Wisdom’s benefits
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you” (Prov 3:1-2 ESV).
I love the book of Proverbs! It is so rich in wisdom and practical advice for everyday life. As I often say: - “If we want heaven’s result, we must ‘do life’ heaven’s way.” These two verses at the commencement of chapter 3 give us one of the key principles for healthy living and a long, fruitful life.
Solomon, the principal author of Proverbs and perhaps the wisest man to ever live, encourages us with these instructions for Kingdom living. We are to build our lives on God’s Word, keep His commands (statutes) and in so doing, we add length of days and peace to our lives. The word here for peace in the original language is ‘shalom’ and contains within its’ meaning completeness, safety, soundness, welfare, health, prosperity, peace, tranquillity, contentment, friendship, and every good thing. What a remarkable word and how ‘inferior’ is our English word ‘peace’ when it comes to describing the truly wonderful blessings the Lord has in store for those whochooseto live by His statutes.
They add length to our life and assure us of peace even in the midst of life’s challenges. May I encourage you to meditate on all of the attributes of the Hebrew word shalom and consider how you can more fully live by God’s ways in order to bring healing, wholeness and longevity to your life?
A new hunger
We are certainly witnessing a new hunger for the things of the kingdom in recent days. There is a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit in so many places. No doubt you’ve heard about the move in Asbury in Kentucky. Perhaps it’s a little too early to put a ‘label’ on it however no matter what it is called, there is a fresh new hunger for His Presence. This is manifesting itself in so many young people turning to the Lord in worship, repentance, prayer and hunger for His Word. I’ve read this move has now spread to around 100 colleges or universities with similar effects in a generation which has been called the most depressed generation to ever live.
During the recent Celebrate Jesus conferences hosted by Healing Rooms Australia we too witnessed a greater hunger for His Presence in those attending. Jesus said those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness will be filled (Matt 5:6). Those who attended came to worship Him and press into His Presence. They weren’t gathering for an ‘event’ and I believe that made a profound difference to the atmosphere in the meetings. From the very first note of worship Holy Spirit’s presence was very evident which flowed over into the preaching and ministry times. We are still receiving testimonies of so many who were powerfully touched but His Healing power.
I believe we are moving from gathering around a message or sermon (both of which are great and most worthwhile) to gathering around His Presence. Jesus inhabits the praises of His people and in His Presence there is not only fullness of joy but perfect liberty. When we worship Him in spirit and truth, I believe we create and environment or atmosphere where the impossible becomes possible and we will see more miracles, signs, wonders and those who have been in ‘captivity’ to sickness, disease, depression and addictions being set free!
We witnessed not only so many physical healings, but powerful inner healing in so many who attended and simply pressed in to ‘touch the hem of His garment.’
We are so grateful to the Lord for His Presence in these meetings in 3 cities and we give Him all the glory and praise for the great things He did in so many lives!
From Darkness to light
Paul writing to the Colossians in Chapter 1 v9 says “For this reason, …we have not stopped praying …and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”(Emphasis added)
A vital part of our healing journey is the amazing truth attached to the redemptive power of Jesus’ accomplishment at the Cross. Paul’s prayer for the Colossians in the first instance is they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will for them. This applies equally to us so many years later. In order for us to walk in the strength and victory which Jesus purchased for us at Calvary we MUST know experientially not just intellectually, the power He has given us. Further, it is by this growing knowledge of God’s will in our lives that we are strengthened to run this race of life with endurance, confidence and joy.
Jesus has rescued us from the darkness of the world and satan’s kingdom and ‘conveyed’ us into His wonderful Kingdom of light. The original language in this passage has within its meaning a legal transaction whereby title is transferred from one to another, similar to that which takes place when a property is purchased. The title deeds for the property are transferred or conveyed by means of a legal transaction from one owner to another.
When we surrender our lives to Jesus, there is a ‘legal transaction’ which takes place. We no longer belong to the kingdom of this world. We are conveyed, transferred if you like, to the Kingdom of God with all the associated blessings and benefits. The devil no longer has any legal claim over our life. What a wonderful Saviour we have!
I understand we are still living in a ‘dark’ world and it seems at times the darkness is getting darker. However I’m reminded that when the light shines darkness has to leave. Jesus said “let you light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt 5:16).” Light dispels or displaces darkness.
Verse 10 of this great passage in Colossians gives the reason why we are to be filled with this growing knowledge of God:- that we may walk worthy of the Lord, be fully pleasing to Him, and to befruitful in every good work! My desire is to be fruitful in every good work. Jesus has a plan for each of our lives and part of that plan is to be fruitful, not through striving but simply by abiding in Him (see John 15). He has given us everything we need in order to live a life worthy of Him and as followers of Jesus we should always be shining His light from our lives – to the glory of His great Name.
Winter Appeal 2023
A short video about our Winter Appeal. Please help us raise the vital funds necessary to continue the ministry at CHR. You can read how you gift will be used here
God goes to great lengths!
There is a wonderful story in 2 Kings 20 of King Hezekiah who was sick to the point of death. God’s spokesman of the day, Isaiah, came to essentially tell the king to get his affairs in order as he is about to die. The Bible tells us Hezekiah wept bitterly before the Lord. In this remarkable healing story, before Isaiah had time to leave the king’s palace, God had spoken to him and told him to go back and tell the king his life was to be extended by fifteen years.
I’m sure Hezekiah was thrilled to get this news but he, like so many of us needed confirmation he would be healed. Hezekiah asked for this sign to be that the shadow on the sundial would reverse 10 degrees. This is a remarkable request! In order for this to happen the rotation of the earth around the sun would have to be reversed for approximately 20 minutes! This is in fact what happened as we read in v11 “So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward…”
God so often goes to great lengths to prove His love and faithfulness to us right throughout Scripture and still to this day. We have so many testimonies of His healing power and presence in people’s lives over the last 18+ years at CHR. We were encouraged and 're-inspired' recently as we reviewed some of the remarkable healings that took place under the ministry of John G. Lake back in the early part of last century. In a 5 year period over 100,000 medically documented healings were recorded despite having a tragic loss of life in his own birth family prior to this healing revival breaking forth. He was one of 16 children and by the time he was married his parents had buried 8 of his siblings. Notwithstanding, the healing power of Jesus broke into their family with the miraculous healing of a brother and sister both of whom were at death's door. What flowed from that time was a remarkable healing revival from which the Healing Rooms were birthed - now in 65 nations around the world. God is the same yesterday today and forever (Heb 13:8) and His mercies are new every morning (Lam 3:22-23). He demonstrated His love and grace towards king Hezekiah by ‘reversing the universe’ and went to the ultimate length of sending His Son to pay for our salvation, healing and deliverance! What an amazing loving Father!
INTENTIONALLY SPIRIT LED
Another year has begun at Healing Rooms and we have great anticipation to see what the Lord will do this year. The Lord has prompted us to be more intentional and more Spirit led. Whilst it is fair to say we have always endeavoured to be both intentional and Spirit led in all we do at CHR, we really sensed the Lord calling us to 'take it up a notch or two' in both these areas.
We re-opened for 2021 on 1st February and right on the stroke of 6pm, when our time of worship began, the heavens rang out with thunder, lightning and torrential rain. Without wanting to appear too spiritual, we took this as a sign of ‘open heavens’ over the ministry this year and went home very encouraged with the commencement of 2021!
