Ask yourself, would I court a girl like me...?

I promised my Facebook friends that I would share excerpts from CS Lewis's Screwtape Letters - a letter from a senior devil to a junior devil.

"Our third aim is, by these constructions, to destroy the devotional life. For the real presence of the Enemy (they refer to God as the enemy), otherwise experienced by men in prayer and sacrament, we substitute a merely probable, remote shadowy, and uncouth figure, one who spoke a strange language and died a long time ago. Such an object cannot in fact be worshipped. Instead of the Creator adored by its creature, you soon have merely a leader acclaimed by a partisan, and finally a distinguished character approved by a judicious historian." Page 125

It's interesting that this book was written in 1941, as the devil still uses the same strategy. Gradually worship & prayer where a man can actually come "face to face" with God & encounter His glory are gently being eroded and replaced by "other agenda", less and less room or priority is given to these important foundational truths. We have become too sophisticated, "skilled" and we must demonstrate those, I suppose?

The Pentecostal church came out of the old Anglican, Methodist - etc churches however it is interesting to note how the "Pentecostal" church is also starting to become muscle bound by over organisation (to quote Leonard Ravenhill quoting Dr J.B. Phillips), administration & so called "order" - some of the things we ran away from. Order was created for man not man for order, to help man not rule man. We must not be so structured that we stifle the moves of The Spirit. We must not be so administrative that we have little room for spiritual things.

I will sound the alarm even if I may not be popular for it.

Satan doesn't always come up with new tricks - he simply reinvents the old.

Why did Jacob wrestle with God all night, why not for a few seconds or minutes?

Why did Jesus ask His disciples the question: could you not tarry with me for an hour?

Why was it the manner of the early church to gather together to pray and worship God? Acts 12:5,12; Acts 13:2, Acts 1:14, Acts 16:6

Why was Moses's face changed when he spent 40 days in the raw and living presence of God? Could it be that there are some issues in our lives, some characteristics or lack thereof - which can only be formed when a man comes to stand face to face with God's Shekinah, when he comes to do business with God and God alone?

Where can we do this type of business with God other than in prayer & worship?

Why did Jesus remind us with a whip that His house must be called a house of prayer?

Why is prayer so unattractive to most churches & Christians? Why???

Habakkuk said "I will set me upon my watch and see what He says to me"... How do we watch???

Watching is spending time with Him - when we worship Him, when we pray and when we do these things, He will speak.

Why must God speaking to His church in the rhema be a rare or uncommon phenomenon reserved for a select few? Is it because these few are willing to pay the price on a regular & consistent basis and the rest of us are not?

If I were a guy looking to marry a girl whom I had been courting for quite some time, but this girl was predisposed to only spending any significant amount of time with me seasonally, where she would go for long periods of time without spending any significant amount of time with me and just when I was getting ready to really love on her and express My feelings for her or share my points of view with her she was consistently cutting Me off because of her "schedule" - how loved would I feel? Considering that I was an all or nothing kinda Guy?

"If you want anything from God, you will have to pray into heaven. That is where it all is. If you live in the earth realm and expect to receive from God, you will never get anything. The Church has been negligent in one thing... she has not prayed the power of God out of heaven. The Lord's model prayer provides the clearest instruction on how we bring the reality of His world into this one. The generals of revival speak to us from ages past saying, If you pray, He will come! Biblical prayer is always accompanied by radical obedience. God's response to prayer with obedience always releases the nature of heaven into our impaired circumstances. Jesus's model reveals the only two real priorities of prayer: First, intimacy with God that is expressed in worship-holy is Your name. And second to bring His Kingdom to earth, establishing His dominion over the needs of mankind-Your Kingdom come." Bill Johnson - When Heaven invades Earth

Embracing the prophetic...

Ezra 3: 8a "In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work.

Reading further down chapter 3, we can see the foundation of the temple being laid.

Some background: Before the foundation of the temple was laid, the children of Israel had been taken into captivity in the land of Babylon, somewhere down the line during their captivity, God had moved the heart of the current king of Babylon - Cyrus to allow the children of Israel to go back to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild His Holy Temple.

