ‘give me a king mindset’ could also be likened to the socialist way of thinking that puts a person as ‘supreme leader’, with the people taking no responsibility for their own lives. It is bringing everyone down to the same common denominator killing all enterprise and entrepreneurship. This is what is happening in America. Unfortunately we have seen this with the electing of President Obama.
Socialism will increase and the freedom of speech will be curtailed in subtle and insidious ways to shut the voices of its people.
Sadly what happens in a nation is also a reflection of what is happening in the church.
The truth is we get the government the church deserves.
We need to really consider the Lord’s heart for America and for His church: ‘they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them‘.
You feel the Lord’s grief and despair as you read and think on this verse.
This is not a criticism of the church but rather a wake up call. The Lord is waking up His church in America in this hour as He is with us all throughout the world. This is the time to seek the Lord, how we have turned from His ways, repent, and change from old ways of doing things. This relates to every area of governance in society. We know there is a rising of the Apostolic/Prophetic and the divine positioning of ones called to bring change in areas of governance. This is part of the strategy of coming back to the Lord and this is crucial for America in this hour.
It is time to repent of looking for, and to a king, whether that be in the church or in government. It is time for the release of new understanding, and revelation about the Kingship of Jesus Christ. It is about Jesus as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. This will bring down the powers that think they have rulership. It is false authority, it is founded on sand, and it will not stand.
It is time to come back to the Word of God, to the Lord’s ways, and to rise up and take a stand for justice, truth and righteousness.
This is the Lord’s clarion call to America. Now is the time to declare the Kingship of Jesus Christ. Every false, idolatrous, religious practice must be exposed.
It starts with His people, His church, for such a time as this.
There have been many commentaries and words spoken and written about the election of President Obama. I have been reluctant to add to what is already out there, however, the Lord has burdened me for quite some time about America.
The truth is: America is on God’s heart. It was a nation founded on God’s truth, and prides itself on its Christian heritage. However, this heritage has quietly been eroding over past decades and the question must be asked: Is America truly a Christian nation? What has happened that things have changed so radically over a short period of time?
When one thinks of America we see it as a nation that has freedom: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, a land of democracy and capitalism, that allows its people to be and do all it chooses. It encourages free enterprise and is known as the land of opportunity. This is how it appears, but appearances can be deceptive. Hype and spin can paint a picture of ‘all is well’, we are the great ‘super power’, but underneath is a cesspool of lies, falsehood and every evil thing. Veneer and façade is founded on delusion and lies, and when pressure comes, the shallowness of its appearances soon reveals what is truly going on underneath. Such is America at this time.
God’s heart is always ‘Return to Me’ and that is His heart for America at this time.
For something to return, it means it has gone astray, gone down a wrong road, and needs to come back on track. It cannot come back on track until it realises it has gone off track. America is starting to realise it is off track. The only way it can return is through repentance, and humbling itself before a Holy God.
Scripture says pride comes before destruction, destruction being the operative word.
America has known destruction coming at it in recent times on many fronts: extreme weather patterns, financial collapse with resulting hardships, and increasing divisions among its people. There is a severe schism among its people expressed through the wealthy getting wealthier and the poor becoming poorer.
The racial divide is more pronounced than ever. The seedy underbelly of racial hatred is rearing its ugly head and will do so in greater expressions of hatred not seen before.
There will be a contending for power between the African Americans and the Hispanics which will come out on the streets in increased racial tensions. There will be increased violence and unrest between these groups. It is a spiritual battle being expressed in the natural. It is a power play over who has the greater voice in the nation, that will on flow and affect the core fabric of the society of America.
Recently we saw the largest storm, super storm Sandy, hit landfall in one of the most populous areas of America.
The resulting loss of life, and damage sustained, is beyond our natural mind. This was the biggest storm hitting at the core of the financial hub of America and the site of the government of this nation. The severity of the storm has been downplayed in the midst of the election of a new president, however, it is a wake up call, a sign sent by God.
I have been seeking the Lord about what this means. The hand of God moved at a critical, defining time, in the race for president. It was sent by God and the timing must not be overlooked. This devastating storm came exactly at a point when it looked like Governor Mitt Romney was gaining momentum and the swing of popular opinion was heading his way. The storm came and with that a shift of public opinion back into favour with Barack Obama. Why? The Lord knows men’s hearts and He knew that when disaster strikes, people will always stay with what they know. Fear is a powerful emotion and when fear strikes at the heart, people will freeze.