As I began to ponder the many examples of those who were truly Spirit led in scripture, I was inspired, encouraged and amazed at the consistency of flow-on effects in so many of these stories of obedience and faith. Space doesn't allow me to exhaustively cover the myriad of examples so let's just consider a few.
We read in Genesis 6 God spoke to Noah and gave him instructions on how to build the ark. V22 of the same chapter says " So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him" (NLT). In other words, Noah was led by God and his obedience brought safety and security for his family.
Abram set out from his hometown and in obedience to the Lord's instructions (Spirit led,) set out for the place God would show him. He was intentional. He didn't know his destination at the point of departure but in obedience put one foot after another and the Lord prospered him and his family. (See Gen 12:1-3 & Gen 13:1-6).
The Israelites, despite their grumbling and sinful ways for 40 years were (Spirit) led. When the pillar of fire and cloud moved, they moved. God supplied all
their needs.
David inquired of the Lord “shall we go up against the enemy?” (or not) – totally Spirit led – ‘yes go up’ on one occasion and ‘no don’t go up’ an another. Many would be familiar with these accounts. Victory, increase and advance is assured when we are led by the Spirit. It’s not about our age, experience or ‘runs on the board’. David was a man who had defeated lion and bear with his hands and yet still found it necessary to ask the Lord how to approach each battle. We can take a lesson from him.
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to prepare Him for what was to come – if it was good enough for Him how much more do we need to be Spirit led?
We know from John 5:19 Jesus could do nothing of Himself but only what He saw the Father doing. He therefore demonstrated to us what was possible when a man/woman is truly led and empowered by the Spirit.
We need a move of the Spirit and for those who would respond in obedience to go where He says to go and do what He says to do.
Rom 8:14 says “for as many as are LED BY THE SPIRIT, THESE are the sons of God.” I don’t know about you but I want to be known as a son of God! (son here is used generically and of course includes daughters)
If you read the book of Acts, time and time again, we see the apostles being led by the Spirit. Peter was called to go to Cornelius’ house. Paul and Barnabas were set aside for a specific task or mission destination. Acts 13:2 says "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said – set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. They laid hands on them and sent them off."
What were the results of this Spirit led obedience? We read in v49 of the same chapter, the "Word of the Lord spread through the whole region", and they spoke so effectively a “great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.” (Ch 14:1)
Another blessing of this Spirit led obedience – they spoke “boldly for the Lord who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.” (See Acts 14:3)
Many times, we read in the book of Acts, the apostles preached the good news in this city or that city and the kingdom of God continued to grow.
We know from Acts 16 the Holy Spirit prevented Paul and his companions from preaching in Asia. Paul then had a vision of the Macedonian man calling him to come there and preach. He travelled there in Spirt led obedience, preached and there was increase once again in the Kingdom. Even though he and Silas had to spend some time in prison – the jailer and his family came to the Lord. This is further evidence of the fruit when we are 'intentionally Spirit led.
Already this year we have experienced powerful ministry sessions as we are endeavouring to be more intentional and more Spirit led. We have also received some very encouraging feedback which of course is always welcome!
A wise man once said "nothing changes until it changes.” Let me pose these questions to you. What can you be more intentional about this year? How can you be more Spirit led? Holy Spirit is SO interested in all the details of our lives and truly desires to lead us into a deeper relationship for the glory of Jesus.
The Lord is calling each of us to be led by His Spirit into all He has prepared in advance for us to do and experience in His mighty Kingdom. Would you join us in being more intentionally Spirit led in 2021?
A MEASURE OF FAITH
A MEASURE OF FAITH
I have been pondering on the prayers I hear quite regularly of people nearly begging God to ‘give them more faith’ or ‘God increase my faith’. I confess I feel uneasy in my spirit when I hear this type of prayer and I am unable to be in agreement with the person praying. As the Word of God is our benchmark, our yardstick, I have been searching the scriptures to see if this particular prayer actually lines up with God’s Word. Here is what I found…….
We read in Romans 12:3 “…..as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” A measure speaks of a specific, a confined amount.
The apostles even asked Jesus in Luke 17:5 ”…..Lord, Increase our faith”. Jesus’ response in verse 6 was “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.”
Jesus put the onus back on them – if you have faith, you can say…. He didn’t say to them ok here is an extra dose of faith – NO – He was saying to them to use their faith – to build up their own faith. To put their faith into practice.
We read in the great ‘Faith’ Chapter in Hebrews 11…. (I encourage you to spend some time in this chapter yourself.)
By faith Noah…..
By faith Abraham.…
By faith Moses……..
By faith Joshua…….
After all the ‘by faith’ statements, an ‘action’ ALWAYS followed!
Noah built an ark;
Abraham left his country and offered up Isaac
Moses forsook Egypt, kept the Passover and passed through the Red sea safely on dry ground
Joshua obeyed the Lord and the Jericho walls came tumbling down
FAITH and ACTION go hand in hand. God has given us a specific measure of faith – what are we going to do with it? Are we going to use it or have it fade away and become weak and useless and eventually die? OR are we going to build our faith muscles and see it grow and bear much fruit?
Imagine speaking to a body builder and saying “I want the strength and the muscles you have spent many years of blood sweat and tears working at developing – please give me your muscles and your strength.” And then walk away expecting to have huge muscles, without putting in any physical effort – it’s nonsense. It’s not going to happen. The only way we can build our physical muscles is to be intentional in lifting weights, training daily etc. An action is actually required!
And it’s the same with our ‘measure of faith’. We actually have to do something to see it grow and bear fruit. Each time we minister at the Healing Rooms we are developing our faith muscle; we are increasing and building on the measure of faith God has given us. When we lay hands on the sick and believe for healing to flow – we are increasing our faith. When we hear a Word, or receive a picture or a Scripture verse from the Father for the client and we pass it on – we are increasing our faith. When we are obedient to His voice and follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to pray for someone in the street, or shopping centre, or a neighbour – we are increasing our measure faith. When we receive a Word of knowledge and pass it on to someone – we are building our faith muscle. Whenever we operate in the gifts of the Spirit, we are increasing our measure of faith.
In contrast, we read in John 3:34 “God does not give the Spirit by measure”. There is no limit from His side in releasing the power and presence of the Spirit. Jesus received the fullness of the Holy Spirit when he was baptised and walked in the power of the Spirit whilst He was here on earth. We have access to the fullness of the Spirit just as Jesus did because we have the same Spirit living in us that raised Jesus from the dead. (Rom 8:11).
In summary of my findings, if we have the fullness of the Spirit (not given by measure), and we have a measure of faith given to each one of us, then we can intentionally build our faith muscles in the power of the Spirit – ‘By FAITH…… followed by an ACTION. The onus is on you and me – so my challenge to us all is – what are we doing with the measure of faith we have been given!
God Bless
Roslynne
HOW GOOD IS YOUR NEWS?
Have you ever received some really great news? Perhaps an engagement, pregnancy, exam results, job offer…. you can fill in the blank.
What did you do with this news? How many people did you tell?
There’s a story in the Bible about a huge famine in Samaria. People were so hungry they were eating their children! In today’s terms dove’s dung was around $320/kg and a donkey’s head around $1000. Not sure if you’ve ever looked but there’s not a lot of meat in a donkey’s head!