As we continue our studies we see that after the foundation was laid, the children of Israel faced a lot of discouragement and opposition.

Ezra 4: 4-5 "Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

The opposition was so fierce that it continued through the reign of several kings, until eventually a stop was put to the rebuilding work.

Ezra 4:24 "Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia."

It is important for us to understand here that as the bible teaches in the new testament - we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, spiritual hosts of wickedness, princes of the air. (See Ephesians 6:12). There is a very real spiritual hierarchy of satan and his demons, with institutions and strongholds they have set up over years on the earth, they outlive human kings on the earth, which is why we see this opposition continuing despite a change in kings. A christian should understand this principle very well so that we can go beyond dealing with things at a very surface level.

The work of God came to a standstill until the second year of Darius King of Persia. After the halt in the work, how it did get started back up again - what was the trigger??

It was the utterance of the prophetic word of the Lord!

Ezra 5: 1-2 "Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them."

2 Peter 1:21 "For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

True prophecy is God inspired and by shutting up true prophets of God, you are only trying to shut God up. He has created different offices in the body of Christ - see 1 Corinthians 12: 28 and Ephesians 4:11-12. He never created a one fold ministry but rather a five fold ministry as we see in Ephesians 4 below. He also established an order:

1 Cor 12:28 "And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues."

"Ephesians 4:11-12 "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up"

Until the prophets spoke forth and prophesied to the Jews, the jews did not set to work again, this only happened after the word of the Lord came. And the prophets continued with them, supporting the purpose of God until it was accomplished - the temple rebuilt!

Acts 13: 1-3 "Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

When the bible teaches saying forsake not the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25) - it is not just about a location - but also the coming together of the different gifts and callings of God to fulfil purpose. The scripture goes further to say - as ye see the day approaching - well if there ever was a time that we see the day approaching, it is the times we are in now! 

Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

We see also in Acts 13, the prophets and teachers together, seeking God's face together, fasting together, worshipping together and as they did this God spoke and called Barnabas and Saul forth into their ministries.

In Ezra we see clearly the word of God tells us that the prophets were amongst the people, they were with the people, the prophets, priests, governor and people worked together. This kind of unity pleases God. It is OF GOD.

When the various offices come together, there is strength.

Ezra 5:5 "But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.

Ezra 6: 3-11 "In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God. Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons. Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble. May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem."

Ezra 6 shows how strong the presence of the Lord was with them when they embraced the true prophetic. When the prophets were amongst them, supporting the work, the work flourished.

The enemy often wants to keep the Church from the prophetic grace of God and strives to keep pastors from prophets, teachers from prophets, causing divisions. It will do us well to understand that this is a strategy of the enemy only to weaken the Church. It will do us well to drop the us against them mentality otherwise one will only end up short changing oneself and stifling the flow of the work of God in our lives and community of believers.

There has been a lot of persecution of prophets within the body of Christ, such that some have retreated, however it is time for all parties including the prophets to be open to embrace their rightful place in the church of God.

Earlier in Ezra 3, it is not stated that the prophets were amongst the people at the time the initial rebuilding work started or if they were - they were clearly not taking an active enough role worth a mention. 

The Holy Spirit specifically showed me the trigger which caused the work to flourish, He drew my attention to Ezra 5:1-2 - when the prophets spoke - that my friend was the trigger.

Granted there has been an abuse of this ministry in times past, possibly still going on; however the Bible clearly provides guidelines on how to judge prophecy. There has also been an abuse of other offices but the prophetic has been one of the most persecuted even from "within".

Why does the devil oppose this ministry so much? Because he doesn't want the bride of Christ to see! The prophets also provide part of the function of eyes of the Lord in the body - Jesus said “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt 6:22-23

Prophets have been blessed with an eagle eye, to see beyond. The cherubim who surround the throne have the face of a man, a bull, a lion and guess what - an EAGLE! Eagles have a keen vision. Their eyes are specially designed for long distance focus and clarity.

The prophetic must be embraced by the church if we are to go beyond where we are now.

The Apostolic and Prophetic are foundational to the Church, we see that emphasis in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. If we are to become what we are called to be, the prophetic must have it's rightful place in the Church. Foundational does not mean most important - Jesus taught us that the first must be last, foundational is the base on which something is built - a vision established.

