What we perceive as failure, God sees as opportunity.
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Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins;
you will restore the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of the Breach,
Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling. (Isaiah 58:12)
This passage from Isaiah explains the kind of fast that pleases the Lord, that which results in practical acts of mercy, justice, generosity, hospitality and family loyalty. That kind of humble attitude gets God's attention.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ (Isaiah 58:9)
Isaiah could see that disaster was coming (Isaiah Ch. 22), but that the city would be delivered (Ch. 37), and eventually prosper again (Ch. 60). He could foresee a time of rebuilding, partly fulfilled a couple of centuries later under the leadership of Nehemiah. Repairing the breaches in the city walls took humility but also gained honour. Their names are recorded in the Bible. (Nehemiah. 3).
Life can be tough and stressful. Like those walls people get hurt and damaged by the circumstances of life. God calls us to be builders and repairers, restoring one another to wholeness in the Name of Jesus. Our tools are the Word and the Spirit of God, applied through faith, hope and love, in prayerful encouragement of one another.
To me the concept of being a 'repairer of the breach' is the ministry of mending what has been broken in the life of an individual, bringing them back to wholeness and purpose in Christ. This naturally leads to being a 'restorer of streets', bringing whole communities back from chaos and despair to peace and prosperity. Sustained revival leads to social restoration. It is said that Paul's three years in Ephesus affected the religious and social fabric of the city for the next century. A brief study of revivals reveals subsequent positive changes beyond those who respond for salvation, touching whole communities.
Some time ago at a prayer day we received the following prophetic word:
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“I want you to know that I see beyond what you call broken, damaged or beyond repair. When I formed the world, I called it forth from nothing. When I made mankind, I created him from a handful of soil taken from the land.
What you call damaged, broken or beyond repair are simply the component parts of something new that I am planning and preparing to create.
So, bring those things, those people, those situations to my re-creation workshop and let me teach you how to see things in the light of my creative ability and power.”
When we see things falling apart, with no apparent remedy, God is putting it all together in His 're-creation workshop'. He is using the rubble of broken dreams and projects and using it to build a highway of holiness (Isaiah 35). He is clearing a way in the wilderness so that the glory of the Lord will be revealed (Isaiah 40) What we perceive as failure, God sees as opportunity. The God who repairs and restores invites us to join Him in this glorious work of renovation.
Author: John Plumb
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And when God does pour out His Spirit, people who normally wouldn’t give you the time of the day, will suddenly begin to listen because you are in the right place, with the right answer.
“Thus and thus said the maid that is of the Lord of Israel.”
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God used a cleaning maid to reach a 5 star general, and introduced him to a God who could heal him of his leprosy. Her story is recorded in 2 kings, chapter 5. take a moment and read it.
There are two lessons in it for us.
1. There’s a purpose in we being where we are. Instead of complaining, start looking for somebody who needs what God’s given you. This girl wasn’t there just to make beds and clean the house, she was there by divine appointment. Think if all of our life can be in training for one moment, one crisis, one opportunity. 1 Peter 3:13 says “But sanctify the Lord in your hearts, always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you, a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear”. She was ready, are you?
2. What a difference a day makes, the day before she was just a cleaner/servant. The next day she is a gift from God and the most popular respected person in the household. The world focuses on our names/status, but when they run out of answers and run out of hope, God says in Joel 2:28-29 “And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. 29 and also on my menservants, and on my maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days”.
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And when God does pour out His Spirit, people who normally wouldn’t give you the time of the day, will suddenly begin to listen because you are in the right place, with the right answer. Don’t allow your lack of education, your ethnic background, your sub-servant position or your poor wages silence you. Keep renewing your mind and strengthening your faith, by allowing God to use you as only He can and keep listening as the Master Conductor may just be about to give you a cue.
May the Lord bless you as you seek His wisdom and direction in your life each day, in Jesus Name.
Author: Herbert Jean
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For me it was the realisation that as powerful as His sacrifice had been, the moment of freeing all mankind (and me) from sin and death, there was more.
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It always amazes me that, sometimes things that are so familiar to us can suddenly burst into life before us just because we see it in a different way. A bit like sitting and looking at a garden or a piece of scenery we have looked at loads of times and suddenly a shaft of sunlight hits it and illuminates something we have never seen before and we become aware of its beauty and awesomeness in a whole new light.
This happened to me recently in a church meeting. It was on a cold evening in a cold building and a small group of us had gathered to “wait on the Lord” and seek his presence. We had sung a few worship songs and had then come to prayer and seeking. A few people had prayed and then suddenly the group and the room became completely silent. A Godly silent, one where you know the Lord is there by his Spirit and you need to pay attention only to Him. A time where each person is no longer aware of each other but is completely enveloped in the love of God and what He has to say to them. The Lord chose to reveal to me a truth I had not before fully realised, and this is what I would like to share today.
