YOU'RE NOT POWERLESS!

Have you ever looked at your circumstances, the trouble your loved ones may be in, or even the general grief and anxiety that pervades society, and felt totally powerless?

Do you sometimes resort to reactionary behavior, harsh words, anger, or trying to maneuver the circumstances around?

Do your prayers seem impotent and reduced to simple "help Lord!" (which is perfectly valid, and He hears that).  Sometimes though it feels like we are up against something darker and more maleficent than just hard circumstances. 

Well I'm happy to share today that it need not be like this!

We have at least three things at our disposal.

1. Praise

2. The Word of God

3. Obedience - yes, you read that right!

Psalm 149:6 "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand."

James 4: "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Lets talk about praise... something that can be hard when we feel overwhelmed with anxiety.  But praise is the best way to navigate anxiety. It works like a raincoat in rain.  The rain is still coming down, but you are dry because of the raincoat!  Praise will keep you upbeat when everything around you works to bring you down.  Praise is a weapon against the enemy because it makes God BIGGER than everything else, and it brings God into the situation in a tangible way. God inhabits the praises of His people, and the enemy cannot hang around where He is!

Lets talk about the two-edged sword.  You'll be so glad I'm not recommending you swing around a literal sword!  We don't fight people, we fight the devil.  So that two-edged sword is the Word of God. (Ephesians 4:17)  I have been in the habit when confronted with anxiety over one of my children, of asking for a specific word for them.  Then when I am praying for them, I actually pray, verbally, that very promise over their lives.  I have four children and I can tell you without fear of contradiction, that as I have prayed over them in this manner, God has answered.  So I have wept, complained and prayed desperately, "HELP LORD!", but I have also prayed strategically.  Can I encourage you to pick up the Word for those situations or people in your life that you have no answer for?

Now, lets talk about obedience.  I remember once thinking about spiritual warfare and the Lord spoke so clearly, "Obedience IS warfare". We can praise with all our voice, we can praise beautifully, but if we don't walk in obedience to The Lord - its powerless.  We can whip out the Word and declare it till we are blue in the face, but if we are not obeying Him, we may as well put that Bible back in the bookshelf.

Hosea 5:23-24 "Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream"

Jesus told us that if we love God and others we are fulfilling all the law. I don't know about you, but I
find God easier to love than some people.  

So bringing this to a close, we all need to sing our praises, and pray the Word ... but lets make sure we are intentionally loving the people in our world.  And let's examine our lives to see if there isn't some part of that Word that we are not obeying?

"And this is such an encouragement to prayer; because from our knees we may affect the balance of power in the heavenlies by the weight of our intercessions."  FB Meyer, "Our Daily Homily - Isaiah to Malachi"

YOU ARE NOT POWERLESS!

With love,

Lynda xx

LISTENING TO THE WHISPER

Hi everyone,

As you may be aware, I recently had a trip to England with my Dad and Nicole, my daughter. We had a wonderful time, each day packed full of beautiful sights and activities.  We were able to catch up with close friends and family along the way.

That's the good news.  The bad news is that a constant background anxiety dogged me  (irrationally) about Dad getting unwell, a car accident or some other disaster stopping us get home in peace and on time!

While we were there we hired a car, and one cause of anxiety was the fact that it was upgraded to a Mercedes which I was very nervous about.  Seriously! Since when should an upgrade cause trouble?

Its a real pity as this daily stress robbed me of a joy that was being handed to me each and every day.

While we were getting used to the car we had a bit of trouble working out the GPS. At one point both the car system and my phone were competing for attention.  The GPS was very loud, and the phone was very quiet.  We knew the phone instructions were the ones we should be listening to, but Ms. GPS on the car was very loud and very distracting!

I commented that this was a great illustration of what I was experiencing.  The still small voice of God was constantly whispering clear encouragements of God's love and good intentions regarding our trip,

Photo taken by Brian Ireland (Dad)

but my anxiety was very loud and very demanding!

Isn't that some times the way in day to day life?  Our worries and anxieties seem to demand our attention and can be hard to ignore - but listen instead to the still small, but crystal clear Voice of God and determine to follow that instead.

Here are a couple of verses that are totally true, hopefully to encourage us all to follow His lead.  Philippians 4:6-8

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."
I could say so much more about that, but you can take the time to think on it. 💟
Until next time,

Lynda xx

WHO, ME???

Hi everyone,

Here comes another vulnerable post...