Four lepers were outside the city and their conversation went something like this… “If we go into the city we’ll starve, if we stay here we’ll starve so let’s go over to the enemy’s camp and surrender at least we might get a meal. If they spare us we live, if they kill us then we are dead anyway!” (See 2 Kings 7).
They went over to the enemy camp and the place was deserted! God had made a sound of a large army which caused the Aramean army (the enemy) to run for their lives leaving all their belongings behind!
The four lepers reached the edge of the camp, went in and ate, drank and carried away silver, gold and clothes. They began to gather all the plunder left behind. They said to each other “what we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves! Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.” They went to the gatekeepers, shared the good news with them and the gatekeepers shouted the news across the palace. Good news travels fast!
The king thought it was a trap but when he sent 2 chariots to check it out, they found the camp empty and the Arameans had fled with such haste they found the roads strewn with clothing and equipment. They returned to the king with the GOOD NEWS! It wasn’t a trap and God’s people went in to the enemy camp and plundered it so much so, the famine was over in 24 hours!
It isn’t right to keep good news to ourselves!
When David brought the ark back to Jerusalem, set it in place and offered the sacrifices and burnt offerings he proclaimed a Psalm of thanks. “Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations and His marvellous deeds among ALL peoples.” (1 Chron 16:23-24)
We celebrate the birth of our Saviour in just a few weeks! The news the angel brought to the shepherds was good news of great joy for ALL people.
We read many times in the gospels where Jesus healed someone & said to them ‘don’t tell anyone, just go and show yourself to the priest.’ However, on many occasions the person who had been healed, or delivered of their demons not surprisingly went and told everyone they could and His fame spread throughout the entire region.
Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching…preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing EVERY disease and sickness among the people – news about Him spread all over Syria, the people brought all their sick friends to Him and He healed them all! (Matt 4:23)
Let me pose this question. Has the good news of Jesus and what He’s done, and doing in your life still good news, and worth telling others about or has it become ‘humdrum’ in your busy life?
I would put to us all, (me included) we need to remember the GOOD NEWS not just of salvation, but what living a life with Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, the One who holds the universe in His hands, is really all about. Friends, it’s worth getting excited and enthusiastic about!
If the good news has become old news because the (initial) impact Jesus had on your life happened many years ago, perhaps it’s time to recall the wonder, awe and power of when you first met the Saviour or when you were first empowered by His Spirit.
This good news is simply too good to keep to ourselves! It’s better than passing final exams, learning of another grandchild on the way or anything else this world has to offer!
I encourage you this Christmas to re-visit the good news of Jesus once again and be filled afresh with His mighty Spirit. Step out again to tell others the good news just as David encouraged us to do.
May you have a wonderfully peaceful and blessed Christmas as you focus on the One who died so that you and I might have life and have it abundantly!
WALKING BY FAITH
I have been reflecting lately on this walk of faith we are called to live as God’s children. The Bible says we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Perhaps you’re thinking that’s easy for Paul to say. He was the great apostle who authored the bulk of the New Testament. However we learn from Scripture the prophet Habakkuk first mentioned this principle of living by faith in this way… “But the just shall live by his faith” (Hab 2:4) so this is not just a New Testament concept.
The original language here for ‘live’ means: - to have life, remain alive, sustain life or to be restored to life or health. It is interesting to note here too the personal nature of faith – the just shall live by his faith. That is to say we have to exercise OUR faith, not that of our parents, the pastor or anyone else. This is a personal walk with Jesus to which we are called.
The challenge for we humans is to look past the natural - our circumstances, problems, relationship challenges, health concerns, lack or whatever it is that is seeking to rob us of faith. Of course I’m not suggesting we should live in denial. The only denial I believe we should exercise is denying the issue, problem, challenge, etc to exalt itself above the Name of Jesus and His AMAZING ability to work ALL things together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).
I’m the first to agree it is challenging to look past that which is staring us in the face day after day but therein lies the very heart of walking by faith and not by sight. It is counter cultural, counter intuitive but such is the very nature of faith. The Bible declares it is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for and the EVIDENCE of things NOT seen (Heb 11:1). Further without this at times mysterious ‘commodity’ it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6).
With the challenges facing us in the ministry here at CHR, even as I pen this article, I’m encouraged yet again to look to the author and perfecter of my faith – the One who holds the UNIVERSE in His hands and the One who notices even a tiny sparrow falling to the ground. How much more does He care about the obstacles, conundrums and challenges I face. I believe it is a daily choice to continue to look to Jesus and get my eyes off my ‘stuff’ because He tells me not to worry about today because we are far more valuable than anything in the natural realm. Jesus’ exhortation or more correctly instruction to us is to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and the things which we are so often concerned about will fall into place (Matt 6:33).
When I focus on the problems and take my eyes off Jesus, the issues before me take on ‘unholy’ or perhaps even ‘Goliath like’ proportions. In so doing I can all too easily forget if God IS my refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble, therefore I will not fear as the Psalmist said (Psa 46:1-2). It is when I remain focussed on Him and trust Him to lead me through the trial, test or valley and give me the wisdom to know what to do and how to do it, then I WILL overcome. Trust me, I’ve tried it both ways so have some experience in this regard!
The ‘default setting’ for us is to look at the natural circumstances, challenges, obstacles and fret, worry and get anxious about the magnitude of the issue or the immovable nature of this problem. Indeed so often there doesn’t seem to be a way through. However, my Bible says if God is for me then who can be against me (Rom 8:31). He’s the One who parted the Red Sea; He’s the One who calmed the storm; He’s the One who fed 5000 men with 5 loaves 2 fish and there were 12 baskets of leftovers! He’s the One who defeated the enemy armies coming against Israel with the worship team (see 2 Chron 20). He’s the One for whom nothing is impossible! He’s the One who can soften hearts and move mountains – why would we put our trust in anyone or anything else! I love what King Jehoshaphat said when facing certain defeat – “we don’t know what to do but our eyes are upon You!” (2 Chron 20:12)
When you don’t know what to do – keep your eyes on Him because He surely knows the end from the beginning!
So let me encourage you today to lift your gaze heavenward, choose to focus on Him and remind yourself of the promises He’s given you. Choose each day to look only unto Jesus the author and perfecter of your faith. He will complete the good work He began in you until He calls you home or you meet Him in the air when He returns!
SIN & SICKNESS
Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, on completion of the building of the temple, offered a prayer of dedication to the Lord (1 Kings 8:22-61). In this prayer he makes several petitions (requests) and declarations to the Lord on behalf of the people.
He begins with a declaration of the goodness, might and faithfulness of God towards His people – always a good place to commence in prayer! He then proceeds to pray into the many areas of life that befall us as humans. When we wrong one another, when we are defeated because of sin our life, when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain and so on. He entreats (asks earnestly) the Lord to bring justice, restoration, forgiveness, send the rain etc in order for healing to come. He concludes in v56 with a declaration of praise and recognition for all the promises given by Moses none of which had failed to come to pass.
There are some wonderful keys for us in this passage. When we approach God for healing, be it physical, emotional or spiritual an excellent place to begin is with a declaration of His goodness, might and power – not because He needs reminding, but in order to remind US of His exceeding great power that is at work towards those who believe (Eph 1:19).
