Amongst all the doom and gloom, a wonderfully uplifting and encouraging word for 2012

It is hard not to be affected by the constant reminder of how bad things truly are all around us.  Whilst we must recognise the importance of raising awareness and becoming aware ourselves of some of these plights in order to take action and responsibility for the things we can do to improve such situations, we must also be very aware of how the devil uses such negativity and doom and gloom in order to throw us off course and to burden us with fear, anxiety and a sense of chaos which depletes our faith reserves in an instant if we let it, and obstructs the open airwaves to worship our God in truth and in spirit every single day.

It is for this reason that this morning I want to offer you someone else’s revelation about the things to come in the hope that it will retrieve to you the perspective one needs in order to see the bigger picture behind the apparent sense of inevitability and helplessness.

May you see the light amongst all the darkness when you read these wonderfully inspired words.

Refreshing & Renewing

by Priscilla Van Sutphin

January 16, 2012

“ I’m taking many of you into times of repentance and deeper healing to finish My work in you in preparation for awakening at hand. Do not be surprised at accentuated emotions hitting you. I am causing to come to the surface anything hidden down in your heart. All unbelief and fears, all anger or resentments, all jealousies, or rejection and all manner of other offenses will be removed if you ALLOW Me. I want you to come near and be in My Presence, for a willing heart and worship will be all it takes to get you to a place of humility where I can confront what you haven’t wanted to look at in yourselves, or already know but haven’t been able to get free of it.
The season has changed, so don’t expect disappointment. EXPECT healing and deliverance when in My presence ! Expect things to change. Praise Me when they do and testify of My great mercy, for I am pouring out great GRACE in this hour and a vengeance against the enemy is in progress. He thinks he’s had the upper hand, but in this hour I will pour out DOUBLE grace to anyone who comes and is willing to allow me to look into your heart, and see, and touch. It is a new hour ! I am doing a NEW THING. It is springing forth NOW. I am arising in your hearts NOW.
Where you have been discouraged at lack of deliverance and healing in your loved ones, your children who have gone astray, and been held captive by the enemy, KNOW that I AM ARISING with GRACE, and LOVE to pour out in them. I AM an experience, and I will lose REVELATION that they will know Me for themselves. Do not be unbelieving. EXPECT Me to do something supernatural in this hour.
Those that have been ostracized by the church will find their niche in associations with others who will accept you and protect you, and appreciate the gifts I have put in you. I am working on MY WHOLE BODY. So do not run with skepticism or suspicion in your hearts. Run with expectation of reversals and turn arounds. For I am causing many who misunderstood you to repent of their wickedness, or neglect and criticism, or jealousies to turn and making them new. I need a prepared and unified army. Thus I am pouring out DOUBLE GRACE and cleansing My threshing floors. I am removing all dead wood, and the sword of the LORD will do what cannot be removed by kindness, and mercy.
Those who resist will be most sorry. So don’t focus on others. Focus on your own lives, and rout the little foxes that spoil the vine. Give ME what you are ashamed of. Give ME all your concerns, and proclaim your desire to be free, and watch to see that I WILL bring My Spirit to do the work in you that is needed to restore your life, and refresh you.
I will make your words like apples of silver in settings of gold. I will show you how to be kind to the ungrateful and those who have belittled and underestimated you. Do not struggle to make a name for yourself. How do you know oh man, if I have not kept you hidden for your own protection, for many will go into bondage under persecution in the days ahead. Many will die for the sake of the gospel. Do not struggle to be seen. KNOW THAT I SEE, and that is enough. Forsake all selfish ambition that comes from lack of recognition and rejection. Lay everything that is offense on the altar like Abraham, and rest in ME, and I will lift you up when it is time. TRUST ME with your life COMPLETELY!
I know many of you are wanting to do more, seeing all the need. But I am big enough to do it all Myself if I want. PRAY, and don’t strive at anything. I am WITH you! I am IN you. So allow ME to nurture your heart, and lead you in the way I HAVE ESTABLISHED since I knew before you were born what I would do with you. I know the choices you will make ahead of time. So stop trying to figure everything out, and allow me to guide you into paths of righteousness, and paths of grace, and paths of peace and love, and allow ME to guide your life in the direction I’ve planned for you.
Trust Me when I say the time is NOW, when I will bring to fruition all that I’ve told you already for your life. The glory will clear away all the confusion, or mystery in time, as you REST in My presence and quiet yourself in Me. All will become crystal clear, if you will but REST, and TRUST Me to show you what you need now. Cling to Me beloveds, come away with ME and listen to what I want to say. I am waiting for you.”
Isa 30:15-16 NKJV For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not, 16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses” —
Therefore you shall flee! And, “We will ride on swift horses” — Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
Prov 17:1 NKJV Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife.
Isa 32:17-19 NKJV 17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. 18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, 19 Though hail comes down on the forest, And the city is brought low in humiliation.

ARE YOU IN BITTERNESS OF SOUL?

Though I have been put on the shelf by God for a while, my heart still beats hard and robustly to the drum of the Holy Spirit calling his church to repentance, to an act of renewal and rebirth.  The article below written by the wonderful David Wilkerson, who is no longer amongst us but whose spirit lives on, has touched me deeply and filled me with hope.  I hope it does that for you too.

GOD’s POWERFUL ARMY -by David Wilkerson.

Something very powerful and awesome is going on in the world today —something beyond human comprehension—something that will affect the whole world in these last days.

God is preparing a small but powerful army of Christians, the most dedicated army on the face of the earth. The Lord will come forth to command them to do exploits; He is going to close out the ages with a pure, devoted, fearless remnant.

