THE LORD WHO BURST THROUGH

We were blessed last Sunday to have an awesome word bought to us by Pastor Ben Baldwin so I have decided for today to post some of the notes I took from his preaching .  Whatever you are going through keep going forward .  Ben began with this verse from
2 samuel 5;20
David went to Baal-perazim and defeated the Philistines there. "The LORD did it!" David exclaimed. "He burst through my enemies like a raging flood!" So he named that place Baal-perazim (which means "the Lord who bursts through"). 
Dwell on the points below and be set free today :)

1. All we need is one word of power from our god who sees into the future
Get before the lord for my breakthrough

2. God will give breakthrough liberally when we call  upon him

3. The bible says from glory to glory is the blessing from god
Being fruitful  in ministry requires bursting through

4. Paul had a thorn in the flesh...3 times he sought the lord and the lord said
My grace is sufficient for you
This is the season to call upon the name of god

5. Starts of really slow but it is like you are pushing an Elephant..just keep on the track and god will bring the momentum to keep you going..one word can change your future

6. Just call  upon my name and he will give me a future

7. Seek the lord he wants to reveal wisdom

8. Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. [39] Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. [40] But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me." [41] But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! [42] There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."


9. Davids   army was a beaten force but David was not defeated he kept on bursting through
David was someone who waited upon the lord.... He was always looking to god who was with him and  not looking back

I hope you get as much as I did from this as you work through these points and study them in more detail in relation to your own life .
Bless you today

MAKING SPACE FOR NEW

Ask anyone who knows me ... If I am OCD about de-cluttering and you will get a resounding choir of "YES,S !!!! ".    My family all joke about never coming  home in a blackout and sitting  where the couch was when you left earlier...As you will probably come crashing to the floor .....  I hate clutter and junk so I am forever going through the cupboards and tossing out then re arranging ... Same too for the kitchen cupboards , I move them around all the time, drives the family nuts especially if Liam is in a hurry for breakfast before work and he has to open 20 drawers before he locates the cereal bowls. And furniture .... well there is no better therapy for me that to re arrange a room while cleaning and standing back very pleased with  efforts, I have even been known to paint a whole room in a morning while re arranging furniture .  

Our master bedroom was on a lower level with a parents retreat half a meter above it, Mike would always laugh that he never dare launch himself  like superman from the upper level onto the bed because he was always in danger of the bed not being there and him landing on the floor face down eating carpet .

For me its all about making space or perhaps making a space that is more user friendly .  

God sometimes requires us to make some space, to have a good clean out, to shift some disused bulk from our hearts, to rearrange how we do things , to become more user friendly, and trust me it is not as scary as you may think.  In fact it is quite liberating and freeing.  

The old saying "out with the old, and in with the new " often has negative connotations but it  doesn't have to be a bad thing  . God can use change and a good clean out to replace things with a whole new look and feel to our tired old lives and refresh our spirit like we could never have imagined .

Luke 5 :36-39  He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.  No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.  And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

So hop to it ...ask God what he wants to throw out onto hard rubbish in your life ...he has already paid the price for your rubbish and junk , let his grace and mercy fill you with a whole new living room  to dwell in . Don't get caught up in saying " The old is better ".

WALKING IN THE WILDERNESS

What does the word WILDERNESS mean to you ? The dictionary offers us some interesting suggestions
1. Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. I find this particularly interesting ... the words NOT modified by human activity.... When God places us in the wilderness we spend allot of time on our own human activity trying to modify our environment rather than soaking in the place God wants to refine us in.
2. Wilderness is deeply valued for cultural, spiritual , moral , and aesthetic reasons. Some nature writers believe wilderness areas are vital for the human spirit and creativity : Again here the wilderness is a VITAL place for God to renew our strength, spirit and creativity in him and a place for us to rely on him alone

3. The word wilderness derives from the notion of "wildness"—in other words, that which is not controllable by humans. Our place of wilderness needs to be a place controlled by God and NOT by us in order that we exit in Gods timing and not overstay our welcome there and become bogged down and ineffective , let go and hand the control back to God .

For many of us this is a frequent cry from our lips Psalm 22;1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
We feel like we are in the wilderness , all alone abandoned by God.
Psalm 22;2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. The truth is however for some of us we choose to spend far too much time in the wilderness , yes God may well have allowed us to enter the wilderness in the beginning for his purposes to bring about change and to equip us for battle but when God has completed his work we sometimes fail to trust him and have faith in him to step forward out of the wilderness and into his plans for us.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God led them not by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God said, Lest the people change their purpose when they see war and return to Egypt. Exodus 13:17 We sometimes need to shift our wrong thinking to right thinking so we are armed and ready for all that God plans for us .

