Reactions

This morning I was walking in the town when a man passed me. He was wearing a denim jacket and on the back was a picture of a panther snarling and just beginning to pounce. When you looked at it, it appeared to be looking directly at you. My immediate reaction was to snarl back! But I managed to compose myself enough not to actually do it. But I did realise how quickly we sometimes react to things, almost automatically without thinking and then manage to hide our true feelings and reactions and appear something quite different. It made me think of Jesus' words about overcoming evil with good and coming in the opposite spirit. We make excuses about 'only being human', 'it's only natural' and 'anyone would'etc. We know we shouldn't and probably think we don't but how easy it is!

Holiday

Since my last post I have been on holiday visiting my elder son in Cheshire. It was SO good to see him. The thing is that he works 2 days a week in London and 3 days from home in Cheshire. When he is in London he uses the Aldgate station as the bank where he works is just nearby. He was on 'that train' just 24 hours previous to the bombings on 'that station' at 'that time'. My heart goes out to the families of all those affected by the events of 07/07/05 but also in a big 'Thank You God' that my son was spared. If it had been only one day earlier ... ...

So you can understand why I say that it was SO good to see him last week. The weather was glorious all week and with my younger son we all enjoyed a lovely week of being relaxed and enjoying just being together. One day we visited Chester and walked all around the old boundary wall of the city that dates back to Roman times - very interesting reading all the plaques at various points along the wall that explained different events throughout the history of Chester. We discovered a wine shop in some vault-like cellars that date back hundreds of years (the cellars not the wine or the shop) You have to go down steps to get into the shop. So we just had to buy some wine to enjoy later back home.

My younger son and I arrived back in Yeovil on Sunday afternoon ready to go back to work on Monday - well, having to rather than ready to. And now three days on the week's holiday is just a memory, but a nice one.

More on G8

I have been trying to put into words some of the things that we experienced and prayed about. There was no written agenda or set discussions or talks. We just gathered and prayed into whatever we felt God was saying. That sounds terribly chaotic but in fact it wasn't. It was very corporate and we moved as one body. At one end of the marquee where we met, there was a table set for 10 people - each of those who would be at the summit (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, UN, EU, Japan, Russia and USA). At some point over the three days we prayed for each of these men as God led us and their relationships with each other. After the news of the Olympic bid going to London we prayed for humility of spirit and the destiny that God has for Britain in these next few years.

The next day brought news of the bombings in London. We prayed for a while about that but then realized that God had brought us to Scotland for a specific purpose and we sensed that the enemy was trying to deflect us from our purpose. So we left the situation in God's hands knowing that there would be others praying for that and we returned to pray for the summit at Gleneagles. Interestingly we received phone calls from others in other groups around Scotland who were also called to pray for the summit and they had experienced exactly the same. And so God's leading was confirmed.

We prayed much for Africa against a spirit of slavery and prayed for the release of the captives and a victory over the occult. We declared that it was a time that Africa would walk out from the tomb of darkness and being held in chains to a freedom in His light and take their place as light in the world.

We sent many arrows of prayer targetted on individuals, nations and situations and believe that God will accomplish what He led us to prayer about. Rereading this, it doesn't seem much but it is difficult to capture into words the whole spirit of the event. All I know is that God led us throughout and much has been accomplished in the spiritual realm. One word to summarize the whole thing - AWESOME.

G8

I have just arrived back (About midnight last night) from Gartmore, a village in Scotland, near Stirling and Gleneagles. There were about 120 of us who spent the three days of the G8 summit in prayer, worship and intercession. We were in the flight path of the helicopters as they arrived bringing the heads of state to the summit in Gleneagles. As we were praying we could hear them flying overhead. So we prayed them in and blessed them as they left again yesterday.

My head is still full of all sorts of emotions and thoughts about what went on there. I think overall was the overwhelming sense that God was in that place as sovereign ruler over all earthly authorities and so we worshipped Him and declared and sang many times over the three days: 'We are standing on holy ground, And I know that there are angels all around. Let us praise Jesus now. We are standing in His presence on holy ground.' There was a real corporateness in the worship. Sometimes in church we each retreat into our own space with God and it is very intimate and personal but these three days have been totally corporate. All personal, local and even national issues and agendas were set aside. We were there on global territory interceding for the planet and so we were all together in one place with one accord.

Over the next few days I hope to share a little more of what went on in the prayer summit as God directs. For now I would like to say a big 'thank you' to all who were supporting us in prayer and upholding our families against any tactics the enemy might have to try to sabotage what we were about. I believe that much was accomplished in the spiritual realm.
In the words of a Godfrey Birtill song: 'YOU'RE STILL GOD!!!!' ALLELUIA!!

We see in part and we prophesy in part

I want to say 'thanks' to Vance and Diane for their comments on my previous post about my dream. I was going to respond the other day but changed my mind . Now after more comments I feel it's time to update the situation.

I am aware that Heidi is always saying that we all see in part and we prophesy in part. I guess that's why I posted it on my blog in the first place hoping that others would help to complete the picture. The thing is that lately I have been in the place of questioning 'do I go to church or do I not go?' I have been seriously questioning just why I go - a lot of it is to catch up with friends. I get so much more it seems out of meeting up with friends out of church and spending time together praying and worshipping and yet I feel that God is not giving me permission at this moment in time to not go to church. I accept that for many this is exactly what God is saying - that they must opt out of congregating in a 'church' building. As I have commented in previous posts, my son has also felt this but for me it's not so clear. I am concerned that in not going to church but needing connections with other like-minded people, we end up doing the same thing all over again. I guess that's how church started in the first place - people meeting together to worship and encourage each other - but got twisted somewhere along the way.

So when Diane commented that she was concerned not so much for those outside of the church but for those inside the church system who don't seem to know there is anything wrong. When I read that, I felt a stirring in my spirit. It was as if God was saying that is exactly what He meant by the dream - that I could see what was wrong and as a 'scout' (See Gaz's blogspot) I could and should be doing something about it. So thanks guys for all of you contributing and sharing the part that God gave you so that I can make more sense of the whole picture. For me the dream means that for the moment I need to continue in church with those I know, helping those who realize there is a problem with the way they are journeying and trying to point this out to the others who are either unaware or don't seem to think it is a problem or care about it. I also get a sense that when God really shakes the church system, as He is doing and will do more in the near future, then He needs people in place to help others to hang on to so they don't fall. It's not meeting together per se that's wrong but what we allow it to become with organisation, human plans and hierarchy systems.