Suited & booted - part 3

If you've not read part 1 or part 2, click on the relevant link.

We'll be looking at Ephesians 6, verses 16-18 for this final part. I've taken this portion from the KJV, and I'll explain why later.

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

We'll jump straight in to verse 16: The Shield of Faith - Faith is a shield, a defensive stratagem in our armour. The bible is quite plain when it says there will be things heading our way - it describes them as "fiery darts". The Greek, belē is the word for darts and means missile or arrow and comes from a root which also means javelin. Darts or javelins can be aimed at their target. Interestingly though, on a whim, I looked up "fiery" which means flaming, on fire, burning in the Greek concordance. Thayer, however, interestingly links this word with the heat of passions such as anger, being incensed or or being aflame with sexual desire. It's interesting that sometimes a simple action from someone can lead to some "fiery" thinking: sometimes we become inexplicably infuriated with something or someone. It's these little "missiles" that are actually quite dangerous. "Why did they do that? Don't they care? You aren't important to them....and after all you've done for them!" Or even, "Your God doesn't answer your prayers. He's not bothered with you - look how you behaved this morning...call yourself a Christian??"  It's these little darts of wrong thinking that are actually very dangerous. They set in and fester. We need to be using our shield of faith. "No! That person is a child of God, and I'm sure they didn't realise they hurt my feelings. I will choose to pray for them and show them extra love today."  And "My God supplies all my needs, I am a child of God, a joint heir with Christ. I am His beloved." This is how we use our shield of faith. We align our thinking with the Word, and stop the fiery darts dead in their tracks. Sometimes the missile will be our finances, or emotions, our health.....just use your shield of faith over all. Over all means over everything. Every time you deflect a missile with your faith shield, I reckon it bounces off and hits the enemy square in the head! Confessing, "By His stripes I am healed" and boom! he gets a whack in the head. (That's not scriptural by the way, that's just my own thoughts, but I love the idea and I hope it's true!)

You may say, My shield must be tiny though as I don't have much faith. Well I have fantastic news....it's God's armour and not yours so the shield is HUGE because God doesn't lack faith. He had so much faith He said Light Be and light was! He raised Jesus from the dead. So don't sweat if your own faith levels feel a bit low. You only need a tiny mustard seed of faith to move a mountain so it's always good news with God. And to prove that your shield is huge: the Greek word thyreon is the word for shield here in this verse and it's worth a mention as it means "gate or door" and is large enough to provide full protection as it's door-sized! Wow. A whole door for a shield. That means you don't have to keep moving your shield around your body - the shield just completely shields you. This isn't the only word for shield in Greek, there is another word for shield which is a small circular shield, but that isn't used here. I just love how every single word in the Bible is completely God-ordained.

v17 - The helmet of salvation.  Just when you thought you couldn't glean any more from a few verses in the Bible, the little nuggets just continue. Helmet in Greek is perikephalaian and means encirclement of the head. It's comprised of two words - peri means around, all over, through and kephale means head. The head part of the word means the "seat of the intellect which has been enlightened by the holy Spirit to comprehend all aspects of salvation."  WOW. And salvation is from a root word "sozo" in Greek which means, save, deliver, protect, make whole, heal, be whole, preserve, do well. All of that is encompassed in our salvation - deliverance, protection, healing, being whole and doing well. What a beautiful word. Many attacks come via the mind. It's a battleground and God has given us a helmet that goes all around, all over and through our head showing us that there isn't any area that He is leaving vulnerable, and that helmet is Salvation. We must know we are saved. We must know what that means. Sozo, is so much more than just having accepted Jesus and knowing our final destination is heaven. As wonderful as that is, we have more than just a spiritual salvation, but salvation on this earth in the form of protection, healing, wholeness, preservation and doing well. That's what God desires for you. But we must know it is ours or we'll be easily defeated.

I'm astounded when I hear people say that sickness is from God. No! That's a lie. If God's will is to make people sick, or to teach a lesson through sickness and illness then Jesus did not do the will of God on the earth as He healed ALL who came to Him. ALL. Sinners got healed. Everyone. I hear that people say that those who die early or young are because 'He needs them in heaven'.....NO. It just isn't so. Psalm 91 says "With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation". That's God talking. He satisfies us with long life and not only that, but salvation too. To live victoriously we must believe what God says. We may need to 'unlearn' some things that we've been taught. But the Bible is our authority. See what it says about who you are in Christ. It will bless your socks off to find out that you are a joint heir with Christ, that means that what He has, you have. Life, health, blessing, joy, victory, peace, wholeness. Get that helmet on, and when someone says something contrary to the Word of God about you, you will not be affected because you will know that you have SOZO!!

v 17 The Sword of the Spirit is explained for us. It is the Word of God. There are a number of references in the bible to the Word being a sword. This is our weapon. You might think a soldier needs more than one weapon, but this is a super-weapon. There's power in the Word of God. We need to use the Word of God - speak it, meditate on it, know it. Meditate means chew. Chew it over. Feed on it. Take it in, savour it. Don't rush through it.

The Greek for word is rhema, and it means spoken word. We are told to read our Bible, but seldom are we told to speak it out. It is powerful when it is spoken. God's words produce life. He spoke the universe into being. He speaks and it happens. Yet, we are made in His likeness and we also have the authority to use our words to change our surroundings. "Speak to the mountain" Jesus said. He spoke to the storm and it was calmed.  Words are much more powerful than we realise, in fact the Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18 v 21). It's so important that we speak good words, and the right words because words can build up, or tear down. Be careful with your casual conversations. Today's vernacular is changing all the time, and we use words with little thought or respect. Things are hated in everyday speech (I hate that thing); we speak words of anti-faith all the time (I'm afraid I can't do that / I was scared to death / I'm sick of this). All these are so easily said, not really meant in a literal sense, but nevertheless those words are out there. Be watchful of what you speak over yourself and your children (He's a stupid boy/ she never learns / he's dead funny). You may say that I'm being over the top, taking it too far, but that's not what the Bible says.In fact it has plenty to say about our speech.
It's not the easiest thing to change your speech as everyone says these sorts of phrases and they are "normal". We don't want to come across as weird, but a simple adjustment by consciously choosing your wording will soon become your own norm . Just think how our lives would see a transformation if we started speaking life and good things into them instead of negative, fear-filled words! It's a challenge, but something to aim for and work on.
We need the Word of God. We need to be speaking God's word over our lives. Revelation 19 v 15 says "Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations". The sword here is the Word of God and the passage is talking of Jesus. Jesus uses the word of God and again, it is described as a sword. If it's good enough for Jesus, it's certainly good enough for me.


Now, in my preferred translation of the Bible, The Amplified, there's a full stop at the end of verse 17. However, in the KJV, the sentence continues into verse 18. I think the KJV is more accurately conveying the original as in the Greek, the linking-word dia is used which means "by" and the literal translation would be "by all prayer and supplication praying in every season in the Spirit and unto this very thing watching with all perseverance and with all supplication for the saints." Prayer is linked with the Word. We should be using the word and prayer in conjunction with each other.