The sons of Isaachar

Isaachar first appears in Genesis 30 vs 17. He is the 5th biological son of Leah. He came into her life when it was thought she was past bearing children, perhaps she thought God was done with her; the later part of Genesis 29 vs 35 says 'Then she stopped having children'. What I found most interesting about vs 17a is that it says 'He is listening Elohim to Leah', that is the literal translation but I did not find anywhere where Leah directly prayed to God recorded in that Chapter or the one before, In chapter 29 it says that the Lord saw that she was not loved and He opened her womb. He is the God of all comfort. God saw her struggles, He saw how she fought to be noticed, He saw that she was ignored, she went as far bargaining vegetables to get a night with Jacob, she used her maid as means to gain more ground in the family home.

I do feel that God was calling Leah, He was trying to pull her to Himself, all through her struggles.

When she named her son Levi which means attached, she hoped her husband would become attached to her. Well, he didn't really become attached to her but you know what God did with Levi - He attached Levi to Himself instead. Levi was the tribe chosen to serve as priests before God in Israel.

God was always pulling Leah to look up, but as we get a glimpse to her background we see that she came from a family where they mixed and matched things up, so she couldn't really see. Rachel had hidden her father's household gods when they left his house, they were still dealing at the level of household gods - idolatry, dependence on other things for help or divination, that was the kind of environment they came from, there was some fear of God but they were not thorough in their ways with God, they were not sold out completely to God, we see how Laban changed Jacob's pay 10 times and how he substituted one sister for another which created the dysfunction and polygamy in Jacob's home.

Issachar was a gift from God, same way Issachar is a gift to the body of Christ, Issachar will always be a vessel through which God will lend Himself to a people, to a nation, to a season, to a time. In Issachar we see God pulling Leah up and saying come to me, look up to me...

Genesis 49 vs 14-15: Issachar is a raw boned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labour.

The literal translation is as follows: Issachar donkey of rib reclining between the hearthstones and he is seeing the resting place that it is good and the land that she is pleasant and he shall stretch out shoulder blades of him to bear the burden of and he shall become to tribute of one serving.

When Jacob called his sons together he said I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come. He gave each son the blessing appropriate to him. See Gen 49 vs 1 & 28

Issachar is a discerner, he may be a nobody, he may just be reclining when God gives him the Spirit of discernment to recognise that where he is reclining - is good & the land is pleasant

II Kings 2 vs 19 "Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren" These were discerners, they didn't just give up on the city, they saw it's potential.

What does Issachar do: He bends his shoulders to bear the burden and becomes a gift of service - a gift through service...

What does Elisha do: 'And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.' So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.' 2 Kings 2 vs 22-23

1 Chronicles 12 vs 32: of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;

There is one thing to understand times and there is another to know what to do. Issachar knew how to do both. 1 Chronicles 12 verse 1 records that David was still a fugitive but they knew that it was time for David to be king and it was the right thing to do to come to fight and make him king.

We see the tribe of Issachar again in Judges 5 vs 15 "And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As Issachar, so was Barak sent into the valley under his command"

The princes of Issachar again, they did not leave the work to the lower ranks, at all times their chiefs & princes were present & got involved - rolled up their sleeves and got busy bearing the burden of service. The place of service is not always glamorous, the position of travailing prayer is not always easy. Our Lord Himself says 'A woman, when she is in labour, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.'

Some background is given in Judges 4 about the oppression of Israel under the hands of the king of Canaan for 20 years and Israel's cry out to God, I find in Judges 4 that a lot of the natural detail is given whilst in Judges 5 the spiritual detail is given. I find Judges 5 so rich, it is rich indeed in detail - we can only draw on a few aspects of it in this post as there is so much in there.

Vs 7 & 8: village life in Israel ceased, until Deborah arose - a mother in Israel. A mother to birth the purposes of God, she got up with the princes and willing volunteers.

