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Our God is an awesome God not only because He holds all things by the word of His power but that He still knows the details of what makes each of us, the person we are. Knowing these details He still loves us and pursues us. I recently was at a “ Miracles, Signs & Wonders” in Toronto and was blown away by God yet again. It was a great conference but there was a one little thing going on with me that made it special in the fact that I got another glimpse of God that I never saw before. I got up Saturday morning and I was like a new person. I didn’t sleep well and I woke up with a bad headache and I was anything but joyful. It just seemed to blindside me and I couldn’t seem to shake it off. I went to the afternoon session alone this day as my wife was still under the weather from the cold and just hoped & prayed for breakthrough. I felt mentally down and of course was wondering the classic “ what’s wrong with me God” as I had no reason to feel so low yet there I was. It is called spiritual oppression. Now as the session was winding up the speaker asked people to pray for the other people around them and I thought I would be just stay where I was as I really had nothing to offer anyone. Now as it turned out there was a lady two seats away who was not feeling that way at all. She got up and came over to my seat and said “there is a young family there and nobody is praying for them”. I was thinking well go get them tiger. She just stood there beside my chair so I moved to an empty seat to my left and then she moved beside me again. I was thinking why doesn’t she just go by me. I moved a couple more times and she was still there. I finally looked at her and said” What is it you want”. She said “ I want you to pray with me for them”. Oh wow I thought. Why did it take so long to come to that. I thought to myself I have nothing inside to bless them with. I was like a machine that said “ out of service”. Reluctantly I went with her thinking I’ll just let her do the praying and that would be fine. We laid our hands on the young family ( there were three of them) and I waited. I waited and heard nothing. I clue in late again that she is expecting me to do the praying. It’s funny how things unfold step by step but you don’t see where it is your going. Just then a thought came to me to pray a prayer that I would like prayed for me if I was him. I open my mouth and start to pray and the words just began to flow. The more I prayed the higher out of the pit I went. I found myself actually listening to what I had to say, or should I say what He had to say through me. When I was finished I felt like a new man. I looked over and saw a young woman sitting alone and I said to the lady, “ has anyone prayed for her” Now I want to pray . We go there and again it happen. I opened my mouth and the right words just appeared out of my mouth. She started to leak tears which I noticed when I had finished so I got her some tissue and when the lady I was praying with started to withdraw from her I asked her if she would mind embracing her as I felt she needed to be hugged. She gave me a funny look and I said go for it, so she did. The young lady leaned right back into her and held her arms and I watched the love of God flow through them. It was awesome. I began to recall the scripture where God says “My strength is made perfect in your weakness”. When I felt I knew nothing and had nothing to give of myself in prayer than He was able to just flow. I’ll never forget it. Now last night I decide to watch the DVD’s from the conference. I select the one where Heidi Baker is speaking. She calls out all the people at the conference who are terminally ill. She said if you are dying then come to the front. As I watched I saw Bill Johnson who was there as well praying for a little girl. As I looked closer it was the same girl and family that we had prayed for. I had no idea that that family was in such need. I was stunned to think that this young man had brought his family from out west in search of a miracle. I am so glad that God persisted through that lady to get me to move and then to pray through me for them. Wow! Do you see what kind of God it is who watches over us. He is so good. It’s just another reason to love Him.
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I don't know how many of you out there have seen the movie "The Exorsist" or not but it is a movie about someone being demonically possessed. Of course with all the effects of hollywood it was greatly sensationalized to give the shock value. I was thinking of that today and how if we knew someone like that that they likely would be a topic of conversation in the neighborhood. We would be wary around such people as they would be unpredictable. How many of us would want them baby sitting for us? They would be set apart because of the thing they were hosting. The fact that there is someone or something else operating through another person is shall we say out of the ordinary. There's that word "ordinary. I was thinking that us "born again Christians" received someone to live inside of us. Most of us will say that the Holy Spirit lives in us but there are many of us that need to tell you that, that is the case because you would not be able to tell on your own. We need to really be possessed by the Holy Spirit where He is making himself known through us. He is far more awesome than any demon and has more power than all of hell itself. Why in the world would I be trying to move in my strength and accomplish things instead of allowing Him full authority to do as He sees fit. Why don't I just trust Him no matter what. Don't I trust Him to raise me from the dead? I don't want to be an "ordinary Christian that has no real power to free anyone or make a real impact on this earth. Should we not give our lives each day to a God who loves the world with a love like no other. The kingdoms of this world are now shaking and it's time that we start to shake some things off. ( I'm mostly speaking to me ) I hope that there are many of you out there that are letting Him flow freely through you.