God intervened to bring about His purposes. Man had a purpose but the Lord overrode that. It was a radical sign, but it was part of His plans and purposes for America.
The reality is: God puts people into positions of authority whether that answers what the Christians of a nation want, or not. God will take His people through whatever the nation is going through and they will be graced and equipped to do it. We as Christians will not necessarily by pass the hardships of a nation, but we can be used to stand alongside in prayer, support, and love toward those who are also going through these difficult times.
Sadly a stronghold over America is idolatry. Idolatry comes in many guises and the enemy has subtly come in and deceived its people. At the root of this idolatry is the ‘looking for a king’. They have succumbed to looking to man, whether that be in their government or to movie stars and so called ‘famous people’ to be like a ‘saviour’. Everything in the media, what is spoken about, and coming at people, is to distract and have them bowing to something that is not of God. Lives have become all consumed with worship of everything but the Lord Jesus. Just like the Israelites, a chosen people, America is a chosen nation. Unfortunately their people have been caught in the trap of finding other things to distract, derail and bring bondage. The root of it is discontent. Discontent comes from two angles - discontent that the Lord is bringing in order to bring frustration, leading to change, and discontent caused by man’s flesh because things aren’t going the way they want it too. There is a discontent being sent by God that is a stirring to bring focus back to the Lord’s ways, and leading ones to cry out to Him for change.
We see a good example of discontent being expressed in 1 Samuel 8 where the Israelites demanded a king.
1 Samuel 8:6-7
“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.”
So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”
1 Samuel 8:19,20
“Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
The question needs to be asked, is this so in America? I think so. Then the root issue is: the people looking for a king, instead of looking to the King, King Jesus. There is deep discontent among the Americans that is under the surface, about to burst. It is a bit like a volcano ready to erupt. When it does burst there will be uprising, violence, and rebellion by ones that would not normally behave like this. The unrest will boil over bringing factions, and the rising of militant groups all with their demands. Perhaps this ‘give me a king mindset’ could also be likened to the socialist way of thinking that puts a person as ‘supreme leader’, with the people taking no responsibility for their own lives. It is bringing everyone down to the same common denominator killing all enterprise and entrepreneurship. This is what is happening in America. Unfortunately we have seen this with the electing of President Obama.
Socialism will increase and the freedom of speech will be curtailed in subtle and insidious ways to shut the voices of its people.
Sadly what happens in a nation is also a reflection of what is happening in the church.
The truth is we get the government the church deserves.
We need to really consider the Lord’s heart for America and for His church: ‘they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them‘.
You feel the Lord’s grief and despair as you read and think on this verse.
This is not a criticism of the church but rather a wake up call. The Lord is waking up His church in America in this hour as He is with us all throughout the world. This is the time to seek the Lord, how we have turned from His ways, repent, and change from old ways of doing things. This relates to every area of governance in society. We know there is a rising of the Apostolic/Prophetic and the divine positioning of ones called to bring change in areas of governance. This is part of the strategy of coming back to the Lord and this is crucial for America in this hour.
It is time to repent of looking for, and to a king, whether that be in the church or in government. It is time for the release of new understanding, and revelation about the Kingship of Jesus Christ. It is about Jesus as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. This will bring down the powers that think they have rulership. It is false authority, it is founded on sand, and it will not stand.
It is time to come back to the Word of God, to the Lord’s ways, and to rise up and take a stand for justice, truth and righteousness.
This is the Lord’s clarion call to America. Now is the time to declare the Kingship of Jesus Christ. Every false, idolatrous, religious practice must be exposed.
It starts with His people, His church, for such a time as this.
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
A Silent Killer - Religion
by Glenice Mills
Many people suffer from high cholesterol, that is, a blocking of the arteries caused by the eating of unhealthy foods. It does not happen quickly but rather builds up over a long period of time, slowly doing damage to the body. Often it is not until a major health issue occurs, such as a heart attack or stroke, that our cholesterol level is exposed. We know it as a silent killer. Our arteries are a source of blood flow throughout our bodies, bringing health and life to our physical beings. However, to restore health requires a change in diet and a close monitoring of our cholesterol levels. It requires a change to our lifestyle. This change results in new life coming, with a renewed zeal and energy not felt before.
