THE YEAR OF JUBILEE: REST FOR YOUR SOUL

 Count off seven sabbaths of years – seven times seven years – so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpets sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a JUBILEE FOR YOU;- Leviticus 25:8-11a

I started the New Year with one thing in mind: REST. Yes… rest! Why does God demand of His children a time fo rest? Why doesn’t He want us to be on the move on a constant basis? If anything, the world we are living in, is obviously in a RUSH PANDEMIC. Everyone seems to be busy caught up with something… be it important or insignificant. The point is the world is busy…and that includes my world.

For a long while, I have lacked that space and time for rest… rest for my soul. Rest for soul-searching and seeking the mind of Christ. But while I have been busy filling my time with other things, my soul has being yearning for something else altogether. Then, the Lord spoke into my year. 2013 will be a year of Jubilee for me.  In other words, its will not only be a time for REST for me, but it will be my time of REST seven times multiplied!

For me, the Year of Jubilee means family, home, love and friendship. It means laughter and merrymaking. It means the sound of children playing and music and dance. Its means that my HANDS ARE NO LONGER TIED. I don’t know about you… but I will enjoy my time out and embrace the goodness that comes with the package.

Care to join me? IT IS THE YEAR OF JUBILEE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY LIGHT IS ON

The people walking in darknesss have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2

My Advent candlelight is on. As we countdown to Christmas so many lights of all shapes and colours will or are already on. But more than the light we see with our natural eyes… there is another LIGHT. The LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

You see, unlike the lights on our Christmas trees and streets, the LIGHT OF THE WORLD is always on. He knows His light has nothing to do with a festive season marked somewhere in our earthly calender. His light shines the most in our darkest moments, through our hurts, pain and disappointment. Let the light beacon on your heart this Christmas…and may it take over and lead you as you move forward into a new season.

For once you were darkness, but now you are LIGHT in the LORD. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, rightneousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8-10

MY LIGHT IS ON!

 

 

 

 

 

A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no-one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Job 1:8

Think about it. The Lord is holding His morning meetings with His angels. Each has to report back on their earlier assignments on earth, while also waiting to be sent out to their newest. Satan also joins them from time to time….YES, he is the accuser of the brethren. Think about this! God has a very good report… about one particular man: JOB. He has a VOTE OF CONFIDENCE in him.

But Satan has his point to make. He thinks that Job’s loyalty and confidence in God is based on the exclusive protection he enjoys from God. As soon as the hedge is lifted…the enemy has the upperhand. Job is left standing alone EXPOSED. You may think this as tragic but wait until you hear the story.

You see, God’s vote of confidence in Job was not necessary based on Job’s ability to endure all the hardships but rather on GOD’S ABILITY and HIS ABUNDANT GRACE to see him through the trial. In his weakness, God became his strength.

As it was with Job, it still speaks well of you. A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE from God means you have the majority. Paul reminds us this:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal body.  2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Take courage friend…the vote is for you!

 

PRAY FOR JERUSALEM!

I have posted watchmen on your wall, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. Isaiah 62:6-7

There is one thing that Jerusalem is not … not yet – THE PRAISE OF THE EARTH. But it’s just a matter of time and what we only read in the Bible will one day become  a FACT. Yes…. JERUSALEM. Its now a little over a week when the Lord first impressed these words into my heart. Of course, I pray for Jerusalem. But it’s an off and on kind of praying. I pray when I remember or  when I see unrest in the Middle East.

The Lord began showing me His desire…. for a FULL HOUSE.

Salvation first belongs to the Jew, then to the Gentile. The bread is for the children and the breadcrumbs are for the others. The glory is theirs, the light of revelation is ours. You see, without a FULL HOUSE, we cannot quite grasps the fullness of GOD. Until JERUSALEM is established….we are not there yet. Pray for her…. PRAY FOR JERUSALEM.… the City of God .

 

 

 

MISSED THE FORECAST?

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:13

I missed the weather forecast yesterday. Hence, I did my washing today only to be confronted by a heavy downpour. I mean….CATS & DOGS! To begin with, I hate tracking the weather forecast. My husband on the other hand is a vivid tracker… which is understandable. Having grown up in Africa myself where the weather is almost always predictable and without the disadvantage of the four seasons in a year, I didn’t quite appreciate the importance of the weatherman till I came to Europe.

Hang on, what I am trying to say here? As a child of God… I have another different kind of weatherman. Is he accurate in his prediction? Is he reliable to the letter? Long before Jesus walked on the face of this earth, God had spoken of him through the ages. His forecast of the coming of His ONE AND ONLY BELOVED SON came true 2000 years ago.

While my heart looks forward to the forecast of his soon return, sometimes I miss out on the signs written all over when my heart becomes preoccupied with my today. Like the 5 foolish virgins, I have enough supply for today, and I lack the wisdom to stock up for the long haul. I constantly miss the forecast.

May the Lord help you and I to keep watch…. because the BRIDEGROOM is surely coming and at an hour we expect him not!