All my life I have heard stories about our godly forefathers who hated sin. These men and women knew God’s voice and spent hours, even days, in fasting and prayer. They prayed unceasingly and had the power and ability to successfully stand up against immorality in their day.

These forefathers have long since passed on. But God is in the process of raising up another army and this time His warriors will not be made up only of elderly, gray-haired fathers and mothers of Zion. This new army will be composed of both new and seasoned believers, both young and old, ordinary Christians who lay hold of God! A whole new realm of ministry is about to come forth!

The denominational church system appears to be in the throes of death. It has almost no influence in the secular world, no mighty power in Christ. Some accuse me of being “hard” on pastors. But I am in touch with many godly pastors who grieve as I do over the backsliding in the ministry today. There is a holy remnant of godly pastors in the land, and I thank God for every one of them. Yet, it is still a fact that more and more ministers are racing down the road of compromise.

The Bible warns that we are not to fret! God has a plan and it is being manifested. It is put forth plainly in Scripture, mostly in the first four chapters of First Samuel.

The prophet Samuel is a type of God’s last-days remnant. The Lord chose him amid the worst of times and hid him away in training until it was time to bring forth His new thing. God told Samuel, “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle” (1 Samuel 3:11). What would so amaze and startle all who heard it? It was the judgment of God on the backslidden religious system and the raising up, training and anointing of a new, holy remnant!

What God did in Samuel’s day, He does in every generation. Indeed, in every generation there has been a remnant, a praying people after His own heart.

BIRTH OF the LAST-DAYS REMNANT

The prophet Samuel is a type of the last-days holy remnant—a prepared body of believers that rises out of the ruins of the old, decadent church.

Hannah, Samuel’s mother, birthed her son through bitter tears and much prayer. “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish” (1 Samuel 1:10).

Try to imagine the scene: Hannah was at the temple every day, on her knees before the altar, crushed and broken because she was childless. As she wept, her adversary—her husband’s other wife— made fun of her. “And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb” (1 Samuel 1:6).

There are three important things I want to point out from this passage:

    * First, the remnant that Samuel represents is born in grief and intercession.     * Second, those who pray and grieve after God’s heart will be provoked by adversaries.     * And third, God’s remnant is always going to be misunderstood!

Note what happened to Hannah as she prayed: “And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, ‘How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!’” (1 Samuel 1:12-14). Eli and his sons represent the dying, corrupt church that has forsaken the Lord’s way. Eli was so out of touch—so dead in his spirit—he thought Hannah was drunk!

When Hannah was praying, she was filled with grief, burdened for the birth of a son. All she could do was move her lips because of her groaning in the Spirit. She prayed, “If You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and . . . will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 1:11).

Here are two distinguishing marks of God’s holy remnant:

    * They pray like Hannah. Their burden is deep and their heart is stirred because of the wickedness in God’s house.     * Like Hannah, they give themselves to prayer every day of their lives.

God wants to make you like that. He wants you to be able to touch Him and hear from Him. He wants to give you a ministry to others who will come to you with their burdens and trials. And as you pray for them, His Word will come forth!

I AM TURNING INTO SCROOGE AND I LOVE IT!!! SOOOOOOOOO LIBERATING!

This year it so happens that we do not have a commitment to visit either my family or my husband’s family for Christmas, and so after fighting off many deeply-rooted prejudices and pre-conceptions, and afer much personal wrestling with unfounded fears and superstition, we have decided to do the unthinkable, the unforgivable, the irreverent: we are going away on holiday to sunnier climates during the Christmas season.

I have had to face my own fears and superstitions as I said just now, and I also had to fight my children’s misconceptions that one cannot possibly spend Christmas where there are no cold temperatures and snow.  No sir, that is not what Christmas is supposed to be.  Christmas and having fun do not marry together.  There has to be family confrontation, arguments, jealousy, illness, misery, obscene expenditure, over-eating, glitter and glamour, wastage and utter disregard for the true Christian Spirit by the mere fact that all good things end as we put our tree away til the next Christmas.

I must admit that up til not that long ago, that was my frame of mind with regards to going away on holiday at Christmas time. More fool me!

We are practically away for the whole Christmas period and so it makes sense to us to not even get the Christmas decorations out.  It is hassle, and more work to have to catch up with on our return, so I am doing the sensible thing and keeping the whole fanfare in our loft for one more year.  I feel ten years younger already just by writing that.

What is the meaning of it all?  What is the point of all the fluff and outer layers of apparent warmth and endearment we coat our Christmases with?  Who are we fooling?  What is at the core of it all?  I have been asking myself this a lot in these last few days. I can’t stand hypocrisy, shallowness and pretence.  The worst culprits are us: Christians.  The excess, abundance, gluttony, over-spending, luxury, total disregard for the needs of those who have nothing, all these terrible things which become even more visible and easy to observe in Christians at Christmas time than at any other time of the year.  We preach one thing, we live out another.  And then when it is all over, all the good intentions, the compassion, the mercy, the grace, the love, it all goes out of the window, just as easy as all the decorations were put up and taken down again.

And my question is:  What is Christmas? No, seriously, what is it? If you are a Christian reading this as I am, wouldn’t you agree that each and every day we spend on this earth having accepted Jesus Christ into our life should be thought of as Christmas? Shouldn’t all our good qualities, virtues, good intentions and resolutions be a daily practice each single day we live on this earth? Isn’t each single day the day that the Lord has made?  Do we not live with the same purpose each day of the year? Shouldn’t we?  Why do all our Christian beliefs and convictions melt down with the snow, get put away in a box with our decorations until the next Christmas season?  What is that all about?