High cholesterol can be likened to religion. Religion is like the life is sucked out by an insidious, hidden, existing, doing the same things over and over again, lulling people into a false sense of comfort. It is quite literally a stranglehold affecting thinking, actions and behaviours. The arteries, the life giving flow of the Holy Spirit, is blocked, causing a ‘silent killer’. Like high cholesterol we don’t know it is happening, but at some opportune time comes a ‘crunch point’.
There is a choice to be made. Choose the same old ways or make a decision to change.
The problem arises because we need to know what religion is, and how it is subtly outworked through the body of Christ. The reality is no church is immune to religion, not even one that appears to be flourishing and meeting the needs of the people. Why?
People, that is you and I, like to do the same things over and over again, as it keeps us feeling safe. We like routine, and the security it gives us. We then try and add Jesus to the mix and think that He endorses what we do. The reality is: we can become deceived and call it ‘church‘, and think it meets the Lord’s approval. His grace covers so much of what we do in church but it doesn’t necessarily mean He is with us. The power of man’s soul can override the Spirit of God. We need to, at this point, stop and consider this statement. The power of man’s soul can override the Spirit of God!
If we want something bad enough we can ‘make it happen’ using our soul power rather than letting the Holy Spirit have His way. Our souls - our mind, will and emotions, can easily push us to believing we are doing the Lord’s will.
This is where deception comes in. We deceive ourselves into believing this is the truth, that we are walking in it. It becomes our ‘life flow’ and slowly starts to move among us clogging up the flow of the anointing and the moving of the power of the Holy Spirit. This is how the false comes in, where we can easily camp at a truth believing we have the fullness of the Lord within our church. Our foundations are on sand and it soon becomes obvious that we cannot and are not moving in the Spirit as we should.
I want to issue a challenge here. How much of what we do in church actually blesses the Lord? How much are we just going through the motions, playing church, to make ourselves feel good in the moment? Can we truly say our meetings have the Lord’s ‘seal of approval’ upon them?
I believe in this hour we must stop and evaluate where we are going and whether we truly bless the Lord by our coming together and meeting with Him.
We are very good at meeting together but do we truly meet with Him? Does our worship take us to His throne room where we encounter Him and know we are changing?
Amos 5:23,24
Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
It is a very fine line between doing church and being church. One will change the hearts of man as they encounter the Lord and the other will bring a superficiality that will not sustain. There will be no lasting fruit. It is either about encountering the Lord or being seen to do the right thing appeasing man’s traditions.
Are the arteries of the church clogged? Can His Holy Spirit flow freely, bringing freedom and change into the lives of the Lord’s people? Can we do this while remaining in tight time constraints because of man’s fleshly demands? Is the Lord really pleased that we give him a token hour and a half meeting, then the next meeting takes place - not unlike a factory assembly line? What say the Holy Spirit wants to move and bring healing or repentance or deliverance to His people but He cannot do this because He does not have the freedom to move upon and among His people?
Perhaps we have subtly bowed to the having a form of godliness but denying the power of God? Are our meetings more emotion based rather than Holy Spirit led?
I wonder are we in fact worshipping self, rather than the Lord? If our whole focus is what can I get out of it for me, are we not in fact practicing idolatry - that is self idolatry?
This is the challenge in this hour for we need to consider how effective the church is.
Playing church will not suffice in the hour we live in. When troubles come, and evil increases will we have the ‘staying power’, the fortitude deep on the inside of us or will we crumple at the first sign of hardship and persecution?
Act 17:22-25
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshipped with man’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.”
This is the time to question where our life source flow is coming from. When the Holy Spirit moves He is not constrained by time or by whom He would use. Maybe for too long we have looked to a church minister to give to us all we need forgetting that they are one instrument the Lord would use. They don’t have it all, and perhaps some quiet lady sitting in the back row has the Word of the Lord.
It is time to take off the shackles of religion that would hold us back and keep us in the old ways and traditions of man. Perhaps we could be daring enough to risk allowing the Lord to move in His services giving Him permission to do and use whosoever He wants. If we all carry an aspect of the Lord, and we do, then maybe the unique individual expressions of the Lord need the opportunity to be expressed? Who knows what amazing things can and will happen if we truly give the Lord permission to have His way. We sing songs about the Lord having His way yet we don’t actually practice what we sing and what we say. This hurts the Lord. He wants to have His way. Man’s agenda must yield to the leading of His Spirit.