Confession of any known (or unknown) sin is next ‘on the agenda.’ David made it clear in Psalm 32 when he kept silent, in other words when he tried to hide or deny his sin (in this case with Bathsheba), his bones wasted away. He was literally sick to the bones and indeed suffering physically because of hidden sin in his life or perhaps more correctly the issue of him trying to hide or deny his sin. His vitality was likened to a drought in summer (v4). He then has a pause moment – Selah. Once he had acknowledged and confessed his sin, he was forgiven and his health restored.
Please be assured here I am not in any way saying if you have sickness in your body there must be sin in your life. All I am trying to make clear from the Scriptures is there is a place for examining our hearts and minds and allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal to us any areas needing His illuminating touch. It takes courage to allow God’s Word to shine into those recesses in our heart where we may have been harbouring unforgiveness, bitterness, jealously etc or even trying to conceal an area of sin. God sees all sin as sin. Covering it up and trying to hide it only makes matters worse. Repentance simply means agreeing with God. The Bible says ALL have sinned and fallen short of His glory (Rom 3:23) but John reminds us that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Let me encourage you today to ask the Lord to shine His light into any areas of your life that need illumination in order for healing to come – trust me it’s a wonderful thing to do and His restoration and healing is always given in measure abundantly more than you could imagine!
SACRIFICE & HEALING
We read in the latter part of the final chapter of second Samuel the prophet Gad had instructed David to go and offer a sacrifice to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah. 70,000 Israelites had died in the plague. In obedience David went to Araunah and offered to purchase his threshing floor.
Araunah said to David ‘there is no cost take whatever you want’ indeed he went further and said ‘here are the oxen and the wood required for the sacrifice.’ David made it clear to him that he would not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost him nothing. So David bought the entire threshing floor and the oxen and paid Araunah the going rate for this. David then built an altar there and sacrificed the oxen he had purchased on this altar. The Bible says “the Lord answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped (1 Sam 24:25 NIV).
Despite being offered a gift by the landowner, David wasn’t prepared to make a sacrifice to the Lord without it costing him something. Too often, I believe we want a quick fix or a quick answer for which there is no cost on our part.
How often do we ask God to fix something in our life, no matter how big or small and expect Him to perform a miracle for us without the least bit of effort on our part? Have you ever asked the Lord to take away your anger, pride, selfishness, jealousy, bitterness or greed but not been prepared to make the necessary adjustments to attitude or behaviour patterns in order to cooperate with Him? He’s always willing to do His part if we are willing to do ours.
In this story in the book of Samuel, we see the plague was stopped, in other words healing came to the entire nation of Israel once David had made a costly sacrifice to the Lord. Now clearly in our time we don’t have to offer up sacrifices of oxen, sheep or goats. However, I do believe there must be cost to our sacrifice in order for the healing to come to the issues previously mentioned. The Bible say to gain our life we must lose it (Matthew 16:24-25). The way up in the kingdom of God is down. In other words we must humble ourselves before the Lord will raise us up (1 Peter 5:6).
One writer has said unless we experience some sacrifice, we haven’t truly given. So when we make an offering to God or ask Him to ‘fix’ those parts of our life that perhaps are unholy, hurtful to others and ‘anti-Christ’ i.e. against His best for us there simply must be a cost to us. We must be prepared to offer up (surrender) these things to Him and then watch and see what He will do with our sacrifice.
A STRONGHOLD IN THE STORM
The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. (Nahum 1:7)
The city of Nineveh had repented following Jonah’s reluctant visit to this gentile city. However about 100 years later the people had reverted to their old ways of idolatry and pride. We are reminded in the verse of today God is good and a stronghold in the day of trouble. Despite the wickedness of those around and about us, those who know God and put their trust in Him are promised shelter and strength in His Presence.
His promise of protection and deliverance is seen throughout scripture from cover to cover. ‘Those who put their trust in Him will never be put to shame’ (Rom 10:11).
We are assured in this verse in Nahum that God knows those who trust in Him. He knows us intimately and understands we are frail human beings. The strength and victory for us comes from knowing Him intimately and trusting Him for protection, provision and victory in the midst of battle. We learn from Scripture His ways of winning battles always confounded the enemy. From the sounds of armies marching in the trees (2 Sam 5:24); to the sounds of chariots, horses and a great army (2 Kings 7:6); or using a young boy with a small stone and a sling to bring down the uncircumcised Philistine, Goliath! He has and always will be creative in the manner in which He chooses to win battles on our behalf. All He requires of us is childlike trust in His ability to make a way where there seems to be none.
Psalm 23 verse 5 reminds us He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. I love the picture this paints. Our enemies have to sit and watch while we enjoy the richest of fare. God has a wonderful way of bringing vengeance to our enemies and victory to us no matter how dire the circumstances may appear.
There are so many 'storms' around us in these uncertain times. Let me encourage you today – God is an unshakeable stronghold in the day of trouble. May the magnitude of His strength and power strengthen your soul!
A CALL TO PERSEVERE
As I reflect on the past 18 years of ministry at CHR, I'm reminded again of the need for perseverance. It's relatively easy to look back and recall the highlights. However, just like most things in life, the many highlights have been punctuated with challenges, twists and turns, discouragement and the odd trial or two.
It has been said many times, ‘this life of faith is a marathon not a sprint.’ This is of course a problem for us in the fast paced 21st century where we have fast food, fast cars, fast internet and expect fast solutions to our problems. It is also a huge challenge for those of us for whom the words ‘cross country,’ 800m or 1500m at the athletics carnival, had us thinking of any and every way to fake an injury. Perhaps to even inform the PE teacher our dog had just swallowed our 10,000 word essay on the benefit of physical fitness! I have some very painful memories of the cross country in high school – perhaps I need inner healing.
Coming back to our topic, James put it this way in v4 of chapter 1 – “perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (NIV). There is a clear progression here. We can’t expect maturity, completeness and fulfilment if we lack perseverance or patience as other translations render it. The word mature has within its meaning a fully grown adult; something that is perfect or something requiring nothing further to make it complete.
This verse of course follows James’ exhortation to count it joy when we face trials, because in the correct environment and heart attitude, the testing of our faith develops perseverance. Perseverance is therefore a fruit which grows from us exercising our faith. Clearly, perseverance is a character trait worthy of pursuit!
By correct environment, I mean an environment of faith and expectancy. One which says ‘come what may, I know God works all things together for my good and I trust Him to turn this test into a testimony, this ‘detour’ into a demonstration of His power and faithfulness for the glory of His Name’. If we give up, throw in the towel and allow bitterness, disappointment or resentment to enter our heart, we will never be mature and complete lacking nothing. Trials lead to the testing of our faith, testing of our faith leads to perseverance and perseverance leads to maturity.
If we ‘short circuit’ the process, or even try and hurry it along with our ‘clever’ solutions, we run the real risk of remaining ‘immature’ (incomplete, still needing work) in respect of this particular trial or challenge. As I look back over the course of my life, I see quite clearly those times where my clever ideas or solutions to various trials may have appeared to ‘fix’ the issue at hand. However it comes as no surprise that unless we learn the lessons in the trials we can rest assured they will come around again until we do. It’s like an exam you get to sit over and over until to pass it. This too has been my experience.
