Amazing time in Maun - What is it to be child like?

We have just finished four days of meetings, really like a semi conference every night preaching and seeing God moving powerfully in their lives and then last night another meeting with the leaders. What to say, we are looking forward to a few days of rest but we are so thankful. God gives seed to the sower! We have been so blessed as the Lord has given us what has been needed for the people and to see such freedom and joy come into their lives we are so blessed. People powerfully delivered of demons, people healed of pain and sickness and issues of the heart. People set free by the power of the Holy Spirit in joy and freedom. For the Pastor, he felt so refreshed and strengthened and knew it was Gods timing in bringing us. People were so full of the Holy Spirit they couldn't stand up to speak, it was just wonderful seeing them filled with joy leaning on the podium in order to stand up :) They were just so blessed and spending four days with people have put them in our hearts and this morning as we said goodbye it was like our hearts were being torn out but we believe we will be back at some time the Lord willing.

In all the places we have been in Botswana there is an open door for us to come back and to bring teams with us so that is very encouraging and look forward to what the Lord may do in the future.

We have just booked into a place by the river for a few days to just spend time with the Lord alone and see what the next steps are. We are both well, Jim recovering from his cold. Although I am getting a little homesick for my girl and as we look that we still have another 2 and a half months think, "Lord what have you got ahead?" We have only been away from New Zealand for 2 and a half weeks and yet already so much has happened it seems like a lifetime! I know we will certainly be different when we come back and already am seeing Jim stepping up into so much more authority it is amazing. And seeing things bow to the name of Jesus here is just amazing. One of the most precious things yesterday that we will remember forever is a girl who the Lord set free in such a powerful way and then to see her come back to the leaders meeting hungry for more even though it was her first time in the church. It broke our heart as she was told she could not stay as she was just so hungry for more of God.

We have had such a variety of stuff happen in two weeks, the contrasts are amazing. From the comforts of South Africa, to the bus crash, to washing in a basin, to God opening doors for ministry and homes for us to stay in, it is just amazing! God keeps reminding us that he will do what he promised!

A revelation I have had is about what it is to be "child like in faith", an understanding is the innocence of a child, innocent of sin, unhindered by hurt or pain. I have had the revelation of child like in trusting the Lord for his provision of food and shelter before but this is bringing a whole new level of understanding of the innocence that we need to come back into in the Lord. These past few days we have seen so much pain, so much hurt in peoples lives, so much sickness, HIV, abuse and I had a dream that showed me of murder and in processing this the Lord is teaching me about His forgiveness that brings people back to that child like innocence before pain, before hurt. And is murder any different of any other sin and to love and forgive.
Powerful questions that tests your heart so we are going to enjoy just processing some of everything that has happened over these past couple of weeks and see what the Lord is revealing to us.

So bye for now but know that God is doing powerful things and will continue to do so as He has promised.
With love & thanks, Jim & Sarah

"I am ruined for the ordinary"

“I am ruined for the ordinary” A statement that can possibly be to some, come from a place of judgement, or it can be from a place of there is more in the Kingdom of God that I am yet to experience or understand, revelation that I have tasted of something that actually shows me that I have not tasted of anything yet. A place where there is such a contentment and joy in what I have seen and longed to see and yet a revelation that there is way more "beyond what I think, ask and imagine" (Eph 3:20) and one that spurs me on to seek and discover all the fullness that could be ours in the Kingdom of God. When we as Christians see other Christians going places or experiencing things that we don’t understand or perhaps we have not yet moved in, we can either become jealous of that person and judge and bring them down to our level, exclude them from our lives or we can choose to be excited by what is happening and be encouraged and spurred on in the Lord for the more than ca...

"A man's enemies will be the members of his own household" Matt 10:36

Recently we have been pondering how to deal with situations in our family that don't line up with the word. What action do we need to take? Are we being too harsh? Do we accept the behaviour or be considered by those around us as "too radical" or "too black and white"? "Where is grace in all of this? How do we love the sinner but hate the sin? What about forgiveness? What is the role of discipline? What makes that sin any worse than lying? What is true love? And there are a lot more questions going through the mind in how to work through this and know God's will and desire for the situation and the person. And firstly to say we have not come to any conclusions and are growing and learning day by day in this but I want to throw it out there. In Matt 10:34-39 says "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "a man against his father, ...

Obedience and Commitment are big things in Gods Kingdom

Reading in Acts 7 this morning the story through Stephen of Abraham being told by God to " Leave your country and your people and go the the land I will show you" So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child." As I reflected on this and the journey of Abraham stepping out in faith into a land that he received no inheritance in but a promise of what was to come for his descendants of which we live in the fruit of that, I thought of todays generations in which often is only doing things that we want to do or that will benefit us personally as we live for 'today' not worrying about tomorrow. A sense of if it feels good then do it, if it doesn't then we will move on - perhap...

Guest Ministry - Linda Hartzell from America

We are blessed to have join us on Wednesday the 25th at Puketaha Hall this amazing powerful woman of the Lord - Linda Hartzell - She travels internationally as a missionary / evangelist and conference speaker. She has ministered in over 45 nations of the world and has been in ministry for 30 years. I was honoured to be able hear her speak this last Sunday at Life Church and highly recommend her and the power she speaks confirming the season as to which we are in: Come along - All welcome. 7pm A little about her: " At the young age of 22 Linda's ministry was launched in the "heat" of the great Argentina Revival. She has experienced and seen first hand the incredible impact that the power of God can have upon an entire nation, when God's eyes look upon that nation for revival. Linda's message is prophetic in nature with insight and understanding of the times and a directional message of where God is takin...

Aphids and Slugs - Resisted or Received?

Morning. The last week or so I have had some very powerful pictures through my garden and life in which the Lord used to speak to me that I would like to share. The first picture: While caring for my roses, I notice that one particular rose is not doing well and I see aphids and disease on the plant and so I spray it again hoping that it will kill what is attacking them. A week later I see it has not been effective and so I am prompted to try another different form of disease killer, an oil rather than the pesticide, and the Lord speaks to me; "Sarah, what was used in the last season, won't work for this new season". We are in a different season, and the way we ministered or dealt with things in the past, won't work in this new season we are in. The reason being we (as a people) have become 'familiar' with the styles and ways of ministering and hence the 'enemy' is already aware of it and becomes 'resistant' to it. A bit like how...

6 legged sheep???

In the weekend I saw a vision of a sheep that had six legs. And what I believe the Lord is saying, there are many sheep, (followers of Christ), but they are trusting in their own strength and not in mine. When we trust in our own strength and abilities we forfeit the grace that can be ours, the enabling that comes from stepping out in faith in the impossible, the testimonies that give God the glory rather than the expectation of what should be because we have put our hand to something. God is the God of the impossible and in order for the miracles, the testimonies, we need to be a people that step out in what we can't do and allow God to come in and do the impossible. That may simply be asking the Lord to help you to forgive someone that has hurt you so much, to getting on a plane with no finances because the Lord has asked you to, to continue to stay in a job/church/marriage/relationship you don't want to because that is where God has placed you, to pra...

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