I once heard or read somewhere that if the only thing you hear from The Lord is what you agree with, are you really hearing Him?

Well sadly, or thankfully I had one of those moments this morning!  

I came to a confronting passage in Hosea 7:8-9  “Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned. Aliens have devoured his strength, But he does not know it; Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, yet he does not know it.

9 

The Message version puts it like this... "Ephraim mingles with the pagans, dissipating himself. Ephraim is half-baked. Strangers suck him dry but he doesn’t even notice. His hair has turned gray—he doesn’t notice."

Yes, I know... it's really confronting, but it caught my attention and I had to ask the Lord what He was trying to say - to me.

It was challenging to me on a couple of fronts.  The first is that in a time when inclusiveness is the order of the day, and so it should be, particularly for The Church, the call to separation is challenging.  

But there is a difference between welcome and losing one's identity in the effort to be welcoming.  Apart from that, there is an element of separation that we are called to in other passages, both new and old testament.  

Speaking of identity, Ephraim means 'doubly fruitful'.  But instead of fruitful, Ephraim had become half-baked.  He had lost his identity and purpose.  Isn't this meant to be our identity as well? (John 15)

So what does that have to do with me.... Have I become half-baked, unfruitful and weak. Or am I in danger of becoming so?

The other aspect of this passage is that from the outward evidence of my life, I'm not hanging out with 'pagans' as The Message so crudely puts it.  Where could this be taking place?

These are the questions I asked.  

Ahh!  

How long is it since I checked  my daily screen time?  What am I absorbing of worldly values that is dissipating my strength and wasting my time?  Whereas in the years before mobile devises I would pick up a book along with my coffee, now I am picking up my phone.

While I am well aware of my grey hair, 😉😉 have I become unaware of how weakened I am becoming through excessive screen time?

This requires prayer and specific actions to put right.  I will share here how I prayed and what steps I would like to take to put that right.

Prayer....

"Lord, I'm called to be fruitful, yet I'm weakened by the time on my devices.  Please help me to 'cut out the eye that offends'. (Matthew 5:29) I will not be bringing my phone with me to Heaven, but I will be bringing the fruit of my choices and actions to You.  Please help me here."

Steps...

1. Pray

2. Don't have my phone with me all the time, and remove the time-wasting apps.

3. Put books and other activities in it's place (by placing those where I normally sit)  

4. Create to do lists filled with necessary, creative and fun tasks.

5. Accountability.

I have shared really honestly here, and I don't know how wise it is to do so. But if truth matters, it matters in the real stuff of life.  May it be an encouragement to prune the things that dissipate our strength and invest that energy into loving God and loving the people in our world, with intention and energy!

With love,

Lynda xx  

BOTH/AND

Do you ever get confused about how much we should talk about the grace of God in our lives and how much we should have self-confidence? Is it all Jesus or a partnership with Him?

The Apostle Paul was a man who, for various reasons, often re-affirms himself as an Apostle and a minister of the Gospel. A couple of those reasons were that he had a history of violence and hatred towards Christ's followers, and he was not one of the original twelve disciples. That's a fair bit of history to deal with!

I absolutely love the passage in Colossians 1 that talks about the pre-eminence of Christ... verses 15-18

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

    He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,

16 

for through him God created everything

    in the heavenly realms and on earth.

He made the things we can see

    and the things we can't see—

such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.

    Everything was created through him and for him.

17 

He existed before anything else,

    and he holds all creation together.

18 

Christ is also the head of the church,

    which is his body.

He is the beginning,

    supreme over all who rise from the dead.

    So he is first in everything.

19 

For God in all his fullness

    was pleased to live in Christ,

20 

and through him God reconciled

    everything to himself.

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth

    by means of Christ's blood on the cross.

Yes, to Him goes all the glory and honour - absolutely!

But Paul begins this letter with a declaration of who he is..." Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God..." Then, in verses 24-29, he talks about his work as an apostle.

All this to say, God has chosen to work in partnership with humanity, and that partnership is hindered when we cannot own who we are in Him.  

So, please go ahead and revel in the glory of who Christ is... worship Him, give Him glory, but for the sake of His purposes on planet earth, don't hide behind false humility and say you are nothing - God Himself has chosen to partner with those who love Him to bring heaven to earth!

Paul's life, despite his humanity, is still impacting the world today. Imagine if he had hidden behind false humility and not gone ahead to do what he was called to do?

Go ahead, find out who He has called you to be, whatever that is, own it, and bless the world with it.
After all, we are only stewards of His grace.