 

 

THE GUILT OF INNOCENCE

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collect stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven but beat his breast and said, ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Luke 18:10-13

We are all guilty of it. An assumed sense of INNOCENCE…even before God who in actual fact knows more than we are willing to give or acknowledge. It all started in the Garden of Eden. Adam was so over the moon when God brought him the most beautiful thing he had ever seen – Eve, his wife. For the first time in his existence, he had found someone who truly resembled and complimented him in many ways. His appreciation of her is fully seen in his words:

“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out of man.” Genenis 2:23

But its not long after those words are declared do we see a sudden change of heart. Eve is not all she seems to be, Adam tries his best to convince God. Of course, she is quilty and he can only be GUILTY OF INNOCENCE …. “This woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Gen 3:12

Just like Adam, it is so easy to full into that trap of the guilt of innocence. We look at ourselves with a less critical eye but we are quick to judge others and pass on a deadly sentence. We are the first to pick the stone of condemnation … yet in reality we are guilt of a greater sin than the guilt one. As Jesus reminds us in the above parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, it is always safe to stand before God as the GUILTY ONE and find mercy than play safe with the GUILT OF INNOCENCE and find only condemnation.

The choice is always yours!

A HEART CENSOR

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 18:14

A censor according to Oxford dictionary is: person authorizedo to examine letters, books and films etc…, and remove or ban anything regarded as harmful.

We live in a fallen world. It doesn’t take you a day or two before you hear that someone somewhere has just put themselves in the spotlight because of the words of their mouth. Yes….the WORDS OF THEIR MOUTH. Most of what is publicized or receives much public attention is when words are overly used or abused.  One wrong sentence or phrase and one’s life is suddenly ruined or permanently damaged.

It is interesting to note that most of us are careless with our words from time to time. And hence,  our greatest efforts to be courteous and civil are always being put to the test. For example, after being married for a while, a couple suddenly begins to be careless with their words. Before long, words that were unthinkable get exchanged in the hit of the moment. Teen children begin talking back to their parents etc.

But the Psalmist did not trust in his own ability to always keep his cool. He needed a HEART CENSOR. He needed the Lord to examine his heart and his words. He allowed the Lord’s full access into his heart’s affairs because he understood that when  God had access then only good could come out from his mouth. If you and I could allow the HEART CENSOR into our hearts today, we will removed all those little and seemingly harmless ways that can still cause much pain and heartache when not dealt with sooner.

Its my prayer that you and I will allow our hearts to go through the test because at the end…there is always a reward for a censored heart!

The tongue has the power of lifeand death, and those who love it will eat of its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

 

REOPEN THE WELLS

Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. Genesis 26:18t

For the longest time now, I have been thinking about getting back into the blogging world. But the excuses kept on mounting.  For starter, I didn’t feel adequate enough to continue from where I had stopped. To be fair….life had changed quite dramatically ever since we moved from Poland over 2 years ago to come and settle here in England. The challenges, the tears, the doubts and the small but all the same, victories along the way…added into the sense of insecurity I had become accustomed to in this difficult time of transition.

However, of late, the Holy Spirit has been quietly stirring this desire in my heart to go out and start REOPENING MY FATHER’S WELLS. Like Isaac, I understand the importance of taking the baton from my father’s hand and doing my part to make the contents of the well fully known. The well stands for life, peace, rest, security and all things eternal. JESUS has gave you and me the well and its contents. Its yours and mine for the taking

Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 2:12  

I will trust the Lord as I step out in faith and pick up my shove to reopen the wells. I know its not going to be easy or smoothsailing. The Lord is my helper, my refuge and the lifter of my head. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me… and so can YOU.

 

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU ALL

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. Yes…my family arrived in the UK on the 7th July and we have been trying to settle in. Obviously, there is still alot to be done…before we can move on but God has been faithful. Walking this road is a SWEET/BITTER experience in itself…but just as a friend sent me an email last week….OUR FAITH ought and should always look away….but LOOK UP at the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our FAITH. And while our circumstances and life sitiuations are different in every sense of that word….WE SHARE THE SAME FAITH….the faith that stays FIXED ON JESUS. The faith that Peter had when he walked on water towards Jesus. The faith that Hannah had as she cried out in faith to the Lord for a baby, the faith that Paul and Silas had when locked up in the prison. I am tapping into that SAME FAITH… and I hope and pray you will take the same grace today and walk down with me…towards the END of the promise.

BY THE WAY….Sarah laughed at the beginning out of fear but in THE END, she laughed out of pleasure. Whatever your reason for laughter….GOD IS FAITHFUL.

PS NOTE: I am not yet back on the net full time. So do bear with me.

PRAY FOR MY FAMILY

Hebrews 10:35-36 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be RICHLY REWARDED. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

I don’t know who will read this…but my friend…DON’T GIVE UP! SIMPLY DON’T THROW IN THE TOWEL. Your reward is on the way. Just a little while longer….and you will be rewarded greatly!!!

As some of you might well know, my family and I are in a season of transition and we have been preparing to leave our country for sometime now. In just a little over a week, we will be finally saying goodbye and heading to our new home. Of course, we have this blessed hope and assurance that it will be well. And even much more than that. GOD HAS GONE BEFORE US….and He is OUR REAR GUARD. I am encouraged each day…and especially by the many blogging friends I have come to know through this blog. I thank God for each and every one of them. And I thank God for my readers….who I will not be able to communicate with through this blog for a while as my family settles into our new country and home.

I therefore humbly request that you keep my family in prayer because we need it. And may the Lord bless and keep you all…hoping to catch up with you….sometime later before the end of Summer.

YOU ARE ALL A BLESSING….and MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!