It is time for repentance to be preached! Man’s sin and rebellion needs to be spoken about. The enemy has done a number on God’s people by lulling them into a safe place of false security, holding them in bondage, requiring nothing of the people.
Now is the time to act, to come back to the truth of repentance, and forgiveness of sins, and to confront that which is an abomination to the Lord. Secret sin, such as pornography, must be spoken about so freedom can come as truth is spoken. Superficial façades must come off and the real issues of sin and man’s hearts must be spoken of. That requires time in services and one on one with people.
It is time for the arteries to be unclogged and for the source of resurrection life to flow through God’s people. Now is the hour!
Acts 17:29-31
“Therefore since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Many people suffer from high cholesterol, that is, a blocking of the arteries caused by the eating of unhealthy foods. It does not happen quickly but rather builds up over a long period of time, slowly doing damage to the body. Often it is not until a major health issue occurs, such as a heart attack or stroke, that our cholesterol level is exposed. We know it as a silent killer. Our arteries are a source of blood flow throughout our bodies, bringing health and life to our physical beings. However, to restore health requires a change in diet and a close monitoring of our cholesterol levels. It requires a change to our lifestyle. This change results in new life coming, with a renewed zeal and energy not felt before.
High cholesterol can be likened to religion. Religion is like the life is sucked out by an insidious, hidden, existing, doing the same things over and over again, lulling people into a false sense of comfort. It is quite literally a stranglehold affecting thinking, actions and behaviours. The arteries, the life giving flow of the Holy Spirit, is blocked, causing a ‘silent killer’. Like high cholesterol we don’t know it is happening, but at some opportune time comes a ‘crunch point’.
There is a choice to be made. Choose the same old ways or make a decision to change.
The problem arises because we need to know what religion is, and how it is subtly outworked through the body of Christ. The reality is no church is immune to religion, not even one that appears to be flourishing and meeting the needs of the people. Why?
People, that is you and I, like to do the same things over and over again, as it keeps us feeling safe. We like routine, and the security it gives us. We then try and add Jesus to the mix and think that He endorses what we do. The reality is: we can become deceived and call it ‘church‘, and think it meets the Lord’s approval. His grace covers so much of what we do in church but it doesn’t necessarily mean He is with us. The power of man’s soul can override the Spirit of God. We need to, at this point, stop and consider this statement. The power of man’s soul can override the Spirit of God!
If we want something bad enough we can ‘make it happen’ using our soul power rather than letting the Holy Spirit have His way. Our souls - our mind, will and emotions, can easily push us to believing we are doing the Lord’s will.
This is where deception comes in. We deceive ourselves into believing this is the truth, that we are walking in it. It becomes our ‘life flow’ and slowly starts to move among us clogging up the flow of the anointing and the moving of the power of the Holy Spirit. This is how the false comes in, where we can easily camp at a truth believing we have the fullness of the Lord within our church. Our foundations are on sand and it soon becomes obvious that we cannot and are not moving in the Spirit as we should.
I want to issue a challenge here. How much of what we do in church actually blesses the Lord? How much are we just going through the motions, playing church, to make ourselves feel good in the moment? Can we truly say our meetings have the Lord’s ‘seal of approval’ upon them?
I believe in this hour we must stop and evaluate where we are going and whether we truly bless the Lord by our coming together and meeting with Him.
We are very good at meeting together but do we truly meet with Him? Does our worship take us to His throne room where we encounter Him and know we are changing?
Amos 5:23,24
Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
It is a very fine line between doing church and being church. One will change the hearts of man as they encounter the Lord and the other will bring a superficiality that will not sustain. There will be no lasting fruit. It is either about encountering the Lord or being seen to do the right thing appeasing man’s traditions.
Are the arteries of the church clogged? Can His Holy Spirit flow freely, bringing freedom and change into the lives of the Lord’s people? Can we do this while remaining in tight time constraints because of man’s fleshly demands? Is the Lord really pleased that we give him a token hour and a half meeting, then the next meeting takes place - not unlike a factory assembly line? What say the Holy Spirit wants to move and bring healing or repentance or deliverance to His people but He cannot do this because He does not have the freedom to move upon and among His people?
Perhaps we have subtly bowed to the having a form of godliness but denying the power of God? Are our meetings more emotion based rather than Holy Spirit led?
I wonder are we in fact worshipping self, rather than the Lord? If our whole focus is what can I get out of it for me, are we not in fact practicing idolatry - that is self idolatry?