Vs 15: they sing that Issachar was with Barak (and I don't mean Barack Obama :-), they sing again that Issachar rushed after him into the valley and in vs 18: they tell again that the people of Zebulum risked their own lives

Vs 15b & 16: they sing about Reuben, Gilead, Dan & Asher and this is not a song of praise or tribute but one of rebuke. They are described as ones with 'great investigations of heart' they want to "think" about it 'ones who shuffle their feet' 'who seat on their bums' and the song enquiry goes 'what were you waiting behind to hear - the bleating of sheep?'

Vs 19: the kings came and they fought and they took no gain of money. These are people who did not come to fight for financial gain or reward.

Hebrews 11 vs 16 'But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is NOT ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them'

There is a time when God is looking for people to act, people who will rise up, who will not care about rank, who will not act for gain or reward but who will simply be motivated by their love and passion for the purposes of God, who will say 'here I am send me', who will see a resting place and recognise that it is good, this is a place God could use, discern that this is a place God wants to use and say Lord how do we bring Your sanity back to this place? That time is now.

Deuteronomy 33 vs 18 -19 'Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and you, Issachar, in your tents. They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer the sacrifices of the righteous; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand.'

God is calling us to be a part of a heavenly fight, As I said earlier Judges 5 is so rich in detail

Vs 20 says 'They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera'

When Deborah rose up knowing what needed to be done, Barak and those with him including the sons of Issachar, they knew that there was a battle before them and they needed to fight it. As they mobilised and fought it on the earth. Heaven fought above for them and we know that heaven never looses a fight! The stars describe the angelic host.

I have been trying to write about Issachar for a long time and I knew then in my spirit that it wasn't quite ready until today. I had thought I would write something generic (about discernment, times & seasons) but I realise God wants to be very specific today.

At beginning of this year, God began to speak to me about His Church - His bride, as mentioned in an earlier post I shared this with In God's Company and we responded by standing in the gap for the Church. There were times like Elijah and Jonah - I wondered if we should abandon it through the course of the year BUT you have to remember what God said to you and set your face like a flint and keep going.

The church may not be looking like all she has been called to be right now, neither can we see yet the harvest that a no of us are looking to see in the greater public, just like when Issachar came to David, he was still a fugitive. It is time to push for the glorious bride of Christ to be revealed from her hiding place and for harvest to come. It is time to push for revival. There is so much darkness but that is when the light must shine brighter and brighter, and the darkness will not comprehend her.

We have come to the time in the Church where God is looking for mothers to birth the purposes of God, He is looking for valiant men, leaders & nobodies who will put their hand to the plough and not look back. The heavens belong to God and the earth He has given to the sons of men. God is looking for people who will stand in the gap to push for revival here on earth and as we push, heaven will back us up, people who will stand in the gap for the bride of Christ and pray the prayer of repentance like Daniel, like Nehemiah, like Ezra. He is looking for Peters and Pauls who will preach the gospel, Philips and Stephens who will evangelise the world.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4

Some of the prayers that we need to pray at this time are prayers of warfare. To disarm principalities and powers blinding people's minds from seeing the light of the gospel and also to pray for the church to rise up & take her rightful place as SALT & LIGHT of the earth. We need to cry out and ask God to intervene as A MAN OF WAR.

The Lord is a Man of War, The Lord is His name Exodus 15:3
Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle Psalm 144 vs 1
He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze Psalm 18 vs 34

Ephesians 6 vs 19-20 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Acts 12 vs 5 'Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church' vs 10-11 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

Acts 4 vs 31 'And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.'

God is looking for intercessors that will pray for the Church, that will pray for the gospel to be spread and that will go forth and preach same gospel amongst the lost.

A beautiful young lady called Praise wrote and I copy her post: Before we are SENT out by God, we are CALLED by Him. Our tendency is to skip the "called" part. And we get burnt out in our mission fields, because we haven't gathered the strength, and the wisdom from the quiet place. How is God calling you today? Is He beckoning you to spend time in His word? In worship? In prayer? In reflection?

Luke 9:1-2 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

This is the time that God is calling the Church to His feet in prayer, worship & fasting so that we can be sent out in power and for the Church to take her rightful place in the world.

I believed; therefore I have spoken

What are you fighting for?

People will often fight for a cause that they think is greater than them.