Right thinking “arms” us for battle. Going into the battle with wrong thinking is like going to the front line of a war without any weapons “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Sometimes God leads us the hard way instead of the easy way because he is doing a work in us. God led the Israelites the long, hard way instead of the short way because they were afraid and He had to do a work in them to prepare them for the battles they would face in the Promise Land. We can cause ourselves so much anxiety when God places us in what seems like a never ending wilderness , If we would only lean to submit .(Galatians 6:9) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

I have had to learn the hard way to submit, well actually I think i will constantly be learning ,or revisiting this ...I know that I have a very strong will and tenacity that God created in me but I often use this to fight against God rather than allowing him to use me for his will and purposes rather than my own.

If you are in the wilderness the only answer in this place is to completely submit to God and soak in him allowing him to restore you and equip you .

God bless you on your Journey

SIMPLE THINGS

How many of you agree with me that
Sometimes Life is only as complicated as we chose to allow it to be.....

Last weekend as I was on a Lilo with Lucy doing my best to navigate the Mitchel river, and not a very Good job I might add... We floated down for about 20 minutes over rapids, deep holes, massive boulders under us, giant people eating fish...... Lucy was a bit frightened when she realized that the only real danger she was in was being on a floating device and relying on me for her safety.

Finally after a very exhausting 20 minutes of paddling, kicking, shrieking, screaming . steering trying not to get stuck, or drown and the odd occasion of cursing we arrived in a lovely part of the river that there was no need to put any effort in at all, the water was still and magnificent

I just lay there silently with Lucy by my side drifting along feeling relaxed , resting and finally refreshed as I took in the beauty of my surroundings. No need for kicking and struggling just floating .

As I lay there I smiled to myself at the similarity of my life sometimes ....
I often find myself in a place of kicking ...driving my own boat...getting stuck...feeling like I am drowning and eventually complicating my own life, when in fact God is right there beside me saying stop...rest...abide in me...float on my strength , not your own. I have everything you need

Psalm 23:1-3 (NLT)
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. [2] He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. [3] He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.



He died for us so that we may live in His peace, his grace,
.... to lay in his still calm waters. So why do we keep going through the rapids

I love the Jason upton song .... Simple things... My prayer for us all today is that we chose to rest in the simple things of god today

PRAY THIS
Father I thank you for your perfect peace ...thank you that because of your blood shed on the cross that we dont have to struggle in our own strength ..show us today where we can see you in the simple things today, show me how to trust you how to love you how to serve you better.
Amen


I want to see you
In the simple things in life today

I want to hear you
In the simple things I. Life today

I want to trust you
I want to love you
I want to serve you
In the simple things in life today

HOLD ON TIGHT

As I write today today I know that some of you are facing incredible trials and pain. For some of you are feeling that you are at breaking point, that you just can't bare any more. you have been crying out to Jesus , enough enough . I know for me that walking through my health issues these past few months have been the most difficult circumstance I have ever had to face in my life and I can tell you I have had many times that I have felt that God had abandoned me . But there is hope there is comfort in the knowledge that all that Jesus withstood on the cross, that he came out the other side to sit at the right hand of God He rescued me from the miry clay and set my feet on a rock, we all have times that we feel we are sinking, I know I truly do , but god wants to set our feet on the rock that's steadfast and firm not soft under foot that allows us to sink. The best way to get on the rock is to stay connected with Jesus, through prayer, worship and finding verses that you can hold onto . Promises in his word that will pull you from the clay look through the bible for yourself and see The steadfast ability Jesus to withstand incredible pain How much pain ? How long did he endure such incredible pain ? Why did he endure the pain when he was the son of God ? Being thankful of the answers you will find in the bible will give you an open door to all that God has to offer's to deal with our own trials and sufferings
Isaiah 40 ;3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD make straight in the desert a highway for our God Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
How steadfast are we ? What is our tolerance level ? If it falls short ask yourself what can we do to build it up ? The ball is in our court god does not just magically create a perfect pain free life for us But then does give us the tools to withstand the pain this world throw at us to endure. I love the Lifehouse "broken" song Holding on barley breathing.. In your name I find healing ... There is nothing to hold on to other than you Jesus Everyhing else will fail you or slip through your hands You will loose your grip because when you hold on to worldly things the Grip is only one handed When you hold onto God the grip is two handed, he hold on to you as you are holding onto him. It is his desire to cradle you in his arms and hold you ever so tightly for as long as it takes. Friends will stand by you for a time but not forever. God is there forever and he also knows the outcome of what you are going through, he has an insight that nothing or no one in this world can offer.

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, 'Destroy them!' Psalm 18:32 God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. Psalm 68:19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude John 19:-30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land."