In every season means always. So whatever season you're in - a good time, when all is good, finances are ok, health is good, family is doing well - pray. When times are tough, money is a bit tight, relationships are strained, got a niggly pain in your back - pray. When times are dire - everything's falling apart - pray. Pray pray pray. Just pray whenever and wherever. Pray for the saints, God's people. Pray for the church, far and wide. Pray.
Prayer wouldn't be here, linked in with the armour of God if it wasn't significant. It's vital. It's not an afterthought. The full defenses and armour of God include prayer and watchfulness. We must be praying for each other. In every one of Paul's epistles, he encourages the church to pray. Pray for him, pray for other churches, pray for each other. He always mentions that he has been praying for them, as an example of what we should be doing. We are all in this together, like a platoon of soldiers. We need to be looking out for and watching over each other. We're the body of Christ.

So let's sum up as it's been a mammouth study:

• We need the WHOLE armour of God
• It is God's armour - provided for us, by Him. We need it on
• The Belt of truth - know the truth, know what God says. Let the truth hold everything in place
• Breastplate of Righteousness - seek first God's righteousness and know in your heart that you are the righteousness of God in Christ
• Shod your feet - Be ready to go where God tells you to go, walk in the good news of the gospel everyday, knowing that wherever you step, you are the difference in that environment. You don't let the atmosphere control you or contaminate you, you are cleansed and blessed wherever you go, sharing the gospel with everyone you meet
• Shield of faith  - use your faith, exercise your faith, believe God, and walk boldly knowing that the shield of faith goes with you, covering you like a huge door
• Helmet of salvation  - let your Saviour and defender encircle your thoughts. Your head is protected around and throughout. You have salvation - and that encompasses not just spiritual life, but protection, health, wholenesss. You are a victor in Christ
• The Sword  - don't let your sword dangle idly by your side. Use the Word of God in all circumstances. This is our weapon, the word will change our circumstances if we speak it out. 
• Pray - whether things are good, bad or indifferent....PRAY. At all times. Pray for yourself, your family, and for your fellow believers. Pray for the lost. Just pray. 

I hope you've enjoyed this little study. The Word of God is alive, and studying it is so rewarding. It never gets old, or boring. I give thanks and praise to Jesus for giving us the Holy Spirit. Be blessed x

Suited & Booted - part 2

Now I had this backdrop (see part 1) I felt ready to delve into Ephesians 6. As I started studying, the notes and insights were amazing.  I have 7 pages of notes!  Here are some of the main points. Hope you enjoy.

Ephesians 6 v 11-18

Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. 12 For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. 13 Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. 14 Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God, 15 And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace. 16 Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one]. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God. 18 Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).

It's a famous passage, I've read it millions of times, but I've not really studied it in depth and I've not heard anyone preach on it either, so it blessed my socks off to see some of the little gems in here.

We do have an enemy. There's no sugar-coating it. The bible's quite clear on the fact and if we don't believe it, we're already defeated. However, God hasn't left us helpless. He gave us His Jesus. But just believing in Christ and becoming a Christian doesn't mean life will suddenly automatically be all rosey and perfect. In fact, it's often the opposite: as soon as you get tuned into Christ, you get smacked with something to discourage you. It's all a strategy to throw you off course. But we don't have to be defeated.

Jesus said the even the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. The church (which is the body of Christ - the people, not a building), is powerful. I don't think we realise how powerful we are. But the gates of a fortress are a defensive structure. You don't attack with gates. You put gates up to keep attackers and unwanted people out. So the gates of hell (or the defences of hell) are no match for the church. If we look at this carefully, the church are the people that the defences of hell can not prevail against. Are we the ones who should be attacking? If you're not attacking in a football match, you're having to defend. Once you start attacking, the other team need to defend. Is the church living in a state of constant defence? Is that how we should be living?  In a football match, each player is suited up with certain protection - shin pads. In American football, they wear helmets too. Similarly in battle, the army are clad in their armour, with their weapons to protect them. So too God has supplied His church. And even better news - we don't have to find our own armour. It's God's armour we use. Just like a member of the British Army wouldn't fashion his own weapons and outfit, neither do we need to. He supplies it all. And we are told to put it on, so we need to know what it is. Note it also says to put on His complete armour? We need it all otherwise we'll be left vulnerable. We're even told why we need it - "to stand against all the strategies and deceits of the devil". There's that deceit again. God's armour will help to protect you against the deceit of the enemy. So let's jump right in and take a look at it.

v14  -The belt of truth  A belt holds everything up. It stops something falling down and holds things in place. Jesus said in John 8 v 32, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". If you don't have the truth, and you don't know the truth, you are not free. John 1 v 17 says that "For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ." So truth sets us free, and it came through Jesus. Unlike Eve, who wasn't fully acquainted with God's word, we can know the truth, and God says that having this truth holds everything up, like a belt. What is the truth? It's Jesus! It's the gospel, the good news that Jesus came to set us free by dying for us, and that He lives because He is risen from the grave.
But what are loins? It's quite an old-fashioned word and can refer to the part of the body under the ribs to the hips, but it can also mean the region of the sexual organs and when it's used in this context it refers to procreative power. The Greek word is osphus and means the hip or reproductive area. We can't produce anything good in our lives if it comes from deceit. We must be girded with truth. Another interesting point is that a belt goes all the way around something. The Greek used here is actually "being girded about". There's no area that shouldn't be upheld by the truth.

v14 - The Breastplate of integrity-   the KJV translates this as the breastplate of righteousness. The Greek word used is Dikaiosune which means righteousness or a condition acceptable to God. I do like this one. Breastplates are a defensive item of armour. They protect the heart and vital organs. We need to know in our hearts that we are righteous. If we know that we know that we know that we are the righteousness of God through Christ, then condemnation cannot set in and we can never be accused by the devil (he is the accuser of the brethren according to the bible) even when we slip up and make a mistake. Condemnation can take deep roots in us and lead to many other issues, such as guilt, fear, anxieties and even illness in our physical body. Condemnation is not good. We are forgiven by God because Jesus took all our sins at the cross. By believing on Him and His wonderful sacrifice, we become righteous through our faith in Him. It can't be earned, it has to be received. And because it can't be earned, and we receive it through faith, it can't be lost, and we can be of absolute peace in our standing with God. He's just amazing. He deserves all our praise.
The bible also tells us that where our treasure is, that is where our heart is also. In Matthew 6 v 33, Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. So our heart is also where we seek God, and His righteousness. So how do we do protect our heart with the breastplate of righteousness? We must ensure that our hearts are always seeking God first and foremost, seeking Him above all in the world. He is our treasure, and should be the treasure of our hearts. We must also know that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. Don't be condemned. Romans 8 v 1 says that "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ". If anyone condemns you, use your breastplate of righteousness and declare that you are the righteousness of God in Christ!

v15 - Shod your feet - this one is a gem isn't it? Shodding the feet is a rather strange term. In the Greek, it is defined as "bind under one's feet". The root of the word is from a word meaning "bond, tie, knit". In the culture of the day, feet got very dirty and dusty so shoes were removed and feet washed when entering a house. The action of washing someone's feet was looked upon as a very lowly job. The lowest of the low would be expected to wash feet. This is very interesting in the light of Jesus' willingness to wash His disciples' feet. The dust is also linked with flesh and sinful nature in the bible. The serpent from Genesis was cursed and doomed to eat dust. Man's fate was set to return to dust. Dust is a picture of the sinful nature of the world. So here in this verse we are told to cover or bind our feet with the preparation of the gospel. This means that our feet are never covered with the dust (or sin) of the world. They're ever ready to go  -  go wherever God takes us. We're not picking up the dust of the world, we are walking in the cleansing power of the gospel, taking the good news with us, and ever prepared to walk in paths that God has for us. How beautiful is that? We walk in the world, but we're not of the world. We look different in the world because of the gospel. Wherever we walk, our feet are perpetually clean, guided by the gospel, prepared for anything, and the dust or sin of the world has no power over us.

