I'm Back

I haven't posted anything for ages as I have been disconnected from the internet because of changing from one provider to another. All the customer service advisors in the call centres are very well trained in apologising but unfortunately that doesn't actually solve the problem! We can say 'sorry' but unless we actually do something about the problem, nothing really changes.

Hope to post more frequently now that I've caught up with a backlog of updating and writing.

Loughborough

We had a good day yesterday in Loughborough. We worshipped, prayed, cried and interceded for our nation. We heard of a report that said that Britain has more obesity, more drug addiction and more credit card debt than any other nation in Europe. This surely is a sign of a nation that has become selfish and greedy in every sense.

We were reminded of the passage in Mark 11:15-17 when Jesus cleansed the Temple. It was noted that this was not an action on the spurr of the moment - verse 11 says that He had been to the Temple the day before and noticed what was going on. Then He went back and in a premeditated act,cleansed it. He also stopped people from going through who were carrying stuff. How much do we bring into the Temple? How much irrelevant 'stuff' and excess baggage are we hauling along with us? God wants to cleanse His people so they can be a Temple of prayer for the nations of the world. The trouble is that when God blesses us, we just sit back and enjoy for ourselves and don't realise that what we have is for the benefit of all nations. So we prayed for forgiveness and interceded for our lost nation to return to God and fulfil its God-given destiny of going into the world and showing the love of Jesus.

Last week God spoke very deeply to me about intercession for our nation and I had begun to feel a very deep ache for its lost ways. So yesterday was a continuation of what He had already been doing in my life. Next Saturday (21st) I'll be in Birmingham with another few thousand people, again to intercede for our nation. We need to get our own house (Temple) in order so that we can then go and fulfil God's purposes in the world. May God have mercy on our nation.

Keeping busy

I realise that I haven't written anything for ages. I have been so taken up with other things and haven't had much time.

For 11 days I was house-sitting for friends while they were away. I managed to call in home most days but just to catch up with mail. Then at the same time my brother had a stroke and was in hospital. He was transferred for convalescence to another hospital 20 miles away. So I felt that much of my time was taken up with travelling here, there and everywhere.

I did manage to get to a prayer day on September 30th. It was held at a farm/church. The farm used to have cows but God changed that and now the farmer has no cows but makes a living with other produce. Instead the barns are now converted into a chapel and a storage place for equipment to be taken/sent abroad for those in need. Centuries ago that same farm was a monastery and it seems that this is the time when God is opening up again the old wells in the South West of England. We had a good day together waiting on God and interceding for our nation.

Yesterday I spent in Birmingham (central England) at the World Prayer Centre with others who wish to be part of prayer teams going out to other places/nations to stand with those there in prayer, intercession and encouragement.

Next Saturday I'll be in Loughborough (also in central England) for a day of prayer and fasting for our nation and the following Saturday back in Birmingham for Trumpet Call, a day of national prayer for our nation.

In November I'm returning to France with a prayer team for a week. Oh the joys of retirement! I'm loving it!

I'm one of the lucky ones!

Today I have been to our local hospital to have laser treatment on both my eyes. My appointment was at 12:30 pm and by 1:10 pm I was at the main entrance waiting for my friend to pick me up to take me home. The reason for the treatment was the build of pressure behind the eyes. The laser treatment itself took barely a couple of minutes. How amazing that a beam of light used in a particular way can, in a one-off treatment, resolve the problem of pressure once and for all.

I have no after effects, apart from 'sticky' eyes from the drops put in beforehand so that I didn't feel anything. I feel so privileged to be living in a day of such medical expertise and in a country where it is readily available. In the west we have so much that we take for granted and feel that because we have worked then we have in some way earned it. I am just so grateful. I have so much. May God remind me of just how fortunate I am the next time I moan!

Major Breakthrough

To others it may not seem much but for me it was a major breakthrough. Let me explain. My sister and I take responsibility for our older brother who is becoming less able to care for himself. He always insists that he's OK and manages everything, no problem, when we know that is not true.

