A really good morning coffee

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DSC_0210-1edBit slow off the starting blocks this morning – Kitty jumped all over us at 4am as the local fox must have been nosing around the path behind our back garden. With a surname like ours, perhaps she thinks she’s also a guard dog-cum-cat?

After defrosting a freezer we went to our local shops 5 minutes walk away and were pleased to find the long-closed greengrocery had re-opened. Great to be able to get better fruit and veg in dedicated shop instead of over-priced, poorer quality food in supermarkets. (We’d take a weekly drive to nearby towns for visiting their greengrocer.)

Upon return and winding up the PC it was time to catch up on daily digital mail. Cartoons have always caught my eye. So first was Kenny T’s Morning Story and (vintage) Dilbert and today’s Three Brothers was so very appropriate as a modern version of the parable of the talents and initiative.

Couldn’t help but respond with a comment and, whilst I jotted it, Nina called, “Coffee’s ready”. We treated ourselves to very light and tasty Danish apricot pasties – also known as; ‘yum-4my-tum’!  I don’t always get a daily paper but, on impulse, used a voucher for the Telegraph. Naturally it’s front page cartoon first – and Matt brings hilarity, as ever!

With coffee and munch I flick-scan the newspaper’s contents and am AMAZED to find that last night they covered my main topic of yesterday’s blog, as you’ll see from copy below, or read digital version with comments here.: Continue reading →

Monday’s newsmix

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Many items in my electronic in-tray vied for my attention on booting up this morning after our 3-day weekend offline. Some get ditched quickly, others relating to this blog deserve study, the rest make good background info.

If they’d be of interest to you too, here’s a few.:

1. America’s withdrawal from the Middle-East under ‘The Obama Doctrine’ –  Lee Smith, the critically acclaimed author of The Strong Horse: Power, Politics and the Clash of Arab Civilizations briefed the Middle-East Forum on the dangers of ‘extrication’ from this region. He argues that the major problem with this policy is of the vacuum being filled by others who are not always friendly powers. Libya is cited as an example. Click here to read brief, one-page synopsis.

2. Obama’s new Secretary of State seems to think he can encourage Egyptian reform by rescuing Egypt from its impending financial calamity. (Shhh… let’s pretend that’s not happening back home, like the swathe of ‘sequester’ defense cuts!)  And whyever not, his boss gave the Muslim Brotherhood the all-clear when he popped into Cairo so soon after his inauguration. Yet President Morsi is far too preoccupied with spreading MB control the rot nationwide. (Debka’s exclusive report refers)

3. By the way, an unusually large locust swarm (of Biblical proportions) has hit Egypt.

4. According to John McTernan, terrorist group Hamas has warned President Obama against any plans to visit the Temple Mount during his trip to Israel later this month.

5. Joel Rosenberg reckons Iran already has nuclear weapons, according to one expert’s analysis.  This wouldn’t be surprising as Iran has cleverly duped the West all along.

Finally, do you recall Watergate? 

One of the ace journalists who investigated Richard Nixon was Bob Woodward. This weekend’s report from Bill Koenig not only quotes him, but also reports other reputable journalists as having encountered severe problems with the administration.:

Bob Woodward notes that POTUS is showing “a kind of madness I’ve not seen in a long time“.  Editor-in-chief of National Journal, Ron Fournier, had to rebuke a senior White House official.  This indicates deep, deceptive issues and manipulation of the media at the heart of American politics, as here.:

“The way the president’s availability to the press has shrunk in the last two  years is a disgrace,” said ABC News White House reporter Ann Compton, who has  covered every president back to Gerald R. Ford. “The president’s day-to-day  policy development — on immigration, on guns — is almost totally opaque to the  reporters trying to do a responsible job of covering it. There are no readouts  from big meetings he has with people from the outside, and many of them aren’t  even on his schedule. This is different from every president I covered. This  White House goes to extreme lengths to keep the press away.” [Source: Politico, Obama The Puppet Master – emphasis added.]

As an accredited Christian reporter at The White House, Bill Koenig’s conclusion is worthy of due regard.:

This is a problem that is coming to the surface, and hopefully the media that have fawned over Obama and helped him get elected twice will see that they have been duped. The fact is that those who are bold don’t get emails answered or are not called on for questions in White House press briefings or press conferences with the President. However, some of the liberal media has come to the White House defense very likely for favor that will come from that.

I don’t think this last item may be news to my States-side readers?

[Hand Pressing News Icon by Watcharakun, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

Nathan Morris returns to Hull – June

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Nathan 2A great, not-to-be-missed event!  Our appreciation goes to  Jarrod and team for convening and organising it. To get an idea what it will be like, click here to see Jarrod’s video-clip of last year’s conference, and to link into accounts of our blessed time there.

I’d draw leaders’ attention to the afternoon Leadership Stream sessions.

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A great, not-to-be-missed event!  Our appreciation goes to  Jarrod and team for convening and organising it. To get an idea what it will be like, click here to see Jarrod’s video-clip of last year’s conference, and to link into accounts of our blessed … Continue reading →

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Europe Ablaze…

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Europe Ablaze wpadf99011_05_06There is a Trumpet sound across the nations, a sound to gather every tribe and tongue.

 A trumpet sound of  Freedom, Jesus came to set the captives free,

and who the Son sets free is free indeed !

 Come be in one accord with the Love of The Father.

