Lord, make me an instrument

30 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Minstrels wife in God, Jesus Tags: , , , , ,

Watchman Nee says “If the life of a christian is to be pleasing to God, it must be properly adjusted to Him in all things.”

God measures the changes we make in our lives and thoughts against His own Son, Jesus and His most precious blood. He is the kind of plumb line on which how we live can be measured. Its a very high calling and if we try to stay as close to that line as we can, everyone we meet or who has contact with us will see the difference in us. They won’t be able to miss it. We will be oozing our love and trust in Jesus and our lives will demonstrate how much we want to be more like Him.

When I look in a mirror, I still find it hard to see Jesus reflecting back at me. I am made as a beautiful image of God himself, and am wonderfully made. My hair, my eyes, every lump and bump even down to my little ears, which are really small! I am made perfect. But to walk in that perfection?

I need to rest in Him more, and then I know which way to go, because God has had the time to talk to me, without the distractions we can place before our time with Him.

My Father wants to express the love of His Son through us. What an amazing idea!! Our life is the life of Christ. If we want to be more like Him, and see Him more and more each day in the mirror when we look into it, we have to stay IN Him. We think we can live our lives without our quiet times with our Lord, or our times reading His word. We can’t. We never could.

We need to be ready instruments, waiting for Him to play His aweome tunes through us. To play His spiritual music through us and our lives and thoughts.

Sanctuary

22 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Minstrels wife in God, Jesus, Joshua, Prayer, sanctuary Tags: , , , , , , ,

Sorry I have been absent for a few days. Went for a week to Wales with the family. The area we were in was so oppressive! It was such a sad place to see how the recession has hit the area. So many houses, shops and churches all boarded up. I cant see how we can be told that Britain is on the up when in a first world country I can see so much deprevation and poverty! Maybe we need to pray more for these areas to see and feel a touch from their Maker and Father. Life is hard but much harder when we see no way out of the poverty and situations we are in.

On a different note, I was reading Joshua while away, and got to Chapter 21 and verse 45. “Not a single one of the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true”

What an awesome verse!! Every promise God makes He keeps, even though we are disobedient and rebellious children who spend our lives pulling and pushing boundaries set out for us for our own good. We are like young children given boundaries by our parents and breaking them all the time, even though our parents want our safety and happiness.

Throughout the Bible we see promises given. Those promises are there within the bounds of relationship. We have a two way relationship with our heavenly Father, which is how it has been from day one. God had a very special relationship with Adam and Eve. He came to the garden in the evenings and walked and talked with them in a way that has never been done since, except for those few precious times we read about in the Word. Thats a place I long to be in. My Father coming and talking to me, just me for that time, where I could see Him and hold Him. I know He is always with every one of us all the days of our lives. He never goes anywhere. We do the walking away, not Him.

I am very proud to be grafted into the amazing Israel in such a beautiful spiritual way. I see how they messed up, and I also see how they were forgiven over and over when they repented. It gives me the hope to keep going, to keep my faith when life is hard. My Father will forgive every single time I come to Him for love and repentance. I have my Sanctuary in Him. My place to go in the storms that rage and the waves that seem to cover. My sanctuary, my safety is in Him.

Stand

12 Sep 2013 2 Comments

by Minstrels wife in Jesus, meditation, Prayer Tags: , , , , ,

Ephesians tells us of the armour of God that we need to put on every day to withstand the attacks of the evil one. It tells us to STAND in the armour. Stand, not run or march which we would normally see when a soldier of old put his armour on ready for war or attack. Stand. The Greek translation as far as I remember is to “hold fast”. To hold fast to the position we are at when we put the armour on. Not to go forward, but to protect that which is behind us. Our life and our salvation. We don’t need to fight by going forward, the fight is already won by the Cross. We don’t stand alone either. We have the whole host of heavens armies with us to our back and sides and all around us. At our side is our friend, healer and saviour, Jesus. We don’t hold our position on our own, ever. It may feel isolating going through difficult times and tough periods of illness or loss. We are never alone though. We are standing with our Lord protecting ourselves from the attacks and darts from the Devil, and the armour doesn’t cover our backs. We are protected at the front because that is where the attacks will come from. If we are retreating, we don’t need protection. There is no need to attack someone who is on the run. Keep looking forward. Keep standing in faith with your Friend. Keep standing and facing what life and the Devil throws at you, in the full knowledge that you are not alone, you are fighting with the best army in the whole of history. With the best Commander and Captain you could possibly imagine. He knows how the fight ends, and He also knows that the fight was completed and won 2000 years ago. The fight now is a desperate one from the Devil who lost and is trying to pull as many as he can from being with their God. Don’t let him win, it has been Finished and it is won. Stand. Stand with the knowledge that the fight was for each of you. It is finished.