As a Christian, I feel the absolute need to be stripped down bare, bare to the core of what it is that it means for me to follow Christ every single day of my life.  Can you imagine what kind of place this world would be if we transplanted the way our heart and spirit are like at Christmas to every single other day of the year? Can you imagine the kind of witness that the Christian world would present to those who do not believe? I want to experience this Christmas without all the layers of pretence and adornment we embellish it with.  I want to get to the nitty-gritty of how to live each day of my life as if it was Christ-mas, because it is.

Oh my gosh!  It is true what my daughter said to me just the other day: I am turning into Scrooge……AND I LOVE IT.  BRING IT ON JESUS!  SHAKE IT ALL OFF, PEEL ALL THE LAYERS AND UNNECESSARY BAGGAGE THAT IS STOPPING ME FROM FULFILLING MY CHRISTIAN CALLING TO BE THE LIGHT AND THE SALT  E-V-E-R-Y  S-I-N-G-L-E  D-A-Y  O-F  M-Y  L-I-F-E

______________________________________________________

You may have recently read a post I wrote about our friend Burkhard Varnholt and the charity he founded years ago called Kids of Africa (http://www.kids-of-africa.com/you-can-help/house-renovation-campaign/). Well, due to the rain season and to termites, the beautiful houses built in the Kids of Africa village have been badly damaged and need repairing if they are going to be habitable.  And so these repairs can only take place if people donate money.  Yes, money does not solve all problems and it most certainly does not replace love, but in this situation we can most certainly show love to these orphan children by helping rebuild these wonderful houses they can now call their home.  The cost of renovating one house which is inhabited by 10 people is US$2,000.  My husband and I have worked extremely hard this year and God has honoured and blessed our commitment to the resources and skills he has equipped us with.  None of it would make much sense to us unless we shared it with those who have nothing, so why don’t you join us in extending the Christmas spirit to the rest of the year by making a commitment to living this out every single day?  Why not start by making a difference today?

I won’t wish you a merry Christmas but my wish for you is instead that you live each day as it is Christmas, because it is. The world will be a much better place for it and the light of Jesus will shine all the brighter for it in the darkest of places.

JUST LIKE THE FORMIDABLE SPECIMEN OF THE EAGLE WE TOOK A PICTURE OF LAST SUMMER (SEE THE HEADER OF THIS BLOG), I HOPE TO KEEP MY EYES FIXED ON THE ONE THING THAT TRULY MATTERS.

God bless you!

West Coast Disaster. Will we listen?

You may recall a while ago I published a post called “Will California shake beyond recognition?” (http://anewcreation33.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/will-california-shake-again/)

This morning reading through some of the websites on my blogroll I discovered a prophetic word recently given by Rick Joyner which you can find on the link below.  I think it is fair to say there are far too many of us getting a burden, dreams and visions about the shaking that is coming to California for the world to ignore it.  Please pray for that part of the United States and for repentance to come to that land before it is too late, pray for God’s mercy and for a great harvest to be reaped as God’s will come to pass.

Thank you and God bless you.

Here is the link.  Please take the time to reflect on this, to pray about it and to seek God. The majority of us discard these kinds of warnings, because we know from a scientific point of view and from history that indeed the West Coast of America is one of the most prone areas in the world to suffer earthquakes, so what’s new, right? That granted, I still feel God would not burden so many of us with warnings about this, unless He intended to bring His people to repentance, and for none to perish before it is too late.

Our Heavenly Father is a Compassionate, Fair and Merciful God, but ultimately He is also Just, Holy, All-knowing, Omnipotent and Sovereign.

http://www.morningstarministries.org/Articles/1000116498/MorningStar_Ministries/Media/Word_for_the/2011/West_Coast_Disaster.aspx#.TthTu-ChkHk.facebook

Is it time to close our churches? For the most part, I’d say so!

Is It Time To Close Our Churches?

by Bill Muehlenberg (http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/)

OK, now that I have got your attention, let me explain. I was again having a great conversation with a godly brother about the state of the church and related matters. I mentioned the sad state of so much of Australian – and Western – Christianity, and what might be done about it.

We were talking about how basically all churches and denominations have some amount of the traditions of men. Most would claim to be merely biblical, but perhaps none are entirely so. We all have various traditions we tack on to our faith, thinking everything we do is all gospel truth.

I mentioned, as an example, how in so many of the churches it seems almost mandatory to have worship conducted in what can only be described as a disco: black walls, strobe lights, smoke machines, etc. There is not one bit of biblical warrant for any of this, but so many churches seem to think that without all this they would somehow be quite deficient.

I have written before about such matters: www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/08/31/christian-atheism/

And here: www.billmuehlenberg.com/2009/11/29/david%E2%80%99s-mighty-men-godly-discontentment/

My brother fully agreed with me, but said that they would argue they need such things to draw in the young people or make it relevant. To which I replied, “What’s wrong with the Holy Spirit? Is he not sufficient to draw in both young and old?” The Holy Ghost was all the early church had. They had no gimmicks, no techniques, no marketing strategies, no advertising, and so on.

But they did have a growing and thriving church. They did not need or want manmade mechanisms to grow a church. They knew God alone would suffice. My friend, again agreeing, and again playing devil’s advocate, asked how we will keep people, especially our youth, coming to church. They need some sort of draw card.

I said we don’t really need entertainment and celebrities to draw people. If that was all we needed, then we should go the whole hog and have free pizzas, door prizes, and other appealing things 24/7. That would certainly bring in the crowds.