As I was praying and sharing with the Lord all the things that were weighing heavily on me. How badly I was coping and how overwhelmed I sometimes was feeling. Then suddenly in my mind the Lord took me to the foot of the Cross, and I began thanking the Lord for His sacrifice for me. But then my worries and concerns and the things in my life that were difficult suddenly overwhelmed me again. And I said Lord I don’t know what to do? And the Spirit of God said open your hands and look to me.
As I did, I became aware of the Lord’s blood, the blood that flowed from Him because of all the wounds He had received both at the trial and the flogging, and from the thorn of crowns pushed down hard on His brow, and from the hands and feet cruelly pieced with nails to hold Him to the cross. But even more so, I was aware that each drop of blood, so devastatingly extracted from him, was for me, so that I might live in Him.
I have been a follower of Jesus now for 48 years, and have heard so many times about the blood Jesus shed for me, have heard comments about covering everything with the blood of the Jesus and by His stripes (wounds) I am healed. But up until that moment I did not fully recognise the intimacy of the understanding that Jesus had shed His blood for me! And that each drop lost from His body was to both pay the eternal price to free me from my sin, to purchase my salvation, to redeem me from the power of the evil one, but the sacrifice was also to be effective in all areas of my life that I was worried and concerned about.
As I brought all the things that needed solving or healing or whatever, it was as if a drop of blood dropped into my hand to cover each one by Jesus sacrificial blood, by His sacrificial love. It was so real, but also so full of love from the Lord, that I was so aware that because He loved me, He had poured out His life for me, and wanted to pour into my life the reality of that sacrifice, both for myself and for the ones, situations etc that I was concerned about. I realise sadly, that I cannot adequately retell the power and intimacy of the revelation of this truth.
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As I was sitting lost in the reality of this revelation to me, the Lord had one more truth to show me. I was thanking Him for covering both my sin and weakness with His blood and for covering those I was praying for with His blood. He showed me in my minds eye His resurrection. His rising from His period of being dead (in human terms) to life and walking, in total victory over all things for all time, from the open tomb door. For me it was the realisation that as powerful as His sacrifice had been, the moment of freeing all mankind (and me) from sin and death, there was more. The realisation that the Son of God shed His blood both for me, and to be effective in all the areas and concerns of my life, - it was not a dead sacrifice, a giving up of one’s life to save many - but it was a living sacrifice! The power of which is not a lovely story from long ago, but a living and real truth for today. Jesus’s precious giving of Himself to pay for each and every one who ever would live from that day forward, is alive and effective today because He smashed through the barrier of death, and lives!
Even though as Christians we have heard and know this truth to be so, and if we do not yet know the Lord as Saviour, we may have heard that He is not dead but has been raised to life. When we get a glimpse even of a miniscule fragment of the truth of the power of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, it changes every part of our life that seems dark and hopeless into a place of hope and possibilities. Because He already knows of it, and has covered it with His blood and power.
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I know that there will be, and are, dark times ahead for me and the ones I love simply because `that is sometimes the way of life`. Also, because we live in a world that chooses not to believe and acknowledge the love and power of God, this choice has consequences for us all. But I pray that I, and all of us who know the Lord will know the power of the blood of the Lord and the power of His resurrection.
Philippians 3 v 8- 11 (NLT)
Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For Gods way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead!
Lord thank you today that You gave Your life, shedding Your precious life blood to save me and to cover me and all I place in Your hands. And thank You that this is a living hope, because You rose from the dead and now, I live in You. Keep me close to You today and continue to reveal to all of us the love and power we have received from You.
Author: Jan Pearson
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What we have to remember is that when we come across people who irritate us (Christian or non-Christian) God does not love them any less or any more than us.
When you are going through the storms of life does your attitude towards other people and God change?
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I am sure that most of us would reply “I don't think so, I would hope not, My love for God and His people remains steadfast and secure. However the reality is often quite different. Outwardly we may appear exactly the same but inwardly oh what a turmoil we are in. It starts with small things like I won't bother ringing or texting that person this week they have lots of friends, I don't need to give them a lift to church someone else can. That coffee we have arranged to go for can be postponed etc. We can find lots of reasons to break fellowship and friendship. Proverbs 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
With God it's slightly different we decide we don't need to get up early today or indeed sometimes any day to pray and read the word before our day unfolds. Maybe I'll read the bible tomorrow or even next week!! I don't need to include God in all my plans just the ones I think are important. Sometimes we even convince ourselves that we are taking the higher moral ground in a given situation but have we asked the Author and Perfecter of our faith if this is true as He is the only one who can judge. Psalm 62:7 My salvation and my honour depend on God, He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge
I have been a Christian for 35 years and have come to the conclusion that if we pray every day for a discerning spirit and an extra portion of grace it particularly helps us to discern what is happening in the supernatural so that we don't blunder through situations in the natural that are not a true reflection of what is actually happening. Psalm 91:1-2 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust”.