On Thursday when I took him shopping I had a chat with him about various issues, trying to persuade him to accept help - without much success. Friday I spent quite some time moaning at God telling him just how frustrated we were becoming not knowing just how to get through to him. Must say that just offloading my frustration helped me a lot.

Yesterday my brother came to our home for dinner. In the afternoon my son had asked me to trim his hair (I'm not a hairdresser but cut it very short all over with hair trimmers!) So I asked my brother if he wanted his hair trimmed while I had the trimmers in my hands. He agreed. Then I suggested giving him the full 'beauty treatment' and cutting his finger and toe nails. To my amazement he didn't exactly say yes but as he didn't say no I went ahead and did it. It was so obvious that he cannot bend in order to see to his feet so I suggested putting in place a regular visit from a chiropodist and he thought it a good idea! I thought that while I was on a roll I would suggest a visit from an occupational therapist to see what other aids he needed and could get to help him continue living an independent life in his own flat. Again to my great amazement he agreed.

As I say, this might not seem a big thing to many who read this but for me it was a major breakthrough. God reached his heart and mind and changed his way of thinking in a way that we were unable to do. I just wanted to share this with whoever might read it to say that with God nothing is impossible and He really does listen to our moans as well as our praise.

Free or Fair?

Jim Wallis in his book 'God's Politics' refers to world poverty and quotes the Top-Ten Facts as highlighted by Christian Aid. They are:

1. International trade is worth $10 million a minute.

2. Poor countries account for only 0.4% of world trade. Since 1980 their share has halved.

3. The UN estimates that unfair trade rules deny poor countries $700 billion every year. Less than 0.01% of this could save the sight of 30 million people.

4. Income per person in the poorest countries in Africa has fallen by a quarter in the last 20 years.

5. The 3 richest people in the world control more wealth than all 600 million in the world's poorest countries.

6. Nearly half the world's population (2.8 billion people) lives on less than US$2 per day (and 1.2 billion on less than US$1 per day).

7. The prices of many poor countries' key exports are at a 150-year low.

8. Global trade is regulated through policies and priorities set by international institutions, including rules made at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and conditions attached to loans provided by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. These bodies are controlled by governments.

9. At the last full meeting of the WTO, the European Union had 500 negotiators and Haiti had none.

10. After the last round of trade negotiations rich countries estimated that they would gain by $141.8 billion per year and Africa would be $2.6 billion per year worse off.

Jim Wallis goes on to say that this is beyond politics. World poverty is a moral and spiritual issue. On several occasions the prophets of the Old Testament talk against the rich exploiting the poor - Isaiah 5:8, Micah 7:3, Jeremiah 5:28 to quote just a few. When Jesus talked about the reason for His coming to earth, His first words were 'the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor'. If we follow Him then we cannot detach ourselves from this problem claiming that we should not mix religion and politics. If we can successfully separate the two then maybe our 'religion' is not of Jesus.

Being fair

I have just been reading about Nicodemus when he couldn't understand what Jesus meant when He told him he must be born again. Jesus talks of the wind, not being able to catch or control it and likens that with being born again. The comment in the booklet I was reading says, 'In other words "You didn't have anything to do with your first birth, so you've nothing to do with your second one. God prepared your heart by sending the right people, the right circumstances, and the right word at just the right time to show you your need of Him."'

It goes on to say that the things of God cannot be explained, only revealed. 'Anything less would be unfair, for then the sharp folks would get it and the slow ones wouldn't.' So simple yet so profound. So obvious yet so misunderstood. God is just so amazingly fair and loving to everybody, regardless of our abilities. And what a relief to know that I don't have to struggle to understand things beyond my capabilities, just ask for revelation. How often we think our spiritual maturity depends on our level of understanding instead of our willingness to allow God to reveal Himself to us in the way that He wants.

Prayer team in France

I have recently returned from spending a week in the north of France with a prayer team from the World Prayer centre.


The front of the opera house in Lille where 400 Huguenots were martyred.


Sue with the resident kitten. Ahhh!!!


This vegetable garden is actually a roundabout along the road from where we were staying!


