TRUTH

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8,9).

God's thoughts about things are very different from ours. We would often allow what God would never allow. He has an altogether different point of view about things. We judge in one way about things, and God judges in another. It is necessary for us to come to God's standpoint. Oh, we would say, there is no harm in such-and-such a thing. Oh, there is no wrong in that; look at so-and-so and so-and-so, and we take our standard, perhaps, from other people. We have known people to do that; point to some outstanding figure in the work of God, in whose life was a certain thing - that one has been taken as the model, to be copied, and so the thing has been taken on. Oh, there is no harm in it; look at so-and-so. And I have known lives and ministries to be ruined on that very excuse.

The question is: What does the Lord say about it? God says, Walk before Me! Not before any human model; not before any human standard; 'There is no harm in it; so-and-so does it; it is quite a common practice'. No, no! "Walk before Me", says the Lord. We have got to get this in the spirit, the inward man. It is deeper than our best moral standards. Otherwise there is no point in it being in the Bible at all, if our moral standards can rise to God's satisfaction - why must we be so handled and reconstituted? It is deeper than our intellect, than our reason. You cannot, by reason or intellect, arrive at God's standard at all. Not at all! Oh, do not think that by any method of reasoning, you are ever going to reach God's standard. You never will. Here, it is only by revelation of the Holy Spirit. Christ has got to be revealed in our hearts by the Spirit. There is no point in Jesus saying: "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall guide you into all the truth", if we could get there by our own intelligence. Not at all. It must come by the revelation of Christ in our hearts, in the inward parts. This is something spiritual. "God is Spirit; they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" - spirit and truth go together. Only what is spiritual, what is of God, is truth - only that!

From: Truth in The Inward Parts - T.Austin-Sparks.

BUILDING STONES

 

Recently I had a few hours driving between cities to ponder questions that arise fairly regularly!

The beginning for me was once again "How and where do I fit?"  On a previous little excursion into this area I began to consider whether in fact the church as we know it is the 'quarry' where the stones are shaped more than it is the house that God is building.

This process led to the understanding that I am constantly being shaped by God's hand and the circumstances He leads me through.  That same hand will place me where His shape best fits, and only the master builder will ever know what that looks like.

As He places the stones in the wall of His House, not one of them is in a position to comment on the wall itself - whether it is straight, what it looks like, how big or small it is!  They may have a sense of the shape of the most adjacent stones, but beyond that no knowledge of the final result.

All that we need to do is to make sure that we are truly aligned with the foundation stone.

So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretence, envy and hurtful talk.
Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God.
You've had a taste of God.

 
Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honour.
Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God.
Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honour. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it.
To you who trust him, he's a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him, The stone the workmen threw out is now the chief foundation stone.

For the untrusting it's . . . a stone to trip over, a boulder blocking the way. They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted.
But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you-- from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
(The Message) 1 Peter 2 

Have we been carrying too heavy a load, maybe trying to shape ourselves and in the process getting a little out of shape and out of sorts under the pressure of it all?

It is wonderful to be released to know the truth

Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

OUT OF THE DESERT

  Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover? 

Song of Songs 8:5

What an amazing statement.  A picture of someone who has just spent time in a place of arid expanses of nothing but sand, and yet here she comes, not alone, but supported by the one who loves her!

Do we look at these dry and difficult places in our lives as the glorious opportunity given us to find a greater companionship and depth of relationship with the One who gives us life?

God leads us into the desert to invest more of His life into us, to build greater depths of love and compassion, and fill us with as much of Him as we can contain.

Those He has used greatly in history all did 'desert time' - Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, John the Baptist, Paul, just to name a few!  He took them away from all distractions just to have quality time with those He loved, and build and make them ready for the work they were to do for Him.

If every member of His Body in this earth was willing to go there with Him, welcoming the invitation instead of resisting it, they would be emerging from that place on His arm, filled to overflowing with all the good things He has to give them.

Can we imagine what it would be like if we were all filled with this immeasurable treasure - the Bride would be glowing and radiant as all of her Lover's treasures spilled out of her into this world!

Oh what a glorious thought and picture that is!

CHOICES - RIGHT OR LEFT?

All of Matthew 25 is talking about people who wisely used what they had been given and lived in a constant state of readiness for whatever God might do, and those who did not bother to do this.

