| Must confess ,I am not that familiar with Country Music or one its singers ,Lee Ann Womack ,but I heard a song on a TV commercial as I was watching the news . Made a cup of tea for Mo and me this morning and switched the news on and the first thing I heard was the same commercial….I checked the words of the song again . They made my soul feel good –and no apologies for that ! –and made my spirit soar a little.. I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes ,I hope one more opens
Promise me you`ll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they`re worth taking
Lovin` might be a mistake
But it`s worth making
Don`t let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance I hope you dance
( Tell me who wants to look back on their youth and wonder
Where those years have gone ) I hope you dance . On New Year`s Eve ,I was up in Arizona`s high country enjoying a few days in the snow with our family . Great time !
Apart from the usual celebrations associated with Dec 31 ,it was also the occasion of a Blue Moon ! This is when there are two full moons in one calendar month . They occur approx every two and a half years . I went outside at the midnight hour and looked at the beauty of a full moon ,in a clear sky ,glistening on fresh snow . Breathtaking –and Praises to the Lord were easy !
I had a couple of additional thoughts…. Let`s say you were hoping to see a full moon during 2009 . Well ,it occurred in the nick of time in the last hours of the last day . Sometimes it seems that The Father waits until the last moment to bring fulfillment ,deliverance or expected blessing ! So ,He always comes ‘in the fullness of time.’Don`t panic ! Maybe at the eleventh hour ,but He will come ! The other thought was that this is an event that takes a long time between occurrences ….. so ,‘if the vision tarry ,wait for it .’ God is never in a hurry ,but He`s always on the move . Promises from heaven ,given maybe a long time
ago,will come to pass . Prepare as if they were being fulfilled ,wait with hope and never stop trusting . It`s on the way ….! So what you have promised yourself this New Year ? Some major life change ,a modest tweak or nothing at all . I read in James yesterday:‘You will be judged on whether or not you are doing what Christ wants you to .’(2:12) Ultimately ,I think ,people commit to what they believe in .
So ,this year ,like every year ,you will commit to what you really believe . Not just what you say you believe ,but what you really believe . The uncommitted are unbelievers . James and his epistle –dismissed by Luther as ‘the epistle of straw ‘,because of James` emphasis that faith always produces actions (works) –does however strike the right balance between what we say and what we do . You will be resolute about what you really believe and therefore act upon ,or irresolute if it`s just another good idea or another brilliantly impressive unimplemented plan . My friend ,George Ridley ,says:“I like what I`m doing ,a whole lot more than what you are talking about doing…”
Come on Now ! Let`s say “Amen”make a plan and do it ! 2010 didn`t even take a pause before taking over the calendar ! It`s here –let`s go at it . Attach to it and detach already from 2009 . In Isaiah 46 v 8 God says:”Remember the former things…”In Isaiah 43 v 18 God says:”Forget the former things..”A problem Houston ?? No ! Read on in Isaiah 46 and you will see that the only thing the Lord wants you to ‘remember’about the past is that He was always there ,always loved ,always delivered ,always had a plan and a purpose and always brought it about . That`s it ! Remember that “I am God…” So we reach into the future ,encouraged by Isaiah 43 –read it and believe it with a shout . Whenever we ‘live in the past’life will always degrade because we are saying basically that we have reached our destination . There is so much more ! In the future with God and His Purpose there is always hope ,always His Presence ,always His deliverance and always His Plan . “Losing sight of shore ,we might find the stars….!” Let`s believe together that 2010 will be the brightest and the best year of our lives ! When The Man came ,he came naked as a baby but loaded with riches from another world . He who was rich ,became poor ,so that we ,through His poverty might become rich .