Further to the last post about Tim Grant’s In the Gateway To Europe, full details of this festival are now available at Europe Ablaze.  This special event is being organised by Oasis Christian Fellowship, Lagos in The Algarve with the help of Ablaze Ministries, Spearhead, Christian International Europe, 24-7 Prayer and other ministries.

Western Europe

In the gateway of Europe

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I’m grateful to Kim Grant for drawing my attention to The Spearhead Update. Inside, I found a report by her husband Tim on his autumn visit to Portugal. This reminded me of Julie Meyers’ prophetic song over Europe, The Bridegroom cometh.

Tim’s report opens as follows.:

Europe Gateway_Credit Tim GrantLate October found me at ‘The Gateway to Europe’ Lagos in the Algarve (Algarve meaning ‘gateway’) in Portugal meeting with ministries from around Europe and some from even further afield. We came together to pray and discuss “Europe Ablaze” Fusion Festival of Faith which is planned for June 2013.

In response to a prophetic word we had all been invited to come and pray for the nations of Europe and to seek God as to how together we might host an event that would help equip believers and encourage them to live their lives on fire for God and so ignite the people of Europe to once again live with a passion for Christ.

Europe Gateway-3_Credit Tim Grant

The festival is to be a mixture of worship, praise, teaching, the prophetic and evangelism with all the Ephesians 4 ministries working together to equip the saints to move in the dynamic of the Holy Spirit and any of the gifts they might need for the work God has for them. All this is to take place in the gateway to Europe as a prophetic act in itself. The amphitheatre which is within the old walled town of Lagos which seats two thousand people has already been booked and the local authority has given its use for free.

What a privilege it was to be invited to be a part of this. Individually none of us felt able to fulfil the vision, yet together with God we know nothing was impossible.

My visit coincided with the start of forty days of twenty-four hour prayer for the nation of Portugal and the other nations of Europe and there was a real sense of God’s presence as we interceded.

(continue reading about the presence of God and healing).

Europe Gateway-4_Credit Tim Grant

Let’s listen again to Julie’s remarkable song and turn our eyes upon the Bridegroom .:

Report of healing from H.O.T.S. in Bath

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HIPS AND BACK ARE HEALED

HOTS_Bath_Logo_2.jpgPaul Skelton had the privilege this week to catch up with Shirley Fraser who is one of our team members here in Bath.
Shirley shared how she has both received healing herself and is now seeing others healed out of that encounter with Jesus.

Paul: – Tell me, Shirley, how your hip used to be and what the doctors said before you were prayed for?

Shirley:- Eight years ago I was advised to get checked out medically, and as a result the doctors said that my bone density was really low, ever since then I have been taking medication which has been changed many times, but my hip was never any different and I have suffered a bad reaction to the tablets.
It got really bad In September 2012, to the point where I woke up one morning and I could hardly walk. The pain in my hip was so bad that I had to get an emergency appointment with the hospital in Bath and an X ray showed thinning of the bones and that a hip replacement might be necessary.

Paul:- What happened next?

Shirley:-  I went to a conference but my hip was in agony and so I received prayer from a HOTS Bath member. The next day however I was still in a lot of pain, so they prayed again and 5 minutes later, to the shock of my friends,  I was dancing completely pain free…..it was instant, it was a miracle. Since then I have had no pain or any problem walking or even dancing which I love to do.

Paul: – Wow, that’s awesome, what did the doctors say on your next visit?

Shirley: – I had another bone density scan in January this year. When I went to get the results, they looked at me rather shocked and said that it was “unbelievable”.  They shared the medical details about there having been a 9.5 % increase in the T score at the lumbar spine, and an increase of 6.1 in the femoral neck which relates to a total hip T score of 10.4% improvement over all since the previous scan. These results have since been confirmed to me in an official letter.
She said that it was absolutely amazing that there had been an increase like this for a woman of my age and that I did not need to take the medication any more.  The best they normally hope for is a slowdown in decrease,  not an increase. I don’t have to go back for 2 years now. I was overjoyed;  I also explained that I had received prayer

Paul: – So how has this healing affected your faith?

Shirley: – I now know for sure that prayer works! A few weeks later, I had some friends around to watch a film, but before we started a young girl with a really bad back pain was there. One of the others said,”Get Shirley to pray as she has been healed”.
So we prayed the way that we do on the streets and all of a sudden she said, “I need to test my back”.  What amazed me was the way she started bending over and said, “I have not been able to do this” as she bent over to try it out, we heard her spine clicking into place as she was being healed, then she stood back up again completely fine. It was amazing!
I received a message from her recently saying that she has been completely discharged from the physiotherapist, before that she wasn’t even able to lay on the floor but afterwards she was in tears of joy as the pain had been so hard to bear.

Paul: – So what would you say to anyone else who has back pain?

Shirley:- Get some prayer.  Since I have done the HOTS training I am seeing more people healed than I used to and I am now stepping into moving in healing as a daily lifestyle. A while ago I prayed for someone else who used to wear hearing aids for 17 years and now she can hear without them .

Paul: – That’s a great story,  Shirley, a real demonstration of Father’s love being made real though healing encounters with him.  

Thank you and praise you Lord for this healing and testimony of your love.

PURSUE LIGHT!