The trouble is, if the only way we can get people into our churches is through gimmicks, entertainment and worldly lures, then that will be what they come to expect for their entire Christian life. If their Christian journey is not fun, entertaining, feel-good and me-centred, they will go elsewhere for better and cheaper thrills.

We cannot start  believers off on the wrong foot and then expect they will continue on the right foot. A false initiation to the Christian faith will always disappoint in the end. Such shallow gospel gimmickry can only result in shallow Christians.

The entertainment and celebrity culture (by which I mean not just the songs but the sermons and the whole feel-good experience), needs to be radically rethought. Indeed, I would suggest that we can probably dispense with most of it, and start asking ourselves how God in fact builds a church. One thought which has exercised my spirit for some time now I will throw out here.

If it results in even more believers thinking I am a bit of a strange duck, well, that may be the price I have to pay. I try not to worry too much about what people think, but I do endeavour to take seriously what God thinks. (Of course I am fully aware that God speaks through his people. So I do actually take all criticisms on board, and try to treat them like a fish dinner: take the meat while leaving the bones behind.)

So let me offer a real hardcore suggestion here. My recommendation is this: it may well be the best thing in many cases to simply shut our church doors and post a big sign on each entry with words something like this:

“Dear friends, sorry but our church is now closed for repairs. It will be closed for perhaps a few days, perhaps a few weeks, and maybe even longer, until a full and thorough renovation has taken place. These doors will remain shut for as long as it takes. We will notify you when the doors will reopen. In fact, there will be no need to notify you, because it will be apparent to everyone when the renewal work is completed. Thank you for your patience.”

Am I being facetious here? Not really – at least not too much. I do believe that sometimes the very best thing we could do for some of our churches is shut them down for a spell. When the church is shut down, God’s people and their leaders can then spend as much time on their faces before God as possible, beginning with some serious repentance.

The list of things to repent of would be extensive. We could repent of our worldliness, our compromise, our disobedience, our laziness, our lukewarmness, our apathy, our carnality, our waywardness, our sloth, our cowardice, our sinfulness, and our fleshliness. And that’s just for starters.

We could repent of relying on man-made techniques, pagan gimmicks, carnal entertainment, worldly celebrity status, and whoring after money, fame and fortune. Above all we could repent of thinking that the Holy Spirit is somehow just an optional extra, and that having lots of entertainment and things to do will somehow compensate for his absence.

We must take very seriously the words of Christ: “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Until our hearts are broken and malleable and contrite and soft, we will never be able to do much good for God. That is the clear teaching of Scripture:

“A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

“For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’.” (Isaiah 57:15)

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)

And we should stay on our faces before God in an attitude of contrition, repentance and humility for as long as it takes. When, by God’s grace, the garbage in our churches and in our lives is weeded out, and we are at a place of brokenness before him, where we are willing to say, “Lord, whatever it takes,” and God then gloriously and wonderfully meets us and renews us and fills us afresh, then we can reopen the doors.

In other words, until the Lord meets us with a new, deep and serious work of God, breaking forth into a transforming revival, we should maybe take a break from all our busyness. When God-breathed revival breaks forth, we will not need to waste our time on entertainment and fleshly gimmicks and cheap tricks to keep the crowds amused.

We will be too busy falling before the holy and living God. We will have to think about how to deal with the overflowing crowds. That will be a much nicer problem to have. Remember, Jesus never left as his parting commandment, “Go into all the world and make megachurches, draw big crowds, and entertain the masses”.

He said “Go into all the world and make disciples.” That is an altogether different matter. And the only real way that can be done is by the power of the Spirit. Instead of so much relying on every method under the sun, we need to more fully embrace the only true means Christ has prescribed for us: the Holy Spirit.

As usual, A.W. Tozer had it exactly right: “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.”

Postscript

OK, let me offer a much-needed afterword for all those ready to tar and feather me and run me out of town. Are there a lot of great churches, Christians, and church leaders doing great things? You bet. Is God ever so gracious and merciful to us that he shows up week after week even though we have so much carnality and fleshliness in our gatherings? Yep.

It is the overwhelming grace of God that he so often uses us frail, weak and often selfish servants. My point is simply that instead of relying on so many gimmicks and techniques, maybe we just need to go back to basics and invite God back and ask him how he would like things to be done.

And my proposal is not all that radical. Pastors will often take a sabbatical; church leaders will often do a weekend retreat; and lay people will often go to a week-long church camp for spiritual renewal and refocusing. So my suggestion is simply a bit more of the same.

I thank God for all the faithful Christians, faithful churches, and faithful leaders who are sold out to Jesus and are intent on glorifying him. May their tents increase and may there be many more of them.

The Church as a Boy’s Club by Bill Muehlenberg – Well worth a read!!

The Church as Boy’s Club     

by Bill Muehlenberg (http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/)

Thomas Sowell once said that “The biggest myth about labor unions is that unions are for the workers. Unions are for unions, just as corporations are for corporations and politicians are for politicians.” And I might add, sadly, some churches are for churches, and some church leaders are for church leaders – not necessarily the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We kid ourselves if we think some believers and Christian leaders are in the church for only pure spiritual motives. There are all sorts of reasons why some people covet leadership positions in churches. The same desire for fame, fortune, glory, power, self-aggrandisement and empire building we find in the world can also readily be found in our churches.

Many church leaders exist simply to protect their own turf, their own livelihood, and their own ego. They especially thrive on the praises and adulation of men. Indeed, while the Bible clearly warns about men pleasers, they are by no means absent in much of the church today.

Sure, one can see why believers can so easily fall into such traps. No one wants to be unpopular, disliked, unloved, and not respected. That is a very human characteristic. But Christians are not supposed to be simply catering to human desires and whims.