The wise people used the gifts they had been given, constantly desiring to see them increased, while the foolish hid away the little they had and did nothing with it.

All this leading up to Jesus talking about the glorious moment when He would again set foot upon this earth and sort out the wise from the foolish.

"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne.Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation.
And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink?
And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?'
Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me.'   (Matthew 25 in The Message)

In this passage the separation appears to have been made on the grounds of how we treat each other (love your neighbour as yourself) and in so doing we show love to the One who created each one, so the commandment that Jesus left us with is fulfilled

This is not hard to do!  Each hour of each day there are choices placed before each of us, and the choice we make will ultimately determine our eternal future. 

Who do you see hungry today ... and what are they hungry for?

Who do you see thirsty today ,,, and what are they thirsting for?

Who do you see without a home ... and what sort of room do they need?

Who do you see shivering ... what sort of clothing do they need?

Who do you see sick ... do you have even a minute to stop and visit?

Who do you known who is imprisoned ...what can you take when you visit?

Do we want to know Jesus better?  When we do just one of these things it is doing it to Him, surely as we do these things we will find Him there with us, and little by little we will learn of His heart, His mind, His incredible love.

We have choices to make ... will we be seated on His right or His left?

OUR TRUE CALL

"The best that I can hope is that this has just opened a window, and that as you look through it you are seeing one thing - how superior is Jesus Christ to all else!" - T. Austin-Sparks

Open Windows
Excerpts from the writings of T. Austin-Sparks

To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God... (2 Corinthians 2:16,17).

The Lord has not called upon us to form churches. That is not our business. Would to God men had recognised the fact! A very different situation would obtain today from what exists, if that had been recognised. It is the Lord Who expands His Church, Who governs its growth. What we have to do is to live in the place of His appointment in the power of His resurrection. If, in the midst of others, the Lord can get but two of His children, in whom His Life is full and free, to live on the basis of that Life, and not to seek to gather others to themselves or to get them to congregate together on the basis of their acceptance of certain truths or teaching, but simply to witness to what Christ means and is to them, then He has an open way...

The Church is not increased by your going and taking a building and trying to get people to come to it, and to your meetings, and then forming them, by a church roll, into a local church. That is not the way. Growth is by Life, and this, to begin with, may be by the entering into Life of but one soul, and then after a long waiting time of another; or it may be more rapid. But the point is that it is increase because of Life. That is the growth of the Church. For the growth of His Church, the Lord must have Life channels, Life centres. I believe that, given a Life centre, sooner or later one of two things will happen, that it will be abundantly manifest that Christ is fully and finally rejected there, or else there will be an adding, a growth. There is tremendous power in Life, and the Life of the Lord either kills or quickens. It depends on the attitude taken toward it. He is a savour of Life unto Life, or of death unto death. Things can never remain neutral. What the Lord needs is Life centres.

From:The Risen Lord and the Things Which Cannot be Shaken

Wonderful Women

I saw them again today ... these wonderful women. Once again I came away inspired and encouraged by seeing the strength of others. Over long months of visits to various cancer treatment wards etc. they have continued to impact and impress me.

What do I see that is so powerful?

I see wives, mothers, daughters, sisters and ALL of them are displaying the same quiet courage and grace. Each one in her own way, some in treatment, others supporting, but steady as rocks and pressing on with painful and difficult journeys with a quiet fortitude.

I sit in waiting rooms and wards, watching them share a smile, a joke, a touch ... watching them giving care and comfort in the quietest way. I see great displays of selflessness, love in the hard places, strength that others lean on in their journeys.

There is always a little wonder about what their story might be.

The Pacific Island woman and all her grown children (some such big boys that they take up two seats each), sitting quietly beside the man of the household, just being with him, never leaving his side, doing the journey together.

The beautiful woman in a long pink scarf that trails like a wedding train down her back, covering her hairless head with soft beauty. She smiles and walks alongside her husband and son, carrying the evidence of the baby soon to come with quiet dignity ... how graciously she deals with what life has dealt her.

The bright little single woman who has come alone. Trendy little hat on her head, softly spoken, and a twinkle in her eye that she shares with those around her, making them smile too.

The nurses, who stare death in the face every day, and yet give away warmth, humour, love and care out of a seemingly bottomless capacity to make life easier for those they have chosen to help.

