Why have our prayers gone unanswered? Why are there so many sick, in spite of the fact that for them the so-called prayer of faith has been offered? Why are our churches filled with the lame and the halt, the deaf and the blind, who sit listening to sermons on divine healing that are true to the Word, and true to the promises of our Lord, and yet are not healed. More than once I have gone home from some meeting with the shouts of victory ringing in my ears... but I have
gone home to weep and cry, out of a disappointed heart, unto my Lord. The crowds were shouting because of some
who were healed; but I was weeping because of those people who dragged their tired, sick bodies back to their
homes—just as needy as they were before they came into the services.
Was there no balm in Gilead? Was there no compassion or sympathy in the heart of the Man with the nail prints in
His hands? Why were some healed in such a miraculous way, and others dismissed with an appeal to keep on
believing and return later, to go through the formula again?
We must face facts. It is not pleasing to the Holy Spirit to dismiss the evident discrepancy between theology and
experience with a shrug of the shoulders, and refuse to ask for light and guidance on this all-important problem.
Only the truth can make us free from the bondage of fears and doubts, and the discouragement that ultimately comes at the end of the road of disappointments. The only way to get the truth is to come in sincerity and absolute honesty of heart and mind to Jesus. Our Lord said that He Himself was the Truth, and as we open the door of the heart to Him we make possible the sweet revelations that only His presence can bring.
So I am going to be very, very frank. Sometimes, perhaps, almost painfully so. I cannot spread my heart out over
these pages and do otherwise; for never before in my ministry as a writer have I been so stirred in my innermost
being as I am now. This glorious and wonderful truth has flooded my soul, until it has lifted me in spirit to the gates of the glory world. I believe and pray that ere you finish these chapters, you too will see the gates of Grace swing open, and your feet will walk down the paths of Faith to the place where you will meet your Saviour in the garden of answered prayer. . .
. . .You have also. In your church there is a multitude of sick and needy people. They love the Lord…they are consecrated to Him ... yet there seems to be such need for a greater lifting of the physical burdens of life in answer to prayer. Ministers of the Gospel have taken me aside scores of times and told me of their discouragements becauseof their seeming inability to exercise active faith in God. If it were not for the fact that every once in a while some suffering soul reaches through and brings the glory down, many of these ministers would feel like running away when requests for prayer are sent to them. Not that these men are not God’s men—they are! They are devoted to their calling and to the Lord, but they stand bewildered before what seems to be a contradiction between word and experience. .
Read more here
Thursday 28 January 2010
Thursday 21 January 2010
Rest in Papa God
The below is all from www.youversion.com and is a contribution from P Mcintosh on 1 John 5:3-4. It expresses just how I was feeling this morning, lost, disconnected, fearful, weary. I started praying and then prayed with Emma after she woke up with a jolt and saying she felt confused and upset. God brought the below to me on he train, just right! Thank you Papa God!
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
More and more God has been reaching out to me, longing for me to enter into his rest. Why do I find that so difficult? He is the most loving Father, and yet I am not willing to let him take care of me and just be a kid. I find myself hesitating...worried of what will happen if I entrust EVERYTHING to him. And even though I display these acts of mistrust, only a mustard seed of faith, he is persistant. He never gives up on me. Constantly he tells me "Just fall back into my arms. Don't you know that I will catch you? Don't you know that I know best?"
"This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."
And I like how the Amplified version reads:
"For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous). For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith."
So, John not only tells us what the love of God is, but he tells us that we actually possess this love. We have victory over the evil of this world! And through what??? Our FAITH. I feel like just slapping myself in the side of the head right now. The Bible is so clear sometimes it kills me.
Jesus, Lord of Heaven, soften my heart. Let me enter into your wonderful rest. Let it be well within my soul, O God. Let my faith grow, Lord, so that I fully trust you with EVERYTHING in my life. I don't want to hold back anything from you, so that I might miss an opportunity for you to work in me. But let me live in total and complete surrender to you.
"Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!"
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
More and more God has been reaching out to me, longing for me to enter into his rest. Why do I find that so difficult? He is the most loving Father, and yet I am not willing to let him take care of me and just be a kid. I find myself hesitating...worried of what will happen if I entrust EVERYTHING to him. And even though I display these acts of mistrust, only a mustard seed of faith, he is persistant. He never gives up on me. Constantly he tells me "Just fall back into my arms. Don't you know that I will catch you? Don't you know that I know best?"
"This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."
And I like how the Amplified version reads:
"For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous). For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith."
So, John not only tells us what the love of God is, but he tells us that we actually possess this love. We have victory over the evil of this world! And through what??? Our FAITH. I feel like just slapping myself in the side of the head right now. The Bible is so clear sometimes it kills me.
Jesus, Lord of Heaven, soften my heart. Let me enter into your wonderful rest. Let it be well within my soul, O God. Let my faith grow, Lord, so that I fully trust you with EVERYTHING in my life. I don't want to hold back anything from you, so that I might miss an opportunity for you to work in me. But let me live in total and complete surrender to you.
"Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!"
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:York St,Manchester,United Kingdom
Saturday 16 January 2010
Prayer
Dear Lord, show us the way of friendship with you, so that you can trust us with more of yourself
Wednesday 13 January 2010
They do not fear bad news;
they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. Psalm 112:7
http://www.youversion.com/bible/nlt/ps/112/1
they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. Psalm 112:7
http://www.youversion.com/bible/nlt/ps/112/1
Is God Good all the Time?
Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Psalm 143:10 New King James Version
I recently heard a preacher saying to his congregation, “ God is Good” and getting them to reply, “ all the time”. He repeated this ever louder, with the congregation responding louder and louder. It felt like my faith was building every time I heard it. On the other hand I sometimes find it hard to believe that God is good. Circumstances often shout out ‘God is not good’! So which to believe? Since God is perfect in everything, surely He is perfectly good in all His actions? In scripture we hear God saying ‘He saw that it was good’ as He created the world, we saw that God decided it was not good for Adam to be alone so He created Eve. Later we hear over and over again that the Promised Land was a ‘good land’. The gospel itself is described as the ‘good news’. Jesus only ever did good for people, for example, did he ever refuse to heal anyone? See http://www.youversion.com/bible/nkjv/luke/6/19 (Luke 6:19) ‘ . .He healed them all’
Here is a good video of Bill Johnson explaining the difference between ‘control’ and God’s ‘authority’, God's Soveriegn Will , about 7 mins long I think.(He also talks about why we should praise God in all circumstances, how it ‘raises the bride of Christ’ – I’m not sure what this means, but, I think he means it raises up good works, miracles, etc, he also includes two stories of healing from cancer) So it helps a little to know that God has authority and He has ‘loosed’ control to everyone in the world, sometimes called God’s ‘permissive will’, though this is a deceptive phrase since if I give my children freedom and they choose to do bad, is that my 'will'? I say helps a little, because we only see that God is good when we engage with Him in relationship.
If someone theoretically explained why my wife is good to me or a best friend, that would only take me half way there. What I would find truly fulfilling is that relationship in action. The actions would convince me of the goodness, then I would begin to feel loved, the relationship would demonstrate love/goodness in action. In addition I have to choose to believe that my friend or wife loves me, acts in a good way toward me. A good way to remember that God is good is to keep a journal, writing down prayers and answers. For example, I received an email on my birthday last year saying I had won an iphone, also last year I prayed with someone and they were healed of a stomach pain. Why? Because God is good ! And all together, 'all the time' !
