Bless You.

                             Bless You.

If what we think about is what we bring about and I believe it is, then we should be blessing all the time. In doing so, we shall reap a harvest of blessings in return. Many of you know I bike ride. Most days I’m up and away on my bright red treadley. Bike riding is kind of a mindless activity, if you let it be. But, if every thought you have is captive, then you’ll direct your thoughts to what God wants.

This particular day, I was cycling around town, worshipping God, speaking in tongues and blessing the grounds around me as I went. 7 or 8 k’s later and almost home a small gust of wind blew, just as I went under a tree. In this moment I was showered upon by the leaves of the tree, a sprinkle of autumn colours; russets, auburns, bright reds and golden yellows. Those leaves skittered along the footpath, sounding for all the world like the trees were clapping their hands. The beauty of the moment not lost on me. This was my blessing in that moment, for what I gave out, I got back. In the whisper of the breeze, I felt God say; ‘well done,’ followed by a thousand hands applauding, as I connected with Him this day.

When we talk about blessings, we’re also talking about love and we’re told to love all. A common definition of the word kiss is to love. Kissing being a secondary, extended meaning. With love comes kisses. I haven’t counted them, but I’ve read that ‘kiss’ is mentioned 45 times in the bible.

There’s the kiss of love, a kiss from the Lord, we greet one another with a kiss, a holy kiss, a romantic kiss, a sibling kiss, a family kiss, a kiss on the cheek, a kiss on the lips, a kiss of peace, a kiss of greeting within Christians, even a kiss of betrayal.

Mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed; it says in Psalm 85:10.

I want to bless the kisses in our life, for they come from people dear to our heart. Perhaps not to bless the one who brought forth the kiss of betrayal; Judas giving an outward display of his love for Jesus while inwardly being far removed from that love. Judas, who’s heart wasn’t where it should have been. Judas, who didn’t repent, but took his own life. Still, without the kiss of betrayal the work of the cross could not be accomplished.

And so, that aside, I want to bless the kisses in our life, those from our family and friends. Bless our homes with warmth, love and laughter.

Bless the Lord’s word, which brings wisdom, knowledge, correction, guidance and discernment.

Bless our ministers and worship leaders, who give up every Sunday to be here. Bless the congregation who turn up every week. Bless, with all the blessings of the Lord.

Bless our little town here in ..... (place the name of your town here). May many people be drawn to the Lord in this little part of the world.

Bless the vehicles that you drive every day. May they take you and bring you home safely and always be in perfect working order.

Bless the food on your table, that it be nutritious and healing to your body, with plenty of leftovers to share.

Bless your finances and bless the recipients of where those dollars go. May those finances increase mightily that you will have much left over to give to the needy.

Bless the elderly, those who are particularly lonely. Bring loving, caring people into their lives.

Bless the sick with much healing.

Bless the downcast and downtrodden, bringing forth the Light of the Lord, His joy, love and peace.

Bless the little ones that Jesus loves so much; the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, to a thousand generations. May they grow in wisdom, stature and favour with God and man. For in blessing the future generations we ensure success within our own family line, and the carrying forth of the baton, making Jesus known to the greater world; bringing His lamp into the future and leading the way that others can follow.

And finally; bless the Father, bless the Son and bless the Holy Spirit. The Trinity; three in One. Let us recognise and rejoice in how great and awesome is our God! Thank you God, that we have the privilege to worship you in word, deed and finances, in music, peace and praise and that we have been chosen to be Your voice and Your hands in this wilderness.

Amen.

Enhanced Spiritual Senses.

Enhanced Spiritual Senses.

The five senses of the worldly realm are also active in the spiritual realm. It’s harder to discern the spiritual senses. Touch, see, smell, hear and taste. Simple in the natural, not so simple in the spiritual.

Have you ever woken to the smell of spices cooking at 2 in the morning? You know no-one’s up. No one would be cooking at that time, but you can smell cinnamon, or nutmeg.