We'll take on the last three verses next time.

Suited and booted part 1

I'd love to share some of the insights that the Holy Spirit led me to study and delve into. He led me to an in depth study of Ephesians 6, but He gave me this backdrop at the beginning of my study.
I hope you enjoy.

When God made the earth, and everything in it, He pronounced it good. Genesis 1v 31 "Then God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good". In Genesis 3v1, the fall hadn't happened yet, we are told that "The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman "Has God indeed said, 'you shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

I felt Him say, "what is amiss in this passage?" Then I saw it. Man and woman were put in the Garden of Eden by God. However here in this passage, the serpent is in the Garden. I'm not sure why the serpent was a cunning creature. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It can't be, as God made everything good. It may be that the quirk of this particular creature meant that Satan could use it in his plans more easily.
However, note that it says the serpent was a field animal. I looked up the word field in my concordance and lo and behold, it means....FIELD. An open expanse of land, a plain. Not really a Garden of Eden description is it? Why was the serpent in the garden where man and woman were if it was a field animal? Or perhaps Eve was in the field rather than the Garden? Either way, someone was not where they should have been.  God gave Adam & Eve authority and dominion over all the animals and everything He created. If we are not taking authority over what God gave us to take authority over, then something will sneak in, like the serpent did here.

From here we know that the serpent, via Satan, craftily made Eve question God's words. He made her doubt God's goodness. Is God holding out on you? Does He tell you not to eat the fruit because then you will be just like Him? (I'm paraphrasing a bit). It's this kind of subtle bending of the Word of God that is so very dangerous. Because Eve didn't know the truth of what God had actually said to her. She replied with this: "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God has said 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die'. "
However, God didn't say that. He said in Genesis 2 v 16-17 "...of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat it you shall surely die." Eve misquoted and misrepresented God. She said that God said not to touch it even. He doesn't say that. She didn't know the truth of God's word, and this made her vulnerable. By believing that God said don't even touch it, she has left herself open to doubt. Doubt in God's goodness. Doubt in the very character of God. The serpent was able to say "You shall not surely die....you shall become like God". She's completely open to attack now and the attack is doubt. Doubt in God's whole character......If I touch it, will I die? Will I die if I eat it? Is God lying? Why can't I eat it? What is God keeping from me?

We all know what happened next.

This whole scenario has led to the world as we know it today. Creation fell and we now have a constant enemy. Just like the serpent in the Garden, he's cunning and will infiltrate your world in a myriad of subtle ways. One of the main ways he gains his foothold is to manipulate the truth of the word of God, and cause you to doubt who you are, what your authority is, and how good God is.

Our enemies today are not serpents. The enemies we face today that we wrestle with are "not flesh and blood" according to Ephesians 6 v 12. They are however, defeated by Jesus our Saviour. We stand as more than conquerors in Christ through the Cross. We do however, need to ensure that we don't fall into the trap that Eve did by not really knowing who God created us to be, and Who He is.

Next time, I will share some wonderful insights into how to live victoriously and how we can overcome in life.

How long do I need to pray for?

How long do I need to pray for?

The bible says to "Pray without ceasing". That is a mighty long prayer!

How do I do that???! Surely we can't pray 24/7?  I just want to know how long my prayer should be.

We'll come back to "praying without ceasing" in a moment.  First let's say we come to God in prayer over something. How long does my prayer need to be? Basically, it's however long you feel you need to pray for. That sounds a bit vague but it really is true. There's no set length for prayers. God's attention isn't caught when we say long, elaborate prayers that last an hour.

My early Christian experiences of prayer were a bit freaky. I've really had to un-learn a lot of things. Prayers were long, very very long. Prayer time was hours. Words were long and repetitive, and to be honest, it was all boring. Prayers were really not prayers. They were more of a contest to see who could be the most eloquent and quote the most scripture. And whilst there's nothing wrong with being eloquent and quoting scripture, if it's all for the purpose of impressing other people, then it's not really prayer. You know, sometimes, I just say to my husband, "It's been one of those days. The children were horrors and I was an even bigger horror. Rarrrrrrrrrr". When I "rarrrrrrr" that's the end of the talking. He'll give me a cuddle and there'll be quiet time. It's not long, it's not eloquent, but it's enough. Same with prayers. Your prayer may be two words or 2000 words - but even just your groan will reach up to His throne.

Saying that, there may be times when you're praying for something, but you don't feel you can let it go yet. There's more praying to do. Your prayer time may be longer over certain situations. Praying to be released from a habit or addiction, for example, may take more time than your morning prayers when you simply thank God for the day ahead, and give your cares about the coming day to Him.

But there really is no set limit or time period. James says that the earnest, heartfelt prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working. There is no mention of "5 hour prayer time makes power available" or "One hour long prayers 3 times a day cause prayers to be answered." Jesus is our example. When He gave us an example of how to pray (the Lord's prayer), it's not a long prayer. It's to the point and it's concise. Yet there are times when He goes away by Himself and spends longer periods of time in prayer. Let the Holy Spirit lead you. If you feel the need to spend longer in prayer over something, then do so.

Coming back to the "Praying without ceasing". Let's get the verse, and see what it says. It's from 1 Thessalonians 5, v 16-18. "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

If we define prayer as communication with God, then this verse is really telling us how to live our everyday lives to the glory of Jesus.

• Rejoicing always - don't get negative or complain, but live with the joy of the Lord. 
• Pray without ceasing - keep an open line of communication with God. Talk to Him as often as you feel you need to, or can do. Not in a super-spiritual, away-with-the-fairies way, but by cultivating your relationship with Him, speak to Him throughout your day. 
• Give Him thanks for everything - no matter what your situation, give thanks. If it's good, give Him the glory. If times are tough, thank Him that He is with you, and that in Jesus you are an overcomer; you are more than a conqueror and that He is your Strong Tower.

Notice it is all about what comes out of our mouths. By cultivating a relationship with someone, you have to talk to them. If I only speak to my husband once a week, our relationship will break down. An intimate, loving relationship needs communication and God desires a close, loving intimate relationship with us.   Sometimes I have a moan to my husband and tell him all the stuff that's bothering me; sometimes I talk to him about what funny things have happened in my day; sometimes we have times where we tell each other how much we love each other; other times we sort through an issue; sometimes it's planning for the future. Sometimes they're long conversations, sometimes they're short. It's no different with God. He wants all those conversations with you. Start today and see your life transformed.