For our shallowness ,He brought depth ;for our fear ,He brought courage ;our insecurity ,His Father ;our blindness ,His eyes to see over horizons ;our darkness ,His light ;our sins ,His forgiveness ;our time ,His eternity ;
our sicknesses ,His healing ;our emptiness ,His fullness ;
our lostness ,His direction ;our diminished ambition ,His Kingdom purpose ;our selfishness ,His community ;our death ,His life …complete you own list and then believe it. All the promises that God has EVER made are ‘Yes’in Christ ,and we say ‘Amen.’ ALL that we need is in Jesus . HE is the Brightest and Best ! And ,Yes ,that is His Name ,spoken by eternal mandate:Jesus Christ ,The Savior of the World . And He is mine and I am His for ever….Merry Christmas ! x Andrew. When those lepers sitting at the gate of the besieged city considered their options ,they came to a good conclusion . ”If we go back to city ,we will die ,if we just sit here ,we will die ,if we go out to see what`s going on ,we might live .”
‘Might live’is a lot better than ‘will die.’
The Bible constantly talks about ,‘faith to faith ‘,’increase of government and peace’,‘glory to glory ‘,‘strength to strength.’In God`s dealings with us ,there is always challenge to become who is He says we are . Not what our history says ,our background ,our past . But what He intended for us to become –our present future !
”A ship in harbor is safe ,but that is not what ships were built for!” Somebody must crank a motor ,raise a mainsail ,pull up an anchor chain and head out to the unknown ,that we have heard whispers about…and don`t sail too close to the shore… What shapes your present ? Something and somebody does !
More often that not it is the past ,which ,of course ,cannot be changed . I`d like to talk about this from an individual and also corporate perspective –personal and prophetic if you like .
For things to be different ,you will have to move from where you are . Jesus told a lame man to get up and walk ! Move !
He put mud on a blind man`s eyes and told him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash it off . He saw . But he had to move !
God told Moses to tell My people to go forward –a sea parted . God never changes but He`s always on the move . From a personal point of view ,we must all be willing to move physically ,emotionally ,geographically and prophetically . If we sit here we die ,said the 4 lepers at the gate . At least fall forward ! To be continued… A couple of items…
- Check out the “My Messages”page,it now has a player where you can listen to some of my past messages. Check back often as that page will be continually updated.
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Thanks! Between now and the end of the year ,I have about 30 flights to navigate –many of them long haul for short times . Over the years ,I`ve learned to pack light and not to check a bag in . I`ve shed the ‘burden ‘. Mo and I share an apartment in Spain with the Fredriksz`s and have a 2 bedroom apt in AZ . We have shed a lot of furniture and stuff . So far ,I`ve not missed a single thing . The older I`ve become ,the more I know I don`t have to know everything . I`ve shed a lot of unnecessary clutter out of my brain . The more I trust the Father ,the less stress there is ,even in the midst of increased responsibilities . I`ve shed a lot of weight out of my soul . God`s word tells us ‘His yoke is easy and His burden is light.’
It also advised requests us ‘to lay aside every weight ( a bulging load ) and the sin that so easily besets ( thwarts) us.’ So whether it`s stuff or sin –get rid of it …. To all my friends and readers who faithfully check in ,my apologies for long absence . No excuses really ,busier all the time ,traveling a lot and off line often ,but I know I should have pressed in . I will be here more often –hard not to improve on the recent past ! So much has happened:
-graduated our first class of first class ‘plank holders ‘( the first crew ) ;
-took part in the first World Race ‘Awakening’in Romania ;
- welcomed our second class with 7 people in all –great group of hungry pilgrims ;
-making arrangements for an intake of around 25 in Jan `10 . Wonderfully encouraged by how the Lord has helped us lay good foundations in the Leadership Academy and feel invigorated for the future . There is a generation on the planet with passion for harvest and inheritance ( the 42 nd one !) . I am honored to have a part in its calling out and its maturing .
I`m going to keep these blogs fairly short ,so I`ll conclude with something I read the other day:”When you walk with God,the promise before you is always greater than the pain behind you.”
I`ll be back v soon to ‘keep on speaking.’Stay strong . |