God wants to restore our broken bodies, loss of health, loss of hope, loss of faith , and so much more and bring us back to a place of wholeness Jesus suffered and endured so much pain for us and then he rose again. Our hope today is in him and him alone , keep pushing through because Jesus promises us victory on the other side.

TEACHABLE MOMENTS

He is here for the broken and life to the one who is undone
He is peace to the wounded and hope to the helpless one
HE IS HERE, HE IS HERE
Be still my soul be still
Be still my soul be still
Wait patiently upon the Lord
BE STILL MY SOUL BE STILL ( Lyrics Kari Jobe )
I have just purchased a Kari Jobe cd and as usual always in Gods perfect timing.
Isn't it funny how often we come across something that is so part of Gods timing and plan for us, things that if they came week earlier we may not have noticed or listened to.
How often do the conversations of the past week all point to something that God is trying to teach us, a pastoral word here, a friendly correction there, a piece of music, a scripture that you may have read 100 times before but never felt the fire in the words.

I have struggled for so long it seems with health issues and been almost begging God to put an end to it now, almost demanding and threatening God, "right now, if you know whats good for you God ". All my efforts and prayers have been based on my own agenda, my own desires, my own need to be healthy so I can achieve goals, to feel worthy of love, To get the job done , whilst all along I have been completely missing the "Teachable moments " That God has been wanting to reveal to me.

Do you know it is all going to have a good ending , because thankfully for some of we "Bull at a gate Christians ". God Will sometimes use people around us to bring us a word of truth that we so desperately have needed to hear. Through the tender words of a friend I was able to finally hear what God has been trying to tell me all along and when I am obedient to this teaching I will finally see the breakthrough that I have been waiting for.

The key here is that brick by brick God has been trying to pull down a wall that I have built myself to protect a place deep inside of me that I have allowed myself to believe was what was keeping me safe, what i could rely on always.
When in actual fact my own self reliance was beginning to destroy me and God wanted to show me that it is Himself and only him that I can rely on , who will bring me internal peace , no matter what the situations around me hold.
Psalm 46;10-11 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

God often does not create the situation that we find ourselves in but he will often use that situation to teach us and bring about change in us. He loves us beyond our wildest dreams and will do all that he can to draw us into a new and fruitful season in our lives for the better of ourselves and the better of the people that he wants us to share himself with.

So I am going to submit myself to the refining fire of God safe in the knowledge that he is bringing about change for the better and a new season of life for me . I bet I am not the only one out there who could do with some refining. Malachi 3;3 "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver "
As my very wise Pastor said to me recently , sit quietly take time to be at PEACE with God , TRUST that God has it all under control and that looking to external situations all the time to bring me peace will always fail me if I dont have INTERNAL PEACE OF GOD first.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

THE END OF LIFE AND THE BEGINNING OF NEW LIFE

In my bedroom I am fortunate enough to have two magnificent tree ferns outside my french doors, I deliberately go to sleep with my curtains open on that side of the room so that when I wake in the morning I have the pleasure of experiencing the full beauty of theses ferns as the sun rises and shines through their foliage and shows off their lush green colour. Last summer my ferns took a beating , they were badly sun burnt and withered away to almost nothing. To my delight our long cold wet winter proved very beneficial to my lovely ferns and from my window I could see tiny rolls of new life poking up through the top of my fern. It was not until spring however that the true glory began to be revealed , over the last two weeks I have watched as each one of these baby fronds slowly transformed from a three centimeter tight roll to a magnificent one meter long lush green frond. Each morning as I lay in bed more and more of what was hidden inside this tight little roll was revealed, as the bud unraveled I was surprised to see that on the end of each shoot there were teeny tiny baby rolls that were unraveling to form the many side shoots from the main frond. So today the process is almost complete and I have my beautiful tree fern in full foliage to greet me each morning to remind me how awesome my God is that if he cares enough to create such Majesty and new life in a dull bunt out tree , how much more does he love us and want to bring forth new foliage . He wants to unravel those tightly woven little balls we have created in our own lives and slowly unravel the pain, hurts , regrets, bitterness, lost hope that we have stored up in them.
Matthew 6;26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Gods hearts desire is for us to prosper and experience fullness of life and a life filled with joy, not pain and suffering . He wants to shape us and mold us into wholeness . He does not want us to remain in that place of burnt out dead wood that is of no use to anyone let alone ourselves. Trust God that he is a gentle good God , he knows that with my tree fern it is a slow process to unravel the new growth and If I grew impatient and went outside and pulled the new growth open myself it would not be ready for the suns rays and it would wither and die. God knows the same is true with us, he wants to slowly bring forth new growth on strong stems that he has strengthened within us with his spirit as he has tenderly sown his word and love into us. Give in to Gods love and tender mercy today and allow him to bring forth the seeds he has sown in you.
Romans 15;13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.