Do you feel alone or discouraged today?

I was greatly encouraged this morning as I read 2 Timothy chapter 4. This chapter outlines some of Paul’s struggles and how people loved the world and followed their ways and in so doing caused much harm towards Paul and his ministry, but his hope remained in the Lord and His reward comes from Christ alone.

Verse 10 “Demas has forsaken me”

Verse 14 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm”

People can come and go out of your life. People can cause trouble, but we are called as Christians to endure hardship as it says in 2 Timothy 2:3

“Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a solider”.

2:10 “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.’

We go through many things in life, many challenges and it is easy to look to man, to get discouraged by what you may see happening all around you, but through it all, I believe the Lord is wanting to teach us to trust in Him alone and look to Him alone. That we are here to please only Christ. The Lord is faithful and those times we feel we cannot take much more, he strengthens us and gives us grace for a new day.

4:17 “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”

Through Paul’s trials the message of the gospel spread to the Gentiles. Through the pressures that may happen around us, it forces out the message of the gospel that is in us to go in directions and ways that we never thought it would go. God uses everything for good and He is faithful and He will strengthen us and preserve us for Him. Keep your eyes on the prize which is Christ Jesus and wait for him to deliver you because He is faithful and will do what He said He would do!

Expectations and frustrations

Last night I had this dream and I saw myself going up the mountain with my husband and as we went up the mountain to the snow I saw the most beautiful waterfall flowing in the bush and the scenery was just beautiful and as we reached base camp there were many people waiting to go on the ski lift to the mountain but they were having to wait because as I watched the snow was melting so fast because the sun was coming out so strong the the snow was melting like right before your eyes and people were no longer able to ski. People were getting frustrated because they had come to go skiing and now no longer were able to, but for others like myself I so was enjoying the scenery that because the snow was melting there was so much beauty all around. At the same time there was aeroplanes flying around doing acrobatic flying in the sky and other people were in stands watching the planes flying around. As I looked at this this morning, I believe we are coming into a time where the ...

Latest Prayer Update

Since writing last – We continue to pray about the tent meeting but the Lord seems to continue to have that on hold as I believe he has another way of doing the same thing but in a new way where the whole body will be used and so we wait until all the pieces come together. Please be patient with us in this. Africa – We continue to have words given to us about Africa and so the Lord is definitely talking about Africa but he seems to be widening the vision with it all, not just Malawi. It seems more like at this stage visiting a number of African Countries wherever the Lord leads, empowering people – a bit like the last China trip but for longer and more countries and so too we wait for all the pieces to fit together. He has said to have our bags packed ready to go at a moments notice and so we have done that by faith, there are just a few other things that need to come together to make this possible. Picton – We were blessed to be part of a team that we...

Is the church a cafe? Did you go to be served or to serve?

I had a dream this morning where I saw that I was working in a cafe. It was busy, there were people coming and going and we didn’t have everything we needed, we still needed a barista, some customers were helping cook the steak for the hamburgers that Jim was cooking as Jim was rushed off his feet. We needed people to serve the people coming in as I was dealing with all the different ones coming and going. I saw that people were sitting down in a seat but actually weren’t there to get food, they were just using the seats even though they were not using the cafe. I saw a council officer come in to inspect things and she saw we still needed a barista and she knew people and was going to help us to find one. There was an older man there who was smoking a cigar and I was keen to have a drag off his cigar. People were wandering through our private home at the back of the cafe. The cafe remained open because people kept coming. But I was shown that if I did...

Do you want to walk in signs, wonders and miracles?

People say to me that they want to walk in signs wonders and miracles and yet..... the cost it takes to do that they are sometimes not willing to pay - yet Because the reward far outweighs any cost that might come. And I pray that people get a revelation from God of the joy set before them through Jesus! The cost of perhaps walking away from friends that don't believe what you believe or wan t, the cost perhaps of family who reject you because you are radical and taking your faith too far - in their eyes at least, the cost perhaps of leaving houses, fields etc, the cost perhaps of going to a friend and apologising for your behaviour, as you obey what it is the Lord puts on your heart to do and you may need to surrender these. Yes salvation is free through Jesus, but to walk in the anointing of God where you see captives set free around you, where you see the sick healed, where you see lives changed before your eyes, costs you to believe in what Jesus has done and can do, thr...

Today's complacency will lead to tomorrows captivity

While Jim & I were in bible college training to go on to the mission field, one thing we learnt was that we needed to be continual learners. And over time I have found if I am not learning, if I am not growing in the Lord in some area of my life, then more than likely I have stepped into a place of pride without even realising it or have become 'comfortable' and content with where things are at. To be a continual learner is to position yourself that you are continually growing, being challenged in your thinking, perhaps being called to step out in something you have never done before that you know God is speaking to you about. It's a place of questioning yourselves "why am I not seeing what I believe for yet?" in the Lord, those promises perhaps that He has already spoken about, and then stepping into them in faith trusting that God will lead the way. Samuel Rodriguez say's "Today's complacency will lead to tomorrows captivity." I ...

Does your boat have life jackets?

Do you go out fishing on a boat without a life jacket? Do you go out on the water unprepared for what may happen? And yet for many Christians this is the state of their Christian walk, they are not prepared for what may come and so when things go wrong they have not spent the time in the word of God, which teaches them truth so that when the enemy comes in like a flood and overwhelms them, they have no where to go except down, because the belt of Truth is like our safety be lt that holds us up when the flood threatens to overwhelm us. Truth is the word of God, truth sets us free, truth brings us life and helps us discern what is of God and what is not of God. A word the Lord was bringing last night is to be prepared and so I encourage you to take the time, set time apart, go in and shut the door to distractions, shut the door to the words the enemy would try and bring, shut the door to discouragement or whatever may be coming that is trying to take your eye, the phone, Facebook, tv...

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