God I pray that You will rise up in me and make this life as yours. I don't want to stay in the safe comfort zone anymore. It's time for change. Amen
Just my thoughts
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| When we are born we have an umbilical cord attaching the baby to its mother which functions as a life supplier from mother to child. When the birth process is completed the cord is severed and they are no longer connected. The baby has experienced its first taste of independence. Although the cord is severed the baby still needs mom to look after him. As time goes on and the child grows the child will become more and more independent from mom. There is however another cord that has been attached to us since conception. This cord that has attached itself to us is connected to sin. That cord does dot get cut at birth and sin stays with us and grows as we do. It’s grown is affected by the food it gets just as our bodies develop with the food it receives. This sin person is consistent in its behavior as it always pulls us to whatever is evil and is in opposition to God. As time goes on and we grow it draws us further and further from God. There would be no hope for us at all against this unseen foe except that there was a homing beacon planted in us. It is receiving a signal from heaven calling us home and causes a rift between us the sin creature. We know that there is something wrong and we don’t know what it is. The world we live in is also in rebellion to the Lord and is lining itself up with the sin creature attached to us. It also screams at us to walk its paths that appear to be the right way as most of our neighbors are walking that way. Still the confusion persists. Some of us take drugs to quiet this down, some take alcohol, and others embrace the god of mammon believing if they just gain enough….. then, they will have the peace inside that we all desire. But there are some of us whose homing beacon leads us to Jesus. We surrender our lives to Him and just like the surgeon who cut the umbilical cord to our mother He separates us from the power and control of sin. Up until this day the sin creature has dragged us down paths that it wanted us to walk down. Today we are free to choose our own paths. So from this time forward everything is for Jesus now right? Wrong I’m afraid. Jesus is totally brand new to us and we have never walked with Him before. We are free from sin however there are still things that have power over us such as our own understanding. History has shown us that there are many paths that are before us that often lead to hurt. Some hurts have left deep wounds in our hearts and now we have become afraid to walk freely. The paths Jesus wants to walk are paths that are unfamiliar to me and they are paths that are less traveled. So we are no free from the creature however our flesh that has been trained by sin and is still in agreement with the creature causes us to still choose familiar paths that we feel we can handle. The paths that used to provide a source of comfort we find don’t seem to do it for us anymore. We try and drag Jesus down those paths with us but He won’t join us in that walk. When we get lost on them or broken on them again we cry out to Him and there He comes for us again. As our encounters with Jesus increase we start trusting Him more and more. We begin to lay down our old ways and embrace His. This is a process that takes place in us all and is unique to us as individuals and the experiences that we have each encountered. Praise You Jesus for your faithfulness to us your family. You are like Joseph who has gone before us through much suffering by our hands, and yet prepared a place for us.
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3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling
council. | 3:2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from
God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." | 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless
he is born again." | 3:4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a
second time into his mother's womb to be born!" | 3:5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he
is born of water and the Spirit. | 3:6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. | 3:7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' | 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where
it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
John 5: 19
Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can
do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the
Son also does.
John 5: 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your
amazement he will show him even greater things than these.
John 5:20 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives
life to whom he is pleased to give it.
John 5: 21& 21 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does
not honor the Father, who sent him.
I find this so cool. Nicodemus can see that even though Jesus is blackballed by his religious
community that God is working miracles through Him. Jesus tells him that
" no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" You and I qualify for that.
We are born again and that
is how we are able to see what is going on in the kingdom. "God please open our spiritual eyes
so that we too may see what you are doing in the kingdom" In John 5 19 Jesus further explains
that "He can only do what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the
Son
does also." He did not come independently of the Father but in perfect harmony He carried out
the father's will as Jesus will was in complete submission to the Father. " Father we your
church must see what You are doing so as sons & daughters we too can do what You are
doing in the earth today"
How can we truly do anything for the advancement of the kingdom without seeing what He is doing
and participating with Him in it. Independently from Him should be the farthest thing from our
mind no matter how great our intentions are. There are lots of people doing lots of good things
without having any idea what He is doing. Besides I want to spend time with Him knowing Him
more & more and introduce Him to my friends who don't know Him either.