We are to be seeking to please God above all else. Indeed, I would rather be accepted by God and spurned by men than be loved by men and spurned by God. At the end of the day the only thing that really matters is what God thinks of us, not what man thinks of us.

I am reminded of a story concerning Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. A clergyman had assured him that God was on the North’s side of the conflict. Lincoln replied to him, “I know that the Lord is always on the side of right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord’s side.”

Quite so. I don’t want to be simply ‘right’. I don’t want to be popular. I don’t want to be successful. I only want to be pleasing in all things to God. I want to one day hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And if that means falling out of favour with man, then so be it.

That is a very small price indeed to pay to be pleasing to God. Yet we seem to find so few leaders today who put God’s pleasure above everything else. They seem more intent on heaping upon themselves the praises of men. They want to be surrounded by admirers, fans, and groupies. They bask in the limelight of human praise, but seem less concerned about heavenly approbation.

And too often such folks find great comfort in the company of other like-minded folks. Thus too often the church becomes a closed shop, a little men’s club, a mutual pat-yourself-on-the back club, where they simply become yes men to one another. It becomes just like any other closed club where any outside assessments, questions or criticisms are verboten, and they remain above any searching evaluation.

They exist simply to exist. It is a self-perpetuating kingdom where existence is paramount. Just as so many politicians will put staying in power above all else, so too many church leaders have ensconced positions of power, where they feed on the praises of men and the adoration of the crowds.

I have seen this first hand too often, and it is not a pretty sight. These folks would rather bask in the applause of men than spend time in the shadow of the almighty. They would rather parade around the world and receive the praises of men than spend time on their faces before the crucified Lord.

They do not believe in the offense of the gospel, or recognise a rejected saviour. They only know glory, power, fame and fortune. Their Christ is only a triumphant conquering king, not a messiah crowned with a headpiece of thorns. Because of this gross imbalance, their Jesus is not the Christ of Scripture, but the stuff of fiction.

And so many believers are so very happy to hop on board such a triumphant and prosperous faith. At such venues the gospel message is usually mangled beyond comprehension. Banished forever are words and concepts like sin, mortification, self-denial, holiness, repentance, sacrifice, and the wrath of God.

Instead, the words are always so warm and fuzzy and reassuring and accepting. It is all about you, and how you can feel better about yourself, and how you can prosper and lose weight and succeed in your business and be wealthy and free of illness, trouble, trials, or suffering.

It is a man-centred gospel preached by man-centred preachers. And for all that, there is only applause and cheers. The offence of the cross has been well and truly disposed of. Jesus is the buddy of mankind, not the righteous judge of the universe whose eyes flash with fire and whose sword drips with blood.

This domesticated Jesus is to everyone’s liking. The masses love him and the false prophets love to proclaim him. His message is so easy and so me-centred. Who wouldn’t want to follow such a figure? But as Leonard Ravenhill rightly warned, “If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.”

Indeed, Joseph Sobran was quite incisive when he said this several decades ago: “The church is hated more for her virtues than for her weaknesses. Nobody hates Zeus or Thor or the Buddha, because nobody feels deeply rebuked by their standard of morality. We can look back on them benignly, because they are remote from us and pose no threat to our self respect. Christ is different. He is not out-of-date because he was never up-to-date. He was immediately loved and hated by his contemporaries, most of whom rejected him because his teachings were too hard. As G.K. Chesterton said, his morality was poorly adapted to his time: That is why he was crucified. Anyone who teaches his morality today can expect to be attacked too.”

William Booth said this over 100 years ago, and it is spot on: “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”

This perfectly describes the modern day church. And I am not just talking about the obvious liberal mainstream denominations, but about so many of our supposedly Bible-believing evangelical and charismatic churches today. This describes to a T the situation in so many of our churches.

As is so often the case, A.W. Tozer hit the nail on the head when he said, “The desire to please may be commendable enough under certain circumstances, but when pleasing men means displeasing God it is an unqualified evil and should have no place in the Christian’s heart. To be right with God has often meant to be in trouble with men.”

Let me offer you one more quote which is one of my very real favourites: “Controversy for the sake of controversy is a sin: controversy for the sake of truth is a Divine command” (Dr Walter Martin). I for one absolutely hate controversy and conflict. I would much rather sit in a corner and read books all day.

So why in the world I do what I do is a good question. But there is only one right answer: it is because my saviour did not just sit in a corner and read books, but gave up everything so that I might be made right with him. How can I do any less in return?

If standing with him against the gates of hell and the hatred of men toward us is part of the cost, then so be it. I am not in the least bit interested in living a life of ease and comfort. Sure, I can get that and more if I simply go with the crowd and seek to please men. But if I do this, I am crucifying my Lord afresh.

We have sold out the gospel to please men and be acceptable. This is the great scandal of the modern-day church. I for one do not want to be part of this scandalous situation. I want to be with the Lamb who was slain, who now deserves all praise and honour and glory. Forget the lousy praise and honour of men.  Who needs it? It is time to seek His praise, and His alone.

CHRISTIANS NEED TO GET BACK TO BASICS: LEARNING TO BE LIGHT IN DARK PLACES.

Nick Vujicic’s latest video on his website Life without Limbs (http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/) has really just spoken to me and I am sure to anyone who watches it. I encourage you to do so.
As a person who has victims of suicide within my own family, I was deeply touched by the message in this video. I often ponder about what extreme of loneliness and despair must a human being experience to prefer death to life. It hits me right in the gut when I think about it, but what really turns my stomach is the possibility of having ignored God’s still small voice asking me to be that light in a dark place and having ignored that stir within my spirit. Doing nothing is a choice most of us make every single day, every single hour without giving it a second thought, and yet the consequences of our indifference are so massive and final.