This is the challenge in this hour for we need to consider how effective the church is.
Playing church will not suffice in the hour we live in. When troubles come, and evil increases will we have the ‘staying power’, the fortitude deep on the inside of us or will we crumple at the first sign of hardship and persecution?
Act 17:22-25
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshipped with man’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.”
This is the time to question where our life source flow is coming from. When the Holy Spirit moves He is not constrained by time or by whom He would use. Maybe for too long we have looked to a church minister to give to us all we need forgetting that they are one instrument the Lord would use. They don’t have it all, and perhaps some quiet lady sitting in the back row has the Word of the Lord.
It is time to take off the shackles of religion that would hold us back and keep us in the old ways and traditions of man. Perhaps we could be daring enough to risk allowing the Lord to move in His services giving Him permission to do and use whosoever He wants. If we all carry an aspect of the Lord, and we do, then maybe the unique individual expressions of the Lord need the opportunity to be expressed? Who knows what amazing things can and will happen if we truly give the Lord permission to have His way. We sing songs about the Lord having His way yet we don’t actually practice what we sing and what we say. This hurts the Lord. He wants to have His way. Man’s agenda must yield to the leading of His Spirit.
It is time for repentance to be preached! Man’s sin and rebellion needs to be spoken about. The enemy has done a number on God’s people by lulling them into a safe place of false security, holding them in bondage, requiring nothing of the people.
Now is the time to act, to come back to the truth of repentance, and forgiveness of sins, and to confront that which is an abomination to the Lord. Secret sin, such as pornography, must be spoken about so freedom can come as truth is spoken. Superficial façades must come off and the real issues of sin and man’s hearts must be spoken of. That requires time in services and one on one with people.
It is time for the arteries to be unclogged and for the source of resurrection life to flow through God’s people. Now is the hour!
Acts 17:29-31
“Therefore since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Friday, 19 October 2012
Who Is God For Me?
by Patricia Bellchambers
The gardener came today and trimmed the trees outside my door. All that remains now are bare branches. The pruning has allowed so much more light into the house but has also removed any privacy that the foliage once offered.
Many of us are in a season with God where He is stripping back once again anything that inhibits us from seeing all that remains in our hearts and characters that is not of Him. He is exposing our sin and weaknesses by allowing more light to permeate the soul and He is stripping back everything which we continue to use to hide behind. There is no privacy in God. He sees it all exactly how it is and He cares too much to allow us to remain in our deception. In His mercy He now reveals to us that which stands in the way of us entering into the future and destiny He has prepared for us. While the process may be painful it is necessary. In this time of stripping back and dying to self at a whole new level it is imperative that we know who God is for and in us. When everything overwhelms and threatens us, we must know that our God is a just God. That He is faithful, kind, loving and we must know His nature and character for ourselves because everything around us will look and feel contrary. We can no longer navigate our way through the trials by what we see or feel. We must rely on what we know to be truth. It is essential that we know the word of God and that we know God Himself. True revelation can only come through true relationship. We have not been this way before so there will be nothing that is familiar except God Himself. He is the only constant in a reality that changes from season to season and more often day to day. Time is short and so this season seems to have an intensity not experienced before. For some of us God is placing us in situations of such incredible vulnerability. This reveals to us the area where we have not yet given God His rightful place, it reveals the areas of self -protection that remain, the areas where we have not allowed the Holy Spirit to comfort to the degree we need, the areas where we have not allowed the love of God to drive out fear. Vulnerability shows us the level to which we truly trust God. Be of great courage and allow God to be God to you in His fullness, Church. It is time we placed our lives back on the altar and embraced the intensity of His all-consuming fire.
The final destination for us all must be where we can say truthfully that “God is enough,” because He shall ultimately be all that remains.
The gardener came today and trimmed the trees outside my door. All that remains now are bare branches. The pruning has allowed so much more light into the house but has also removed any privacy that the foliage once offered.