It has been some weeks now since I felt I wanted to talk about the remarkable people I have been blessed to observe, sometimes talk silently to God about, always encouraged to feel proud to be one of their number. They will never know how they have touched my life by simply being themselves and living their lives ... makes you wonder doesn't it ... what do people see in us, those we don’t even know are watching, and what silent impact do we have:?

LOVE/LIFE/LONGING. PLANTING & MANTLING.

It was out of LOVE that God gave to us what He most LOVED in order that we might have LIFE.

LONGING : He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. Luke 1:53 NIV

This is a time of recognising the LONGING God allows - the sense of emptiness and not being complete and of being unable to remedy this ourselves.

There is an ever louder cry in the hearts of many, a cry for the unknown, a cry for the One their hearts know but cannot see. The Holy Spirit begins to increase the desire that causes us to cry out with Him "Come" - a cry that arises out of our increased LONGING. The closer we move towards the marriage the more intense the cry of the bride's heart will become. It is intensified by His nearness.

'As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jewelled tiara. For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, so the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations.' Isaiah 61 (The Message).

PLANTING HIS CHOSEN

Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit continues to anoint and send God's people to preach good news, heal the heartbroken, announce the year of God's grace, comfort those who mourn.

He's growing 'Oaks of Righteousness through whom His life flows to display His glory. It is most certainly time to begin to 'build a new city out of the ruins, wreckage and rubble' of what is currently falling down.

This passage in Isaiah is highlighted for the coming year as we are not to focus on what no longer works,but search for what survives and use it to build as God instructs. This is the time to look for what remains, all that each of us can come and place before His throne.

'Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness" planted by God to display His glory. They'll rebuild the old ruins, raise a new city out of the wreckage. They'll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new." Isaiah 61 (The Message)

"They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will RENEW the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations."

It will be the work of the "Oaks of Righteousness", those prepared and placed by the Lord, to allow Him to bring new life to everything around them, we can expect to see this in the ruined and devastated places. This will be a work of renewal/revival that will exceed expectations and break down current mind sets on what 'revival' looks like.

You will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God - all of this taking place for the display of HIS splendour.

MANTLING

There will be a specific mantling on those God chooses and places. It is light, protective and seamless. It wraps them in His comfort and protection. There is great strength inside this beautifully light garment.

LEADING & POWER

It is important to know that those carrying this mantle will be lead and directed by the Lord where to go - it will not be for man to say when and where. The going will be "in Him" and in His mantle. It feels very like living in Psalm 91, and there will be an outworking of His mighty power which will be as described in Isaiah 63 - to gain for himself everlasting renown ... to make for Himself a glorious name.

FOR 2010

It will take a people called, prepared, and surrendered to God's will, to stand with Him in the dark places and see Him pour out His light. Many are invited but few are chosen. Matthew 22:14 NIV

There are many willing to go and do good works, but it is another thing to be planted by the Lord for the display of His splendour. These are those who will indeed love Him more than their own lives, and who are willing to trust Him in their own great weakness and vulnerability. These will be 'sent' in order to gather into His Kingdom.

I see these mantled ones walking into position and standing wrapped in all He has given them, clothed in soft blue light. They are positioned by, and for, Him. He has cleared the space in which they stand displaying His goodness and His power.

I see people gathering, looking at this light, wondering at it, timid and afraid to approach. Then I see small figures (children?) and they dart in and tug at the hem of the mantle - it fills their hands and mouths like candy floss. Many begin to come and gather and eat and it is a constant supply - the mantle maintains its shape and size no matter how much is taken.

I feel the enormous love this mantle contains and allows to pour through it. This love attracts the lost and hungry and repels darkness.

Isaiah 65 says in The Message "For my people will be a long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work. They wont work and have nothing come of it, they wont have children snatched out from under them. For they themselves are plantings blessed by God, with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed. Before they call out I'll answer, before they've finished speaking, I'll have heard."

I feel the Lord is saying: "I want you to hear that I am near, and to know that I am active in areas as yet unseen. Remember that I hold the future in My hands and remain sovereign. The living must be in Me in the days ahead, to live by the ways of the world will be very unsafe, even destructive. There are so many things known only to Me, so do not rely on the words and wisdom of men.