This video also touched me on a personal level because my husband and I started the “Light in the Darkness” initiative three years ago to provide food parcels to the homeless and families in need in our area. To date we have donated via our local branch of the Salvation Army way over 700 food parcels to individuals and families who for the most part are in that dark place with no hope, no respite, and no future. Interestingly, when we first set up the initiative we called it “Help to Feed the Homeless”, but a good friend of mine pointed out to me years later that seeing as we no longer provided food parcels to the homeless but also to families in any kind of need, it was fitting to give the initiative a new name which would reflect and incorporate all those whom we have helped. Two minutes later I was praying whilst having a shower and I asked God to suggest to me a new name which would define this initiative as He saw it. Immediately, the words “light in the darkness” came to me and ever since that day I have been constantly coming across media, videos, testimonies, music and Christian messages which speak of being light in the darkness.

I believe in this hour God is calling us all to simply be that light in the darkness, to simplify our well-meant enterprises in His name and to get back to basics: to help those who cannot help themselves, to bring joy and hope to those who have none, to share our resources and blessings with those who have nothing, and to simply BE ambassadors of Jesus Christ to the world, as Nick suggests.

Please watch the video and as you do, ask the Holy Spirit to show you in which dark place you can shed the light of Jesus Christ you carry within. Remember, you may not get to see or hear about the effect your words, actions or even attitude may cause in another human being but simply trust that when you feel that nudge, you have been chosen to act on it for a very important reason.

As I write about the simplicity God is calling His people to in terms of how to be light and salt in the world today, I also want to share with you a prophetic message published today by a lady whose prophetic words I have been following now for a very long time, long enough to know she speaks God’s heart. I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me.

Crunch Time by Priscilla Van Sutphin (http://ft111.com/priscilla.htm)
Nov 18th 2011

Crunch Time

The interval of time immediately before a project is due, when it becomes apparent that the schedule has slipped and everyone is going to have to work like dogs to try to complete the project in time. Crunch time usually occurs during the period between the next-to-last scheduled milestone (prior to which everyone was able to delude themselves that the schedule had NOT slipped) and the final deadline for delivery. During crunch time, workers are in crunch mode. Prevalent in the software industry, but used elsewhere as well.

“We’ve got three weeks left to complete six weeks worth of work. Looks like we’ll be living on take-out for a while.”
Definition of CRUNCH TIME a critical moment or period (as near the end of a game) when decisive action is needed
Mark 4:16-20 NKJV

16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Mark 13:14-20 NKJV

The Great Tribulation

(Matt 24:15-28; Luke 21:20-24)

14 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’* spoken of by Daniel the prophet,* standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 And pray that your flight may not be in winter. 19 For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

The voice of the Lord…

“Where are you going oh sons of men ? Where are you going ? What are you pursuing, that keeps you away from your Lover ? I ask you, am I not enough for you ? At times I feel like a scorned lover, who is longing for her husband but he is too busy with business as usual, to notice that she has changed her clothing, and prepared a special meal, just so they could eat it together.

In the midst of turmoil there will not be the time to make important decisions with calmness unless you get your instructions from ME ahead of time. I tell you that time with ME is never wasted. I am the Living Word and knowing the Word is good. It is My love letter to you. But I want you to know me. It is not good enough to know your wife oh husband, or for you oh wife to know your husband by only what is history written down. It is important for intimacy if you KNOW him or her; to know their heart, their thinking, their hopes and aspirations, their preferences, what they like for dinner, what they smell like after a shower. You may laugh, but a wife doesn’t only want a husband to just service her sexually, and go off and busy himself the rest of the time. That would only build resentment.

Thus I say to you, COME AWAY MY BELOVEDS and seek My face for what you are to do in this hour, for tumult is at the door, disruptions and disasters are waiting to manifest. Evil intent in the heart of the wicked is being realized as you sleep. Arise and shine for your time has come and it’s crunch time for knowing My heart and what I intend for you. I am preparing you, readying you for your destiny. Destiny is opening it’s doors right now, and there are jobs, opportunities being presented in this hour for full time and part time positions. Some of you will have dual roles, one foot in business and one foot in spreading the Kingdom. Many of you will be conscripted into service through disasters and troubles. Violence is growing so diligence must also grow in your hearts towards time with ME. Take communion with ME, all the more as you see the time approaching it says, so

Come away, and seek Me with all your heart, like when you first grew to love Me.

Take time to strengthen your inner man, and to rest and listen to My heartbeat, as John did, laying his head upon My chest. John was just a teenager when I knew him here on earth, he was like a son to me, and he never stopped leaning his head on my chest to get direction for which way to go. I want you DEPENDENT on Me, not independent of Me.

Many still are going their OWN way, instead of My way. I have opened doors for some, so that you can be aligned with others who will work together with you in conjunction. The church MUST CHANGE it’s direction. It is headed towards a spiritual Armageddon without preparing the flocks for what is to come. You must pray their eyes be opened, and hearts changed to accept MY instruction for how to do this end times plan. The face of the church is changing, and the church must also change it’s ways of doing church.

Persecution is already planned, yet people are going on blithely without understanding the times they are in. Awakening is at the door. The people in the streets are going to see mighty wonders, but the opposition is also strong and will come in like a flood trying to drown what I loose. You must be prepared to be more fluid, and flexible in how you do church. Buildings are safe only for a short time more. But when awakening comes full force, it will only be a short while before the enemy raises his army to crush it through persecution and mayhem.