On more than one occasion I’ve woken to the smell of cooking. It’s disorienting. Why is my daughter cooking at this time of the morning? I’ve even got up to check in on her and see what’s she’s up to, only to find no-one in the kitchen.

Those are the days Jesus has come for a visit and once I realized, I was able to say; “Welcome Jesus.” That’s the smell sense carried through from the heavenly to the worldly.

Other days I’ve woken up to music playing. Before retiring, I worked nights in a care home and I thought one of the residents was listening to music and had it up a little too loud. After all, my room was way down the other end of the house. If I could hear it, surely the rest of the house would be woken.

Twice in one night I raced out of bed to ask her to turn the music down before the whole house woke. I was half way up the hall before I realised the music had stopped. Oh, good. She’s turned it off.

I went back to bed and there it was again. Raced half way up the hall; no music. Then it dawned on me - it was worship music and I could only hear it from the bed in the office. This happened on a few occasions.

Taste; another one of the senses. We can taste things sometimes before we even see them. And they aren’t always happy flavours. Sometimes it’s a bitter, rotting taste and we know we’ve had a visit from the opposition. Cast that one out straight away.

Many, many times I’ve had a touch from God. A hand caressing over the back of my head, as the Holy Spirit showed me, He was here. A burning sensation in the palm of my hands, as I felt the nails which pierced the hands of my precious Jesus. A wind blowing my fringe off my face, as I was concentrating hard and He was reminding me; “I’m here.”

Then there’s sight; both good and bad. God gives us dreams and visions. We may be awake at times, or asleep. Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m awake or asleep when these take place. Whether dream or vision, it’s always an opportunity to pray.

I had a dream and a vision just last night. That hasn’t happened before, not both in the same night, but a great opportunity to pray. And maybe I’m right in my interpretation, or maybe I’m wrong. God’s happy that I tuned into Him either way.

One of my greatest memories is of Jesus standing before me as I, in a panic, said “Jesus I can’t find you.” An apparition stood in front of me. No mistaking who it was, for the compassion that flowed from His eyes was unfathomable and undeniable. He said; “I come before you in the likeness of man that you may recognise me.” This isn’t a phrase I would use. It was not imagination.

My question then is, how do we get there? How do we get the senses to function in the spiritual areas of life? My minister was right in her approach today. We get there by surrender. We surrender the earthly and the human. We go deeper, for when we draw near to God, He draws near to us.

We come up higher and we do that by dying to self, by not watching that show, listening to that music. You know the kind; If Jesus wouldn’t listen or watch, we shouldn’t either.

We do it by not allowing distraction, by continual prayer and worship, by studying His word, by surrendering our heart, by surrendering our wants and desires, by repenting and letting go of that which we shouldn’t be doing.

We need laser focus. We need to pray like never before. Let go of offense. Forgive others and ourselves. We need to allow God to work in our life. We need to be asking for discernment and direction. We should be acting out of a Godly heart, out of a sincere heart, a heart of love. Speak life. Bring His Word in to every situation.

Remove the scales of bitterness, pride, self-knowledge, unbelief and unforgiveness.

To get that spiritual discernment:

1. Focus on Jesus. Press in and pray. Ask the Lord what He thinks.

2. Repent of pride, human wisdom and understanding.

3. Forgive – unconditionally.

4. Ask for the Lord’s fire in your eyes. Ask for a major ‘clean-up.’

5. Ask for skilful and Godly wisdom.

6. Worship Him! Praise Him and speak in tongues at all times.

The reason I was so interested in the talk the minister gave today, was due to the dream I had last night and how it all tied in together.

Last night, I dreamed of a baby being kidnapped right in front of me. As this happened, I was behind the woman and I threw my arms around the woman and child, locking my hands together so they couldn’t get free.

There was a man beside her and two young men behind. They appeared to be in on the kidnapping. The mother and father were frantic. The men surrounding the woman seemed confused as to what to do, now that she’d been caught in the act and in their confused state, they didn’t interfere.

