We were worshiping in the kitchen last week on our morning off when we noticed that we had a little visiter that wanted to join us. Actually, as you can see in the video he had already joined us. Thank You daddy for the children.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Abba's Love
Jesus refered to God in such a revolutionary way that it would forever change not only how we approach Him but also how we relate to Him.
With one word the religious leaders of the time were sent into a tailspin of religious furry, outraged at the idea of God being our Abba. In that moment, with one word, Jesus not only revealed who God is to Him but also who who God is to us, our Father. We are no longer slaves under the law but Sons under grace.
The idea of relating to God as a Father has become not just a stumbling block for religious pharisee's but also for those who through the events of life have remained in an orphan mentality. Every human being is born into the world with parents but many never walk or live as sons and daughters because their parents never knew what it meant to be fathers and mothers. Bad experiences create bad memories which become the basis on which we then define what a father is or is not in our lives. As a result of this our view of God as a Father becomes a negative and not a positive and thus true sonship is never walked out.
One of the main roles and responsibilities of a Father is that a father defines with His words who His children are and with that, who He is. How does one deal with an established false identity of God, who is a good, true Father, when all of their experiences of fathers in their lives have been negative?
Firstly we must ask Holy Spirit to come and heal our hearts of all of the wounds that we have and establish a ground of forgiveness towards our fathers and mothers as well as ourselves.
Secondly we must fill our hearts with the truth of who and what a true Father is.
And thirdly, allow our heavenly Father to properly define us, His children. Having a correct understanding of what a Father is, and what our heavenly Father is, releases us to receive from Him and identify with Him.
Each of us are Abba's child. We are loved, perfect and beautiful in His eyes. He not only loves us but enjoys us and is delighted to call us Sons and Daughters.
He delights to call us Abba's child.
With one word the religious leaders of the time were sent into a tailspin of religious furry, outraged at the idea of God being our Abba. In that moment, with one word, Jesus not only revealed who God is to Him but also who who God is to us, our Father. We are no longer slaves under the law but Sons under grace.
The idea of relating to God as a Father has become not just a stumbling block for religious pharisee's but also for those who through the events of life have remained in an orphan mentality. Every human being is born into the world with parents but many never walk or live as sons and daughters because their parents never knew what it meant to be fathers and mothers. Bad experiences create bad memories which become the basis on which we then define what a father is or is not in our lives. As a result of this our view of God as a Father becomes a negative and not a positive and thus true sonship is never walked out.
One of the main roles and responsibilities of a Father is that a father defines with His words who His children are and with that, who He is. How does one deal with an established false identity of God, who is a good, true Father, when all of their experiences of fathers in their lives have been negative?
Firstly we must ask Holy Spirit to come and heal our hearts of all of the wounds that we have and establish a ground of forgiveness towards our fathers and mothers as well as ourselves.
Secondly we must fill our hearts with the truth of who and what a true Father is.
And thirdly, allow our heavenly Father to properly define us, His children. Having a correct understanding of what a Father is, and what our heavenly Father is, releases us to receive from Him and identify with Him.
Each of us are Abba's child. We are loved, perfect and beautiful in His eyes. He not only loves us but enjoys us and is delighted to call us Sons and Daughters.
He delights to call us Abba's child.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Beautiful Gospel
Jesus said that signs, wonders and miracles would follow those who believe. It's funny how we can make something that is so simple seem so complicated. The past two weekends have been filled with signs, wonders and miracles just like Daddy promised. Last weekend we had a conference in a place called Miezi where we packed out a large church with local people, pastors, harvest school students and many many children to worship in one accord. Throughout the course of the weekend Daddy manifested His love in many different ways. On one morning the kitchen was at least 1000 loaves of bread short, with no more bread to be found they blessed it and started serving it anyways. They were told to give one full loaf to every person and every person received their full loaf.
God multiplied the bread!
In a place of dependancy miracles break forth.
The same conference there was a young boy who had never walked before, who's name was Omar. After receiving prayer he took his first steps across the stage.
There was also a blind baby who's eyes were white until receiving prayer. Slowly the eyes turned from white to grey to brown and she looked at her mother for the first time.
Just yesterday a group of us prayed for lady that could not walk because of two club feet. As the group prayed we watched as her one leg grew 5 inches to match the other. Her calf muscle began to form and grow where there was only bone before.