PRAYER

I've been feeling like I should share some of the things in my heart about prayer.

Prayer is a wonderful thing yet so misunderstood. It is over-spiritualised by many charismatics, and made over-religious by others. Yet it is simply one very beautiful thing: a conversation with our ever-loving God. That's it! It's a conversation.

Now the Bible does talk about different types of prayer (intercession, prayer of agreement etc), but let's not let this scare us off. In everyday life, we have different types of conversations don't we? We have nice, easy conversations over coffee with friends; we have formal conversations with colleagues; we have silly conversations with our children; we have serious conversations with our spouse about household matters.  So, don't let prayer be a scary concept, and think you need to have a set spiritual vocabulary, full of thy/thee/thine/knoweth/doeth....and all other words we would never use in any other setting. Just use your own words. Think of intercession etc as simply a different type of prayer conversation.

Just talk to God, the loving Father Who just wants to hear your voice, and craves your love and devotion. Tell Him your thoughts, your cares and your needs. Talk to Him about anything you like. That is prayer.


These everyday conversations mentioned above all have something in common. They're two-way. When you pray, don't forget to have a moment of quiet to let God respond. You may not hear anything and that's ok, it doesn't mean God hasn't heard, or isn't bothered. Sometimes, you might just have a quiet moment and you feel His presence or His love wash over you. That's lovely. When my husband says nothing, and just gives me a cuddle, that's better than any words. It's what I really need.

Jesus says that His sheep know His voice. He also said that He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to us, Who would teach us all things.  I truly believe that God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. It takes time, but if we want to hear Him, I believe we can hear God speak to us. But if you never give Him chance, you never will. Don't miss His peace and His loving presence as I believe this is often the means by which He answers us. We ask Him about something and we have a peace, confirming it's all good, or conversely, an absence of peace. But the Holy Spirit is our guide. The way He often guides us is that inner "gut feeling" or that easy positive feeling we have about something. That is God guiding you, answering you and leading you.

So don't be afraid to pray. Just as talking to your spouse or your children is a vital part of your relationship, so should prayer be. Prayer is simply talking to God. We can't have a relationship with someone we never speak to. So I encourage you, make prayer a daily thing.

If you're really struggling, can I suggest a simple prayer in the morning to start the day, along the lines of this:
"Lord, thank you for loving me. I give today to You, with all my cares and anxieties. Fill me with Your love and grace. I thank You that You are with me today, that You never leave me or forsake me."

The Pool Guy

There's a strange little story in John 5. It's the man at the pool of Bethesda. As a young girl, I mis-read Bethesda as Bethseda. When I later realised my error, I decided to call him the pool guy as that was safer than looking like a fool who couldn't pronounce it correctly. So the pool guy he will always be. Let's just read about him:


John 5 1-9

Later on there was a Jewish festival (feast) for which Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem a pool near the Sheep Gate. This pool in the Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porches (alcoves, colonnades, doorways). In these lay a great number of sick folk—some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up)—waiting for the bubbling up of the water. For an angel of the Lord went down at appointed seasons into the pool and moved and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was cured of whatever disease with which he was afflicted. There was a certain man there who had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years. When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?] The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me. Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your bed (sleeping pad) and walk! Instantly the man became well and recovered his strength and picked up his bed and walked. But that happened on the Sabbath.


So, there's a pool in Jerusalem, and when it got stirred up, the first person who got into it was healed. Well how about that! That's pretty strange but the strangeness continues. The sick people congregated around it, hoping to be the first in when it bubbled up. We don't know how often the water bubbled up, it could have been once every few weeks, every few months, or even every few years. If you are sick, you would, undoubtedly wait there for as long as it takes wouldn't you? It is here we meet a man, our "pool guy", who has been ill for 38 years. That's a long time, and I wonder how long he had been hanging around the pool? The full 38 years maybe? Yet he'd never been the first to get in though.


Then Jesus noticed him. Now let's just pull up right here. Jesus turns up. He turns up at the pool where the sick people gather. Isn't that just like Jesus? He's always where the people are who need Him. There are all those sick people, and Jesus singles out one. He knew that the man had been in his distressing illness a long time; He saw that the man was hanging around waiting for the healing waters to be stirred up. 

The guy is there for a reason. Yet Jesus asks the most bizarre question: "Do you want to become well?" Is it just me, or does anyone else think that's a crazy question? I do a double-take each time I read that. However, there are people who don't want to be healed. They have become accustomed to the lifestyle of sickness - the check-ups, the attention and devotion from family and friends; the reality of adjusting to a new life can be daunting. Then there are those who have prayed, and are seeking a solution. But the solution may not come in the form they envisaged. Have you ever done that? Prayed to God, and told Him how to answer the prayer you just prayed? The problem with doing that is we might not receive the answer to that prayer when it comes in a different format to how we envisaged it would. We are also thinking we know better than God. But notice again, the pool guy doesn't actually say "Yes!!! Great scott man, of course I want to be well!". He doesn't state he wants to be well at all. He answers in the strangest way possible. His answer shows us so much because it shows us his heart. His aim is to get into the pool. His answer is all about how he can't get in the pool and how nobody helps him.


Here in John 5, our sick man saw himself getting healed by getting in that pool. It had probably become an obsession, to get in the pool before anyone else. How could he beat the others who were physically able to take themselves to the pool? He must have watched those waters like a hawk. Watching for movement, waiting, thinking about it every day. His desire to get in the pool had overtaken his desire to be healed, otherwise he would never have answered Jesus' question as he did. His focus was that pool. It had become a greater desire than his healing.


Then we have to wonder why no one helped him into the water? Could they have wanted some monetary reward? Perhaps so, as it would have involved people sitting around and waiting with him; waiting for the waters to bubble up, and no one knew when they would. Time's money, so they say. Perhaps, people had tried to help before, but he became angry when he didn't get there ahead of another person? Perhaps, he had no friends or family. The only friends he had were the other sick folk hanging around the pool, and they wanted to get into the pool too so they wouldn't, or couldn't help him either.


Either way, the man was in a bad place. Desperate to get in to the healing waters, and plagued for 38 yrs with a distressing illness with no one to help him. Then Jesus turns up. Are you ready for your original heart's cry to be answered? That's what Jesus is asking him. But it won't look like you envisioned it. You won't be getting in those waters at all. The man had wanted healing. That was the cry of his heart originally. But his eyes and his hope had become the pool. His heart was yearning for the waters to be stirred up. His every thought was getting to the pool. His original prayer had been overtaken by a fixation on the waters. But Jesus was about to put an end to that. He would have his prayers answered yet this pool that he'd spent so many years fixating on, expecting it to provide the answer to his prayers, wasn't even going to feature in it. He took his eyes off the pool for a moment, and spent time with Jesus. He didn't even know who Jesus was, and I'm willing to bet he never took his eyes off that pool for anyone. But Jesus, He's just magnetic. You can't help but want to talk to Him.