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Psalm 143:10 New King James Version
I recently heard a preacher saying to his congregation, “ God is Good” and getting them to reply, “ all the time”. He repeated this ever louder, with the congregation responding louder and louder. It felt like my faith was building every time I heard it. On the other hand I sometimes find it hard to believe that God is good. Circumstances often shout out ‘God is not good’! So which to believe? Since God is perfect in everything, surely He is perfectly good in all His actions? In scripture we hear God saying ‘He saw that it was good’ as He created the world, we saw that God decided it was not good for Adam to be alone so He created Eve. Later we hear over and over again that the Promised Land was a ‘good land’. The gospel itself is described as the ‘good news’. Jesus only ever did good for people, for example, did he ever refuse to heal anyone? See http://www.youversion.com/bible/nkjv/luke/6/19 (Luke 6:19) ‘ . .He healed them all’
Here is a good video of Bill Johnson explaining the difference between ‘control’ and God’s ‘authority’, God's Soveriegn Will , about 7 mins long I think.(He also talks about why we should praise God in all circumstances, how it ‘raises the bride of Christ’ – I’m not sure what this means, but, I think he means it raises up good works, miracles, etc, he also includes two stories of healing from cancer) So it helps a little to know that God has authority and He has ‘loosed’ control to everyone in the world, sometimes called God’s ‘permissive will’, though this is a deceptive phrase since if I give my children freedom and they choose to do bad, is that my 'will'? I say helps a little, because we only see that God is good when we engage with Him in relationship.
If someone theoretically explained why my wife is good to me or a best friend, that would only take me half way there. What I would find truly fulfilling is that relationship in action. The actions would convince me of the goodness, then I would begin to feel loved, the relationship would demonstrate love/goodness in action. In addition I have to choose to believe that my friend or wife loves me, acts in a good way toward me. A good way to remember that God is good is to keep a journal, writing down prayers and answers. For example, I received an email on my birthday last year saying I had won an iphone, also last year I prayed with someone and they were healed of a stomach pain. Why? Because God is good ! And all together, 'all the time' !
Saturday 9 January 2010
Madame Guyon
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/guyon/auto.iii.x.html
From the autobiography of Madam Guyon, the bit that spoke to me I have made bold
"I now quitted all company, bade farewell forever to all plays and diversions, dancing, unprofitable walks and parties of pleasure. For two years I had left off dressing my hair. It became me, and my husband approved it.
My only pleasure now was to steal some moments to be alone with Thee, O thou who art my only Love! All other pleasure was a pain to me. I lost not Thy presence, which was given me by a continual infusion, not as I had imagined, by the efforts of the head, or by force of thought in meditating on God, but in the will, where I tasted with unutterable sweetness the enjoyment of the beloved object. In a happy experience I knew that that the soul was created to enjoy its God.
The union of the will subjects the soul to God, conforms it to all His pleasure, causes self-will gradually to die. Lastly in drawing with it the other powers, by means of the charity with which it is filled. It causes them gradually to be reunited in the Center, and lost there as to their own nature and operations.
This loss is called the annihilation of the powers. Although in themselves they still subsist, yet they seem annihilated to us, in proportion as charity fills and inflames; it becomes so strong, as by degrees to surmount all the activities of the will of man, subjecting it to that of God. When the soul is docile, and leaves itself to be purified, and emptied of all that which it has of its own, opposite to the will of God, it finds itself by little and little, detached from every emotion of its own, and placed in a holy indifference, wishing nothing but what God does and wills. This never can be effected by the activity of our own will, even though it were employed in continual acts of resignation. These though very virtuous, are so far one’s own actions and cause the will to subsist in a multiplicity, in a kind of separate distinction or dissimilitude from God.
When the will of the creature entirely submits to that of the Creator, suffering freely and voluntarily and yielding only a concurrence to the divine will (which is its absolute submission) suffering itself to be totally surmounted and destroyed, by the operations of love; this absorbs the will into self, consummates it in that of God, and purifies it from all narrowness, dissimilitude, and selfishness."
From the autobiography of Madam Guyon, the bit that spoke to me I have made bold
"I now quitted all company, bade farewell forever to all plays and diversions, dancing, unprofitable walks and parties of pleasure. For two years I had left off dressing my hair. It became me, and my husband approved it.