I look at what Todd Bentley is leading in Florida now and can say like Nicodemus that these
miracles can't happen unless it's God doing them. Bless you God and what you are doing in
the revival in Lakeland Florida.
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John 3
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Life for me after separation had now settled down with the passing months and I had made a new life which was pretty good. I still was working at my job at the dairy and had got to share God with people more than ever before. I would come home to my apartment and when I opened the door I could feel God hug me. I really liked that. God does take the things that are broken and uses them to bring healing. I was leading a youth group that had grown from 6 to about 25 and was having lots of fun with them. I had gotten used to my children being with me on the weekends but living alone through the week. Then one day at work an employee came into my office and told me that one of our co-workers had marital problems. He said that he was quite sure that the guys wife was in a relationship with another man and told we where etc. I was sick in the pit of my stomach as it seemed to reopen the wound in me that I thought was healed. I had just finished burying all those memories of wondering where she was, why she couldn’t say I love you anymore and all those feelings of rejection. What should I do with this information as I was his manager but this clearly wasn’t my business? This guy was close to me and watched God slowly put back the pieces of my life back together and now he was going to walk that road as well. I decided that I should go to that place to look around and see if there was truth to this story which I was sure hoping there wasn’t. I saw his wife there seemingly innocently picking up a few groceries. I said hello and walked around the store and then when I saw her again she was talking to this guy. I watched for a minute and then she saw me looking at her. I saw fear fill her face and then she abruptly turned from him and took off. His face even flushed so I knew that something wasn’t right. Back at work over the next week the rumor mill was buzzing so more and more people were aware of this as I heard new reports from other people now. I finally discussed the situation with a coworker of ours that cared for this guy and could be trusted. It was agreed that the best course of action was to tell this guy that he had trouble in the home. He agreed to come back in to work on a Friday night to tell him so he would be through his workweek and have a few days to deal with the shock. Friday came and I had a chance to talk with him about my situation. I told him how much it hurt me to find out that my wife was unfaithful and that I had wondered if people were laughing at me for being so naïve. I said that God never restored the relationship between us but that if He said to go back with her I would have. I know that if He sent me back there it would have been the best because He is a restorer and I would again be happy with her. I said I do forgive her and that even now if he said go he was turning her heart and bring her home than I would receive her. He said that he understood (and probably was wondering why I was a bit emotional) and then I left him. Monday morning as I headed across the floor he spotted me and made a beeline for me. My plan was to smile and let on I knew nothing but it became apparent that plan wasn’t going to fly. He said “ You knew didn’t You? That’s why you were saying those things to me Friday. You were preparing me!” He was quite beside himself and was an emotional wreck as one might expect. Over the next few months he would be in my office spewing out his anger, disappointment, and frustration which I would totally relate to but it was like having to relive my stuff all over again. Sometimes I would have to find a private place to just cry. The neat thing through al of this was that I could share the goodness and mercy of God with him in his real situation rather that just getting the “ Get rid of her and find yourself a new person.” I got to be the contrary voice speaking life into his family. Who but God could make me that kind of vessel? If not for Him I could not share any advice that wasn’t poison or tainted with my own pain. He had great highs and lows during that time but he did look at himself and say I was oblivious to her needs and was doing much of my own things. That was so key for me in my walk. God would correct me time and time again when we were processing all the stuff and say look at yourself only. It is so easy to say “ Well she did this, or she never did that, so I……” If you want to get healed there is no one else to point blame at, just you. One surprising thing that happened in that was that his wife called and was choked up on the phone and asked if I would help them. She told me how sorry she was for being so stupid but she didn’t want to lose him and the girls but she wanted her family restored. It was quite amazing as we had no relationship. She only knew me from what he would be telling her. Like I said it hurt a lot walking down a road that I had been trying to put far behind me but I look back on it and smile. Does God have a plan for the Broken? It was worth it and I got to watch God do for another what He did for me. They were restored and all was really forgiven as it truly needs to be for it to work and I suppose they will live happily ever after. J
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