Such amazing things will happen when we put our eyes on Jesus and take our eyes off the pool. What's the pool? In our lives the pool could be anything that's distracting us from Jesus. It could be what we are expecting the answer to our prayers to be - that new job, that new spouse, that new house. It could be that we've asked God for breakthrough in an area in our lives, and we expect a certain outcome, but God has plans to do it all completely differently than we imagine. Don't let the answer to your prayers become your fixation. Just keep your eyes on Jesus and He'll take care of everything, and often in a way we least expect Him to. I'm sure the blind man who had mud rubbed on his eyes by Jesus was not expecting that! But it made him see, and he was healed.


Let's not dismiss the last phrase of verse 9. "But it was the Sabbath". The Jews obviously regard the Sabbath very highly. The pharisees got angry when Jesus healed on the holy Sabbath. But God is the God even of the Sabbath. He created it. It's important to not let anything take our eyes off Jesus and to inhibit us from taking hold of God's promises. Even if those things are holy and good. All those other sick people there, yet only one got healed. Was their regard for the Sabbath causing them to miss out on healing? Did they value the sanctity of the Sabbath above Jesus? The pool guy probably didn't care about the Sabbath any more. He just cared about getting in that pool.


Don't let anything take your eyes off Him Who loves you. When you pray, don't limit God. He knows the end from the beginning and He's more than capable of answering your prayers. He gives you the desires of your heart (Ps 37 v 4) because He loves you. And don't wait 38 years for the answers to your prayers because you got so focused on what you perceived the answer to be that you let that drive you. When we let God in, He will change everything with one word, one touch. We just need to keep our eyes off the pool, and on Jesus.


Be blessed x

If You came tomorrow

Lord, if You came back for Your church tomorrow, how would You find us?
Would You find us sleeping?
Would You find us lukewarm, neither hot or cold?
Would You find us so repugnant, You want to vomit us out of Your mouth?
Would You see us in our luxury, with riches and need of nothing, giving nothing back from which You have blessed us?
Would You see us spiritually naked, even though physically we are bedecked with fine clothes?

Or would You find us doing well, reaching out to those in need, proclaiming Your Name, preaching the uncompromised Word of God, with no fear of persecution, even death?
Would You be calling us to the clouds to meet You, or would we be left here asking Why, and hearing that we didn't really know You?
If You came back tomorrow, would You find the church of Philadelphia or the church of Laodicea?

Lord if You came back tomorrow, what would You see in me?
Would You say well done, good and faithful servant?
Would I have carried Your Name with honour and integrity?
Would I have been a good ambassador for the Kingdom of God?
Would I have spread Your love wherever my foot stepped?
Would I have caused my world to seek Your grace by the fruit of the Spirit within?
Would I recoil from Your glorious presence in shame and grief at the "could have's" and "should have's" ?
Would I weep at Your feet in lament at opportunities lost, and commands not obeyed?

Lord, if You came back tomorrow, what should my today look like?
Yet if You tarry for a thousand years, my today should look exactly the same

Help me, Lord to be all You have created me to be
Help me Lord to be obedient to Your voice
Help me Lord to accomplish all You have set before me
Help me Lord to please You in all my ways
Help me Lord to be the light in the dark world, to be love in the midst of hate,
To give grace when it is so undeserved, to be joyous in the storm,
To hold fast to Your Word when the persecutions come,
To be wisdom in the foolishness of the world,
To be the giver when all around want to take,
To bring peace when there is chaos

Lord, let Your love flow from me from the inside out to show the world that You are love.
Lord, let the love I have for You, gush forth from me, like a mighty torrent, changing my world,
Let this love not just sit dormant in my heart, but let it manifest itself
So that when You come, I will fall at Your feet in love and joy,
Having run my race, fought the good fight, battle scarred but not defeated, victorious in You
With heart-peace, with a joyful soul, with a humble spirit, with a generous hand.
Let the pages of the book of my life be a worthy read, as I continue in eternity with my True Love

Who's crying Father?

When we read the gospels, especially John, it's conspicuous that Jesus referenced God as Father. What's more conspicuous is that hanging on the cross, He prayed to His Father to "forgive them as they know not what they do", then right before He submitted His spirit, He cried out "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken Me?"  A rare time He addressed Him as God, rather than Father. He became estranged from His Father on the cross, taking on our sins, so we could be close to God and know Him as Father.  Jesus came to present God as something He'd not been known as before: Father God. 

Abba - which is not just a quirky pop band who sang incredibly annoying songs (oooh gasps all round from Abba fans - sorry folks), but is Aramaic for a very affectionate term for father. We would use the word "daddy". 

Daddy. We see this term Abba first in the gospel of Mark, used by Jesus in chapter 14 v 36 where He addresses His Father as Abba when He is in the garden, just before His trial, He cries, "Abba, everything is possible for You. Take away this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will."  At His darkest moment on the planet, He cries out to His Daddy. It's a touching moment and I urge you to read the chapter and just meditate on His beautiful relationship with the Father as He prepares to face the coming hours.  



Two other times Abba is mentioned in the Bible. Romans 8v 15 :For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!
The other place is in Galatians 4 v 6: And because you are really His sons, God has sent the Holy Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying Abba (Father!) Father!

(For anyone who likes biblical numerology like I do, it's interesting that the name makes three appearances throughout the entire bible. It is not featured at all in the old testament.)

So it is the Holy Spirit which reveals to us the Father, through Jesus. He is the one Who cries out "Abba", "daddy" for us on our behalf, calling us into the freedom of grace and allowing us to get to know our Heavenly Father, as Jesus does. It is through the Holy Spirit that we cry out to the Father. We cry out Abba in bliss at the revelation of the grace we have received through Christ. That we are now sons of God, joint heirs in Christ Jesus. And we cry out to our Father when we need Him, because that's what Jesus did and He set the example for us.

Cry out to your Abba daddy - cry out in your time of need, and cry out in bliss and praise for everything He has done for you.

It wasn't the nails that held Him

It's Easter time. I love Easter, although I prefer to call it passover personally, because Easter as it is portrayed and celebrated now just doesn't seem like any kind of true representation or celebration of the cross and resurrection. Passover, if you study it from the old testament, is a shadow of Easter. Either way, passover/easter : I love it, I love it, I love it. I get so excited - more so than Christmas.

For me, it's the biggest Christian event in the year as it celebrates the death of Jesus, and the Resurrection. For me, and many millions of Christians all over the globe, this is what our faith hangs on. This one event in history changed everything, and Jesus' death on that cross made a way for us all to enter straight into the Father's presence and into His arms. Jesus made it personal.

It means so much to me, I can hardly even write it all down. What I feel when I focus on the cross is literally overwhelming, that I often find tears running down my cheeks, my heart races, and simultaneously it melts at the love that was poured out for me. I don't feel this way just once, not just at Easter, because the cross is something I think about and meditate on pretty much daily. Not in a morbid way, but rather in a way of continual thanksgiving, gratitude and awe.  I don't think I can ever fully understand whilst I am on this earth, exactly all that Jesus did for me at Calvary. As the years go by, I continue to learn something new about my salvation and my redemption; I learn something new about my Redeemer, Jesus, and it gets more exciting, more personal, more real, more meaningful.