Later, I was awake and had just finished a you tube clip when I went back to the ‘temple hall’ as I call it. Kevin Zadai made reference of it in one of his teachings. He said it’s a road you go down to bring new believers up. He said it was lined with stone, which it is, but also there’s a bible at the centre where you get a word from God and you leave mulling that word over.

I’ve been to the temple hall two or three times already and I had to go again and see for myself. So, I went to the temple hall to look for the bible. I stood in the centre, where all the roads branch off in different directions and a portal opened right before me. There stood the skeleton of a white horse, with tatty wings. I was pondering what this meant when I realised; I need to pray for the kidnapped child in the dream before the horse gets to it.

I prayed also for the protection of my grandchildren and my sister’s, in case this was aimed more locally. Protection from any danger that may be lurking. I prayed that God’s angels surround the children, especially the 12-year-old, who now wants to go out with her friends on her own.

So, right at the intersection of the roads, I didn’t exactly see a bible, but I do feel I got a word from God. And this portal, the one I’ve been working through on and off for many years, that didn’t seem real at first, now appears very real indeed. Initially I thought I was making it up, but was informed to stick with it. Not to give up and the last three visions – they have a different ‘feel’ about them. They feel real now and not made up, not imagination.

I looking up the meaning of the dream; A skeleton means to think about what you want in life, bringing life back to its bare bones, to bring in more structure. A random skeleton means to think about what people are saying. A changing of circumstances. To look at areas which might cause one to relax and to make sure to get proper rest.

White skeletons are a representation of fundamental strength not yet acknowledged.

A horse with wings; honour and dignity in both the world and heaven. I didn’t find anything particularly on a skeletal horse with tatty wings.

This was an interesting marrying of my dreams and visions and what my minister spoke of today. Of how they interplayed with each other.

As Christians, we should expect the supernatural. We only get the enhanced spiritual senses when we have faith they exist and when we lay down our earthly desires and follow Him. 

Favour of the Lord.

                     Favour of the Lord.

As God’s chosen people, we have His favour upon us. What is favour? The power of God, preparing the ground for our good success in any endeavour. The favour of God is a free gift given to those who proclaim Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

Favour is undeserved, unmerited and unearned. We can never be ‘good enough’ to earn this favour. It’s given to us due to the grace of God, because He loves us without measure and accepts us just as we are.

It goes a long way too, if we follow Jesus, keep God as a priority in our life, be humble and obedient. We don’t have to be perfect, but obedience greatly aids our journey.

In practical terms, the favour of the Lord manifests in various ways in a person’s life. It can empower one to act in obedience, overcome challenges and achieve things that would otherwise be impossible.

Favour is said to bring blessings, protection and success as one aligns with God’s will and purpose. God’s favour also provides strength and guidance, enabling believers to carry out tasks and fulfil their calling with the endorsement of the Devine.

Favour also forms the biblical concept of blessing. It’s a theme that runs throughout scripture, where God’s favour results in prosperity and success, as well as spiritual well-being. Not limited to material wealth, but also encompassing a sense of peace, joy and contentment, stemming from a right relationship with God.

God is active in a believer’s life, giving guidance when needed, orchestrating circumstances and opportunities for the benefit of those who love Him. This providence can take many forms, from opening doors of opportunity to providing wisdom, discernment and guidance in decision-making.

Moreover, the Lord’s favour is transformative, changing how an individual view themselves and their circumstances, bringing a sense of identity and purpose as they understand their value in God’s eyes and their role in His plans.

With favour comes responsibility to live in a manner which reflects God’s character, there-by extending grace to others.

In essence, the favour of the Lord is a reflection of God’s sovereign grace. It’s an assurance that no matter what challenges may come, those who are favoured by God can trust in His unfailing love and mighty power to work all things together for their good.