Many of us are in a season with God where He is stripping back once again anything that inhibits us from seeing all that remains in our hearts and characters that is not of Him. He is exposing our sin and weaknesses by allowing more light to permeate the soul and He is stripping back everything which we continue to use to hide behind. There is no privacy in God. He sees it all exactly how it is and He cares too much to allow us to remain in our deception. In His mercy He now reveals to us that which stands in the way of us entering into the future and destiny He has prepared for us. While the process may be painful it is necessary. In this time of stripping back and dying to self at a whole new level it is imperative that we know who God is for and in us. When everything overwhelms and threatens us, we must know that our God is a just God. That He is faithful, kind, loving and we must know His nature and character for ourselves because everything around us will look and feel contrary. We can no longer navigate our way through the trials by what we see or feel. We must rely on what we know to be truth. It is essential that we know the word of God and that we know God Himself. True revelation can only come through true relationship. We have not been this way before so there will be nothing that is familiar except God Himself. He is the only constant in a reality that changes from season to season and more often day to day. Time is short and so this season seems to have an intensity not experienced before. For some of us God is placing us in situations of such incredible vulnerability. This reveals to us the area where we have not yet given God His rightful place, it reveals the areas of self -protection that remain, the areas where we have not allowed the Holy Spirit to comfort to the degree we need, the areas where we have not allowed the love of God to drive out fear. Vulnerability shows us the level to which we truly trust God. Be of great courage and allow God to be God to you in His fullness, Church. It is time we placed our lives back on the altar and embraced the intensity of His all-consuming fire.
The final destination for us all must be where we can say truthfully that “God is enough,” because He shall ultimately be all that remains.
The Glory Of The Lord
by Tony Clark
“They marveled, and they glorified God” Matthew 9: 5-9
To glorify God is one of our highest purposes. He is high and lifted up! And needs to be - in our minds, and hearts, in our beliefs, in our testimony. “The fame of Him (Jesus) spread throughout the whole earth.” “How can they hear, unless there is a preacher?” The word of God unlocks the glory of God. The testimony of His works, and demonstration of His power - that God may be glorified. It is for a predestined time that the whole earth be FILLED with the knowledge of the glory of The Lord. People are in bondage because they don’t know Him, and don’t have the hope that is in Him. It is the revelation of His Person that brings us to life, and elevates us to our true place of existence where The Lord is glorified, and the knowledge of Him fills us. There is such joy in the heart of the man or woman that glorifies God, because they have seen something of Him that brings hope and relief. People LOVE to see the power of God. The demonstration of His Person. There is nothing like being chosen by Jesus.
“They marveled, and they glorified God” Matthew 9: 5-9
To glorify God is one of our highest purposes. He is high and lifted up! And needs to be - in our minds, and hearts, in our beliefs, in our testimony. “The fame of Him (Jesus) spread throughout the whole earth.” “How can they hear, unless there is a preacher?” The word of God unlocks the glory of God. The testimony of His works, and demonstration of His power - that God may be glorified. It is for a predestined time that the whole earth be FILLED with the knowledge of the glory of The Lord. People are in bondage because they don’t know Him, and don’t have the hope that is in Him. It is the revelation of His Person that brings us to life, and elevates us to our true place of existence where The Lord is glorified, and the knowledge of Him fills us. There is such joy in the heart of the man or woman that glorifies God, because they have seen something of Him that brings hope and relief. People LOVE to see the power of God. The demonstration of His Person. There is nothing like being chosen by Jesus.
Thursday, 13 September 2012
True Endurance - False Endurance
by Glenice Mills
We all have areas in our lives where we battle certain issues that the Lord uses to train us to overcome, and to learn to walk in victory. These areas of struggle forge an enduring deep on the inside of us that lead us to increasing dependence on the Lord. This is where we learn the power of the cross. We learn to develop Godly ways in our character, by confronting the flesh, and submitting our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As we do this, we have unique situations the Lord brings to us to grow us up into Him, and to teach us endurance. It is not done quickly, but rather takes a long time. It is interesting to note that many Scripture references refer to ‘patiently enduring’. Patience, a fruit of the Spirit, is forged in the enduring.
To endure is the ability or power to suffer, bear or put up with. It is the ‘ability to withstand prolonged strain’. I like this explanation. To prolong means to make longer in time, and strain means to make extreme or excessive demands on. This means there will be pain. It will be uncomfortable! There is no quick easy fix. This is abhorrent to many, particularly in this ‘instant gratification, get it quick’ lifestyle that we live in. It flies in the face of the ‘easy, superficial, all will go well with you because you are a Christian, man pleasing gospel’ that is preached. When things get difficult in our lives, it is easy to try and shortcut the dealings of God by trying to find ways of circumventing our circumstances. It is easy to look to people, things, or some false comfort rather than confronting the issues. The reality is: to endure means we have to go in and through - with the Lord’s help. We cannot do it on our own. We were never meant to do it on our own. We all have our tailor-made areas to endure, however, for many the pressure is tight at this time as the struggles seem unbearable. I feel the Lord wants to bring some adjusting and understanding about what it is to endure.