So when Easter/passover comes around, it feels alien to me that other people don't feel the same way that I do. Eggs, chicks, chocolate, bunnies.....they're all very nice, we all love an Easter egg, and cute little bunnies. As I look around, and I listen to people and I am perplexed at how little Jesus fits into peoples' Easter. But I realised it is because you can't get excited about something or someone you don't know. If Jesus isn't real to you then it's just a story you heard about at school, or in a church you were dragged along to as a child. If you don't get to know the Person Who hung on that cross, it will never touch you and impact your life.

So I could stand on the rooftops and tell anyone who could hear me that God Himself, so holy and so just, desperately wanted to reconcile mankind to Himself. When sin got in the way, as a righteous and holy God, sin needed to be dealt with. So from the moment man first sinned, way back in Genesis chapter 3, God had a plan. He declared it right there. Jesus was the plan. God gave part of Himself, allowed Himself to be ridiculed, beaten beyond recognition, spat upon, mocked and made fun of (they put a crown of thorns on His head and stripped Him naked, then put a royal robe around Him to mock Him, His body ripped apart by the beatings), then they hung Him on a cross. Even though at His trial He wasn't found guilty of anything. Even though He didn't deserve it.

At the beginning of His earthly ministry, He preached in a synagogue and the pharisees didn't like His teaching. They took hold of Him, a huge crowd of men, and took Him to a cliff edge and actually had Him in their grip to throw Him off the cliff. However, miraculously He walked away. No fighting, or hustle and bustle. He just walked away. They physically could not hold Him and kill Him. No one can put Jesus into a situation He doesn't want to be in. The fact that He chose right at the final moment, the most difficult and precarious time to show forth His power and miraculously walk away in the presence of dozens and dozens of men who had just moments ago dragged Him forcibly through a whole town, just shows that He was demonstrating that He has all the power of heaven at His disposal.   When He was betrayed and the mob came to arrest Him, they asked Him Who He was, and when He answered, they all fell to the ground. He didn't touch them, they just fell. Big burly men. He didn't escape, He didn't run and at that point, He could have being so all the men armed with their weapons were on the floor, flat out.

There's no doubt in my mind that it wasn't the nails that held Him to that cross. He could have said at any point, "Get me down" and a hundred angels would have come immediately, or the cross would have collapsed.....one way or another, He'd have been down from that cross at the word of His mouth.
It was LOVE that held Him there.  Love for you, love for me, love for all mankind. He knew what was coming. Before He was betrayed, He sweat blood: that's some major stress that causes you to sweat drops of blood.  I also have no doubt that when He was hanging there on that cross, YOU were on His mind. I was on His mind. It is completely mind-blowing that God Himself would suffer so brutally at the hands of the very men He created, and do it so willingly. He willingly gave Himself for you.

I could shout from the rooftops that having read the Bible and studied it, that the more I read it, the more it comes alive. And I don't say that lightly as a throw-away comment. It never ceases to produce life and there's mysteries and revelations to be had time and time again - there are layers upon layers in every passage. I could have read a scripture a hundred times, and come back to it another time and find new revelation in it. The more I read it, the more I see and learn of God's amazing grace, and His love. It's difficult to describe until you experience it, but the words are alive. It all links in together like a huge jigsaw puzzle; with over 40 writers across a few thousand years, there's not one thing that doesn't somehow fit together with another part of the Bible. Almost as if Someone has written it from outside time, and orchestrated every word!

I could tell you about my amazing Saviour, Jesus, and how gentle and loving He is. How He loves His Father so much, and how He desires everyone would come to know the Father.
I could tell you about the Holy Spirit and about He loves to help you in everyday life; how interested He is in every detail of your life. How He feels so deeply about something, simply because YOU feel deeply about it. How He never makes you feel condemned or ashamed, but always points you to Jesus, and how He constantly reminds you how forgiven and loved you are. Completely the opposite to how God is portrayed - as some despot Who beats you with a lightning rod each time you do wrong. He's just not like that, and it must be horrible to be so misrepresented.

I could tell you that, unfortunately, religion has put this amazing God in a box, and told the world that there's a certain standard you need to achieve to be holy and righteous and worthy. God is portrayed as boring, and many churches are sadly cold (quite literally and in atmosphere), boring and quiet, with hard pews and boring old hymns with no life and no joy. I could tell you that God hates religion, because religion separates His creation from His heart.

In reality Heaven is NOISY. I'm sure of it. There are angels around the throne of God continually singing and proclaiming praises to Him (Revelation 4). There's no way it's quiet. He loves music, after all, He created it! The longest book in the Bible is the Psalms. These are 150 songs set to music. David, who wrote quite a large amount of the psalms, was famed for his music, and his dancing. He had a team of worshippers and people whose job it was to make music and sing praises to God constantly.  He was even known to get naked and dance....but the less said about that the better! Dancing good, naked.....hmmm maybe not. Just goes to show you that God has a sense of humour. He made sure that nugget of information got into the Bible!

I could tell you a million other things about Him. Each one would challenge your perception of the God who supposedly requires quiet, big imposing buildings, stained glass windows, candles, nice little prayers and soft hymns to horrendous sounding organs. No offence if that's your bag. There's a time for reverence and quiet worship, but let's not put God in a box. God's temple is His church and His church are the people. He longs to be among His people and He's not averse to some lively music, and lots of fun. Yes, it amazed me too when I found out that actually God is fun. He's funny, He's joyful and He's not fond of pity-parties so if you're prone to them (like I myself am occasionally), He will zap that pity right out of you and replace it with rejoicing and joy.

But, just like the Easter story, all this is just someone telling you about someone. You can't feel the joy, the excitement, the awe, the indescribable love that I feel, until you get to know my amazing Jesus for yourself.  Over 20 years now I have sought this Person called Jesus. I find out more about Him everyday. I have never once stopped learning, and I never cease to be amazed the more I come to know Him. In fact the more I know, the more I realise there's so much more yet to know. The more I spend time with Him, the more I crave spending even more time with Him. The more of His love I feel, the more I realise that I haven't even experienced the tip of the iceberg of His love for me yet. It just gets better and better. All of this doesn't mean life is suddenly perfect, or even that I am perfect. If I could ever be perfect then Jesus would have died for no reason. So yes, I will make mistakes, I will be a proper cowbag at times, I will mess up royally sometimes and life will still throw me some lemons. But it's all so much better with Jesus, because when I make mistakes, He just whispers "You're forgiven". When I'm being a cowbag and I mess up, He says "come on, rest at My feet a while, and then let's go do this together." And when I get lemons, forget making lemonade, He's busy making a stonking lemon meringue pie for me!

I can only urge you to ask yourself some questions this Easter time:

Who Is this Jesus?
If He really was God, and He really did die for me, why did He do that and what am I going to do with that information?
What held Him to that cross - if it was His love wouldn't it be great to experience it?
If He's alive and He loves me, should I get to know Him?

With my whole heart, I can tell you that once you begin the journey of getting to know Him, you won't be disappointed. Just ask Him. He'll be over-joyed and He'll be more than willing to show you Who He is.