There will always be another trial or test along the way but wouldn’t it be wise to learn lessons on the way so we can move onwards and upwards?
The Bible promises us we will reap the reward if we don’t give up. Gal 6:9
I was reminded recently that Evan Roberts as a young, uneducated man of 14, prayed for 11 years for revival to come to Wales before the Holy Spirit fell in a small mining town. Over 100,000 people came to faith in the following year as a result of his perseverance!
We have had to persevere at CHR over the last 18 years. Yes of course we have seen much fruit and yet there is more fruit to be harvested in the years ahead. In the scheme of eternity we have only been at this a very short time. Perhaps it’s even fair to say some fruit may not be fully known or understood this side of glory but let me encourage you to persevere in whatever is before you at present. The Father is incredibly faithful and only has the best for His children. If He is saying ‘no’ to you on a particular issue, it only means He has a better ‘yes’ in store. Wouldn’t it be a shame to give up, pull back or allow disappointment, resentment or regret rob you from His best for you.
Let’s be people who persevere so we may be mature and complete – lacking nothing!
BACK TO BASICS
When studying mathematics for the first 3 years of my Engineering degree, we were often taught to go back to ‘first principles’. I won’t bore you with a lengthy definition but suffice it to say for our purpose here, it meant go back to the basics and foundational rules in order to understand more ‘weighty’ concepts.
Gordon McDonald in his book “Ordering Your Private World,” cites an American air force pilot, Howard Rutledge, who was shot down during the early stages of the Vietnam war and as a result found himself in solitary confinement in a POW camp. Prior to the war, his wife had constantly encouraged him to join the local church but he was always too busy to spend “one or two short hours a week thinking about the really important things.” Rutledge in his book ‘In the Presence of Mine Enemies’ makes this profound statement: - “I had completely neglected the spiritual dimension of my life. It took prison to show me how empty life is without God” (Ordering your Private World p 126 ©1990 Highland Books).
We can’t overstate just how important it is to look after the spiritual dimension of our lives and as such, I want to look at some of the basics of the Christian life as found in the New Testament.
The apostle Paul gave some instructions to his young protégé Timothy, which if embraced, would not only stand him in good stead with those over whom he had pastoral responsibility, but more importantly would ensure his life and ministry was fruitful – making a difference in people’s lives.
1 Tim 4:12. “…but set an example for those believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Then continuing in v15 “be diligent in these matters so that everyone may see your progress… Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
As we look at the concept of getting back to basics, let’s examine these ‘basic first principles’ in a little more detail.
1. Speech
Proverbs instructs us “life and death is in the power of the tongue” (Prov 18:21). James chapter 3 clearly shows the power of our tongue as it is compared to the rudder of a large ship or the spark which ignites an entire forest fire. (Jam 3:3-12).
Paul also instructs the church in Ephesus to not let any unwholesome words come out of our mouth but only that which edifies the hearer. (Eph 4:29)
So clearly our words frame our world. Are you speaking words of life or death over your circumstances, health, family and finances? Words are incredibly powerful. We must constantly guard our mouths and keep them free from criticism, judgement and negativity.
Are your words being framed by the constant barrage of negativity & doom propagated by the news services and social media or are you choosing to frame your world with God’s Word and His Truth?
2. Life
Consider this question for a moment or two. What kind of representation of the kingdom of God does our life ‘paint’ or portray to others? Does our life ‘re-present’ Jesus authentically and attract others to a relationship with Jesus or have them running a mile from Him? A simple yet profound matter to consider when we remember Paul’s exhortation to Timothy was that if he did these things well and persevered in them, he would save himself and others. (1 Tim 4:16)
3. Love
This is such a huge topic to consider. However, it is interesting to note the word used here for love in the original language is ‘agape’ which encompasses affection, good will, benevolence and so much more. I heard a definition of agape love a few years ago which went something like this: - ‘desiring God’s bestfor the other person whether we felt they deserved it or not and regardless of the cost to us.’ I believe if we truly desired God’s best for the other person we couldn’t go too far wrong. His love for us is unconditional, however our love for another person often has many strings attached relating to their performance, behaviour and so on. The Bible says “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” I’m sure you’ll agree these are sobering words – not mine but those of the Apostle Paul. The same word for love mentioned above is used here again. Unconditional love is always a challenge for us humans as we are so often offended by the actions of others and in many cases ‘justifiably’. However, the encouragement from the scriptures here is to persevere in love.
4. Faith
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). Given we are looking at getting back to basics, it is interesting to me faith is the one ‘basic’ we must have in order to please God. All of the other spiritual disciplines which are so vital to a healthy relationship with God, including but not limited to prayer, reading the Word, fasting, tithing and so on are not mentioned here. It is faith that is pleasing to God. Jesus said “when I return will I find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8). He often commended people for their faith including the centurion with the servant who was sick (Matt 8:10); the Syrophoenician woman with the demonised daughter (Matt 15:28); and Bartimaeus (Mk 10:52) to name just a few. I’m so glad He said we only need faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain and not the other way around!
5. Purity
This isn’t a word used often these days. However, Jesus promised those who are pure in heart (unmixed, free from corrupt desires, sin and guilt) will see God. (Matt 5:8). One of the great keys to overcoming anxiety is to have our minds focussed on those things which bring peace and stability. Paul instructs us in this regard to think on those things which are pure, lovely, praiseworthy and the God of peace will be with us. (Phil 4:8-9). There are great benefits flowing to us when we live a life of purity. We are transformed, literally taken from one state to another, (similar to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly). The term is metamorphosis) as we renew our minds (Rom 12:2). In other words, we must choose to replace those thoughts which bring fear, worry and anxiety to our minds with those which will bring the peace of heaven. The Bible says “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isa 26:3). As I love to say ‘if we want heaven’s results, we have to do it heaven’s way.’
Purity is so counter-cultural in our modern society where we are encouraged to do anything and everything as long as it feels good and ‘doesn’t hurt’ anyone else. This isn’t purity but a slippery slope to immorality, depravity and also selfish to the nth degree.
My back-to-basics encouragement is therefore simply this. Let us choose to set an example to others in our speech, life, love, faith and purity and in so doing we will save ourselves and others!
DETOUR EN ROUTE TO DESTINY
Have you ever been on a journey to a specific destination and found yourself making an unexpected detour? As a child I remember clearly many unexpected detours when in the family car. My father was at times ‘geographically challenged’. I recall one journey in particular where we had driven south to Wollongong from our home in Sydney (about 140 kms) to visit relatives. On the return trip home, late at night (prior to the freeways being built) the route took you through the streets of a particular town south of Sydney. I remember noting a Toyota dealership being on the left-hand side travelling north. About 40 minutes later the identical dealership was passed yet again but this time it was on the right-hand side of our car. You guessed it! Mysteriously we were now travelling south once again, indeed back towards Wollongong and not heading for home. Our navigational dilemma was realised not long after and some strong discussions ensued in the front of the car – we’ll leave that as a story for another day. We had just had a detour en route to destiny.
The Bible also speaks of several detours en route to destiny. Joseph had two dreams which spoke to him of his destiny and of being in a position of authority and leadership over his family (and many others). Gen 37:1-10. It is fair to say, as a young man of 17 he hadn’t as yet learned much about diplomacy and shared his dreams with his brothers and his father. This of course made his brothers even more jealous of him given Joseph was their father’s favourite son as he had been born in Jacob’s old age.