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‘God-smacked’ again!  Two friends told me about sensing light during prayer this week. To confirm and draw my attention to the importance of this, a 3rd report has now come!  The opening scripture below from Glasgow Prophetic Centre has been stressed by many prophetical voices for the past year or so. In my opinion, therefore, it would be well to contemplate and weigh these words, to which I’ve added this appropriate shot.:

aurora-uk_2192580k_Image credit Telegraph

Isaiah 60:1

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

From a heavenly perspective I saw the nations below: within each nation were individual, bright, dazzling white lights, surging with power. These lights are individual people, glowing with hunger for God – those who are crying out for the more of His manifest presence. They burn brightly with a ‘white heat’ in the spirit realm, reflecting God’s light and life and transforming the atmosphere. And there are more than we would at first realise.

As we pour ourselves out and seek the more of God, He increases the intensity of that heat and light which radiates from us, emanating further and radiantly covering more area (in the natural realm).

I heard God say,

“I am drawn to those who are drawn to me. Just as one magnet is drawn to another, as you pursue Me with all of your heart I see you and respond to your heart cry of, ‘More Lord, increase in me’.  I will increase the brightness of your shining. I will increase the reach of where and how you illuminate everything around you. I am increasing the reach of your shining.”

The Lord asks you today to pursue Him, so that the brightness of His illumination might be reflected in you. And to ask for the increase, the intensity – the luminosity of His magnificent brilliance – to be mirrored in you.

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day

Lion-Bites-logo-2012Footnote:  Regular readers may not have had the opportunity yet to follow-up my recommendation to visit David and Emma Stark’s website and consider receiving their team’s daily word. Should you wish to do so, here’s the link for Lion Bites.

When we come together…the Body of Christ

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Courtesy of James Mark Long ; propheticartists.comAmen…A note of this post by Tony was delivered by ‘God-incidence’ just now to my in-tray.  It’s amazingly appropriate because, after waking this morning, I was contemplating how the Lord connects and reveals things to me as a thread or ‘train’ of scripture, teaching, thoughts and insights – but then the idea of them also being pieces of a jigsaw dropped (appropriately?) into mind!  So thank you Lord for this vision, and to Tony for publishing it…

Tony's avatarMy Dreams and Visions

1 Corinthians 14:26 NIV

What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be
done so that the church may be built up.

The Lord showed me a vision 02/26/2013 and in this vision I saw people gathered around an oval table. The table was low to the ground so that you had to sit on the floor. The people I saw sitting there around the table each had a piece of a puzzle. As they all worked together, the image  on the puzzle began to take shape and when they were finished, the picture was of Jesus Christ. He was the center of the meeting. Each one had to do his part in finishing the puzzle and it was not left to one person to do…

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5 reasons why Christians should not accept Jesus as their saviour

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What an outrageously provocative title!

T E HannaIt’s not mine but belongs to one of your fellow readers, T.E. Hanna, a theology graduate whose blog Of Dust And Kings publishes interesting discussions about God, His Kingdom and what it means to be human.

I like the way his theology ticks.

So I’d like to introduce T.E. to you through the following ‘guest post’, which was one of the first I read. His first two points and the last one match my own perceptions 100%.:

5 Reasons Why Christians Should Not Accept Jesus As Their Saviour

Touch_Opt - Credit Espejo

In 1989, Depeche Mode released their 23rd single in the UK, a hit song that quickly climbed the charts and would eventually be covered by such notable musicians as Johnny Cash, Jerry Williams, Nina Hagen, and Marilyn Manson. The song was entitled “Personal Jesus” and the steady rhythm of the chorus drummed out the following lines:

Your own personal Jesus, Someone to hear your prayers,  Someone who cares. Your own personal Jesus,  Someone to hear your prayers, Someone who’s there …reach out and touch Faith.

While Depeche Mode used the “personal Jesus” idea as a metaphor for codependent human relationships, the concept has nevertheless permeated western Christian culture. Testimonies typically hail back to the moment when one has “finally accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and savior” and the standard evangelism question points to the same idea: “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?”

Yet Scripture knows nothing of a personalized faith.

Bear with me here, and let me clarify what I am NOT saying. I am NOT saying that we should not be impacted on a personal level by the Christian faith – we absolutely should. I am NOT saying that we do not come to Christ on a personal basis – we absolutely must.

However, the idea of a personal savior has taken on a life of its own, replacing the locus of the Christian life with our personal agendas and pushing Jesus to the margins. We customize, privatize, and minimize the Christian story, relegating Jesus to little more than “someone to hear your prayers, someone who cares.” This corrodes the very heart of the Christian faith, eating away at its life transforming power, and ripping Jesus away from His divinity in order to wedge Him into an idol fashioned after a hyper-individualistic culture. This simply won’t do.

Christians need to reject the idea of the personal Jesus, and we need to do it for 5 reasons:

1. Christians Are Called To Follow, Not Accept

The central cry of Jesus was never “accept me.” In fact, it was quite the opposite. Jesus walked a path which called Him to be despised and rejected, betrayed and belittled, criticized and crucified. The call of Jesus to His disciples and to us is to follow. Following requires leaving things behind and forging forward, laying down your life that you might find it, dying to yourself that your might discover the life abundant in the purposes of God. Acceptance is passive. Following is inherently active.