Happy Easter. Happy Passover.
Shalom x

The storrm's a-coming

Mark 4 v 37 -41

Jesus has been preaching by the lake. He wanted to cross over. 

"And a furious storm of wind [of hurricane proportions] arose, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that it was already becoming filled. But He [Himself] was in the stern [of the boat], asleep on the [leather] cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we are perishing?  And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush now! Be still (muzzled)! And the wind ceased (sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating) and there was [immediately] a great calm (a perfect peacefulness). He said to them, Why are you so timid and fearful? How is it that you have no faith (no firmly relying trust)? And they were filled with great awe and feared exceedingly and said one to another, Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?"

Now, have you ever wondered where this storm came from? It seems so odd.  You would think that if there were big black storm clouds, the disciples would have said, "Hey Jesus, let's go tomorrow; there's a storm brewing". Or even if the disciples thought a storm may have been approaching, at least 4 of them were fishermen (James, John, Simon Peter & Andrew), and they would be used to being on the water in choppy times.  But this was such a storm that even the sea-faring fishermen were scared for their lives. Hurricane proportions!! Wow.  Where did the storm come from? Why did the storm come at that time?  I believe this storm was sent to destroy Jesus.  From before His birth, right back in Genesis 3, the promised Seed has been under attack. Of course, until Jesus was born, Satan didn't know who the Promised Seed was. So he just tried his best to thwart all possibilities of it.  There's no doubt the enemy knew who this was now though.....all the demon possessed people He encountered cried out in terror that Jesus was there in their presence.  It wasn't the first attempt on His life either. They tried to throw Him off a cliff, but He somehow managed to just pass through the crowd and boom...He was safe and fine. That's a super passage. I read that and I am in awe.  Luke 4 v 28-30 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.  So they had their hands on Him, took Him to the cliff - ALL the people in the synagogue.....yet He walked away. How? Because God had a plan for Him. 

Back to the storm. Has a storm like this ever come up in your life? A storm that seems unprecedented, and appears from nowhere?  There certainly has in mine. You wander along quite happily and "all hell breaks loose" for want of a better phrase.  You panic, you fear, you wallow on the "what if's" and the situation seems impossible and you can't see a way out.
Fortunately, there is nothing that can put Jesus into a flap or state of fear. He knows Who He is, and what authority He has. Furthermore, He knew that He had a plan and a purpose set by God the Father for His life. As long as God has a plan for you, no storm that is thrown at you will destroy you.  Just like Jesus, you have authority over your life because you have been bought and paid for by Christ Himself. He has a plan for you, and no matter what storms arise, no matter how violent and life-threatening that they appear to be, nothing can stand in the way of God's plans for your life. Just look at the Bible - it's full of people who encountered things that could have ended them, but because God had a plan, things worked out for their good. Joseph is a prime example. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, his father thinking he was dead; then he was set up my his master's (Potipher) wife. Thrown in prison.....ends up virtually ruling with Pharoah! Who saw that coming?? God's plans will work out, so long as you keep your eyes on Him. Joseph was hit on by Potipher's wife. There were no 10 commandments then, saying Do not commit adultery! There was no law. He just knew in his heart that he didn't want to do something which wasn't right in the sight of God. And God honoured him and kept him because of his heart towards Him.

Did the disciples think that Jesus would die in a boat on a lake? A lake!! Not even a sea or ocean. A lake!  Just like when Peter began walking on the water to Jesus, as soon as he took his eyes off Him, and put them on the things going on around him, he began sinking. As long as our eyes are on Him, our focus is Him, and our faith is in Him we can't fail.
When our eyes are on Jesus, we will barely notice the storm around us. We'll just say "Peace be still" and the raging storm will calm. The storms may come, in fact, they will come in life, but Jesus says, have faith, don't fear, look to Me and get to the shore (or your destiny).
Be blessed

Being the Church

I'm not really one to give my opinions about items in the news. It leads to nowhere but debates, and worse......

But I cannot overlook this item I read in the Telegraph.

Article in The Telegraph

We obviously only have the newspaper report to go on, so I won't speculate too much into the details of the case as we don't know both sides. Basically the article details that a nurse, who is a Christian, worked with a muslim lady. They appear to have a friendship, and regularly discuss in a friendly and amicable way, their respective faiths. The muslim lady was having a difficult period in her life, with health issues, and out of friendship and concern, the Christian asked if she could pray for her. She placed a hand on her knee, and asked permission to do this too, and said a very simple, very short prayer, asking God for healing and peace. It appears from the article that the offer of prayer was accepted and welcomed at the time.   The Christian nurse, however has been suspended from her job, and seems to be facing quite a lot of religious prejudice.

My first thoughts when reading the article were, What sort of a world do we live in where we can't reach out to a friend, a colleague, and offer to pray for them if they are in distress? Even people with no faith or religion can receive comfort in prayer. Regardless of your religious beliefs, the very offer shows that the person is reaching out in empathy and concern at your situation.

But I'm not writing this to have any kind of rant at the state of the world we live in.  I am writing this, because by the time I had read the whole article, I was encouraged by this Christian lady. We should be championing her for her faith and courage to reach out to someone in their time of need. As a Christian myself, I would find it difficult to ask my non Christian friends if I could pray for them. Of course I would pray in the privacy of my own home, but to actually sit and pray with someone takes boldness. She put her faith into action and did something which I am so encouraged by. Reaching out to someone when they are having a difficult time, having health issues, and saying, I'd like to pray because I believe my God can help you (which incidentally is the same God as the muslims worship!!).

This is not the norm anymore. People don't do this, and when one person does, this is what happens. Of course, this lady is in a difficult situation herself now. But we are called to pray for the sick! Jesus came to heal the broken hearted, set the captives free, open blind eyes and deaf ears. He walked on water; He disappeared inexplicably through a huge crowd of people; He blessed food and it multiplied in His hands. He said we would do GREATER things. But as Christians, are we doing greater things? Are we doing the very basics of even praying for people? Are we encouraging people? Are we reaching out to a lost world? Apparently not because when someone steps out in an act of true Christianity, it is so alien that the world takes offence to it. As the body of Christ we should all be encouraged that this lady is so full of Christ that her first thought is to pray with her colleague and friend. She had the respect to ask permission, and of course, she probably wouldn't have prayed if permission had been declined. From the article, it seems that this lady has acted with humility and respect which you would expect. We should be living out our faith like this lady.

I'm obviously not saying to go out and start laying hands on random people who don't want it, but let's take this example and champion her and thank God that there are people out there who are demonstrative in their faith. If we have the fruit of the spirit, then we will be operating in goodness, gentleness etc.