A major ‘detour en route to destiny’ followed. Many will know the story of how his brothers sold him into slavery with the Midianites who in turn sold him in Egypt to Potiphar one of Pharaoh’s officials. It certainly looked in the natural like his dreams would not come to pass. He was now a foreign slave in Potiphar’s house.
The Bible says the Lord was with Joseph and he began to prosper in all he did. (Gen 39:2) Perhaps his detour was going to get back on track, perhaps he was being promoted in accordance with his dreams. Then along comes Potiphar’s wife. She tries to seduce Joseph and he is thrown into prison. Another detour en route to destiny. However, God always has the last word and He can (and does) work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28)
When the enemy tries to bring harm into our lives, God always has a way of thwarting his plans and wicked schemes. We see this clearly from Joseph’s life. Notwithstanding the enemy’s attempt to completely derail Joseph’s destiny, Joseph continued to trust God, hold onto his dreams and believe for them to come to pass. He maintained his integrity and trust in God all through this detour en route to destiny.
He interprets some of his fellow inmates’ dreams and of course later interprets some dreams which Pharaoh had which resulted in him being promoted to 2nd in command in all of Egypt. He now had the responsibility of overseeing the distribution of food for the entire nation during a seven-year drought. This detour en route to destiny was part of God’s bigger plan for Joseph’s life and speaks to us of His power and ability to turn dire circumstances around for His glory!
Jonah had a detour en route to destiny of his own making as he deliberately headed in the opposite direction to Nineveh where the Lord had told him to go and preach repentance in order to save that city. Not even a huge fish could prevent God’s plan from being outworked in his life and as he repented of his disobedience, he was back on track as it were after being vomited onto the beach and God’s plan to rescue this city of wickedness came to pass. Disobedience resulted in a detour. Obedience brought him back on track.
David was anointed as king as a young man. The Bible says from the day of his anointing the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. (1 Sam 16:13) David then had a prolonged detour en route to destiny in the service of King Saul. The jealous Saul tried to take David’s life on more than one occasion and it appeared he may never take the throne of Israel. He also found himself in a cave with 400 or so misfits – those in distress, debt or discontented. Yet another detour en route to destiny.
The king of Gath gave him the city of Ziklag and the Amalekites attacked and took all the wives and children of the Israelites. So once again David finds himself with a mob of 600 angry men wanting to stone him. He strengthened himself in the Lord and pursued, overtook and recovered all that had been taken from his city including his two wives and children. We could look further at David’s life including another detour into adultery and murder but not even these two wicked acts thwarted God’s plan for his life. He repented of his sin and such was the restoration in his life the Bible declares David to be a man after God’s own heart. (1 Sam 13:14)
The apostle Paul had several detours en route to destiny including beatings, imprisonment and shipwreck none of which prevented him from achieving God’s plan to preach the gospel to the rapidly growing church in the known world in his time.
We could look at others who had a detour en route to destiny such as Samson, Peter, Job or Ruth but suffice it to say God has a remarkable way of ensuring any detour en route to destiny in our life will not be sabotaged. His plan and purpose for our life will be established and accomplished if we remain humble and trust Him with childlike faith.
Perhaps you are on a detour en route to your destiny. You may have had a promise or prophetic word over your life that is yet to be fulfilled. Let me encourage you to hold on to the promise(s) God has spoken to you. Review them, pray into them regularly and continue to trust the Lord to bring them to pass in your life just as we have seen in the examples given above. He is faithful and true and He always has the last say despite the circumstances. His delays aren’t His denials and if He says no to a particular course or path it means He has a better yes or a better path for you. His hand is not so short He can’t get you back on track even if you feel you’re on a detour to destiny.
HOW'S YOUR MINDSET?
In chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he writes “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
His encouragement to us here is for us to have a correct mindset so perhaps a better title for this article is “Where is your mind set?”.
We hear so much these days about ‘worldview’ and in this ‘post Christian’ era where almost anything goes or is deemed acceptable ‘as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else’, the clear instruction for us to have a fruitful life (in the Biblical sense) is for us to have our minds set on the Kingdom of God (the things above as Paul puts it) and not so caught up in the things of this world. Our world is wracked with fear, immorality on a scale the likes of which hasn’t been seen in our lifetime and laws being passed aimed at destroying the very foundations of our society – the family.
However, in these perilous times, God’s Word remains true and faithful as it has always been. Paul, in this passage and the verses following gives us clear guidelines for holy living. He goes on to say “put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature” and then supplies a list of those things which are unhealthy for us and by implication our society: - “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry.” (NIV) He continues “but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” (v8).
Just pause for a moment and consider how different our society would be if we chose to rid ourselves of these ungodly attributes!
For many the Christian life is seen as a set of rules to live by in order to avoid the judgement of an angry God. Nothing could be further from the truth! ‘God SO LOVED that He GAVE His Son so that WHOEVER believes in Him, wouldn’t perish but have everlasting or eternal life.’ (John 3:16)
He’s a Father who longs for an ‘up close and personal relationship’ with each and every one of His children so much so He paid the ultimate price to ensure this was possible through the death of His Son. He then teaches us through His living Word how to live a fruitful and productive life. What more could we possibly want?
Paul not only teaches us so clearly the attributes we need to get rid of (for our own wellbeing) but also gives a further list of qualities to build into our lives. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (v 12-14 NIV)
Once again, think of how different our world would be if we build these attributes into our lives on a daily basis. Changing the world starts with you and me! Changing my life and the manner in which I interact with those around and about me has a greater affect than I could ever imagine. For the sake of completeness, and so there is no misunderstanding, I haven’t by any means arrived but even in preparing this I was challenged with this passage to re-examine my life and take stock of how much compassion, kindness, humility and so on is evident my life – there’s always room for improvement!
There are only 3 other instructions or encouragements in this section of Paul’s guidelines for holy living.
1. Let peace be the umpire of your heart (v15). Do your thoughts, words and actions have peace and convey peace to those with whom you have contact?
2. Let His Word dwell in you richly. (v16) His Word must be the foundation of our lives and the benchmark for our decisions. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path i.e. It shows us where we are and the way ahead. (Psa 119:105)
3. Do everything as unto the Lord. In other words when you do anything do it as if Jesus was in the room!
The Bible says…”do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph 4:27 NIV) We deny the enemy of our soul access when we have the right mindset or putting it another way when our mind is correctly set. James exhorts us “to submit to God, (literally to come under His authority and advice, to obey) resist the devil and he will flee” (James 4:7 NKJV). The more we are submitted to God and therefore the closer we are to Him, the further away the enemy MUST be as he can’t stand to be in the presence of God.
So let me ask you again. How’s your mindset OR where is your mind set?
JESUS OUR PRAYER COACH
Jesus modelled for us what is possible for a man who lives in right relationship with the Father. He was here as fully man – yes but also as God. However, He gave up His rights to heaven’s titles and benefits so He could identify with you and me.
His entire life demonstrated or ‘re-presented’ Almighty God to His children. We’re targets for His love and power.