2. Christians Conform To Christ, Not Christ To Christians

At the heart of spiritual formation is the move to become “Christ-like”. Often, this challenges our preconceptions and wars against our desires. Good. It is supposed to. The Jesus Way is a way of transformation, of exposing our darker side to the Light of the World that the shadows may be cast away and we may become luminaries of incandescent glory, reflecting the blinding rays of the Son. We must never customize Jesus, reducing Him to an eternal moral teacher that can give us a hand when things get rough. We must allow ourselves to be confronted by Him, restored through Him, and conformed to Him.

3. Christians Are Called To Community, Not Isolation

John Wesley once wrote that “Scripture knows nothing of solitary religion.” From Genesis to Revelation, we see the story of a God who is creating a people, not just persons. In the instances where we see individuals emphasized, they are emphasized for the purpose of the people. Abraham was called individually to carry the covenant for what would become the people of God. Moses was called individually to free the Israelite people. David was called individually to lead a nation of God’s people. The prophets were called individually to be the mouthpiece of God to His people. The disciples were called individually only to then be sent forth to gather a global people. The popular notion that Christianity is a personal affair, making the community of faith unnecessary, finds no basis in the pages of Scripture. It is only in community that we find accountability, corporate prayer, unified worship, and the edification of the saints. It is only in community that we become the Body of Christ.

4. Christians Are Called To Serve, Not Be Served

So much of Christian rhetoric emphasizes the blessing of God and de-emphasizes the way of the cross. Much of popular Christianity is about seeking these blessings, about conforming God to our will, about how God somehow is charged with serving us. I am not diminishing the reality of the blessedness of God, but blessing is hardly the entire picture. Jesus completely inverts the concept of privilege, calling His followers away from notions of entitlement and into a life of servanthood. The reality of this is that, as we serve one another, we will be served in the process; but the notion that service is somehow owed to us is completely overturned. We, who claim ourselves as children of the greatest King who ever existed, express this most dutifully as servants.

5. Christians Are Saved For More Than Just Themselves

The Christian concept of salvation does more than just look over its shoulder at a sinful past now washed clean. It does more than look at the present as we are engaged in a process of spiritual renewal. It looks to the future, at the outworking of our salvation expressed as a transformed people transforming the world. In other words, Christians are not just saved from sin, they are saved to God. We become active participants in the breaking forth of God’s Kingdom as the redemptive order confronts and exposes the manifestation of sin in society. To limit the concept of salvation to a personal experience (or worse, a personal event) truncates the fullness of what it means to be Christian. We are not just saved from a life of sin; we are saved for a world where sin still manifests.

The popular evangelistic rhetoric calling for people to “accept Jesus as your personal savior” needs to be overturned. It is only in the call to “come and follow” and to “take up your cross” that we begin to regain the deeper things which have historically defined God’s people. It is here, in the deep water, where Christianity comes alive.

So… reach out and touch faith.

What do you think?

How does the personalization of Jesus impact the Christian faith?

Read, and contribute to, several commendable comments from readers and T.E. by scrolling to the foot of this link to ‘Personal Jesus’. I trust you’ll be as blessed as me.

I read it after attending our church home group where we’d worked through Romans 6 in some depth. Thank you T.E for your five points which, together with that scripture, confirmed my objections posted in a discussion elsewhere, as mentioned in my post  covering Steve Chalke’s apostasy (here).

Keep in time with the Lord

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Personally, yesterday’s Lion Bite is particularly apposite in view of my remarks now and then about an acceleration in what God’s doing around the world.:

“Get in step with Me at this time, as I move at a greater pace across the nations,” says God. “Move, accelerate, catch up and get in step with Me!”

The Spirit of the Lord is calling, “Catch up! Catch up!” – because many are ‘missing the bus’ (so to speak)… as if many are dawdling or ambling along instead of moving in time with God.

So how do we ‘catch up’?

Day to day this looks particularly like a call to specific intentionality as we seek the Lord for the daily detail, and the ‘fine print’ of the long term vision/goal for our lives. We are to be ones who become more specific and deliberate with our prayers and decrees.

Sometimes the generic prayers of ‘More Lord!’ are pertinent but the Lord is highlighting the need to also get specific and ‘catch up’ in our prayers with His Spirit as He moves across the nations. Intercessors: you are being called to greater level of detail in prayer language; The prophetically-gifted and the seers are being called to a new height of specificity in what you decree, see, speak and describe. All of us are called to keep ‘apace’ with the Lord and not get left behind in this.

There is a great level of ‘infilling of detail’ the Lord is doing – even to words He has released in the past season – to allow a greater revelation and maximise the response to His Word in this time. This is pertinent to your own life and to the nations. Let us seek Him in this increase of detail and keep in time with the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Lion-Bites-logo-2012Footnote: If you too would like to read other words, click on Glasgow Prophetic Centre.

Paws-4-thought: more encouragement

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Paws4thort 4After publishing three morsels of Lion Bites last Thursday I thought it may have been rather a rushed job, for my mind was on my next tasks. Upon reflection, I thought I’d been too hasty, especially as that was what it had been like all week. Even so, I was reminded to focus upon those encouraging words. And the  Lord was to surprise me with yet more morsels…!

After bashing through a tedious task for an hour I went to buy a rare ‘treat’ – fish and chips!  (It makes a pleasant change from a cooked evening meal.) Although it’s less than 3 minutes walk to the ‘chippy’ it usually entails a 10 minute wait at such a busy time.

