THE WIND OF CHANGE

John 3:8 The WIND blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of THE SPIRIT.

Last night, as I put my head down to sleep, I heard the Lord speak gently into my spirit. “THE WIND IS CHANGING.” Let me explain a bit. You see, sometime at the end of November last year, our landlady came with this unexpected announcement. Our house…where we moved in on our wedding night…and where our daughter has called home was soon going to be sold. Suddenly, our lives were turned upside down. For one…renting a house in our town is almost an impossible affair. Most houses are built for sale…and rarely do you find a house for rent. Secondly, because of the scarcity of rental houses, those available are at exaggerated rates.

But earlier in September, we had began thinking of looking for our own house to buy and settle down. We had an eye on a particular house…and the excitement was getting on as we prepared to get things moving in the right direction. Then…again, quite unexpectedly, the plans to relocate were soon interrupted. God closed the doors on us. Yes…the time for CHANGE was here but THE WIND OF CHANGE was not. Finally, when our landlady gave us notice of three months to move out…something happened to both of us, my husband and I at the same time. It was as if God had been waiting for this ONE MOMENT in time for a long time. Without a a long discussion or compromise, we knew that NOW…was the time for us to move out. Not out of our house…but rather to move on with THE WIND OF CHANGE.

THE HEALING OF NATIONS

Ezekiel 47:12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves FOR HEALING.

Last week, my husband and I watched a documentary on BBC television about human trafficking…and child labour. The focus was on the cocoa plantations in West African countries. A boy from Burkina Faso was sold off by his uncle ended up in Ghana. Some undercover journalist brought him out of captivity and helped re-unite him with his mother. During the week, I also watched a movie based on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda…where nearly 1 millions lives were lost. Yet again, my heart was reminded how wicked the heart of man is. At the end of the week, I saw another documentary about the drug cartels in South America and how children and young people are abducted and are forced to join the rebel army against their wish. Their families are heartbroken and most have no ransom money to pay for their release.

Where is justice? Where is THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS?

GOD’S MEETING PLACE

Psalm 76:1-2 In JUDAH God is known; his name is great in ISRAEL. His tent is in SALEM, his dwelling-place in ZION.

Does God have a meeting place? Where did you or do you meet with God? Even though we might not realize it, when we come to meet with God, we meet Him…in either of these four places mentioned in Psalm 76.

In JUDAH God is known…represents your first meeting place with God…where you recognize that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour. It is by KNOWING and calling upon that name that you receive salvation. Judah, in other words represent the PERSONAL MEETING PLACE BETWEEN GOD AND AN INDIVIDUAL.

John 17:26 I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

Joel 2:32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on the Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

His Name is great in ISRAEL….represents the place where God meets you, not as an individual but as a part of a nation. Abraham met God as an individual…but his descendants, Israel down in Egypt meet Him as a nation. He addressed and dealt with them, as a nation. Hence, in other words, ISRAEL represents THE CORPORATE MEETING PLACE BETWEEN GOD AND NATIONS.

Isaiah 44:6 This is what the Lord says_ Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the FIRST and I am the LAST; apart from me there is NO GOD.

A CALL FOR WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING

Daniel 12:10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are WISE WILL UNDERSTAND.

We are living in the last days. Let me say it again. WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS. But let me stop at this. I am continually surprised at the foolishness of the intelligent….yes, of the intellectually intelligent! The one who has the ability to forecast almost about everything EXTERNAL, yet has no slightest clue about the forecast of the INTERNAL. Then there comes a time where the explanation of the external cannot bring relieve to the need of the internal. I saw it last week in my country, Poland. People reaching out for answers after the presidential plane crash. But instead of finding relief, I saw the multiplying of questions which seemed to lack any conclusive answers.

But now more than ever, I see a deep truth from the book of Daniel

But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the TIME OF THE END. MANY WILL GO HERE AND THERE TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE. Daniel 12:4

Instead of reaching out for WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING, I see people reaching out for

…BUT THOSE WHO KNEW JESUS…

Luke 23:48-49 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and WENT AWAY. But all those who KNEW him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, STOOD at a distance, watching these things.

It was on Good Friday that I first came across the above scripture. And it been the day of remembrance of Our Lord Jesus’ death, I had even thought about writing my thoughts from this scripture verses…but somewhat, I found another topic to write about. However, I told myself that sometime in the coming week, I would write from the above verses. Little did I know that it was the Lord who had restrained me until the proper time.

You see, the first thing that I notice which made me cry when I read the above scripture, was that even though many people who had gathered at Calvary had witnessed the events that surrounded Jesus until his death, many of them never STOPPED nor PAUSED to reflect on what had happened. For them, it was something unusual…but not strong or captivating enough to hold them back from the NEXT adventure in their lives.

MY PORTION OF GRACE

Genesis 43:33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, BENJAMIN’S PORTION was FIVE TIMES as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drink freely with him.