My only pleasure now was to steal some moments to be alone with Thee, O thou who art my only Love! All other pleasure was a pain to me. I lost not Thy presence, which was given me by a continual infusion, not as I had imagined, by the efforts of the head, or by force of thought in meditating on God, but in the will, where I tasted with unutterable sweetness the enjoyment of the beloved object. In a happy experience I knew that that the soul was created to enjoy its God.
The union of the will subjects the soul to God, conforms it to all His pleasure, causes self-will gradually to die. Lastly in drawing with it the other powers, by means of the charity with which it is filled. It causes them gradually to be reunited in the Center, and lost there as to their own nature and operations.
This loss is called the annihilation of the powers. Although in themselves they still subsist, yet they seem annihilated to us, in proportion as charity fills and inflames; it becomes so strong, as by degrees to surmount all the activities of the will of man, subjecting it to that of God. When the soul is docile, and leaves itself to be purified, and emptied of all that which it has of its own, opposite to the will of God, it finds itself by little and little, detached from every emotion of its own, and placed in a holy indifference, wishing nothing but what God does and wills. This never can be effected by the activity of our own will, even though it were employed in continual acts of resignation. These though very virtuous, are so far one’s own actions and cause the will to subsist in a multiplicity, in a kind of separate distinction or dissimilitude from God.
When the will of the creature entirely submits to that of the Creator, suffering freely and voluntarily and yielding only a concurrence to the divine will (which is its absolute submission) suffering itself to be totally surmounted and destroyed, by the operations of love; this absorbs the will into self, consummates it in that of God, and purifies it from all narrowness, dissimilitude, and selfishness."
Friday 8 January 2010
Think say DO!
Amos 5:14-15 (The Message)
14Seek good and not evil—
and live!
You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
being your best friend.
Well, live like it,
and maybe it will happen.
15Hate evil and love good,
then work it out in the public square.
Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
will notice your remnant and be gracious. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos%205:14-15&version=MSG
"Let us put this all together, repentance involves you realizing you must depend on God in the name of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you hate evil, love good. Then and only then, will your life change in what you think, say and do; . ."
Judson from comment in http://www.youversion.com/contributions/49451/religion-or-jesus-a-stern-warning-against-religion
14Seek good and not evil—
and live!
You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
being your best friend.
Well, live like it,
and maybe it will happen.
15Hate evil and love good,
then work it out in the public square.
Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
will notice your remnant and be gracious. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos%205:14-15&version=MSG
"Let us put this all together, repentance involves you realizing you must depend on God in the name of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you hate evil, love good. Then and only then, will your life change in what you think, say and do; . ."
Judson from comment in http://www.youversion.com/contributions/49451/religion-or-jesus-a-stern-warning-against-religion
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Freely Give
Matthew 10:8
Freely give because we have freely received, but what shall we give, well the less quoted first half of this verse tells us, 'heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons'. In the western church we are not too bad on casting out demons, we hear the odd story of healing, but, never hear of raising the dead, so what are we doing wrong?
Surely Christ cannot have given us an instruction that is impossible to do, can He? Perhaps we have something to learn from the African or Indian church here. Instead of sending people to seminary or theological college perhaps we should send them to live with Bush pastors in Northern Mozambique?
What about me? Is it about being poor in spirit and completely submitting to God, I wonder. Hand in hand with this is it about seeking to be ever filled with the Holy Spirit? Ephesians 5:18-19 And what practical steps does that involve? getting peole to lay hands on me, practise being in His presence? I know during the so called Torronto Blessing I went to meeting after meeting for six months, eventually I started to get filled and I found I could approach God on my own and be filled. Maybe we have to this with healing also, just keep praying for and with people whatever the results, keep on praising God, keep on keeping on!
Freely give because we have freely received, but what shall we give, well the less quoted first half of this verse tells us, 'heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons'. In the western church we are not too bad on casting out demons, we hear the odd story of healing, but, never hear of raising the dead, so what are we doing wrong?