There is a ‘false enduring’ that the enemy is trying to use to hold God’s people back, keeping them bound and trapped in hopelessness. It is about ‘our vision, our goals’ in life. This is an access point the enemy has. When we lose sight of our vision, our destiny in God, we bow to a false lie of the enemy. Endurance is then built on a wrong foundation.
Sadly, many have succumbed to the lie that ‘to suffer’ is a noble thing. It is seen as ‘spiritual’ to endure suffering as somehow earning great acclaim. However, there is a ‘false suffering’ birthed from a catholic self-flagellation thinking that has many stuck. They are ‘going around in circles’, their life is like a rat on a wheel, thinking that this is enduring. It is not. It is existing, it is just getting by in life. Exist is not endure. Exist is to live with a ‘same old, same old’ thinking. This is not living an abundant life! In fact it is the opposite.
I am addressing an imbalance. There is a suffering that is right in God. This suffering drives us to the cross. We are to take up our cross daily. We all battle certain issues that have us totally reliant on the Lord. However, we have to be careful that our suffering doesn’t cross over and actually make us ‘feel good’ so we take on a ‘false martyr’ persona. This is where the imbalance comes in.
The enemy has actually sold us a lie and we have innocently bowed to idol of self. In fact we become self-righteous and take great pride in our ‘sufferings’ and build a false identity and way of living and being that is contrary to the Lord and His character and ways. This is not freedom but bondage. An imbalance has taken place. Very subtle, but very real.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
When in the tight place of pain and affliction and the enduring through, it is crucial we never lose sight of our future and our hope in Him. Without this in correct balance we will succumb to the lies of the enemy and give up, bowing to hopelessness. This is not a way of God, it is of the enemy. Scripture makes it clear that we will have to endure hardship, but it is how we embrace the trials that is the issue. It is about what we do going through them. It is dealing with our wrong reactions when things don’t go the way we think they should, particularly in the time frame that we think things should happen in. Our ugly heart reactions will soon manifest, with our flesh rearing up, making us quickly lose our peace. This is then access for the enemy to come and bring separation in our relationship with the Lord.
Hebrews 2:3-7
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.
Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
We have just seen athletes compete at the Olympics and they have only got to where they are by pushing through, enduring, never losing sight of the goal, the finish line, of the prize. So it is with us in our walk with Him. The Lord tells us He will never send us more than we can bear.
Endurance can be likened to a woman in labour in the transition time of severe contractions and then having to push. It is severely uncomfortable, there is no turning back and focus must be on what is to come. Many are in this season in God. Transition is never an easy time. It is uncomfortable, nothing makes sense, but it is to be gone through so that breakthrough and victory comes as a result. We must never forget that out of this season comes a mighty testimony to the goodness of God.
Philippians 3:12 -14
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I will press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
We all have areas in our lives where we battle certain issues that the Lord uses to train us to overcome, and to learn to walk in victory. These areas of struggle forge an enduring deep on the inside of us that lead us to increasing dependence on the Lord. This is where we learn the power of the cross. We learn to develop Godly ways in our character, by confronting the flesh, and submitting our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As we do this, we have unique situations the Lord brings to us to grow us up into Him, and to teach us endurance. It is not done quickly, but rather takes a long time. It is interesting to note that many Scripture references refer to ‘patiently enduring’. Patience, a fruit of the Spirit, is forged in the enduring.
To endure is the ability or power to suffer, bear or put up with. It is the ‘ability to withstand prolonged strain’. I like this explanation. To prolong means to make longer in time, and strain means to make extreme or excessive demands on. This means there will be pain. It will be uncomfortable! There is no quick easy fix. This is abhorrent to many, particularly in this ‘instant gratification, get it quick’ lifestyle that we live in. It flies in the face of the ‘easy, superficial, all will go well with you because you are a Christian, man pleasing gospel’ that is preached. When things get difficult in our lives, it is easy to try and shortcut the dealings of God by trying to find ways of circumventing our circumstances. It is easy to look to people, things, or some false comfort rather than confronting the issues. The reality is: to endure means we have to go in and through - with the Lord’s help. We cannot do it on our own. We were never meant to do it on our own. We all have our tailor-made areas to endure, however, for many the pressure is tight at this time as the struggles seem unbearable. I feel the Lord wants to bring some adjusting and understanding about what it is to endure.