Christian, there is a cause bigger than you, its not only bigger than you, it is also about you.

It is time to come up higher, it's time for our prayer points to be bigger than our individual needs.

Jesus is asking you today, do you care about My bride?

This is a follow on to my last post. I ask you the question that Jesus would like to ask you today, what will your contribution be in this battle to get The Lord's bride ready for Him?

That getting ready is also individual and corporate.

Guys, it's time to clean up our act. It is time to be your brother's keeper - fight for a cause that is greater than you and a cause that includes you.

Have you come to Jesus to be a spectator or have you come to be counted?

God has hidden His treasure in us earthen vessels - in His children. Every Christian has a great treasure within them, every Christian is a superstar, none is a celebrity. We may have leaders but we do not have mega stars among us. Each of us is carrying something of tremendous value on the inside of us as long as the Holy Spirit is within us.

Jesus has sent me to ask you today, if you will fight for His bride, His church.

We do not fight as men fight for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. I pray that you will catch the fire of God and the rain of revival will fall on you. And that as people cross your path you will set them on fire for Jesus.

The good news in this battle is we already know the outcome - the war has been won but the battle will be fought, and each warrior will determine for themselves if they choose to be swept away in the battle or if they will stand with the winning side.

Arise, shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the people, but the Lord arises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to the light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

It is at the time of great darkness that the light shines brighter and brighter. The Bible says that the light shines out of the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.

Where can you start from you might ask, start from prayer and start from a place of repentance. Start making intercession for the body of Christ. Start interceding for yourself.

This is the call.

We meet on our prayer line at 8.30PM GMT on Thursdays. We have UK, US, Norway, Canada dial in numbers as well as other countries (Nigeria we do not have a dial in for at the moment). If you would like to join us as we make intercession for the body of Christ on Thursdays and as the Spirit of God leads us to pray The Father's will, send me a message with your email address, country and time zone; so that we can add your email to our invite list & include dial in details for your location. We would like to invite those of you that have decided to answer His call to say yes, I will stand up and be counted. I am going to place my needs on the shelf for a while and sow this time into the Lord's burden and as I behold Him - I will be transformed.

Some of you may feel led to get your own group of friends - believers together to start the same thing, I encourage you to do so. Some will feel led to gather together in a place to do the same thing - I encourage you to do so.

When you start to make intercession, you can start from praying in the Holy Spirit - in tongues if you don't know what particular point to start from and He will lead you as you should pray in English or your local dialect.

We also try to commit our meetings and our worship in advance to the Lord that we may do all of the Father's will. Whoever will be facilitating the line and worship, we come together in advance before we start to commit to God.

I pray that as you heed the call, the lesser things will no longer consume you and hold you ransom and that your love for each other - the body of Christ will cover a multitude of sins that we may dwell in unity and harmony as the Father intended & go on to fulfill the call of God as each one becomes a champion for the Father & Son's heart.

Thank you and God Bless.

For the friends of The Bridegroom...

Grandma asked me to go help my brother find a job. I said to my friend standing next to me 'not sure this woman knows that I have my own problems; with all of the issues on my plate now, she wants me to help him find a job?'

Nevertheless, I went looking for him...

I was surprised when I found him living in the servants quarters, I found him in a room that wasn't so nice, his physical condition was really bad, he was pencil skinny, he looked malnourished, his clothes were in tatters, he had on a pair of shorts and top, they looked like rags. He had someone with him, which I came to understand was his personal assistant. My brother, who looked like a famine and a tsunami had walked through his life, had a personal assistant. This personal assistant was robust, he had on a nice looking print shirt and a pair of trousers - he was well dressed - definitely very healthy looking. He spoke very flamboyantly, I guess you could say that he pontificated... He had a lot of confidence in himself, he boasted and put himself forward, it was kind of like - he beat on his chest saying 'I am PA, hear me roar!' Whilst I was still getting my head around why my brother who looked like he hadn't eaten in a year or changed his clothes in six or have two pennies to rub together had a PA?! I saw sadly that he seemed to have a lot of trust in this PA of his, had a lot of confidence in the PA's abilities and saddest was that he couldn't see himself. My brother couldn't see that he was wretched...