Arise and shine for your LIGHT has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Men will come to your light, and Kings to the brightness of your shining. YOU WILL MANIFEST MY GLORY like no other generation before you. Don’t you understand what I have been preparing you for ? All the tests and trials have been to soften your hearts that you could love even those who will persecute you, who will think they are doing Me a favor.

The religious spirits are even now trying to allure my bride and suck her into their web of deception, but I have made you strong and discerning that you would recognize a snake from a fawn. Come away beloveds, and listen to MY voice. Quiet your hearts and minds from all the daily violence and corruptions on the news, and find your peace in time with ME. Let me soothe your hearts and minds, and strengthen you on the inside, that you can go forth as my warhorses in battle array. “

Zechariah 10
Restoration of Judah and Israel
10 Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain.*

The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain,

Grass in the field for everyone.

2 For the idols* speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.

3 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.

4 From him comes the cornerstone, From him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, I will bring them back, Because I have mercy on them.

They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the Lord their God, And I will hear them.

7 Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their children shall see it and be glad;

Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.

8 I will whistle for them and gather them, For I will redeem them;

And they shall increase as they once increased.

9 “I will sow them among the peoples, And they shall remember Me in far countries; They shall live, together with their children, And they shall return.

10 I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt, And gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,

Until no more room is found for them.

11 He shall pass through the sea with affliction, And strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River* shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt shall depart.

12 “So I will strengthen them in the Lord, And they shall walk up and down in His name,” Says the Lord.

THE FOUNDER OF KIDS OF AFRICA: A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

I would like to flag today a wonderful charity which was founded and established by a good friend of my husband and our daughter’s Godfather.  The charity is called Kids of Africa and it was set up about 10 years ago by an incredible man called Burkhard Varnholt.  I was just catching up with their news and reading their latest newsletter and felt compelled to use my blogspace to commend and give thanks to God for the wonderful work carried out by Burkhard and his team over these last few years.

It takes great passion, courage, compassion and vision to begin something like this single-handedly and to then make it grow the way Burkhard now has.  I am humbled by the fact that not once I have heard Burkhard discuss with us his faith (indeed, I don’t know whether he is a believer or not), lecture us about compassion, preach to us about our duty to try to make the world a better place, or any of the things one normally hears from other Christians, which can often make us feel like a failure, guilty or a waste of space.  He is so understated and humble.  He never draws attention to himself or what he has achieved, but simply focuses on the children whose lives he is hoping to change.  Indeed he has already changed the lives of over a hundred children.  It was never about him, but always about them, and that is what makes him stand out from all the wanna-bes who seek after their own glory without the sacrifice. What an amazing legacy, what a way to live your life. What a way to lead others.  Jesus did say that those who humble themselves would be exalted, and to that end I write this post.

I search and search and hope and hope for more people like him amongst those who define themselves as Christian Leaders today.  Burkhard leads by example, from the front and sacrificially.  To me he exemplifies everything I would wish to achieve and accomplish in my own life as a Christian: a life lived for others and not myself, a life amounting wealth and comfort only to then be able to share and give it away to those who truly need it.  If you are at this point thinking that it is easy to give money away when you have much, yes for some people it may be though often the more we have, the tighter we get with it.  The kind of leaders who are quick to throw money and promises easily without ever getting their hands dirty never leave a lasting legacy.  Burkhard’s impact on dozens of other people, on a community is not just financial, far from it.  He travels to Uganda frequently and has overseen every single project, building, and bit of progress taking place in the Kids of Africa Village ever since he started this charity.  He knows every child in the orphanage personally and runs the whole thing with a team behind him to support him.  He is full-on involved and responsible for everything that goes on within the Charity away and at base.

I don’t want to spend the rest of my days talking about what I can do as a Christian or what I should do, working towards a new vision or program, a new way to reach the community or the freshest way of doing worship. I want to worship God by bringing Him glory and the only way I can do that is not by short-changing him with a few hours of my time singing at the top of my voice in the company of those who think like me, who live like me, who have as much as me or by spending countless hours in meetings trying to re-invent the wheel or have my voice heard above everybody else’s.  To glorify God I must take a risk, take a leap of faith, listen to His quiet small voice and follow Him where He wants me to be, doing what he wants me to do for His Glory no matter how small or unrecognised.

In my spirit I see the spirit of Jesus glowing out of Burkhard, whether he is aware of it or not. I see it not in words but in his every act of compassion, unconditional love, servanthood, and selflessness towards these African children and their plight. A heart like that is not cultivated by regularly attending any church, but simply by communing with our Creator, by seeking Him and asking of Him: God, what is the ONE thing I have been created to do that will best honour YOU, bring YOU glory and reveal to the world what is in YOUR heart? Maybe he never even asked God that question, maybe God whispered to him in a dream the vision to start this charity. It doesn’t matter how it all came about.  What matters is the fruit he has produced and continues to produce.  By their fruit you shall know them, Jesus said.

Burkhard, you are an inspiration and a great example to me and my family.

God bless you!

_________________________________________________________

Please check the Kids of Africa’s website for yourself, and if you are able to donate anything, no matter how small, please know it will be well used.  Check out some of the picture galleries on the website to see the standard of work, help and the quality of life that this charity is providing children who before being part of this little village did not have much of a future.

This is not one of your mega charities where admin costs take away a large part of what you donate.  Everything goes towards the children, their education and welfare, so please if you can, give generously.   The progress made through this charity is always tangible and personalised.  Please get involved and support it in any way you can.

http://www.kids-of-africa.com/who-we-are/

On the brink of Global Economic Collapse

This morning I found the article below in my inbox.  Its content relates pretty well to the subject discussed on my blog yesterday.  If you have not done so already, read my previous post please.