There is a ‘false enduring’ that the enemy is trying to use to hold God’s people back, keeping them bound and trapped in hopelessness. It is about ‘our vision, our goals’ in life. This is an access point the enemy has. When we lose sight of our vision, our destiny in God, we bow to a false lie of the enemy. Endurance is then built on a wrong foundation.
Sadly, many have succumbed to the lie that ‘to suffer’ is a noble thing. It is seen as ‘spiritual’ to endure suffering as somehow earning great acclaim. However, there is a ‘false suffering’ birthed from a catholic self-flagellation thinking that has many stuck. They are ‘going around in circles’, their life is like a rat on a wheel, thinking that this is enduring. It is not. It is existing, it is just getting by in life. Exist is not endure. Exist is to live with a ‘same old, same old’ thinking. This is not living an abundant life! In fact it is the opposite.
I am addressing an imbalance. There is a suffering that is right in God. This suffering drives us to the cross. We are to take up our cross daily. We all battle certain issues that have us totally reliant on the Lord. However, we have to be careful that our suffering doesn’t cross over and actually make us ‘feel good’ so we take on a ‘false martyr’ persona. This is where the imbalance comes in.
The enemy has actually sold us a lie and we have innocently bowed to idol of self. In fact we become self-righteous and take great pride in our ‘sufferings’ and build a false identity and way of living and being that is contrary to the Lord and His character and ways. This is not freedom but bondage. An imbalance has taken place. Very subtle, but very real.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
When in the tight place of pain and affliction and the enduring through, it is crucial we never lose sight of our future and our hope in Him. Without this in correct balance we will succumb to the lies of the enemy and give up, bowing to hopelessness. This is not a way of God, it is of the enemy. Scripture makes it clear that we will have to endure hardship, but it is how we embrace the trials that is the issue. It is about what we do going through them. It is dealing with our wrong reactions when things don’t go the way we think they should, particularly in the time frame that we think things should happen in. Our ugly heart reactions will soon manifest, with our flesh rearing up, making us quickly lose our peace. This is then access for the enemy to come and bring separation in our relationship with the Lord.
Hebrews 2:3-7
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.
Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
We have just seen athletes compete at the Olympics and they have only got to where they are by pushing through, enduring, never losing sight of the goal, the finish line, of the prize. So it is with us in our walk with Him. The Lord tells us He will never send us more than we can bear.
Endurance can be likened to a woman in labour in the transition time of severe contractions and then having to push. It is severely uncomfortable, there is no turning back and focus must be on what is to come. Many are in this season in God. Transition is never an easy time. It is uncomfortable, nothing makes sense, but it is to be gone through so that breakthrough and victory comes as a result. We must never forget that out of this season comes a mighty testimony to the goodness of God.
Philippians 3:12 -14
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I will press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Poem - Oh Africa, How I Love You!
by Tony Clark
Oh Africa, how I love you
I remember when you were young
Even before you were born
The plans I had for you
Cradled in your mother’s womb
I’ve watched you grow
Watched you play
Full of purpose, destiny
Oh that you would RUN
That I might SEE in you all that I intend
You are My precious gem
A rare and costly prize
Born of hardship
Will you look to Me
That I might raise in you a mighty nation?
Do you not know that I have saved the best for last?
I raise in you a standard
Tall and strong!
A clear word
For a time such as this
For now is your time
And I have seen your plight
I am the God of the breakthrough
And I have heard your cry
Ready yourself
And see what I will do
Now is the time of your visitation
Oh Africa, how I love you
I remember when you were young
Even before you were born
The plans I had for you
Cradled in your mother’s womb
I’ve watched you grow
Watched you play
Full of purpose, destiny
Oh that you would RUN
That I might SEE in you all that I intend
You are My precious gem
A rare and costly prize
Born of hardship
Will you look to Me
That I might raise in you a mighty nation?
Do you not know that I have saved the best for last?
I raise in you a standard
Tall and strong!
A clear word
For a time such as this
For now is your time
And I have seen your plight
I am the God of the breakthrough
And I have heard your cry
Ready yourself
And see what I will do
Now is the time of your visitation
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