A day out in Lille


A well earned coffee break after cleaning out a room before the spiritual cleaning


Sunset over the corn fields of Wattignies

Wales

For some months now I have been receiving email updates of what God is doing in Wales. They are in a time of revival and God is doing amazing things - miracles, healings, angelic visitations, prophecies, appearance of gold dust on hands and much more. I have added their website to my links so you can check it out for yourself (Emerge Wales). You can also sign up to receive regular newsletters. The wild fire of the Welsh Revival is on its way to England and from here to Europe! God is moving and I for one want to move with Him. Make sure you don't miss it!!!

Same but different

Sometimes you read something that you have read a thousand times before but suddenly it comes at you in a different way. Two such experiences happened to me recently.

Just the other day I was reading in Revelation about the church of Laodicea and the verse that struck me was v 20: 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.' I have always thought of that verse in reference to those who are not converted. But in the context it is clear that these words are for churchgoers!

The other reference was when I was reading 'Intelligent Church', a new book by Steve Chalke. In it he comments about Jesus washing the disciples' feet: 'I often wonder why it is that of the two commands Jesus gave the disciples that day (the day before he was crucified) - to wash each other's feet and to remember him when they ate bread and drank wine - only one has been adopted as a church tradition. Why is it we celebrate Communion, but we don't have foot-washing services?' Maybe it is easier to share a symbolic meal than to wash feet! Steve Chalke suggests that maybe we should adopt the towel as a symbol of Christianity (I rather like that idea!)- 'your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus who ... made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant ...' (Philippians 2:5,7)

I'm sure many will have always thought of these verses this way but for me they came alive in a different way this week. Thank God that He never stops teaching us.

Update

I have just had a couple of weeks travel/holiday. I spent 3 days (5th - 7th June)in the north east visiting family and friends. Friday the 9th I spent with more family who visited Yeovil. Then on Tuesday 13th, Diego and I set off for a very enjoyable week's holiday in Malta. On returning we then went to spend a few days with my other son Martin in Cheshire.

I left the house keys with a friend who had arranged to re-do my kitchen. So the nice thing is that after two weeks I have come back home to a nice new kitchen without having to live through all the mess!

Polzeath

Saturday I spent in Polzeath, a coastal village in Cornwall where in the summer loads of young people gather to go surfing. The very small, elderly congregation of the Methodist church, situated right opposite the beach have a great desire to reach out to these young people and feel that God is telling them to open their church as a drop-in centre, a safe place to go. So a group of about 15 people travelled in to Polzeath from various places to stand with the local people in prayer for this vision.

During the day in the summer season, everyobody's enjoying the beach and water sports but when night falls the beach becomes a place for taking drugs. The police then move in and move them on which doesn't really solve the problem - it just moves it to somewhere else. This small group of Christians have such a heart for the lost. And so we prayed together that God would provide the people and funding to help. The sad thing is that other Christians in the village (of other denominations) are opposing the plans and are urging them to sell the property so it can be developed.

Two scriptures came to my mind. 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' The other I was reminded of is about Sarah who in her old age gave birth to the plans of God to bring in a new generation. AMEN. SO BE IT.

Mississippi Squirrel Revival

I've just read a very funny post on Marc van de Woude's blogspot. Check it out. Click on my link to Marc's Messages and look at the post for May 21 entitled Mississippi Squirrel Revival and then click on 'this report'. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. By the way put your sound up so you can hear it as well as read it.

Got the point?

Today is my elder son's birthday. My sister-in-law who lives in Argentina tried to send him a greeting my email but it kept being returned to her. So finally she emailed me to ask if she had the correct address. I realised that she had left out the dot between his first name and surname. She tried again with the dot and this time it was sent without any problem. Just goes to show what a difference a little dot makes. You musn't underestimate the value and power of little things.
Point taken!

Trumpet Call

Went to Trumpet Call yesterday in Birmingham. It was good to meet up with friends from all over the country and to hear testimonies of what has been happening particularly in Manchester with city links and the Message Trust. It is always difficult to encapsulate in a few words what was said and done but here are a couple of quotes.