Bill and Beni Johnson Credit BethelSo I took what I’m reading – Healing Unplugged.  Billed as ‘Up close and personal: behind the scenes with Bill Johnson and Randy Clark’, this is a transcript of a teaching video where they interviewed one another on how their healing ministries started and developed. It is minimal on historical details yet the book provides lots of insights and advice. A fascinating read!

Nina and I have often heard both leaders’ exceptional teaching, and Randy is one of the most humble servants of Christ. So, waiting in the chippy I was thoroughly engrossed in reading about the confession of his shortcomings in faith for healing. He proceeds to tell Bill of a breakthrough in his understanding of the vital importance of corporate faith.

RandyClark Credit J PiippoRandy spoke about his first visit to Bill’s church in Bethel, Redding California, when God impressed upon him to ask for healings the way that Abraham had asked for the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared, but Randy should count the other way round!  That is, he  was to ask for an increasing number of people to be healed as a number that he had faith for God to heal. (Genesis 18 refers.)

At first 25 were healed.  Randy said to the congregation, “I just felt as though God spoke to me”. He asked them, “Do you think God is tired?”. “No!” they replied. “Do you think He’s run out of power?” he continued. “No!” they said. Again, he received the same impression from God and as the number was incrementally raised they ended up with 135 healings.

So someone asked why he hadn’t said one hundred at first. The answer was simple – he didn’t have the faith for that number.  But his faith grew gradually by increasing the size of his request of God.

As his faith increased Randy would often use that strategy. On one occasion in a large church in Brazil a translator who’d seen him do that many times told him, “You need to ask for more”.  “Oh yeah, how many do you think?” he replied. Randy told Bill she announced a huge number in the region of 150-200, “And she said it right out loud in front of everybody!”

How did Randy react and what happened?  Continue below and discover an important principle about the miraculous that Randy was about to learn.:

Healing Unplugged p133

Healing Unplugged p134

WOW, what words of wonder to ponder with our fish and chips – a spiritual feast as well as bodily feast. Makes me wonder what else the multitude received from Jesus whilst His disciples handed round a few loaves and fish from a boy’s ‘butty-box’! (See John 6.)

Don’t give up

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Bill is a tremendous encouragement to everyone in demonstrating his incredible faith amidst the trials of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” which is a progressive neuro-degenerative disease. This post AND many comments are wonderfully heart-warming. Bless you Bill and the Lord be with you, always.

Bill Sweeney's avatarUnshakable Hope

After reading some of the comments from my last post (“More than just a Dream”), I’m afraid that I might have left the impression that my only hope (for physical healing) is in the next life. If I believed heaven was my only hope for healing, I probably would have checked out years ago. Waiting (for heaven) to be healed is merely my backup plan; it’s my Plan B. Whether it’s through medical science or a miracle from God, even after 16 years with ALS, I’m still hoping for the best outcome here on earth. This is what I believe for others too, regardless of the severity of their trial.

I realize how crazy it sounds for someone who has received a diagnosis of ALS to be hoping for a complete recovery. I’m not naïve; I’ve known so many good Christian people who have died of this and…

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Some encouraging daily words

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Lion-Bites-logo-2012Several uplifting Lion Bites of scriptural prophetic words  have come from Glasgow Prophetic Centre this week, of which I want to share a few of the finest – choice morsels to remind us of our holy calling. Be highly blessed as you chew upon these and deeply savour the Kingdom.:

The pursuit of Holiness

I heard the Spirit of the Lord say,

‘I am the first and the last. I am the Ancient of Days – I am the one who reigns and sits upon the throne. I am a jealous God and I desire your full attention – no-one and nothing should come before or above Me. You must lay all other gods and idols down if you are keen to pursue Me further.’

It is as if we are being presented with one of these moments of ‘no-turning-back’ – like a ‘point-of-no-return’ – as we hear the call to come further on the way of holiness. This narrow road is the place where all things must be let go of that are not of God.As so you will find that the Holy Spirit is alerting you to areas of your life where you have focused on other things above Him; where even ‘truths’ that you have held onto have become distorted over time.
But yet there is grace and encouragement from the Lord to seek Him in this and to follow the way of Holiness with your eyes fixed on Him. This is an invitation – a reminder – to pursue greater levels of purity and holiness in allowing the Spirit of the Lord to highlight those places which need to be laid down before Him.
The invitation is this: ‘Come and pursue Me – come and pursue a greater level of Holiness, my Bride.’

Isaiah 35:8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.

Displaying His glory

Glorify God! That’s today’s mission statement from heaven for all of us! We, the sons and daughters of God, are called to shine, as we allow the glory of our beautiful Redeemer, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to shine out from within us.
Church! Rise up together like the sun on a bright morning and shine – shine as one. Display His glory for all the world to see.

John 17:20-25 “I pray also for those who will believe in me through [the disciples] message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”

Kingdom carrier

Beloved, I have not only chosen you to be loved but to love. Not only do I want you to know My power and manifest presence for yourself, but I have made you to demonstrate My power and carry My manifest presence to those who don’t know Me.
The world is yearning for My Kingdom to be demonstrated and I have made you to be a Kingdom carrier. You have often felt disqualified in this and you have asked Me to send someone else into situations that face you. There are times when you have asked Me to send someone else to speak a word to those who need to hear My voice.

I say to you today: I have sent you to carry, demonstrate and advance My Kingdom to those around you. Are you ready and willing? As you say ‘yes’ to my call to you to be a Kingdom carrier, watch as I give you opportunities, daily, to preach the gospel, heal for the sick and to love the unloved.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Amen, amen, and again I say amen.