The great example for me is in the book of Esther, when Haman set up a pole of 50 cubits high by his house to impale Mordecai on but despite all his boasting ended up being impaled on it himself. As if that wasn't punishment enough the King gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman and she appointed Mordecai over it. Haman wished to put to death all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes but all he actually achieved was his own early demise and the loss of his inheritance for his family.
What we have to remember is that when we come across people who irritate us (Christian or non-Christian) God does not love them any less or any more than us. It says when we are lovely to the unlovely God credits it to us as righteousness I am sure this is because He realises exactly how difficult this is for us as human beings. So next time somebody behaves badly towards you come in the opposite spirit, the spirit of kindness and gentleness and see what peace floods your soul instead of frustration or bitterness.Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the Lord trust in Him and he will do this. He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Amen.
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I am certain that if we not only make ourselves accountable to God but also to one or two people of Godly counsel it will help us stay on that narrow path. It says in the bible do not trust your own heart as it can be deceptive, Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? And in Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight.
I pray for each person reading this blog that we would allow the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts in such a powerful way that all the things which are troubling us would become insignificant as we remember that absolutely nothing is a surprise to God it is us in our humanity that gets side swiped and clobbered. 1 John 2:28 And now dear children, continue in Him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at His coming.
I also pray that each one of us is transformed into the likeness of Jesus more and more every day.
God's peace and blessing.
Author: Anonymous
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Wise people still do seek Jesus to meet Him, worship Him and follow Him as the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
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A prominent winter feature of two hedges visible from our kitchen window is winter jasmine (Jasminum Nudiflorum), with its bright yellow, star-like mass of flowers. It requires other, stronger, but duller, hedge-plants over which to scramble in order to scale the heights and display its cheer - ‘cheer amid drear’ you might say. It is surprisingly resistant to strong winds too – a lesson in survival with cheerfulness, perhaps? The old rhyme springs to mind: ‘Twixt optimist and pessimist the difference is droll: the optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist the hole!’
As we enter this New Year, there are plenty of ‘holes’ to be seen in the world around us globally, not least the proposed oppressive UK farmland inheritance tax (Micah 2:2), and probably in personal situations too. But opportunities also abound, of attitude, word and deed. Sheep are pregnant with problems, but also with lambs! Fields lie dormant, but many are sown with crops despite some difficult autumn conditions. Realistic hope sees and prepares for ‘holes’ but notes ‘doughnuts’ of promise.
The end of a calendar year and the start of a New Year is always a time to reflect, to ponder, to count blessings as well as to calculate options. Consciously taking time to do this is not a luxury we cannot afford, but rather, it is a necessity we should not miss. I have a favourite walk and bench on which I sit to meditate. Sometimes sheep are nearby ruminating, as all ruminants do. Actually, ‘rumination’ is a better word than simply ‘meditation’, because it implies chewing over ideas and thoughts again and again – mulling things over. Big changes can result while we ruminate – such as the case of Isaac who was ‘out in the field meditating in the evening and saw camels coming’ (Genesis 24:63); one camel was carrying his future wife Rebekah!
Entrepreneurship is a vital skill in farming. It usually involves a creative idea, which is developed into a feasible business. Entrepreneurs are risk-takers. But they take calculated risks. They are not simply wishful thinkers. Time spent planning is not time wasted and some even define ‘planning’ as ‘using time now to save time later’. There are times during the farming season when a certain amount of rush seems inevitable, but even these times can be mitigated by planning. Many who now keep larger flocks of sheep than hitherto owing to the tighter margins per sheep raised and the higher wages of shepherding, divide their flocks at least into two to spread
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the pressures of lambing time. The first lambs are already here and will arrive during January – all this being aided by clear colour-marking using raddles on the rams in autumn to produce the so-called ‘autumn tints’ to enable sorting of the early-lambing flock from the rest. These early ‘ladies in waiting’ must be accommodated first where housed lambing is practiced. Planning with care is vital.
Wise men on a planned journey sought Jesus as a toddler (Matthew 2:1-12) bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh. Wise people still do seek Jesus to meet Him, worship Him and follow Him as the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
“Now, the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever & ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)
Author: John Wibberley
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