Ultimately, the favour of God works as an extension of God’s character; His goodness, generosity and sovereign will. It’s available to all who seek God with a sincere heart, who trust in His word and embrace the proffered grace, through a relationship with God.

Favour is a transformative force that reflects God’s desire to be intimately involved in the lives of those He loves. Favour is an all-powerful reminder that God is personally involved in and through His people to accomplish His divine purposes.

Blessed.

Blessed.

Just before opening my bible I had a vision of a lamb, laying at the base of the cross.

We’ve so been taught wrong, in certain areas of the bible. I have a natural bias toward a poverty mentality. I’ve tried changing this bias. I’ve tried affirmations. I’ve read books on a prosperity mindset. I spend hardly anything at all, outside what’s absolutely necessary, in the hope of saving more. I recite biblical promises of prosperity, decreeing and declaring God’s promises over my finances almost every single day, two and three times a day, sometimes more. And I’m not doing too bad, as a self-funded retiree, 10 years early.

Still, I have a poverty bias; constantly thinking how expensive things are and I can’t afford this or that and I have wondered at times, if this doesn’t cancel out all my hard efforts. All my life I’ve been told, to him who has more, more will be given. To him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. It’s even been told to me your bed shall be taken from under you, if you continually think lack. This has been put to me my whole life. Lies satan has used, as he works his way into twisting the word (just as he surely did with Eve and the eating of the fruit), only slightly twisted, but working on it none-the-less. A lack of fully understanding, causing great delays in the promises of God.

Money is the least in God’s kingdom, according to what I’ve been told, as Jesus calls it unrighteous mammon. These parables; to him who has, more will be given and even your bed will be taken from you, have nothing to do with a poverty mentality. The bed taken away is in relation to shaking hands on a pledge of which one has no method of repayment. If I default and I can’t pay, even my bed will be taken away (Proverbs 22:27). Nothing to do with a poverty mentality, but to do with pledging money one doesn’t have, which I wouldn’t do.

Mark 4:25; to him who has more, more will be given… This is in relation to the word of God, planted deeply in the heart, not to the poverty mindset. All the while, prosperity thinking or lack of, has nothing to do with these particular verses. What it means is the word of God starts as a small seed and grows in time, as one continues to study that word. If you don’t continue to study, you forget and what little knowledge you’ve gained is taken from you.

All this time I’ve been thinking because of my poverty mindset; that’s the blockage, that’s the area satan enters, but isn’t God greater than that? Is not God more powerful than satan? And so I’ve continued to believe in prosperity, in spite of my poverty mindset - God will honour His promise; that the work of my hands will prosper.

All this time I’ve been told that which we give will be measured back to us – I diligently give a good portion of my dollars and I think to myself; perhaps I’m still not giving enough. Diligent means giving what I should, where and when I should. There’s no need to think I’ve not given enough.

All the while, in my diligent application of reading His word, my knowledge of God has grown. And more and more I spread His word, speaking God’s word to others and telling what God has done for me…that is the measure. It’s not dollars, but in the word of God! The giving of our testimony.

The guilt I’ve carried, due to wanting more free time than work time, has been a burden on my shoulders for many years. I don’t have the latest car or an elaborate house, but I am rich in every area. The guilt I’ve carried, because even if I don’t need money, I’ve been told I should hold down a job and give my money away. For me, this has been a heavy weight.

God has changed my life. Sure, I don’t go on fancy holidays, but I’m blessed with a little caravan and a lot of time to use it. I’m blessed to have money in the bank and a few little investments. I’m blessed to have retired early, even if that’s not someone else’s dream. I’m blessed to be doing what I love; writing and taking photographs as I travel around the countryside. I’m blessed with good relationships, caring, loving children and healthy, gregarious grandchildren. I’m blessed with increased knowledge and a sharp memory. I’m blessed in good health and fitness. And I’m blessed to have a strong faith.

Yes, there is the parable of the talents, but the meaning behind it is the same; the planting and the growth, along with the faith that you have. You can smother your faith by the words you speak, heaping dirt upon your faith until there isn’t a glimmer of light shining. Like the man who buried his talent, due to his fear of the hard task-master.