All of these people did not just walk away with a miracle but with an encounter with the furious love of God.
"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" Luke 12:32
If what your living for isn't worth dying for, then are you really living? God has called us to greatness! To see great things and to experience things that are beyond anything that we could fathom. But to step into our destinies we must first count the cost. In Luke 14 Jesus calls us to count the cost first before we start to build. God has been showing us the costs to fully living for Him and fully walking in our destinies and though the costs may be many, the promised reward outweighs every time. We say YES to you Jesus every time! The mission field has often been romanticized like a hollywood movie. Legitimate, amazing, joyful stories are told (exactly what people want to hear) but we tend to not focus to much on the cost of it all. Stepping into the fullness of what God is calling us to, carries with it a cost of being away from family, friends and comforts. As we dive deeper into His plans and will for our lives we do so knowing that there are costs to be paid but also joys to be obtained. The price tag has not changed but is rarely paid in full if even at all. The price is not silver or gold or precious stones. God requires of us what mankind required of Him.....our lives. May we visit the bank accounts of our hearts and withdrawal every cent and lay it at the feet of the one who will reap back one hundred fold return. May the lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.
"[But what of that?] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!" Romans 8:18
God multiplied the bread!
In a place of dependancy miracles break forth.
The same conference there was a young boy who had never walked before, who's name was Omar. After receiving prayer he took his first steps across the stage.
There was also a blind baby who's eyes were white until receiving prayer. Slowly the eyes turned from white to grey to brown and she looked at her mother for the first time.
Just yesterday a group of us prayed for lady that could not walk because of two club feet. As the group prayed we watched as her one leg grew 5 inches to match the other. Her calf muscle began to form and grow where there was only bone before.
All of these people did not just walk away with a miracle but with an encounter with the furious love of God.
"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" Luke 12:32
If what your living for isn't worth dying for, then are you really living? God has called us to greatness! To see great things and to experience things that are beyond anything that we could fathom. But to step into our destinies we must first count the cost. In Luke 14 Jesus calls us to count the cost first before we start to build. God has been showing us the costs to fully living for Him and fully walking in our destinies and though the costs may be many, the promised reward outweighs every time. We say YES to you Jesus every time! The mission field has often been romanticized like a hollywood movie. Legitimate, amazing, joyful stories are told (exactly what people want to hear) but we tend to not focus to much on the cost of it all. Stepping into the fullness of what God is calling us to, carries with it a cost of being away from family, friends and comforts. As we dive deeper into His plans and will for our lives we do so knowing that there are costs to be paid but also joys to be obtained. The price tag has not changed but is rarely paid in full if even at all. The price is not silver or gold or precious stones. God requires of us what mankind required of Him.....our lives. May we visit the bank accounts of our hearts and withdrawal every cent and lay it at the feet of the one who will reap back one hundred fold return. May the lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.
"[But what of that?] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!" Romans 8:18
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Mozambique
We've been in Mozambique for just over one week now and it has been a wild ride. Our first trip to Mozambique began back in October of 2010 when we participated in Harvest School 13 with Iris Ministries as students. We never expected to be returning this soon but God knew better than we did. This time we are back as staff for the biggest missions school that Iris has ever had. The last school had around 150 students, this school will have around 260 students including many beautiful little children.
This last week was filled with lots of preparations, practical and spiritual. There is still so much to be done and students have already started arriving, but the Lord keeps speaking over and over again about our dependency on Him and how He has been preparing for this school long before we even realized it would happen. One of the leaders here keeps saying, if God could lead the children of Israel around the "Egyptian Outback" than I'm pretty sure he can take care of us. We were never created to be ruled by our circumstances but by the Word of God. Some see obstacles but others see miracle opportunities. The Word of God trumps our circumstances every time, if we would only believe that it is true.
Our dependency on God is directly linked to seeing the miraculous in the everyday. The children of Israel were led out of egypt by God to the wilderness, to a place that they had to depend on God. They were led to a place of dependency! When they were hungry he gave them manna, Angels food. As they walked, God made it so that their shoes would not wear out. He showed them where to walk with a cloud by day and a fire by night.
We are dependant on God not only for this school but for our everyday lives, believing that He will do what He said He would do and that He will provide for what He has called us to do. Why would we want to depend on anything else?