Isaiah 64 (NIV) Since ancient times no-one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.

The key is to wait on the Lord, to become entwined in Him and His purposes. It is the way to allowing Him to develop and to plant those He chooses where He chooses. There will be a remarkable flow of His love, power and strength to those who allow Him to place them according to His purposes.

GETTING WHERE?

One of the greatest minds that the Christian family has ever produced is Thomas Aquinas. Near the end of his life, the great theologian had a revelation of Jesus Christ. In light of that revelation, Aquinas said, “All that I have written seems to me like straw compared to what has now been revealed to me.”

"Most people plot and plan themselves into mediocrity, while now and again somebody forgets himself into greatness." ~ E. Stanley Jones

We need each other and most of all we need Jesus - it was God's idea that we be family and He the Father, and to that end He gave His very own Son to lead us into that incredible relationship.

Like all families we, the Body of Christ, seem to be a dysfunctional one in various areas, however we have a Father who cares and works to bring us ever closer to each other and to Himself.

It seems that Christmas time is simply a time to remember family. We know that it has become a commercial monster and who knows what actual day Jesus Christ was born in the stable? However, we do have a day when we are reminded that family is important to our God, and that His way of doing family is summed up in love and giving of oneself.

The revelation of Jesus Christ undid all that Thomas Aquinas had considered important, and that continues to happen to men, women and children today. We are not in need of recognition, achievement, or success, we are greatly in need of Jesus Christ, and of His Life being formed in us, transforming us into the family He is longing to see joined in love and unity - His heart is just like ours!

What is the way there?' Jesus told us that we should 'esteem others more highly than ourselves' and with that in mind I am going to repeat the quote above:

"Most people plot and plan themselves into mediocrity, while now and again somebody forgets himself into greatness." ~ E. Stanley Jones

Is it only me?

Is it only me ... never quite settled, living with a sense of quiet disturbance as a constant?

Yes, I know and also reside in the peace that Jesus give me, but there is a stirred up thing inside of me that never actually goes away.

It is as if I look constantly back and forth over our nation, always watching, always alert for a movement or a glimpse of something more than we have seen before.

There is a lot of movement, a lot of activity, but I frankly don't see anything out there that excites me with it's freshness and a sense of 'new and now'. I see a lot of bringing back what had come and gone, and none of that is wrong, but surely there is a new day, a new level, something that is a completely fresh release out of heaven?

Some wise person said that we cant do the same old thing and expect a new result, but in many areas I just see the same things, over and over again. Maybe they are altered ever so slightly, given a new name, advertised in a different way, but they still have that sense that we have been this way before.

What if we all stood still for a second and just waited? What if we waited long enough for all the dust we've stirred up to settle so that we could see, hear and feel with greater clarity?

Do we have the courage to stand still and quiet, even if it appears we are doing nothing, achieving nothing at all, in order that God could come and do something that was incredible, amazing, and what He has in mind for this precise moment in time.

As I watch back and forth I have a sense of the sand running swiftly through the hour glass, slipping through our fingers and lost forever.

What if there is something entirely Kiwi? What if New Zealand is the one place on earth where something that is utterly, completely, and excitingly God can take place? What if we are so busy being impressed, excited and taken up with the things He is doing in other places that we completely miss what it was He wanted to do here?

To be honest I've had nearly all I can take of man's ideas, advertising and activity. Still waiting to see what God can do with a couple of completely committed Kiwis and a piece of number 8 fencing wire!

Borrowed Wisdom

This arrived in my inbox recently - it is way too good to keep to myself and helps us all hold perspective in testing times. :)

 

Enlargement through Perplexity
The facts are that there is often a larger service through a certain curtailment, a fuller life through a deeper death, a richer gain by a keener loss; and we have to look for the impact of the operation of God in us in a realm where the eye of man cannot trace....
Supposing the deepest purposes of God can only be realized by His hiding from our flesh all that that flesh craves for its life, and – more – supposing His work in us, whereby triumphant faith and obedience reach their highest form, necessitates His concealing Himself and accepting the risk of being considered to have been unfaithful?
There is no doubt that most of those who have been called into some of the most vital expressions of “the eternal purpose” have been trained in the school of apparent Divine contradiction, delay, withdrawal, and darkness.

T. Austin-Sparks