I wasn’t doing this. I kept my thoughts to myself as I continued to speak the Lord’s promises over my finances. I was doing all I knew to do as I stood and waited for the promises to come to pass. Part of standing is not to speak against God’s word. It’s to stay strong, even if you aren’t seeing results, staying strong until your need is met and your prayer answered.

I am an overcomer. I’ve come a long way from where I started. And I owe it all to my great and wonderful God. That very same God who gave me the vision this morning, of the little lamb and the cross.

A lamb; soft, innocent, pure and representing new starts and new growth. The cross; a powerful symbol of the connection between heaven and earth, of the dying to the old self and resurrection of the new.

To him that uses his gifts shall increase be granted. A calling of attention to the word of Christ, instructing others, lest the knowledge be taken away. Let not Christ have died for nothing, as we stand upon His Word and await His promised return. Let us stand in full faith, until we see our desires manifest before our eyes; whatsoever that desire may be.

The Winning Results

    

                   The Winning Results 

Winning results are often not formed due to one big outburst, but by minute actions taken every day. The results are not in the goals set, but in the systems followed. Results are due to the practice you put in and the feedback you receive. If you’ve done a good job, if the feedback is positive, you’re more likely to repeat the action.

The way to win is to get better every day. A winner might just have the same goal as a loser, the difference being the strategies used; the finely tuned improvements consistently made in every area of your life. If you start and don’t continue, you lose. It’s your commitment to the process that takes you to the winner’s circle.

When we use ‘I am’ statements, we accept them as facts. I am always late. I am too shy. I am not good at… We need to change our beliefs in who we are if we want to see results. Replace negative statements with positive ones (I am always on time. I am confident.) and we retrain our beliefs, then our actions follow.

Erase those areas which are holding you back. Form habits which embody the persona of who it is you want to see standing before you in the mirror. Your actions reflect who you are and if you change what you do every day, your actions will line up with who you want to be.

When you change one habit, you begin to believe more in yourself and your ability to change another habit. You don’t need to do that action perfectly every day, you just need to do it consistently.

Do the required action more than you don’t do it and results will begin to appear. If you act as a successful person in the field you wish to become successful, you will do what that successful person does and then you’ll be that successful person.

Who do you wish to become?

What do you need to do in order to become that person?

Form an action plan and do it to the best of your ability. You’ll have setbacks and failures along the way, but keep doing the required action until the new habit is formed. It won’t take as long as you think. Just keep at it, until the habit is automatic.

Building good habits allows you to become the person you dream of being. The mind is constantly looking for relief/reward. The reward isn’t always good for us; overeating, drinking, smoking, drugs, gambolling, self-harm. The list is endless.

If we wish to overcome, we have to change our reward system. We do that by creating a new belief in what we want our life to look like, and it needs to be established so habitually that it becomes automatic.

When we can see ourselves working towards a healthier lifestyle, when we can feel the satisfaction of a job well done, we’re more likely to repeat the action.

If we can make a habit attractive, it becomes conceivable that we’ll do it regularly. These habits need to be working in every area of our life; finances, health, relationships, the workplace. And our habits are a result of the systems we put in place. Good systems, good results. Bad systems, bad results.

Avoid the lolly isle at the store, if you want to eat healthy. Pack a nutritious snack, if you think you’ll stop at the fast food joint on the way home. Take another route and don’t drive past that bottle shop, if you’re tempted to pull in and buy alcohol. Find something constructive to do, if you’re hanging out with the wrong crowd, for this helps keep you better occupied. These are just a few simple systems we can put in place to minimise poor choices, weak moments, automatic habits.

Read that book, take the class, study your weak areas. Eliminate the storms in your life. Eradicate the waves which crash upon you, throwing you into turmoil. Consistently change one poor habit, until all bad habits are replaced with good ones. Create new habits and you create a new life.