This last week was filled with lots of preparations, practical and spiritual. There is still so much to be done and students have already started arriving, but the Lord keeps speaking over and over again about our dependency on Him and how He has been preparing for this school long before we even realized it would happen. One of the leaders here keeps saying, if God could lead the children of Israel around the "Egyptian Outback" than I'm pretty sure he can take care of us. We were never created to be ruled by our circumstances but by the Word of God. Some see obstacles but others see miracle opportunities. The Word of God trumps our circumstances every time, if we would only believe that it is true.
Our dependency on God is directly linked to seeing the miraculous in the everyday. The children of Israel were led out of egypt by God to the wilderness, to a place that they had to depend on God. They were led to a place of dependency! When they were hungry he gave them manna, Angels food. As they walked, God made it so that their shoes would not wear out. He showed them where to walk with a cloud by day and a fire by night.
We are dependant on God not only for this school but for our everyday lives, believing that He will do what He said He would do and that He will provide for what He has called us to do. Why would we want to depend on anything else?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Voices Arise!
There is a very simple, yet profound, line in the movie "The Kings Speach" where the king admittantly cries out, "...BECAUSE I HAVE A VOICE!". This line keeps coming back to me over and over again because, in the movie, the kings speech therapist was not entirely trying to cure his stutter but to show the king that he had something to say. That he had a voice and when he would only believe in that voice then he could never be silenced, not by a people, a stutter or a war.
Throughout history we see a pattern of courageous men and women who let their voices be heard against injustices and religious persecution. They rose up with one voice saying, "we will not stay silenced!". I love how David put it in Psalm 45:1 when he said, "...my tongue is the pen of a ready writer". Could you imagine what would happen if we all not only had a revelation that we have a voice but if we believed in our voice? There are so many all around the world who have had their voices silenced by circumstances, fear and so on but God has given us the freedom to speak. We all have a voice and now is the time for the sons of the prophets to arise and speak out what the Spirit is truly saying.
Father I pray for a revelation of true sonship over your children and that we would no longer live in silence. We break all fear and isolation and release voices all over the globe.
You have a voice.
Arise and shine.
Throughout history we see a pattern of courageous men and women who let their voices be heard against injustices and religious persecution. They rose up with one voice saying, "we will not stay silenced!". I love how David put it in Psalm 45:1 when he said, "...my tongue is the pen of a ready writer". Could you imagine what would happen if we all not only had a revelation that we have a voice but if we believed in our voice? There are so many all around the world who have had their voices silenced by circumstances, fear and so on but God has given us the freedom to speak. We all have a voice and now is the time for the sons of the prophets to arise and speak out what the Spirit is truly saying.
Father I pray for a revelation of true sonship over your children and that we would no longer live in silence. We break all fear and isolation and release voices all over the globe.
You have a voice.
Arise and shine.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Heaven in Holland
The past week has been a beautiful time of heaven on earth. We were able to partner with Lighthouse Ministries at a conference in Holland enabling the youth to really experience the Fathers love and the presence of His spirit. We had such intimate times worshiping the Lord and allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to these sons and daughters of the King. These treasures were so hungry for more of the Lord and so open to the love of the Father, it really was amazing.
There was a real focus on intimacy with the Father and how He so desires relationship with each one of us. Some of the youth were so blessed and amazed that God wanted to talk to them personally and that they were able to hear His voice and sense His presence. On the Friday night the spirit of the Lord was so heavy in the room many were becoming filled with the Spirit, one young girl around 10 years old had a revelation from the Lord and was taken up into heaven. There were also others who experienced the healing power of God both physically and spiritually.
Thank you to everyone who stood with us in prayer during this time, we appreciate it immensely and can see the fruit of your support.
We have attached a small clip of spontaneous worship from one of the night sessions below. Our apologies for the quality.
There was a real focus on intimacy with the Father and how He so desires relationship with each one of us. Some of the youth were so blessed and amazed that God wanted to talk to them personally and that they were able to hear His voice and sense His presence. On the Friday night the spirit of the Lord was so heavy in the room many were becoming filled with the Spirit, one young girl around 10 years old had a revelation from the Lord and was taken up into heaven. There were also others who experienced the healing power of God both physically and spiritually.
Thank you to everyone who stood with us in prayer during this time, we appreciate it immensely and can see the fruit of your support.
We have attached a small clip of spontaneous worship from one of the night sessions below. Our apologies for the quality.
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