We all know the story of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers in Egypt. And while the story is incredible in itself, a perfect example of forgiveness for us to follow, in those few lines above I saw something I had never seen before. BENJAMIN’S PORTION.

But before I expound on this one, let me give you a little background about BENJAMIN.

Benjamin was the second and last son of JACOB AND RACHEL.
Benjamin was given the name Ben-Oni by his mother Rachel but his father changed it to Benjamin.
Benjamin’s birth was difficult and his mother Rachel died immediately after he was born.
Benjamin was born on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem) and his mother was buried there.
But the most important of all these facts is that, BENJAMIN was the only son borne to Jacob after God had changed his name to ISRAEL. In other words, BENJAMIN WAS THE FIRST AND ONLY SON OF ISRAEL.

So here is the truth about Benjamin.

ALIVE FOREVER!

1 Corinthians 15:54-55 When the perishable has be CLOTHED WITH THE IMPERISHABLE, and the mortal with the IMMORTALITY, then the saying that was written will come true: “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY.” “”Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Dear friends,

For me….this Easter Weekend has been a teary one. Yes…God HAS LODGED in our house. For the last three days, I have been treading softly knowing that He is listening…eavesdropping into my conversations. My eyes….are wet at ever turn and corner. I can’t help but tell you a bit of what He spoke into my heart this morning.

As I lay in bed…I asked Him this question. ‘God, why didn’t Adam reach out and eat from the TREE OF LIFE when you placed him at the Garden of Eden? You had told him to eat from all the other trees in the Garden except from the TREE OF GOOD AND EVIL. Then why didn’t he reach out to eat from the TREE OF LIFE along with the other trees at his disposal? For a moment, I lingered on…waiting for an answer but none came. So, I got up and went about my business. Then at the breakfast table, as I talked to my husband about some things I’ve been reading in the Internet about the Persecuted Church around the world….the Lord interrupted me…mid-sentence. I began to cry again! Friends, I cried a lot yesterday, and the day before. And so again…I started this morning….with TEARS! But different kind of tears. Something has changed.

God spoke into my heart this words. “THE TREE OF LIFE…was JESUS. THE TREE WHICH ADAM COULD NOT REACH OUT TO EAT FROM WAS JESUS HIMSELF.” Jesus was right there, in the middle of the Garden of Eden all along.The reason why Adam did not reach out to eat from the TREE OF LIFE is because of all the trees in the Garden, it was the MOST UNATTRACTIVE for his physical eye.

ENLISTED

Matthew 22:2-3, 14 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who have been INVITED to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. ‘For many are INVITED, but few are CHOSEN.”

Friend, before you read this post, I would advice you to read the whole story on the THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING BANQUET in Matthew 22:1-14.

ENLIST means to enter or persuade to enter the ARMED FORCES; to engage or secure a person or his support for a venture, cause etc; to enter into or join an enterprise, cause etc.

This morning I thought about the life of a soldier. Yes, a professional soldier. In case you don’t know, almost all countries in the world have a professionally trained army. Yet, most of them will probably never be on the frontline or battlefields in their lifetime. Then why waste the taxpayers’ money in equipping people who are almost PROFESSIONALLY REDUNDANT all their career lives? you may ask. The answer is simple. Because wars can start anytime…unexpectedly.

If that is the case, a soldier in the army cannot afford to be careless with his life…more so, no matter how long or unlikely a war may seem, a soldier cannot

PRAYER:WHEN NO IS NOT AN OPTION

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN IS POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE.

I once read somewhere that there are three answers in prayer, that is; NO, YES or WAIT. However, regardless of what God’s answer is to your prayer request, the church or the body of Christ is called to pray. While we have no power to determine the outcome to our prayer requests, there are times when NO IS NOT AN OPTION. In fact, God is on the look out

SUFFERING: A COMPASS TO WHOLENESS

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face TRIALS OF MANY KINDS, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be MATURE and COMPLETE, not lacking anything.

A COMPASS according to Wikipedia is a NAVIGATIONAL INSTRUMENT for determining direction relative to Earth’s magnetic poles.

Suffering for a Christian also works in the same way as the compass. I have heard this question asked over and over again. WHY DO GOOD PEOPLE SUFFER? Or, IS IT NECESSARY FOR A CHILD OF GOD TO GO THROUGH SUFFERING? Before I answer these questions let me put the record straight. SUFFERING is a part and parcel of our everyday life…e.i for the unbeliever and the believer alike.

Psalm 90:10 The length of our days is seventy years or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but TROUBLE AND SORROW for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

But here is the difference. For a believer, suffering is a means to an end and not the end itself. Like the above scripture puts it….trials of many kinds will come to test our faith. And when we have endured suffering, it produces in us, MATURE CHARACTER and makes us COMPLETE or in other words, gives us WHOLENESS! Hence, good people or the child of God will endured suffering because, we live in a fallen world, and secondly God allows us to suffer so that we may also share in the sufferings of Christ and in turn, we will be glorified in Him.

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