You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Rev 3:17

I woke up and my first thought was - what's going on, is my brother Moby alright? But as I shared with In God's Company on the prayer line, I knew it couldn't be Moby- first Moby is not skinny - he would have a go at me for saying that, plus it didn't even look like him. And then it hit me (I have had a series of dreams about this person) I realised who it was and when I realised what God was asking - my next thought was fear! Fear, because I didn't think I was up to the task but you know what, I may not be, In God's Company members may not be but Christ is and it is He who lives and works in us to do according to all of His good pleasure.

If the revelation of God's plan produces fear then the revelation of God's power produces FAITH.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; 2 Corinthians 4:7

Jesus has a bride and her name is called the Church. He is The Bridegroom and He needs His friends to get her ready.

Luke 1:17 'And he will go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - TO MAKE READY A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE LORD.'

The above was written about John the Baptist, he was a true friend of The Bridegroom. My question to you today, if you are christian and reading this, what is your position? Are you a friend of The Bridegroom?

The friend of The Brigegroom is one who attends to the Bridegroom, he waits and listens for Him and is full of joy when he hears The Bridegroom's voice. He says my joy is complete when I hear The Bridegroom's voice. The friend says He must be greater, I MUST become less. John 3: 29-20

The friend has no agenda of His own at the wedding, the bride belongs to The bridegroom and his job is to prepare the way for The Bridegroom. Get things ready for His arrival, sets the stage and gets the bride ready for her Groom.

The dream I had was about the Church, the man in tattered clothes is the Church, the PA are the add ons, the lesser things - tools to assist, aid in some way - which have taken over the weightier things. Majoring on the minor, we have minored on the major...

Some of us know these things - we know things are not as they should be, we know things are not right but we say: well, what can we really do?

Well, here is what we can do. We can do what they did in Barvas on the Island of Lewis during the Lewis awakening; we can do what Daniel did in Daniel 9:4-19.

The answer to the question of what they did is: they prayed, they interceded, they called on The One greater than them. Daniel stood in the gap for Israel, confessed her sins and petitioned God in fasting. In Barvas, they turned to prayer, two old ladies (one blind) 82 and 84 years old were some of those people who took the call of God to heart - what is your excuse? what is my excuse?

With our ministry In God's Company, we recognise that this is our primary assignment for now - intercession for the body of Christ. We are a group of friends who come together on the telephone lines once every week to pray, we belong to different churches, we live across different countries, some of us have never met each other and we are few in number BUT CHRIST IS MIGHTY IN US.

I ask you today as the local presbytery did on the Island of Lewis: Consider now the low estate of the church - the body of Christ. And ask yourself if you truly love Him, what will your contribution be?

Let me tell you one thing, when we stand on behalf of the body of Christ before God, we are standing for OURSELVES, we are not doing anyone any favours. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We do not presume to be holy, we stand on the blood of Jesus and we say Bridegroom - we are here to do Your will. Judgement will begin with the household of God, if revival & harvest in the greater public must come, God will clean up His bride first. I pray that we will not get swept away in the clean up. The Bible says to us to judge ourselves so that we are not judged. The Bible also says God disciplines the one that He loves and chastises the one that He receives. He must chastise you if He is to receive you. Do not allow the chastening of the Lord to be grievous to your soul because that can be a sister to pride. And we know where pride leads to...

I have told you what I saw & heard and I know that it is true.