Thank you so much David and Emma.

Forgiveness

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RJBLife’s far TOO short for NOT loving one another. I recall a morning’s teaching at a seminar on healing years ago near Streatley, Berks, where a delegate asked if forgiveness has any relevance. He was thanked for mentioning it because that had been overlooked and the trainer said, “Forgiveness is key to healing. Remember, Jesus forgave the soldiers as they crucifed Him!” Then I knew why I’d kept being impressed with a memory of an image of one of the Stations of The Cross that I’d seen as a boy. In her Catholic Church, my mother used to sit near the sculpted picture of Jesus being nailed to the cross! (Many years later Nina would be blessed with a demonstration of this truth, as here.) So, thank you Lord for your marvellous sacrifice for each of us.

morningstoryanddilbert's avatarMorning Story and Dilbert

The hospital was unusually quiet that bleak January evening, quiet and still like the air before a storm.

I stood in the nurses’ station on the seventh floor and glanced at the clock. It was 9 P.M. I threw a stethoscope around my neck and headed for room 712, last room on the hall. Room 712 had a new patient. Mr. Williams. A man all alone. A man strangely silent about his family.

As I entered the room, Mr. Williams looked up eagerly, but drooped his eyes when he saw it was only me, his nurse. I pressed the stethoscope over his chest and listened. Strong, slow, even beating. Just what I wanted to hear. There seemed little indication he had suffered a slight heart attack a few hours earlier.

He looked up from his starched white bed. “Nurse, would you –” He hesitated, tears filling his eyes. Once before…

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Israel unveils logo for the Obama visit

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Further to my previous post, World Watch Daily reports and links into an announcement in the Times of Israel on the logo selected for President Obama’s forthcoming visit to Israel.:

Courtesy of GPO png-635x357

The paper reports about the slogan,

Curiously, the logo reads “unbreakable alliance” in English, but its corresponding slogan in Hebrew reads “an alliance of nations.”

A question about the Obama prayer/ prophecy and Netanyahu

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An intercessor friend emailed me about President Obama’s proposed appointments for chief of CIA and Defense Secretary, neither of whom are well-disposed to Israel. (Eg. Director of Centre for Security Policy Frank Gaffney’s article in Jewish World Review.)

So, I replied with links to the postings about Wendy Alec’s prayer request for Obama and the promise that the rift between him and Israel’s PM Netanyahu would be healed. (Original post here, with subsequent developments here, here and here.)

UN Sep12 NET-OBAMA1_13jpgThat information caused some consternation, especially in view of notions about Obama’s desire to divide Jerusalem.  The antagonism in his first term towards Israel’s PM and favour for the Palestinian leader Abbas were renowned.  (Abbas was one of the first Obama phoned after his first  inauguration in 2009.)  Would the US President continue in his old ways during the forthcoming state visit to Israel?

Similar reservations may have entered readers’ minds too and you may, therefore, like to note my second reply.:

“Yes, I too was puzzled when I first read it as I’ve deep reservations about POTUS, as you may have read under the Obama tag on my blog. But Wendy’s was also an urgent request for intercession on his behalf and we have seen changes which astonished the intelligence experts. What is truly in his heart the Lord only knows!

“Incidentally, she was also accurate about Todd Bentley’s mess at Lakeland, whom she and Rory had televised and sponsored. Our minister saw him recently on God TV repenting of his sinful reaction in saying she’s a false prophet and confessed she was correct!”

There’s precious little in the public domain about Obama’s visit, as may be expected of  a predominantly anti-Israel mainstream media. I cannot find any details yet on the White House website other than the President’s The State Of The Union Address during which he said.:

In defense of freedom, we’ll remain the anchor of strong alliances from the Americas to Africa; from Europe to Asia. In the Middle East, we will stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights, and support stable transitions to democracy. We know the process will be messy, and we cannot presume to dictate the course of change in countries like Egypt, but we can — and will — insist on respect for the fundamental rights of all people. We’ll keep the pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people, and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian. And we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and a lasting peace.

Those are the messages I’ll deliver when I travel to the Middle East next month…(emphasis RB)

[NOTE: The White House welcomes comments and sharing of the Address directly from the link provided above.]

williamkoenig-web[1]Nevertheless, President Obama’s itinerary for his visit to Israel has been published. In the introductory ‘Inside The White House’ by Bill Koenig to last Fridays’ Eye View From The White House, Bill bullet points more details than those of his Ynet source. He  remarks, “Interestingly, most of Obama’s time in Israel will be with the Israelis, with only one meeting scheduled with the Palestinians” (in Ramallah to meet Abbas, and then returning to Jerusalem by noon).

Regular readers know I cannot recommend William Koenig’s World Watch Daily highly enough for any Christian wanting to keep an eye on Israeli and Middle Eastern news.

PS. see next post about an official logo for the trip

MAIN UPDATES:

Aug 2014 – Israeli retaliation against Hamas perpetual bombardment brings change in US-Israel rapprochement.

Oct 2014 – Netanyahu meets Obama at The White House after UN General Assembly (also see PM Netanyahu at UN and Joel Rosenberg Tale of 2 Speeches at UN).

Abiding in God’s Word

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Jesus told the Jews who believed Him, , “IF you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32 emphasis added)

COME, take a train ride with me and consider the relevance of Jesus’ claim for today.