He gathered 12 men around Him, one of whom was a thief (and yet He put him in charge of the ‘cash tin’ - see John 13:29). He taught them how to do life and ministry by demonstrating the Father’s love, grace and power wherever He went to the lost, broken, ill and injured, hungry, naked, dead and rejected ones.
Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father (John 14:8). His response teaches us a wonderful lesson “…anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). The Bible declares Jesus is the exact representation of God the Father (Heb 1:3).
The disciples asked Jesus how to pray. They’d already seen Him heal multitudes of people, teach thousands on a mountainside with great wisdom they’d never heard before, feed the multitude before sending them away and also witnessed His power at work to set demonised people free.
It’s only natural His disciples wondered where He found this power or how was He able to do these mighty acts. They asked Him “Lord teach us to pray.” In other words, ‘can you show us how to do the same things you are doing?’
His instruction on prayer is found in Matt 6:9-15 (and Luke 11:2-4). “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is heaven. The very first lesson on prayer given to his disciples, the first key to ‘operating in kingdom power’ was to honour God the Father and then ASK for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.
There’s no sickness in heaven, no shortage of provision, no pain or sorrow, no sadness or rejection in heaven. Therefore, Jesus taught His disciples (and by implication you and me) to ask for the heavenly kingdom to come to earth thus ‘Lord would You bring from your place to ours that which we need, not just food and money to pay our bills but let everything we need to do life today, come from heaven to earth so we can also accurately ‘re-present’ You on earth to those with whom we have contact.’
So how is Jesus our prayer coach? What does a coach do? – They demonstrate how to do something and by watching and then practising, we get to improve the skill in which we have been coached.
Let us examine 2 accounts from the gospels to illustrate this point.
In Matthew 8 we read Jesus had come down from teaching the crowds on the mountain and a leper came to Him and said, “If you are willing you can make me clean.” More literally what he was saying was if you are willing, you can heal me completely. Jesus’ response was more than the man could have hoped for. Jesus said “I am willing.” However, in the original language it actually means ‘it would give me pleasure or I would be delighted’ (to heal you). Moved with compassion for this desperate man, He then made a powerful declaration “Be clean”. It wasn’t a prayer but a command, a declaration of healing! How could He do that? Once again, because He walked in intimacy with His Father, so He could pronounce this man’s healing from the place of knowing what the Father wanted done for this man. It’s important to note here, this man was not just healed physically, but as a result of his healing he would have been able to re-join society and no doubt work and provide for his needs and those of others. He was no longer an outcast! He was totally restored.
The second account we examine here is that of a Gentile woman who came to Jesus and told Him her daughter had a demon. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter (see Mark 7:26ff). She had heard or perhaps seen what Jesus had been doing around town. Jesus basically ignored her and told her His role was to bring salvation and healing to the Jews first and foremost. Did He not care about her daughter? Of course He did! However, His primary objective was to minister to the Jews at this point in time. Salvation was to come to the Gentiles after His crucifixion through the ministry of Paul. The woman wasn’t prepared to wait any longer for her daughter’s freedom.
She persisted even when He told her bread wasn’t for dogs. He wasn’t calling her a dog but was making the point that healing and salvation for the Gentiles was to come at a later date. (It is in this encounter we learn healing is actually the children’s bread).
She just kept persisting – there’s a lesson here for us in prayer. Persistence achieves results! Jesus told her it was due to her persistence that her daughter was free of the demon. The woman went home and found her daughter totally healed!
Let us consider 2 lessons from this encounter.
1. Prayer is about persistence even when we don’t ‘see’ any change. I John 5:14-15 (NIV) teaches us: - “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us and if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him”. Prayer mixed with faith brings the promises of God into our lives.
2. Jesus didn’t have to go to her house to heal her daughter. The mother’s faith drew the miracle from Him. He didn’t even pray with her – He simply made the pronouncement she was free of the demon.
Jesus is our perfect role model. If we can’t find anything in the life of Jesus as demonstrated when He was here on earth then it is not in the heart of God.
He is the perfect role model. He taught His disciples how to pray, when to pray and the need for persistent prayer all flowing from an intimacy with the Father.
Can I encourage you to draw near to the ‘coach,’ learn from Him and then practice what He’s taught you for the glory of His great Name!
DON'T FORGET
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his Holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psa 103:1-5 NIV)
It’s a choice we can make to praise God in the midst of our circumstances. The promises in these verses apply to you and me today. Why not take a moment or two right now to ‘press the pause button on life’ and meditate on the richness of just these few verses? David spoke to his soul and ‘commanded’ it to bless the Lord.
We must remember we are spirit beings housed in a physical body with a soul. Once our spirit is born again of the Spirit of God, it is intended to be ‘in charge’ of our lives through a living, daily, ever growing intimacy with the Father through His Son Jesus. God never intended us to be driven by our souls (mind, will and emotions) – tossed to and fro by the winds of change and adversity blowing on and around us every day.
As we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can truly walk as the supernatural, extraordinary people we are destined to be. This is God’s plan for you and me - the supernatural becomes our natural. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit residing in each of us. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, was poured out at Pentecost and many times since in ‘similar but different’ ways. This is the same Spirit who has been given to you and me for this very time in human history. Jesus promised we would do the things He did and greater things than these! Bring it on Lord!
We are totally reliant on His Presence and power to do all He’s called us to do in the ministry at the Healing Rooms. Without His Presence we can do nothing. Keeping this perspective removes all the pressure. It’s all about Him not us. We are hungry for more of His Presence and to see more of His power poured into the lives of those who come. We never want anyone to just have a ‘nice’ experience at the Healing Rooms but to have an encounter with our magnificent God and His awesome Presence, bringing transformation, healing and restoration to every aspect of their life where needed.
We have recently been more intentionally ‘pressing into God’ for increase in every area. Increase in His tangible Presence and power in the ministry rooms, increase in the number of people coming, in finance, partners and testimonies, increase in influence in the city and the number of churches represented on our team. An increase in those receiving Christ as their personal Saviour! Increase in those being ‘re-fired’ with the fresh fire of the Holy Spirit & increase in those desiring to be trained to join our team at the Healing Rooms in order to cope with the increase in the numbers of people coming for prayer we know is on the way.
Our God is a God of abundance. (See Eph 3:20). There were always basketfuls left over when Jesus fed a crowd – He’s the God of MORE than enough not 'just' enough.
Let me encourage you to stay hungry for more of His Presence and believe for more in your life as you walk in His ways.
HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD
We read in Rev 3:20 it is our birthright to hear the Voice of God - “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
God has been speaking from the beginning of time. He spoke and said...“Let there be light”. He spoke through ordinary men and women - Moses, Daniel, Deborah, David - to name a few - and God is still speaking today and will continue to speak to, and through, ordinary men and women like you and me. We even read in Numbers 22:22-30 God speaking through a donkey to get Balaam’s attention and to direct him. So there’s hope for you and me if God used a donkey! 😊
God can use anyone, anything and anyway to get His message to us and through us such is His desire to converse with us and to have relationship with His kids.
John 10:27 says... “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me”.
If we know Jesus, the promise of God is we ‘HEAR’ His voice! In a world that is perishing, in the challenges facing us every day and in the busyness of life, we need to hear His voice - His direction, His guidance, His wisdom for every situation.
Prov 2:6 says...“The Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He stores up wisdom for the upright.”
James 1:5 tells us...“If any of you lack wisdom, let Him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach”.
