Ponderings today 16 Dec

Whilst we may not agree with everything that is preached from the pulpit, there is always something that we can learn either about the Lord or about ourselves and our responses to it. Lets not be a people to whom are easily offended and move on without learning what it is that the Lord would have us learn in the different situations.

I read a wonderful scripture this morning that really encouraged me as one who often feels arrows in the back in the spirit from peoples judgements towards me, which God really spoke to me about and hope that it would encourage you too if you feel this way. As it is not us who receive the arrows from people but the Lord (v4)
But also reminds me not to be a person that speaks about others behind their back as words are powerful and the tongue either brings life or death. And it is so easily done without often thinking about it. And as easily as I feel arrows, others would feel arrows from me.
Lord forgive us our sin as we forgive others theirs.
God's wonderful grace forgives me and reminds me of my own judgements towards others taking away any rights of justification/restitution for my hurt.

Psalm 64
Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
And bend their bows to shoot their arrows - bitter words,
That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
they say, "Who will see them?"
They devise iniquities;
We have perfect a shrewd scheme.
Both the inward though and the heart of man are deep.

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they shall be wounded.
So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
All who see them shall flee away.
All men shall fear,
And shall declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider His doing.

The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory."

And Matt 5:11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Lets be a people that recognise our own judgements towards people and turn from them and do away with the pointing of finger and malicious talk (Isaiah 58) then v10&11 "Then your light shall dawn in the darkness and your darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought. and strengthen your bones. You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail....

"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...

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...

"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, ...

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...

Year after year

I was led this morning to the book of 1 Samuel and the first thing that jumped out at me was the phrase "year after year". How many of us are like this. We have so much and yet we are still crying out to the Lord for things that have not happened or come to pass yet. And we look at others and see what they have and compare and it causes us to not see the love that is poured out to us. Hannah's husband would say to her "Hannah, why are you weeping? ... Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons? The Lord would say this morning. Am I not enough?. See my love poured out to you. See what I have given you. Come to me, find your peace and your joy in me, not in what you have or don't have, what is or isn't done yet, but in me alone. Those 'things' don't fulfil you but come to me and find rest for your soul. I will satisfy you and give you rest and peace for your soul. Psalm 62 Truly my soul finds r...

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