TE HOKIOI

For those who have ever wondered what our extinct New Zealand eagle looked like - here is a picture of a replica in the viewsite in the Waitakere Ranges in West Auckland.
This is well worth having a look at - the bird was the biggest known eagle with a wing span of 3 metres.
Our ministry team has been named after this - not because we want to become extinct or are a bunch of dinosaurs :) especially as some members are under 30 - but because it is a picture of something placed in this country long before any of us came along and messed it up.

Imagine God putting the largest eagle in the world in one of the smallest countries, at the furtherest ends of the earth from Jerusalem. Maybe He wanted us to have a think about the promise and destiny He had for us as nation, and the impact we would have on the nations around us?

The bird may have become extinct in the natural, but the promises and destinies that have been put in place by God will come to pass. What effect would a prophetic nation have on other nations? Is this why we were at one point the highest mission-sending nation per head of population.

Perhaps now as we ponder why He put this huge eagle here, we should also begin to seek Him about the fulfilment of all that is in His heart for us, individually and as nation.

Anyway, good to know what it looked like isnt it!

HAVING FUN

Today has been full of smiles as I have a good look at how seriously I have taken things in the past, and SUDDENLY I get this sense of Jesus walking in, picking some stuff up Himself, and enjoying Himself as I finally begin to get the message.

For years we have tried so hard. We have learnt so much (or we thought so!). We have worked so hard for the Lord, and He has truly blessed our efforts on His behalf, especially as we were beginners, learning to walk in His ways.

Now I have discovered how much fun it can be to walk alongside someone bigger than ourselves, who actually delights to show Himself strong for us! We are little lightweights, and He is the heavyweight who has now entered the arena.

This Jesus, who IS our Peace, and in Himself has taken down the dividing walls of hostility, really wants us to get the picture.

In the past we came up to a wall and we would fire scripture at it, bombard it with prayer and proclamation, and sometimes we would be blessed to see it come down which was great encouragement.

Today the picture changed, now I can walk right up to the wall and say "Hey wall, I want to introduce you to My Jesus ... He has come to take you down!" :)

Psa 25:14 The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.

To fear the Lord, you have to KNOW Him, and then He begins to teach about His Kingdom, His covenant promises, His mighty power to heal and to save.

We begin to delight ourselves in Him and all we know of Him, and SUDDENLY we find He spoke the truth to us - the joy of the Lord has truly become our strength!

Hope this leaves you peaceful and smiling as much as it does me. :)