I personally believe that the body of Christ needs to return to proper & regular corporate prayer - serious worship & tarrying before the Lord. We are always in a hurry, everything is scripted, I pray we don't write God out of our scripts. We need prayer meetings where people are on their faces on the floor before God, not the one where you walk in and out leisurely - chew gum, buy drink, text a friend, go out, come back. There is a place for conferences & corporate meetings so please don't get me wrong but there is another place for tarrying before the Lord, and there ain't nothing old school about it. God responds to hunger. See, I went to a boarding school where at the time, students were not allowed to have their own Christian meetings. Yes, we suffered persecution and we were only between the ages of approximately 12 to 17 years old. Let me tell you how we met sometimes (somebody got the key for the home economics room from a teacher and we would sneak off at night), we could not turn on the lights in the room so as not to get caught, we met to worship, pray & share testimonies to encourage each other - we couldn't see ourselves in the dark - so pls tell me if you can text your friend in there or really if you can chew gum? We met in the dining room after people were done eating late at night sometimes, we used the choir practice meetings which we were allowed to have as an opportunity for also tarrying before the Lord. I had some friends, we were prayer partners, we would go into the wooded areas of the school, very quiet, to pray - especially to intercede and we did not just go for a few minutes. I would do you a disservice not to tell you the truth. We were children but we paid a price for His glory. In many of those meetings, we would feel the tangible presence of God, nobody laid hands on me when we put on a tape of a preacher preaching in one of those meetings and as soon as the man's voice boomed from the tape, I blacked out under His glory. When His glory hoovers over a place, no one needs to lay hands much for people to know God is there. I would do the new Christians today a disservice if I did not share these things because I am not sure how much opportunity they have been given in recent times to truly experience God for themselves within corporate settings. The individual walk & tarrying is extremely important and so is the corporate one.

Jesus said 'my house shall be called a house of prayer' See Matthew 21:13 M

In beholding His glory - herein we are being transformed - that is what the presence of the Lord does, it changes you. That is why prayer & worship are important. We have lambs among us, that the sheep must lead into the Shepherd's presence. I don't think it is good enough that we pray individually only, just as it is not good enough that we only pray corporately.

There are divers gifts within each of us, that when we come together like that, the Lord speaks and we bless one another, we miss out when we can not come together. Do not forsake the assembling of the saints - this  also means an assembling of the gifts God has placed in each of us - the gifts need to come together to form one whole so we can truly function as a wholesome body.

Thank you for reading and God bless you.

ONE TABERNACLE - ONE BODY!

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." 1 Corinthians 12 vs 12-14

Rewind to Exodus 26 vs 1-6
"Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall do on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be ONE TABERNACLE."

I encourage you to read the entire chapter of Exodus 26 and you will see the pattern across the tabernacle structure as being made up of:

1. Many Parts 
2. Same/Equal Measurements 
3. Coupled/Joint Together to Make ONE WHOLE 

The Holy Spirit opened my understanding to see that the pattern of the tabernacle represents the body of Christ - the intricacy of multiples, equality and joining. It was a shadow of you & I to come.

Colossians 2:17 'These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ'
Hebrews 10:1 'The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves'

Like the tabernacle, we are made of many parts and we must be careful to understand that though many parts, we are of equal importance just as the curtains were made up of the equal measurements; and that it is only when joined together (unity) - just as the various bits of the tabernacle were joined together, can we make one whole and be as truly effective as we should be.

The Lord said to Moses in Exodus 25 vs 8-9 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you." Hebrews 8:5b This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

For God to have a sanctuary that He will dwell in and carry out His work according to His pattern, there must be UNITY and there must be LOVE. It is the love that will bind us together. Sometimes we wonder why we are not making as much impact as we ought? Then we should ask ourselves the question is the tabernacle according to His pattern?

On unity, the Lord says in Psalm 133: How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore.

I once heard Francis Frangipane aptly say: Hell came out of a split in Heaven!!

Does that bring it home to you? If so, then why do we have so many church splits - why do we so easily divide, why do we have divisions among ourselves - divisions such that we don't care about the other anymore, divisions so great that we stop relating to one another, divisions so wide that we can no longer bear each other, even though we say we profess the same Lordship of Jesus? I am not referring to when a member leaves a ministry to focus on functioning under another ministry umbrella as they are instructed by God, that is different - we should bless them, send them on their way & let them flow in the calling to which God has called them.

Lack of unity is evident when we see the attitude Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12: 21-24

When we can say to each other 'I don't need you', when we don't give any honor to certain members because we feel they don't hold an important enough office - what do they know? They don't know anything - so we treat them shabbily, when we have no concern for or about other members because well, we don't really know them that well, when we are not concerned when one of us is suffering. When one of us falls, we should all be concerned, when one of us is dishonored - it is not the time to pull them down, join the world and scorn them but we must be concerned for them, because if one of us suffers dishonor then we all suffer dishonor!