DSC_4616Why on a train? Another intriguing ‘train’ of thoughts and insights is about to pass by, like one of those old-time steam locomotives. They amble along, which allows time for passengers to chat as well as to explore carriages. I can rummage around looking for any interesting ‘cargo’ and such ‘trunks’ often hold hidden gems.  Also, conversation with passengers may bring a confirmation, an affirmation or even a revelatory word from the Lord. So won’t you go back three weeks and share my latest ‘trip’ with me?

It’s a free ride, so no need to buy a ticket as we dash through to the platform where its entrance acts as a ‘portal’ and we jump back three weeks in time. On board this short, now moving train we’re welcomed by a kaleidoscopic collection of inter-linked thoughts and insights. Let’s check what’s in this first carriage before we move further along the train…

1st ‘carriage’

Here I sit to dig out of my briefcase some prophetic words I’d been given in 1996 (see Why I’m writing). This sheet of paper opens by stating how the day started with a call from someone who’d heard the Lord instruct them to call me with verses 3, 5 and 9 in the Book of Joshua. Re-reading that first chapter now, however, my gaze fixes upon verses 6 to 8 leading into verse 9 and some words seem to have an added emphasis, as below.:

[1After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2“Moses my servant is dead. Now then…]7…Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

JoshuaMy study Bible says this account of the Israelite tribes’ journey into the land that the God of Abraham had promised him and his descendants was written about 3,400 years ago!   I note the fact that Moses’ closest assistant was told to keep entirely  focused upon what Moses wrote and upon nothing else. Only by so doing would Joshua and all his people prosper, and God would be with them where they were about to go!

[What Moses wrote is known as the Pentateuch, a Greek term meaning ‘five-volumed book’ and derived from its Jewish designation, ‘five-fifths of the law’. The Israelites knew it as ‘Torah’, meaning ‘instruction’.  It is the first five books of the Old Testament: namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.[

Then came an insight: the Torah was the only Standing Instruction this national leader had for his guidance. Furthermore, it was and is the word of God – Holy Scripture. That five-fold book was all they had to believe and follow as holy writ – unlike today with 61 more books comprising later history, poetry and prophetical writings inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. The first 5 books were all Joshua had to go on!  Even so, God promised to be with him.

So, about 3,400 years ago Joshua had his instructions but must have gained so much more under the oversight of the Living God. Over the next 1,400 years the descendants of those ancient Hebrews received many more writings inspired by God. And then about 2,000 years ago, God once again drew alongside them as ‘Immanuel’. [A Hebrew word meaning ‘With us is God’ and a title for Jesus Christ, as used by the OT prophet Isaiah when he prophesied Jesus’ virgin birth 700 years earlier – Isaiah 7:14 refers.]

By the time this later Joshua (which means ‘saviour’) lived amongst the Jews as Jesus of Nazareth, their scripture had grown from 5 to 39 authoritative books, and which are  known to Christians as the Old Testament. [Some traditional Christian denominations recognise a few more books: see How many books are in the Bible?]

Jesus taught the people with an authority greater than that of their priests because His words came direct from God. [See John 8: 25-39 for His declaration on this issue and which leads into the opening verse of this blog. The last part of v 32 is often quoted but ignores the specific condition for achieving freedom – ie. abiding in God’s word.]

Within a few decades of Jesus’ life another 27 books written by apostles and disciples were recognised as being inspired by God and collated into the New Testament as a complete Bible. So we Christians have a huge Standing Instruction.

Another insight comes: As in Joshua’s time, Jesus’ first followers had God’s promise to go with them, only this time they wouldn’t be going into just the small area of land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. This time Jesus, the Son of God, commissioned His followers to ‘go to the ends of the world’ after the Holy Spirit would visit and stay upon them.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. [Matthew 28:18-20]

Like Joshua, those Apostles’ and disciples’ Standing Instructions were based upon an existing body of authoritative scripture that was augmented not only by Jesus’ teachings but also by continuing personal direction from Jesus and the Father. That is, this time God’s promise to always be with them was not just for one person only but for many, and His Holy Spirit would be present within them as an endowment of power! Thus, they then lived and moved with God’s Spirit upon them.

2nd ‘carriage’

The week I’m re-visiting personal prophecies I also come across Bobby Conner’s word for 2013, Calling All Warriors. It stirs me deeply and seems so appropriate for today. (It also connects into the ‘warrior’ word from the UK Prophetic Council, as published here.)

Awaken Your Might - credit; James Nesbit www.jamesnart.com

Awaken Your Might by James Nesbit – purchase from http://www.jamesnart.net

On the Saturday, a mentoring day, I see an inspirational picture matching Bobby’s word.  Also that morning, Dr Stone states that the 1st chapter of Joshua is important for these days. So I open my old NIV at that very place and grin. What do you know!  As I do so Sharon emphasises her message by quoting the verses I’d just seen and which I’d highlighted many years ago (as in above image).:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]

I’m astounded, as you may have realised from my published account of that day (here). Sharon prophesies that the Church will be moving into what it was always meant to be like, but it will not be easy – as when Joshua led the Israelites into their Promised Land.