It's unfortunate that this situation has turned out like it has for this lady, and that she has had to take her employers to a tribunal. But I am praying for her, and believing that good will come out of this situation. Not just for her personal situation, but that it will encourage Christians to be light and salt in the world. We're not supposed to blend in with the world. We are called to be more than conquerors, to be light in the darkness, to do the things that Jesus did, and more. We are called to be the Church - the Bride of Christ, an unstoppable force that makes evil quake in its boots and run and hide. we are to tear down walls, break stronghold, break the chains that enslave people and to proclaim the most wonderful news anyone could ever wish to hear: that the Creator of this world loves them. Deeply. Unconditionally. With an eternal love, the likes of which we will need all eternity to understand and know in its fullness.
If you look at the apostles in Acts, you will see that they were very hands on in practical help to the people who needed help - the widows and the people with nothing. They acted on their faith, healing the sick, praying and praising God, knowing that they could get thrown in jail or worse. They didn't let society dictate to them how to live; they lived instead as God has called them to live. As Christians, we should look peculiar to the world for we are not of the world. If we look exactly the same as the world do, hiding the light of the World within us under a bushel then we have faith without works. James says faith without works is dead.
Let's take our lead from this daughter of God and say well done. Well done for not being afraid to be who God created you to be. For reaching out to someone in need and doing the most powerful thing we can do for someone - praying with them. For practically outworking her faith! I truly pray that I myself will have the courage to be who I really am and let my faith outwork itself to reach out to the people in my world.

Pray with me for this lady:
Heavenly Father, we thank you that this lady had the faith and boldness to ask her friend if she could pray. We thank you for her, and her heart towards you. We ask now that justice will rule in the tribunal proceedings and that all that has been lost from her will be restored seven times. We pray in the name of Jesus that she will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit and that your peace will envelop her at this time. We pray that she will continue to act with love and humility, displaying Your love and grace throughout this time. We also pray that this situation, will be turned around for greater good. That people will be encouraged by this lady's faith and boldness. We pray that Your church would arise in boldness and strength to offer comfort to the broken and to display and proclaim Your mighty Name and to display Your limitless, unconditional love to the world, no matter what the cost. Amen

Touch the hem

Mark 5:25-34 (Amplified Bible)

25 And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, And who had endured much suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse. She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment, For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health. And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and [suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [distressing] ailment. And Jesus, recognizing in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around immediately in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes? And the disciples kept saying to Him, You see the crowd pressing hard around You from all sides, and You ask, Who touched Me? Still He kept looking around to see her who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had been done for her, though alarmed and frightened and trembling, fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me, springing from faith in God) has restored you to health. Go in (into) peace and be continually healed and freed from your [distressing bodily] disease. 

There's so much in this passage; I love this about the Bible. So much beauty and nuggets lying layer after layer bringing more revelation and blessing.

First of all is to note that twelve years is a long long time to be suffering with, what we interpret, as a menstrual bleed. I can't even imagine how she felt in her physical body from the side effects of constantly loosing blood. She must have been anaemic, constantly tired and who knows what else.

Notwithstanding the fact that as a menstruating woman, she'd have been seen as unclean in the Jewish faith and wasn't technically allowed out in the public domain. A very lonely existence, she probably had little contact with people. But not only that, she'd put her hope and faith in the doctors of the day, and not only had they failed to make her better, but she'd got worse! She also had no cash left as they didn't have the NHS then and all the physicians had taken money even though they had made her condition worse. Sounds like a nightmare!  She spent all she had, not only in money, but probably she'd spent all of her hope and strength too. I expect she was resigned to the fact that she would not be getting better.

But something renewed her hope. Some reports of this Jesus, some testimonies perhaps, from someone who had also lost hope, but who was now well and healed, had reached her and had spurred her into doing something audacious. She went out in public. She not only went out in public, she touched someone! I imagine she felt that the most she could do was touch just the very edge of his garment. "I won't touch Him" she may have thought, " That would be too much. I shouldn't be out, I am unclean. But maybe if I just touched the very edge of his garment, I just know I will be well". What a step of faith! She may have heard a testimony of a leper, another unclean person, who testified that Jesus TOUCHED him because Jesus touched the lepers. At the reports of Jesus, whatever it was she heard, it gave her the determination to step out and caused her whole life to be changed.
Imagine if you were that person who told her of Jesus! Imagine how blessed that person must have felt, knowing their testimony changed this woman's life! She even made it into the Bible, recorded in Mark's and Luke's gospel because of her faith. You just don't know what your testimony could encourage someone to do.....it could encourage someone to just dare to touch the hem of His garment, and have an encounter with the Messiah! Wow, that's a Selah moment.

So out she goes, spurred on by the hope that's been kindled in her heart. She finds out where Jesus is, and there's a crowd. A big crowd.She's scared. She keeps saying to herself "If I just touch His garment, just his hem. I just need to touch His garment, just the fringe and I'll be well". It was in her heart, it was all that she could think, she had to hold on to that hope. What she was doing was against everything she's learnt as a young Jewish girl, but she's got to do it.  Maybe it's a good thing, there's a big crowd: she won't be noticed. She'll slip up behind Him and not even be seen, how could she? There's thousands of people: bingo! And here goes, she reaches out, touches just the fringe of his garment, and wow! she feels it. She's healed. It's immediate! She must be so relieved, so elated, she did it, and she got her healing.

But hold on, Jesus has stopped walking. He was on His way to heal a sick child, unbeknownst to her, and His disciples are saying, Hey Jesus, what you doing Man?? (Clearly I'm paraphrasing a bit). Jesus is asking who touched Him. She is frightened now. He knows she touched Him. Is He angry because she was unclean? His disciples are asking Him what is He talking about; hundreds of people are touching Him. And they are.....there's a huge crowd, He's pressing through the crowd to get to the sick girl and the crowd are just following, all around. But although they're round about Jesus, they haven't touched Him like she has. She has reached out in desperation, with faith, with a hope, with a purpose. Whereas everyone else is hanging around perhaps hoping to see a miracle or sign, or to hear Him speak as they've never heard anyone like this before. There were probably other sick people there, but only she got healed in that crowd because she was the only one to step out in faith. To reach out to Jesus.

Of course, we see He isn't angry, He doesn't rebuke her. He knew someone had reached out to Him in faith. He wanted to see who it was. He wanted them to know that their faith was pleasing to Him. He would be more than happy to heal any who came to Him. But this person had not needed Him to touch them, they just had enough faith in Him to just touch his garment. That is what Jesus wants to celebrate and He wants her to know that she needn't be afraid of what she's done. He blesses her by telling her to go in peace. He calls her daughter. What an amazing thing! He doesn't say " You unclean woman! How dare you touch me". He doesn't say, " You disobeyed the law of Moses". He doesn't rebuke her at all. He knew this person needed not just the healing she received. She'd spent 12 years being spurned by society for being unclean.

Whenever you reach out to Jesus, even just to touch them hem of His garment, He will never let that step of faith go unnoticed. He will call you His child, and bless you and speak restoration upon your life. He will grant you peace from your fears and anxieties and assure you that no matter what the world says about you, He sees you as His daughter, or His son. She not only got her healing, she got accepted.
Jesus was on His way to a very sick child, but He always has time for those who reach out to touch the hem of His garment in faith. Don't think that because there's people in this world with bigger problems than yours, that He can't, or won't take the time to reach out to those who seek Him. He's big enough and powerful enough to give you healing right where you are, to speak to you, to love you, and still meet the needs of others who are waiting on Him. He's a big God, and He's waiting for you, even in your desperate situation where all you can do is touch the hem of His garment.
Be blessed