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.

A dream

I shared with a friend a dream I had recently and she suggested putting it on my blog so here it is.

I was looking at the traffic that was going in the opposite direction to me - although I'm not sure if I was driving a vehicle or walking or just standing watching the traffic. I noticed that all the cars that passed on the opposite side of the road all had a flat tyre/puncture. The first car had a lady driver who was aware that she had a puncture and the tyre wasn't completely flat but she knew that she had to get to a safe place to stop and have it seen to. Then there was a young man driving past when suddenly his tyre blew and he veered off the road although wasn't hurt. Then behind him came another male driver who obviously had a flat tyre and he was well aware of this but took a couldn't-care-less attitude and continued resulting in the tyre being ripped to shreds and eventually being left without a tyre at all. He seemed to think it was a huge joke. I remember thinking 'What is happening? Why has everyone got punctures?'

I can make a spiritual correlation of the three different drivers and their vehicles but asked God exactly what this was all about. Is this just something general or does it refer to specific people? Up to this point I have no definite explanation. Has anyone else had dreams that they can't explain what has triggered them or if they having some special meaning? I would welcome any comment or feedback.

A Lovely Day

I mentioned in a previous post (Thursday) that today my younger son and I were going to spend the day together. We had lovely weather and so were able to enjoy a day walking and talking. We visited a nature reserve and were able to spend some time in a bird hide just watching the various water birds. There was a duck with 13 ducklings. Just as she was passing in front of the hide she stopped and looked at her little ones as though she was counting them. She then turned and started calling out loudly when another two appeared scuttling quickly to catch up. Then there was the pair of swans with their 6 offspring. When we left the hide and went to go near the water's edge one of the adults came nearer with some very loud noises warning us not to go any nearer - or else!

We watched different species of dragonflies - beautiful bright blues and greens. We then wandered through the wooded area just listening to the birds calling and answering each other. It was so peaceful and very enjoyable.

We then drove to the nearby village, looked around a ruined castle and had refreshments in a small tea shop. It was such a relaxing day. I think we will probably do it again some time. Thank you God for a lovely day enjoying your creation and having the time for deepening relationships.

The thunderstorm

We were awakened at about 2:30 am by thunder. It wasn't a clap of thunder, it was a crashing sound so loud I thought something was being demolished. The lightening seemed to be none-stop and the rain was absolutely torrential. The storm continued into the morning. I couldn't help thinking about the old song 'Showers of blessings' and as I looked at the rain I thought 'No, I want a real downpour like we've never experienced before. I want to be drenched, absolutely soaked right through with the Holy Spirit and presence of God.'

My mind went to Boscastle and the flash floods of last year and the recent floods in Yorkshire. I did wonder where they would be reporting floods from this morning. I just prayed that as in the natural we are seeing the storms and floods, so in the spiritual the Body of Christ would experience the storms that shake us and wash us. This was not intentional but at this very moment I'm playing a Godfrey Birtill CD and the song he's singing is about flushing out:
You've lived the mercy
Now stand the responsibility
You've tasted the grace
Now eat me...
You've moved with anointing
Now walk with the character
You've followed the teaching
Now, follow me...

I've been waiting for you
Where have you been?
I've been calling for you
But you've been busy
I've been watching for you
To come and listen to me
Let me flush out this fatigue
Where are you going?
Can you hear me?

I'm flushing out, I'm flushing out, fatigue.
I'm flushing out, I'm flushing out disease.

I just want God to come in such power and an overwhelming whoosh of His Spirit to flush out His church and bring us back to what He wants us to be; that anything superficial and of human making will be washed out. That, of course like a big thunder storm, can sometimes be a bit scary. But oh, how I want that more than anything.

I've been meaning to write something for days but somehow never got round to it, never seemed to have the time. That in itself is a rather strange expression. After all I've had the same time as everyone else - 24 hours in a day! I guess I need to recheck just what I'm filling my 24 hours with.

In a recent post I mentioned about my son who was thinking of going to a new church in our area. This week, after much time spent in deep thought and conversation with God, he announced that he wasn't going to go to any church at all. In fact he thought that he probably wouldn't go back to any church ever! He finds the worship a bit boring and the talks too long. He would just rather hang out with people chatting about God and stuff. Part of me responded a very definite 'YES!' but my concern is that it can be so easy for those who opt out of 'church' to eventually not have any deep and meaningful conversations with other like-minded christians. But I often recall a young man who spoke at the Target Europe conference in Portsmouth in April and he asked, pleaded with our generation to please not make the up and coming generation try to fit into the church system that we have come to reject. So I listened. After all I know a number of people who have opted out of church and they are spiritually very healthy.

The interesting thing though is that he was really concerned about just how he would use his tithe. 'That is God's so if I don't give it to a church, then who will I give it to?' Then we had another long discussion about various options for him to think about. It was well worth having a very late dinner that day. That conversation was so important.

This Sunday we have decided (weather permitting) to go out for the day and just enjoy God in the natural world and really talk to each other. I'm praying for a fine day - weather-wise too.

Why classical music?

I am awakened in a morning to the sounds of Radio 2. I lie for a couple of minutes to listen to 'Pause for Thought' This is always followed by some droning, quiet classical music. Don't get me wrong - I like classical music - but why do we connect subdued music with anything faintly religious? It seems again that we have confined anything relating to God in a particular box that suggests to most people something boring and from the past. I would love to hear such comments followed by Bono, Cliff Richard or Hillsong. This would at least make the thoughts seem relevant to today.

School and friends

A lot seems to have happened in this past week since I last posted something. I'm sure it would be very tedious for anyone reading if I tell you all the things that are going on. So I'll share two things stand out in my mind.