Surely Christ cannot have given us an instruction that is impossible to do, can He? Perhaps we have something to learn from the African or Indian church here. Instead of sending people to seminary or theological college perhaps we should send them to live with Bush pastors in Northern Mozambique?
What about me? Is it about being poor in spirit and completely submitting to God, I wonder. Hand in hand with this is it about seeking to be ever filled with the Holy Spirit? Ephesians 5:18-19 And what practical steps does that involve? getting peole to lay hands on me, practise being in His presence? I know during the so called Torronto Blessing I went to meeting after meeting for six months, eventually I started to get filled and I found I could approach God on my own and be filled. Maybe we have to this with healing also, just keep praying for and with people whatever the results, keep on praising God, keep on keeping on!
Reborn and Renewed
Titus 3:5 Amplified Bible http://www.youversion.com/bible/amp/titus/3/5
"He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit"
Not through anything I did, and how often I forget, striving to please God, 'doing' not just 'being' His child. I like the amplified version of being bathed. And the renewing, 'just letting go and letting God',
I know He will give me more of His spirit if I let Him. I need to go to a quiet place and just let His spirit wash through me, renewing me. Not always easy, but there are things we can practise, meditation on a verse, for example. Listening for God's voice by recognising it and distinguishing it from our own thoughts, or the devils negative, accusing thoughts, is something else we can try and practise
His constant reassurance is 'do not fear', full acceptance is ours, He believes in us, He has a good plans for us, He knows you inside out and made you unique, special, He loves you, He even sings over us!
"He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit"
Not through anything I did, and how often I forget, striving to please God, 'doing' not just 'being' His child. I like the amplified version of being bathed. And the renewing, 'just letting go and letting God',
I know He will give me more of His spirit if I let Him. I need to go to a quiet place and just let His spirit wash through me, renewing me. Not always easy, but there are things we can practise, meditation on a verse, for example. Listening for God's voice by recognising it and distinguishing it from our own thoughts, or the devils negative, accusing thoughts, is something else we can try and practise
His constant reassurance is 'do not fear', full acceptance is ours, He believes in us, He has a good plans for us, He knows you inside out and made you unique, special, He loves you, He even sings over us!
Tuesday 5 January 2010
Jesus our Shield
Ephesians 6:16-17 In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We had a word at our church this week about Jesus being our shield and how we had to pick that shield up. It struck me that the shield goes first, then you step into the ground that the shield just gave you, come on Jesus give me holy spirit inspired courage!
We had a word at our church this week about Jesus being our shield and how we had to pick that shield up. It struck me that the shield goes first, then you step into the ground that the shield just gave you, come on Jesus give me holy spirit inspired courage!
Sunday 3 January 2010
I believe in Jesus, that through Jesus we will see revival in this country! I want to be a 3 metre square revival and to do that I must submit to Jesus everything I try to cling onto. These can be my way of doing things, rushing people, the smallest things not necesarily the biggest sins. I am learning and I want to learn faster. How to do this? Paul speaks of the renewing of the mind http://www.youversion.com/bible/niv/rom/12/2 the filling of the mind with right things, Paul also speaks of thinking on what is true and pure and admirable http://www.youversion.com/bible/niv/phil/4/8 . I like the news and I do want to be responsible, informed, etc, but sometimes it's just plain depressing,maybe I should be filling my mind with positive stuff or worshipping? Worship music somehow lifts my spirit to heaven, somtimes I have to make myself put some on, whether that's in the car or the house or on the train and usually I get there, I start worshipping, confessing, getting straightened out in my soul. And often, I get that whoosh that excitement, that infilling, the transcendance - and I think all that starts me wanting what Jesus wants, more of Him in in me must do that surely ? "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit. Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord" Ephesians 5:18-19
"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" Jerimiah 29:13
"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" Jerimiah 29:13
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