The Lord God wants to talk with us - He has everything we need stored up in heaven and He wants to share it with you and me. We only need to ask Him and He will give to us liberally and direct our steps.
He desires to speak to us MORE than our desire is to hear from Him! Jer 33:3 says “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know”. The Greek word for ‘call’ is quara’ - to call out, cry out, to address someone - speak out. Here is an invitation for us to CALL on the Lord and His response is He will answer! He is waiting for us to quara’ Him!
Let me share with you a few keys to hearing God’s voice - not an exhaustive list but one to activate you in hearing His voice.
1. POSITION, POSITION, POSITION!! - In order to hear what God would say to us, we need to first POSITION ourselves to LISTEN. In other words, slow down and spend time in His presence. Posture yourself to receive from the Lord. Jesus removed Himself from crowds to spend time alone with His Father. We read in the Gospels He often withdrew to a mountain, the wilderness or a solitary place to pray and spend time with His Father. He needed to be free of distractions with people vying for His time. Whenever Jesus spent time alone with His Dad, a miracle soon followed. I kind of think He was listening to what the Father was saying and watching what the Father was doing (John 5:19). It would behove us all to model this discipline in our lives.
2. LOOKING TO GOD! - Be expectant to hear from Him. Look for any visions - pictures, dreams, that still small voice - God loves to speak to us in this way and there are many recordings of dreams and visions in the Bible. Be expectant for God to speak to you. I encourage you to do a search of all the dreams and visions given to people in the Bible as there is not time to go through them now. They will encourage you and increase your faith and understanding that our Father in heaven wants to converse with His children!
3. DON’T COMPLICATE IT! In the Healing Rooms we adopt the K.I.S.S. principle in all we do in healing, hearing and activating what God has told us - KEEP IT SIMPLE SAINT!! We can over think and complicate hearing God’s voice by ‘second guessing’ what we’ve heard. By not listening to the ‘first’ voice - by straining and striving to hear something else as you are tossing up whether that ‘first’ word was the Lord. Let me encourage all of us - if we’ve asked God to speak to us and we’ve positioned ourselves, looking expectantly to hear what He has to say to us, then we can trust Him to speak. His words are loving, kind, full of compassion and mercy, uplifting, healing, restorative, purposeful, directional and He only has the best for His kids.
4. WRITE IT DOWN! Journal what the Lord is saying to you. What He is saying to you now might be for a future time. So you don’t forget. Put pen to paper so you have a record of it.
My encouragement to all of us is to make time to hear His voice - make it a priority every day to come into His presence and wait on Him. You will not be disappointed and you will probably be surprised and delighted at the things He will tell and show you.
Blessings - Roslynne
THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE
In our ever-increasing pace of life, with instant gratification, high speed internet, microwave popcorn and offers of losing 15kg in the first 10 days of the latest diet trend, how many of you reading this article would consider yourself a patient person?
We seem to be bombarded more and more with the latest offers of financial security, improved fitness, the perfect body type or shape (whatever that looks like) and yet I’m reminded through life’s day to day circumstances nothing worthwhile comes quickly or easily.
I read recently nothing great is created suddenly. The highest form of God’s creation – humans, take around 40 weeks from conception to the point where the new life is ready to be born. Then follows decades of growth, learning, character development to produce a life that can truly make a difference and leave a lasting legacy.
A diamond is created with great heat and enormous pressure and a lot of time! Did you know it takes much more heat to produce gold than it does tin? Of course, there is a place for tin in our world but to which would you rather be compared, tin or gold?
It is in the heat of the furnace; gold is refined and the dross or impurities removed. It is in the heat of the blacksmith’s forge, the steel is toughened, hardened and tempered to make it for its final use.
I shared recently with our team some of the encouragements with which the apostle Paul commended the young church at Thessalonica. This church perhaps only 3-5 years old were already exhibiting ‘work produced by faith, labour prompted by love and endurance inspired by hope’. (1 Thess 1:3)
Endurance or patience is an attribute just so vital to the life of faith perhaps even more so now, in the times in which we live. James puts it this way – “count it all joy” (or pure joy as another translation puts it) “when you go through various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” James 1:2 (NKJV).
There is clear evidence of the fruit that is to be harvested from a time of testing or trial – patience or perseverance. This is the gold to be taken from the times of trial and testing. I love the next line from James in this famous passage – “Perseverance (patience) must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything” (James 1:4 NIV)
Not long before He was crucified, Jesus was reassuring His followers a Helper (Holy Spirit) was going to come and be with them. He told them of the things that were to happen in the days following and concluded this time of teaching by saying to them “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV). The Greek word here for peace contains far more than our English word. It has within its meaning security, safety, prosperity, quietness and rest.
The Prince of Peace makes this promise to us!
We can take great courage and strength from these words. Come what may, we have an Advocate, Saviour and friend, One who has conquered death and the grave. One who has experienced all we face in this world, but has also overcome and won a most magnificent victory for all those who would call on His Name!
Paul exhorts Timothy, his young protégé to pursue - (literally to run swiftly in order to catch, seek after earnestly in order to acquire) righteousness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
This isn’t a ‘passive activity’ – waiting for God to drop these traits into our lap. We are to pursue them. One of the ways I believe we can more successfully pursue patience and the other wonderful attributes of which Paul speaks, is to allow the Lord to work in our lives in the MIDST of the trials.
I’ve been on the planet long enough to have my share of trials, tests and hardships. However, I can look back with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and testify to the Lord’s hand at work in each and every situation – be it sickness, relationship challenges, financial loss, retrenchment, unemployment, grief and so many more. If I’m honest, I wasn’t experiencing great joy in the midst of these trials but praise God He sustained me and brought me through - and always to a better place!
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us we inherit the promises (of His Word) through faith and patience. (Heb 6:12). In the ‘instant’ society in which we live, we would prefer to inherit the promises without the patience ‘component’. However, as I have said many times before, if you want Kingdom results, you have to do life the Kingdom way. In my experience there are no short cuts to a life of character, integrity and holiness.
Nothing of any lasting value comes without a cost, hard work and patience. My wife and I have been working on our marriage for nearly 4 decades and there are still areas in which we can improve (speaking for myself of course). However I can testify to our marriage improving with each passing year. We both have had (and will to continue to have) many opportunities for patience to grow and ‘have it’s perfect work’, simply because our desire is ‘to be mature and complete lacking nothing’.
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, as we intentionally host more of the Spirit’s presence in our lives, I believe we will see more of the Spirit’s fruit displayed. It’s a given that as He takes more of His rightful place, we see more of His character manifested in our daily life.
Perhaps you are still on the wrong side of your breakthrough and in the natural it seems so far off. Perhaps there are still some promises or prophetic words yet to be fulfilled.
There are probably very few people to which this wouldn’t apply. The Bible says “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness but is long suffering towards us not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9)
He is the only One who is faithful and true to His Word. That which He said He will do He will indeed do in His perfect timing – great is His faithfulness!
May I encourage you to keep pushing through in the midst of whatever circumstance in which you find yourself and to trust the One who holds the universe in His Mighty Hands to work all things for your good – if you love God and are called according to His purpose, that is a rock-solid promise on which you can carve your name (Rom 8:28).
The river breaks through the rock not because of its power but because of its persistence.