The first is when I went with a friend to meet her young 5 year old from school. On the way out I noticed that none of the children were carrying their bags. The parents had automatically taken their lunch boxes, books, jackets or whatever else they had and carried them for the children while they ran off to play. Thinking of what a lot of people have been considering lately about church and leadership (check especially my link to Sarah's blog) and discussions I had with friends yesterday, I think that sometimes we do that to our spiritual children. Instead of allowing them to take responsibility for things we say in effect 'Here I'll take that for you, don't worry'. It's not that we shouldn't be sharing their load but we do them no favours when we just take over what is really their responsibility and what God has asked them to carry. We should be there to support but not to do everything for them. When we do that we make sure they remain children and dependant on us - not God's will at all, rather fulfilling our sense of being needed.

The other thing that has had an impression on me is the time I had yesterday with friends at the South West Emerge gathering with Heidi and Gaz. It is some time since we met and it was really good to realize how much our friendships had deepened. A few of us communicate regularly by email or blogspots but again we were aware of the danger of just becoming another group of people meeting to plan and organise what we are doing for God - another 'holy huddle'. We did have some time of very deep thinking about where we are going with the whole SouthWest Emerge thing, not wanting to make it a movement with a leader while we just follow what she says we should do. That would be so easy but not right. May God keep us from just repeating the mistakes of history and falling into the same trap again and again. Saying 'NO' to the system we now call church leaves a space that needs to be filled. We need to ask God where He wants to take us, what He wants to put in that space so that we don't just start organising another form of the same thing that we have just said 'NO' to. That's where I'm at, along with a number of others - on an exciting adventure with God to somewhere I've never been before. He's so much bigger than the system we've tried to build around Him and I'm discovering more each day.

What is church?

It seems that God is challenging many of us into questioning just what church really is. What do we think of when we talk about church?

One of my sons recently went to a church that had just started to have meetings on our estate. He went along to a small group meeting midweek along with others, in order to chat about what the church stands for, believes etc. It is good that no-one is expected to join the church without knowing exactly where it stands on important issues of faith.

All very biblical in what they said about their beliefs in God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What he had reservations about, and I agree with him, is that they state,'we cannot see in scripture justification for not being committed to one local church,' and later in the introductory leaflet it says, 'God has a plan for our lives and we believe it is worked out through a local church. ... ... there is no alternative to being committed to one local church. Through her we are trained, supported, taught and released to serve in ministries. ... ... Being committed to the Church means you must decide which local Church is for you, how you can serve those in that church and use your talents, gifts and resources to see that church reach its full potential.'

I understand that they are urging people to not flit from one congregation to another but it does seem that the emphasis in on serving the church - i.e. a certain group of people and their activities - and not serving God in whatever way He is asking us to do so. So many seem to think that the only way to do God's will and carry the gospel message and make a difference in our communities is through church activities and groups. We must never forget that God was before churches came into being and He is so much bigger than any church or organisation or system of doing things.

I have lately read some very interesting blogspots about people who have been taking the gospel to the lost around the world through Jesus freaks and on bicycles without any church organisation being involved. They are simply followers of Jesus with a heart for the lost. Please don't let's keep God safely in a box that we open from time to time to look at Him. He's so much bigger than that. In fact He actually made the box in the first place!

God's timing

Isn't God's timing just amazing!

Over the past few days I have been considering various options of going to events in different parts of the world. For various reasons - confusion in communication, lack of planning time, distance and difficulty in getting to the place - I decided not to go to any. I had been feeling very negative and confused as to what God was really saying and wanting me to do. You know the feeling - one minute you're so sure and the next it all goes pear- shaped and nothing seems to come right. I really felt that I should go to the conference on prayer and worship in Stirling in Scotland in July ahead of the G8 summit. Yesterday I had decided that I would probably go but this morning thought 'What's the point? Would it matter to anybody whether I went or not? Who cares anyway? What difference would it make if I were there or not?' and so on. (This I might add is not my usual way of thinking) In the end I just said 'God, if you want me to go then you'll have to tell me clearly.' and then got on with other things.

Then I discovered Vance's blog through Heidi's - he commented on her last post. He is another connection I have made through South West Emerge. So I thought I would look him up. His post said that to walk in the Spirit we need to use physical legs and that there are places we need to go and declarations we need to make. When I read that I felt as though God had just zapped me. So guess where I'll be in July.

The thing about God's timing is that Vance wrote that 2 days ago but I only read it this morning after saying to God that I needed Him to speak clearly to me. I have now added Vance's blogspot to my links. Thanks Vance but more 'Thank you God for the incredible ways You have of communicating what I need to hear just when I need it. You are amazing!!!'

Holiday

I have just returned from enjoying a week's holiday near Torquay. Although I try not to take too many clothes I feel as though I've been doing nothing but wash clothes since arriving back. After only a week there seems to be so much to catch up with - shopping, washing, reading mail and emails and responding etc. The other thing that struck me is how easy it is to be less disciplined with God when on holiday. Somehow there doesn't seem to be the same time set aside for reading His word or spending time with Him. I have had a real sense today of a need to catch up on some real quality time with Him. It reminds me of a little girl I knew many years ago - the daughter of missionaries. Their home was next to the hall where they used to meet and when they went on holiday she turned around and looked at the house and said 'Bye God'. It's not that I haven't been reading the Bible or praying and I have had opportunities to appreciate God in other ways - in the beauty of His creation and time to relax. But somehow time was always occupied with doing other things or going somewhere. I did enjoy my week but it's nice to be back home and while the washer has been working overtime I've been able to enjoy listening to Godfrey Birtill on CD and worship with him.