Referring to Gideon and how God chose him to fight the Mideonites who every year stole the harvest of the Israelites, 'I want my expectations to be shaped not on the past but on the future.' (Paul Miller)

Speaking about the verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14 - if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves ... ... 'The problem is not the quality and quantity of darkness but the quality and quantity of light.' (Lloyd Cooke)

Stand up and speak out!

This morning I spent in the Local Council Chambers listening to an application that had been presented for a sex shop to be opened in our town. In previous weeks, many Christians had written letters to councillors and signed petitions against such a shop. People have prayer-walked the street and stood outside the proposed premises praying that God would intervene. This morning was the public discussion for this application.

A good number of people opposed to the proposal gathered in the chambers and several of them had made arrangements to speak to the councillors on our behalf. Then it was the turn of the proposed 'business' to put their arguments in favour. In the discussion it was mentioned on a few occasions that it was NOT legal to reject the application on moral or religious grounds and so those of us who objected were a bit discouraged. Many of us sat in silence listening and praying.

The councillors then went to discuss the matter with their legal advisors. After about two hours they returned with the verdict. They had decided against the proposal. So now I'm in celebratery mood. It just shows that when we stand up and speak out we CAN make a difference. Of course it's not over yet. The sex shop proposers will possibly appeal against the result so we need to go on praying and seeking to lift Jesus high in our town.

Mega Shift

I'm reading a book called Mega Shift by James Rutz. It is also subtitled 'The best news since year one...' There are some amazing stories about healings, miracles and resurrections. It also talks of how these things happen in an Open church rather than the traditional gatherings. The difference is that one is organised by humans and the other by God. So why do we go on propping up the one that is going nowhere? Frank Battleman, explaining about the decline and fall of the Azusa Mission (which was the start of the modern Pentecostal movement) says 'Every meeting was now programmed from start to finish. Disaster was bound to follow, and it did so.'

Paul says to the Corinthians: 'Then what is the right course, brothers? Whenever you meet, every one of you has something to contribute: a song, a piece of teaching, some special information God has given him, a message in an unknown language, or an explanation of what it means.' (ch14:26)
'If someone sitting in the meeting receives a message or idea from the Lord, the one who is speaking should stop. For this way, you can all have an opportunity to give a message, one after the other, so that everyone will learn something and everyone will be stimulated and encouraged.' (14:30,31)

People are leaving the traditional church not because they have lost their faith but because they want to preserve it!

A subtle difference

I've just spent a couple of days in Totnes with friends on a prayer ministry time. Overnight I stayed with a lovely friend who commented how words change their meanings. She mentioned the word 'prodigal' - how we come to think of it as meaning someone who has strayed from the Father or someone who has wasted his/her inheritance. In fact originally, she said, it held the meaning of being generous. I was a little surprised so looked it up in my dictionary when I got home. Sure enough, one of the meanings said 'lavish'. When you think about it, there seems to be a short way to go from being lavishly generous to being recklessly wasteful. It just reaffirms how Satan will take the good things and twist and abuse them until we cross over the invisible line and the good somehow becomes wrong. He is so clever at this subtle difference that we so often don't even notice it.

When this line is overstepped generosity becomes wastefulness; healthy goals become obsessions; leadership becomes abuse of power; freedom becomes licence etc. Let me know of any more you can think of.

A few more photos

I am preparing to go to Totnes for a couple of days with another prayer team tomorrow. But just wanted to post a few more photos from New Caledonia before I go. (I think I'm finally getting the hang of it!)

New Caledonia

Arrived back from New Caledonia on Saturday after a 40 hour journey with very little sleep. We had a good time and God blessed us. We found the people to be warm and generous in spirit and they really welcomed us into their hearts. We all came away feeling we have a load more friends. Thought I would share a few photos with you. Please note the dates in the bottom right hand corners are incorrect. We were there from 3rd - 14th April not in January. I'm afraid I forgot to correct the date since the last time I used the camera. Ooops!

Sorry I'm having a little trouble uploading the photos. I'll have another go tomorrow.