3rd ‘carriage’

The next day at church our minister teaches about ‘Abiding in His Word’ – and for me this directly connects into Joshua again!  As we considered in the 1st carriage, ‘Abiding’ was God’s Standing Instruction to Joshua, and repeated by Jesus to His followers!  The minister then opens this topic by stating:

“The Bible is not a fence that contains God, that is used to restrict Him and His works – it reveals Him!  It is guide-lines to indicate who He is and what He can/will do. The Bible is a platform from which He operates!”

Next, she quotes Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, California. (It so happens I’m reading  Healing Unplugged, which is a deep discussion between him and Randy Clark about their personal healing ministries. We’ve listened enthralled to Bill several times for he greatly loves teaching from the Word, thereby giving listeners fresh insights.) Now, our minister quotes him as follows:

“It’s hard to have the same fruit as the early Church when you value a book they didn’t have more than the Holy Spirit, whom they did have.”

That reflects in part my earlier thoughts. Next, she goes on to refer to what Jesus told the Jews about God’s own testimony about Jesus being shown though the work He was doing for them:

“But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life…” [John 5 NKJV]

Our South African minister Lindi summarises the meaning of verse 38:

“The abiding word that is written has to become real so that it becomes the manifest Word – and then you believe and see miracles!

Sometimes we pray for revival or change and when it comes we don’t recognise it. Or, we even reject it because it doesn’t fit into our (Biblical) box…

“The abiding word is what positions us for the next thing that God is going to do!”

Wow, all this is amplifying and enhancing my meditations during the week.

4th ‘carriage’

The very next day I’m prompted – and I don’t know why I should do so – to check that a link on an old posting is working. This is the source’s homepage for The Bridegroom Cometh, but I find it’s dead!  So I check again a few hours later, but this time I’m so utterly astounded to see there the picture I’d bought only two days ago and hangs in the study!  (As above under ‘2nd carriage’.) Moments later Nina enters the study, sees the picture on-screen and her jaw drops!

IS IT ANY WONDER I was absolutely stunned? (As first reported here)

What is our Lord and God saying and indicating? 

Can you hear Him?

May I summarise?…

God gives plenty of instructions for us to meditate upon, to follow and live by so that we will always remain, or abide, in them. In addition to that He gives us Himself – so what more could we possibly ask or want?

Here’s one of my favorites on abiding from that very special, private teaching time in the upper room on the eve of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion.:

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me…” 

Then, when talking about His being the True Vine, Jesus again stresses the great importance of abiding in God’s holy word.:

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love…”

These are from John 14 and John 15 respectively in NKJV, but it’s much better to read the whole event and thereby gain its full context. So why not invite the Lord to be with you as you read and meditate upon chapters 13-17 of the Gospel according to John?

May He be with you in Spirit…

Our train halts in a station for a quite a while and we take a break to walk around the station. Here we find a number of civilians and military personnel dressed as though they’re in the 1940s!  We recognise one distinguished figure boarding as we’re called back on board and enter the 3rd carriage to continue on our journey (click to proceed).

Iranian forces are “running” Syria says former Syrian Prime Minister.

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This latest update on Syria may be part of the scenario to one of the many prophecies by Ezekiel, as in chapter 38 against ‘Gog and Magog’ and which this blog refers to as ‘the Ezekiel Alliance’. For earlier reports click on tags shown below…

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

With the implosion of the Assad regime in full swing, the countdown to the fall of Damascus is on, and Iran is moving quickly to fill the vacuum. Now Riad Hijab — the former Prime Minister of Syria who defected from his senior position in Damascus last August — says that Iran’s military and intelligence forces are “actively running” the nation of Syria.

“Syria is occupied by the Iranian regime,” Hijab told an Arabic media outlet. “Who runs the country isn’t Bashar Assad but Kassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds Brigades [within the Revolutionary Guards].”

Evidence is mounting that Iran and Hezbollah, its Radical Shia terrorist organization, are moving military forces into the country so that if and when the Assad regime finally falls, Iran can fully and quickly seize and consolidate full control. Back in August, when I reported on this blog that Hijab had defected, I also quoted a press repors

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Saudi hypocrisy at its best

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For an informative follow-on to previous post’s comments > Saudi Hypocrisy At Its Best.

Ray-ibrahimThe linked article brings insights from the Coptic, Islam specialist Raymond Ibrahim, Associate Fellow with Daniel Pipes’ Middle East Forum (see About). Widely published author and translator of Al Qaeda treatises as well as Arabic news unknown in the West, Raymond watches the pivotal Islam-Christianity intersection. His impressive resume and regular updates on Muslim persecution of Christians are on his blog Raymond Ibrahim, Islam Translated.

Are ‘Christians’ leading homosexuals to Hell?

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On watch... Thank you to Tembisa for this link, which reinforces Steve Hill’s warning of a spiritual avalanche. It is an excellent analysis of a better approach to unhelpful, even dangerous, attitudes which could promote a false Gospel. Also, Hilary White’s linked article provides some keen insights into the Steve Chalke issue. More about this subject may be found in Gillan Scott’s solid review,  Unconditional: Rescuing the Gospel from gays vs. Christians Debate. There are extensive comments on this and to his related posts, in which I’ve participated lately. I have, however, one ‘off-side’ reservation. It is recommended by Prof.Tony Campolo, whom I saw many years ago. In reading his Conversation about politics at the time of the last US elections, I was concerned over his using Ephesians 1:18-22 to stress God’s action through earthly politics whereas the verses are about powers in heavenly realms. I trust our professor will acknowledge the King’s soon return to rule on earth?