The Blessing.

The Blessing.

Whenever you speak, edify, for these words are a self-fulfilling prophecy (what you give out you get back). We should always aim to speak the positive, not the negative.

God wants to bless His people and He does it through us. As a church, we’ve been neglectful in this area. We’ve also been lied to; told that blessings are old testament, only for priests, or that they’re uniquely given by God, bound by the symbolic, tending to a sole use in the material and not the spiritual.

It is for us now, to reclaim the biblical understanding of what a blessing is. We’re to bless everybody and everything. We’re to multiply and extend, bless everywhere. It’s to be a beginning and an anointing of a lifetime of blessings throughout all generations.

The source of the blessing is God. God blesses through us. Use the blessing mightily, frequently and liberally. Bless all you come in contact with. The shepherd blesses the flock. Parents speak blessings over the children. Grandparents bless your grandchildren. Brothers and sisters bless one another. Husbands and wives bless each other. Bless to give comfort.

Bless finances, health, harvests, people, relationships, lands, stores, churches, governments. The list is endless. The conditions required are simple; faith and obedience. We want to reap blessings. We reap what we sow and we’re to sow blessings, not curses. As you bless, give a meaningful touch, for we are God’s conduit. He travels from His people, through our touch, to those who need blessing. We all need blessing.

The spoken word is a powerful thing. The most powerful thing in the world is God’s word and when you give voice to it, it does something to the heart of man that nothing else will do. So go ahead, encourage people in who they are, in how God sees them. Focus on potential, not on what is. Centre towards what could be and on what should be and don’t leave a single, unclaimed blessing with God. Use them all. You can never run out.

Numbers 6:24-26; The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Ezekiel 34:26; and I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in his season, there shall be showers of blessing.

The Slippery Slope Of Compromise.

All it takes is one little compromise, then another and then another and in the end, those little compromises don’t bother us any more. After that, those compromises become greater as we move further away from God in our sin. Each compromise leading to a little more pulling away from God, as our soul deadens itself to the prompts of the Spirit; a shadow now having been cast between us.

It tells us in Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.” We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can lie and get away with it. Our lies will be exposed. God knows when we lie and the next time we pray, the Holy Spirit gives us a nudge as if to say; you can’t pray for that, until you ask forgiveness for the other.

Compromise isn’t all about lying either. It might just be something that’s a tiny smidgen away from an upstanding moral, but we let it slide this one time. And if we’re living for God, perhaps we should consider counting the cost before we embark on a long and round-about journey. Honesty and integrity live side by side and once we let either of those slip, it’s a slippery slope into the oceans of doom.

It’s not always easy to do the right thing. Dilemmas pop up out of nowhere and we have to ask ourselves which is the right thing to do in this situation? Sometimes it’s downright difficult to make the right choice in those moments. At times such as this we need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to help us.

If we do take a wrong step, remember God gives us a window of mercy and grace and we should use that window to ask forgiveness and accept the mercy and grace offered. Come quickly to the place of repentance. Do not tarry. Also, the size of our sin is no barrier to salvation.  

The Pearl of Great Price (the kingdom of heaven) is more valuable than anything else in existence; God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Salvation; this is what we work towards and we don’t want to jeopardise it in any way, so be sure to be honest in all your dealings, even if they seem insignificant.

The lure of satan is not nearly so impressive as the touch of God. God is our peace: Breathe Him in. Set your standard and don’t deviate from it. The Designer has a specific purpose for your life and you don’t want to get off track at any point in time.

Determine your direction. Work towards your destiny. Move in your gifts at all times and one day you will be promoted. All we have to do is stick with the program and don’t deviate, don’t compromise, not even a little.

Wide is the road to hell and narrow the path to heaven. It’s not easy to always live with integrity, however we must put forward our best efforts and stay in the presence of God. A life of no compromise sets a standard for successful living. People will know you by your fruit. Be sure they see the fruit of honesty.