It is like a mother teaching her children a simple rule - drumming it into their ears saying that 'you must be one', such that they are not easily disposed to back bite each other, they do not encourage people to tattletale on them to each other - it's just not how they roll in their family. When they have disagreements  - people outside the family do not hear about it, if they ever were to hear - it would be a close friend to the family whom they know genuinely loves the family & is able to call the other to order if at all necessary. If one of them has a problem, they all rally round, make contributions & help. They do not compete against each other, for them life is not a competition - they have a logic that says if one of us does well - then we have all done well and if we all do well - then life will be easier for us all around - so they rally, they support; And because they love, they want to see the other succeed and smile. That is what a close knit family looks like, we need to look at ourselves & at the body of Christ and ask the question 'Is that what we look like? Is that what I look like?' How do I get myself to look like that? What is my contribution to the body of Christ to get us looking like that?

"The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

On Love, Paul says at the end of 1 Corinthians 12: 31b 'And yet I will show you a MORE excellent way' After which he went on to teach in chapter 13,on what love is - the AGAPE kind of love. It is not a love which is based on the touchy feely, it is a love which values - that is the value that you place on the other. A value which says because I value you and this relationship - therefore I will not behave or react in a way that will risk our relationship because you are valuable to me.

Proverbs 19:11 "A man's wisdom gives him patience and it is his glory to overlook an offence."
1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

God is looking for a tabernacle (BODY) in which to dwell which is unified, He is looking for a tabernacle (BODY) that is closely knit together in love to function through. "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me;" Hebrews 10:7

We as Christians want to reach the world and the Lord is saying if we love each other, the world will know that He sent us - that we are His disciples. Charity begins at home. How well do we love each other?

The Lord has been speaking to me about us - about His body, He wants unity, let it become a thing of the past where we crucify each other, where we stand with the world and satan to pull each other down, fighting and biting each other.

He wants us to learn to love one another - not with a superficial kind of love but an agape love. It is interesting to note that when the Lord spoke to Peter in John 21, He asked do you AGAPE me, Peter at the time replied I PHILEO you. Phileo is not the same as agape, Phileo is affection/tenderness, whilst the strength of agape is in DEMONSTRATION, Agape is a love which is demonstrated - that's why when Peter said he loved Him - the Lord said feed my sheep, feed my lambs, shepherd my sheep - invariably he was saying demonstrate your love. If you take care of them (each other) (minister to each other) then you love me

How do you demonstrate your love to God through His body?

One of the ways that God has been encouraging us to show our love for each other in recent times in our ministry In God's Company - on the prayer line is to pray for each other by praying for our pastors, interceding for the body of Christ, you can set aside as a start a day in the week where you focus on these two prayer points - for the body of Christ to grow in love and unity and as God lays on your heart, for your local Church/fellowship leadership, knowing that their success is your success, their shame is your shame.

I remember the brownie guide law: a guide thinks of others before herself and does a good turn every day. It was drilled down into us so much as children such that if you were offered cakes, you would usually take the smallest piece, you would ask others to make their choice before you, you would share your piece of cake easily if you had just the one, you would not eat without offering some of your food to others if they didn't have something on their plates. We sought opportunities to do a good turn, we went on what we called 'bob-a-job' round the estate where my brownie club was, asking to clean and do some house chores.

When is the last time you sought an opportunity to be of service to another? Your friend who is out of work or business not doing good and you know things are really tight for them - have you considered slipping them a tenner or topping up their oyster travel card, your single friend - when was the last time you called them just because - to make sure they are not entirely on their own or invited them over for dinner, your single mother friend - when have you offered your services to babysit so she could have a night out, the elderly grandma whose kids are abroad - when did you last check in on her? When was the last time someone came to you with the hottest gossip about the sister in Church who wears the really short skirts and you excused yourself or simply said 'you've got to learn to love her just as she is'. When was the last time a man of God was accused of something, embarrassed, mocked and vilified by the world and you wept?

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Matthew 24:12

Let's think about these things, is our love waxing cold?

Best,
L.