Just sit

10 Sep 2013 6 Comments

by Minstrels wife in Jesus, meditation, Prayer Tags: , , ,

I don’t know about you, but just sitting, not doing anything, just being, is really hard to do. At least for more than 5 mins! To sit, and just be, with God is vital, and very important. It is difficult in the busy world we live in and the busy lives we lead, to take the time to sit and do nothing. Learning the joy of being with God, and just letting Him be with me in silence and allowing Him to speak in complete peace is something unusual in our lives.

We feel that we need to do something all the time. Busy church, doing spiritual things, on the go. It can be good things that we fill out time with. Maybe things that actually need doing, because if we don’t do it, it will not get done properly. Well, maybe it wont. So what?

Jesus said on the cross “It is Finished”. So why do we feel that we need to keep busy and do lots of things to fill our lives? If it is finished, we dont need to buy or do anything. It was given freely and we can’t run around before we sit with the Lord so He can minister to us and give us the resources we need for the lives we live. He will never ask us to do anything without making sure we are equipped for that job before we start.

Jesus expects high standards from us, but only because He expected it of Himself in His own life. He knows we can do it or it would never be asked of us. In everything, sit first, and then live the life you have been given with strength and purpose. Above all with the faith that He never leaves us to do anything alone.

When all is said and done……worship

05 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Minstrels wife in Christian Worship, Prayer, Worship leaders Tags: , , , , ,

We are all on a journey through life. We are on a journey of worship. That is what we have been made for, and that is what we crave to do.

It is not about one service or one prayer meeting. Its about all of them, and about life outside of the four walls of where we hold our Sunday/Saturday services. The journey eventually leads us to God and the biggest worship session we could ever imagine!

In a way this journey is about how we see God and how we view worship. If we don’t look at how everything we do can be for God, then we may be seeing our worship wrong.

If you are called to a job, it might not be within the Church body, but could be anything the Lord gives you to do, then do it as though He is stood next to you doing the job along side you. That is where He is, we just need to realise this. He is everywhere, and with everyone and in heaven before we were born and after we are gone at the same time. We can worship Him in all we do each day at a time if we do it for Him.

Not everyone is called to upfront ministry, or to lead thousands in worship. We are not all called to be Ministers or leaders in the church. We might be called to foster vulnerable children, volunteer at the local food bank, run a counselling service or work in a bank. Do it for the Lord and worship Him all through the working day, and then you will begin to see that life is a worship journey from beginning to end and you are on the ride of your life.

Reality

03 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Minstrels wife in Christian Worship, Prayer, Worship leaders Tags: , , , ,

It keeps hitting me over and over during my reading of the Word or each book I read, that everything we do should be grounded in worship. How can we make all we do worship God? Some days it can be hard to get out of bed in a good mood, never mind in an attitude of worship and praise. I know that it should not matter how we feel, and that it is based on a heart attitude. Our heart is made to be towards God. When we do stuff that is against God, it hurts our heart. We feel the tug of knowing we have done wrong. Maybe that is our conscience working, telling us that we have moved in the wrong direction and we need to turn round, repent, and walk back in the right direction?

It seems to be some sort of stigma within the Church in general to feel that we are in a bad place with God, and that we feel far away from Him. We are pushed all the time to make it look like life is great, we are Ok and that nothing is wrong in our lives. I wish that was the case. Most of us do not feel that way, and are crying out for a change that will place us where we want and need to be. There are many Sundays that we go to our services and just want to cry, but have to put on a happy face and make it look like all is good. Why can’t we go into our church family and tell it how it really is? I hope there are churches out there that the members feel they can be open and totally honest like that. I know there will be, and pray they keep being family, and an attitude of openess and honesty.

I love my church family, and love the fact that any of us can be open with other. I thank God for where He placed us as a family, and know He has blessed us mightily. I pray He blesses all of you mightily and that you accept His love with an open accepting heart.