The world’s economic balance is hanging by a very fine thread, and we are still finding big, powerful and influential churches occupied with feeble pursuits such as helping its congregation to lose weight.  Never has the following verse of the Bible been more relevant than today, as the economic wheel that makes the world spin round truly hangs in the balance:

This economic turmoil will bring with it like never before big waves of casualties affected by poverty, hunger, unemployment, violence and illness and at a time when the church should be getting ready to be the light and the salt to the world, at a time when thousands of Christians should have been trained, equipped, taught and well rehearsed on how to minister to others who will present such challenging and dramatic needs, we continue to be self-absorbed and self-focused, we continue to be lukewarm and indifferent about the world perishing around us because our time, gifting, resources and most importantly our leadership has lost its North and its compass.  They have put their attention and focus in all the wrong places, in misplaced and misjudged ends and goals.

Tell me, what kind of military leader lets its troops fall into slumber and complacency at the very moment when there is a looming warning of battle and grave danger in the horizon, when there is knowledge about dramatic events threatening the stability, balance, safety and health of the territory those troops are responsible for defending with all they’ve got? And yet despite the numerous warnings in God’s word about how Christians must prepare for “battle”, and the millions of dollars and pounds invested on training the Christian Leaders of today, the acts of The Western Church spoken off today do not resemble in any way those spoken about in the Bible.  Perhaps the one similarity we could speak of is the quick increase in church attendance and membership in certain places but not as a result of a “Damascus” encounter where the individual personally meets with Christ, but as a result of the holiness of Christ being taken out of the equation and being replaced by worldly pursuits little to do with the cross. Somehow I don’t think Saddleback and Rick Warren would have made the New York Times’ Headlines had it not been for the very lack of reverence, holiness and shocking misplacement of loyalties and priorities at the very foundation of this church’s understanding of what defines people after God’s own heart.

“NEW RECESSION THREATENS the GLOBE”

-Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (Nov 10).

The OECD’s index of leading indicators for China, India, Brazil, Canada, Britain and the eurozone have all tipped below the warning line of 100, with the pace of the decline in Europe exceeding the onset of the Great Contraction in early 2008. Professor Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the IMF, rattled nerves earlier this week by warning the world is “looking straight into the face of a great depression”.  The grim data is coming thick and fast. Japan’s machinery orders fell 8.2pc in September as the post-Fukushima rebound lost steam and the delayed effects of the super-strong yen began to bite.  Export orders have been declining for eight months.  “Outright contraction is possible in the quarters ahead,” said Mark Cliffe from ING.  Exports in the Philippines dropped 27pc in September, the sharpest fall in two years. Korea’s exports have showed sharply, caused by a 20pc slide in shipments to Europe. Manufacturing has been contracting for the past three months.  Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s chief, warned in Asia that “there are dark clouds gathering in the global economy. Countries need to prepare for any storm that might reach their shores”. She said “adverse feedback loops” are at work as financial stress and economic woes feed on each other.  China’s carefully managed soft landing has turned uncomfortably hard, with ripple effects through the commodity markets.  Spot iron-ore prices have dropped 30pc since July to $126 a tonne.  Copper prices have fallen 20pc since August.  Barclays Capital said the risks of contagion to China has become serious. The bank is monitoring the country’s “key high frequency data” for early warning signs of the sort of sudden crash in metals demand seen during the Lehman crisis…

“The credit spigot has been turned off in the US,” said Chris Whelan from Institutional Risk Analytics… Fiscal and monetary stimulus has disguised the underlying sickness in the debt-laden economies of the West over the past two years.  This heavy make-up has at last faded away, exposing the awful visage beneath.

It is a delicate moment. The risk of a synchronised slump in Europe, the US and East Asia is bad enough. What is chilling is to face such a possibility with the monetary pedal already pushed to the floor in the US, UK and Japan.  Worse yet is to do so with Europe spiralling into institutional self-destruction…

Fancy losing weight? Forget the gym and go to church instead

Well, I have to say that I think I have now heard it all: a church which has started a weight-loss campaign by means of putting in place accountability partners through small groups.  Please somebody tell me this is the plot of the latest Hollywood Comedy and not a genuine enterprise taken on by one of the most influential and well-known leaders in today’s Western Church?  Though on a first read this is truly comical, as I dig deeper, my heart really aches and my spirit is grieved, truly grieved.  The reasons for my heartache on this occasion are just far too obvious so at the risk of being patronising, I ask you to please read this article and see for yourselves.

Would love to hear your thoughts and comments! Do you think these slimmer individuals may be the new wineskins Jesus spoke of?  Somehow I very much doubt it. This is in my opinion a mockery of the sanctification Christians are called to and of Christ’s redemptive power too.

I was disturbed by this article and the lengths Christian leaders go to to be contemporary, popular,  trendy and being seen to move with the times, or as some of the readers of the New York Times article have put it, to act “outside the box”.  Please somebody explain to me what weight loss has to do with Christ’s commission to his followers and disciples.  I thought the idea of accountability and fellowship were primarily for the sole purpose of building each other up towards sanctification, repentance, humility and ultimately the desire to become more Christ-like. and to inspire others to do the same.

This whole thing is yet another mockery of what The Church should be doing at this hour and rather than leading by example we are truly losing all credibility as God’s own people. As the powers of hell intensify in the world today, those wih suppossedly Godly authority and power to fight back are taking their eyes off the MAIN thing and letting their guard down.  Come to church to lose weight.  Someone out there must be cheering and having a good laugh and I don’t think it is God.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/at-a-big-church-a-small-group-health-solution/