And a final thought... you don't have to be an apostle; EVERY contribution to the Kingdom of God matters!

Until next time,

with love,

Lynda x

DON'T WASTE THE LEFTOVERS!

Are you the kind of person who focuses on the big picture, the big rock, or who loves the details? How do you cope with loose ends?  

I'm a big-picture, big-task type ... and I hate loose ends!

I was reading John 6 this morning, and verses 12-13 arrested my attention. I sat with it for a while, putting myself in the story. I would have been so happy and excited with the BIG miracle of the 5000 men being fed. After the meal, perhaps I would have asked, "What big miracle/task is next?"  

Jesus told them to 'Gather the fragments' (read, leftovers, crumbs, loose ends) 

Have you come to the end of a big season of service? I have.

Have you felt redundant? I have.

I encourage you and me that the Lord says there is still enormous value in the fragments! Whatever 'gathering the fragments' looks like in your world, take the time to gather them up.  

There wasn't enough when they started, but Jesus used what they had, and now they had 12 baskets full!   Gather the leftovers and offer them to Him. Imagine what He could do with that!

Stop looking back at what was and look around at what is left - it may look like crumbs, but it holds richness and value.

You're not redundant; you're rich, resourced and relevant!

With love,

Lynda xx

SAFE TRANSITIONS

A couple of years ago, I had a vivid dream. Now, not all dreams are prophetic, but this one was.

We have a massive Tiuana Tree in our backyard. It's a beautiful tree that gives our backyard its character and feel. It also decides what will grow because of its size and position.

I dreamed that it was being cut down. As I watched this activity, I tried to work out who authorised the tree cutting, as Jeff and I had not ordered it. Maybe the neighbours were sick of it? As I watched, I wondered what we would do with the yard once it was gone. I was also worried about the safety of our little dog and cat.

As I thought about this, I realised that the tree was being professionally cut, and it was a safe process.

                                                                                                                      Photo by David Vig on Unsplash

Within months, our lives began to change. We had entered a hefty pruning season. This included personal health challenges and the sudden passing of my mother. It also involved professional changes for us both as we are now both 'retired'.

The transitional season has not been anything other than painful. 

I read Psalm 43:5 this morning: "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I SHALL YET PRAISE HIM, the help of my countenance and my God."

Over these last few years, this has been my prayer as I tried to imagine being in a season of joy.

Well, I'm here to say it's true! God has brought us through, and I cannot begin to express the gratitude and praise that fill my soul. 'Thankful' is barely a word strong enough as the season of mourning has passed.

Finally, have you ever seen a tree stump that has begun to shoot again and another tree stump that hasn't? To stop a tree from re-shooting, you must apply some poison to the stump. 

When the tree of your life has been cut, do not allow the poison of bitterness to be applied. Keep your heart that feels like it has been cut to its base open and soft to the healing grace of God, stay in His Word, pour out your pain to Him, and you will find the tree stump alive with fresh shoots in time - and you will YET PRAISE HIM!

 Photo by Justin Dream on Unsplash

With love,

Lynda xx

BUT I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING!

 Hi everyone, 

Let's talk about TRANSITIONS....

I was going through my journal this morning and came upon something beautiful that I feel to share here.                                                                              

                                                                                                        Photo by Martin Sepion on Unsplash

Without boring you with details, as many of you may have experienced, I have had a major shift in seasons. There is nothing in my world that hasn't shifted, and it hasn't been easy.  

When I survey the scenery of my life it looks like a field that has just been harvested. You know, lots of stubble, flat, grey and boring.  While I was considering this, I believe the Lord showed me what was really going on.  While on the surface, it didn't look pretty, underneath were the seeds planted throughout the last season.  I'll quote here what is in my journal.  It's dated 22nd June 2024.                                        

"Don't say what you can and cannot do. Don't box your potential in a small or old place. While the field of your life may, and must, lie fallow, and all you see is the stubble of a past crop and whatever wants to grow, underneath are the seeds of the next season.

So rest and lie fallow, but when the season shifts, those seeds that lie hidden will begin to emerge.  

DON'T DETERMINE THE NEXT SEASON BY WHAT LIES ON TOP, BUT TRUST ME TO BREATHE ON WHAT LIES BELOW.  JUST KEEP THE GROUND SOFT!"

Can I encourage you to join me in quiet trust, make sure our hearts are soft and open and let God do in the right time, what only He can do?

With love,

Lynda xx

Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash