Interruptions

I have had to interrupt publishing the posts for weeks 2-4 of my prayer journey due to a heavy workload, limited access to the internet and new developments that require me to stand in the gap for a particular family struggling to 'run in the right direction". As I asked those in my circle of influence to pray for this family and to help me stand in the gap for them, I was led to share the story I heard from Greg Laurie of Harvest Ministries.

A soccer team (football in the U.S) had just recruited a new player who although young and inexperienced, was considered a top athlete. For the first half of the game, the rookie was so nervous to be in a large stadium with a huge crowd that he hardley had any control of the ball. The team was losing and as the first half was about to end, the rookie in desperation got hold of the ball and started running with all his might towards the goalpost. The problem was that in his desperation and nervousness, he didn't realise that he was runing in the wrong direction and was headed straight towards the opposition's goalpost. Seconds before he was about to score a goal for the opposing team, the captain of his team caught up with him and tackled him to the ground, saving the day.

In the change-room at half-time, the rookie hung his head in shame as he waited for the coach to adminish him and kick him off the team. To everyone's surprise, the coach simply said:
"The same players are all going out for the second half".
The rookie looked up and protested:
"But coach, I can't go out there again! I embarrassed the team in front of millions of people."
"That was in the first half. This is the second half. Now get out there and show the crowd what you are capable of"
The team won hands down as the rookie scored goal after goal and he went on to become a star player.

Many of us spent years running in the wrong direction, winning victories for the enemy. Through it all, the Lord just patiently waited for us to come to Him and repent and then sent us back out to the world armed with renewed confidence in His wisdom, protection and guidance to show them what he has accomplished in and through us.
The family I am standing in the gap for at this time have a member who is still running in the wrong direction and the captain has been desperately trying to catch up to him before he scores a goal for the enemy. I have known this family for many years and know that as soon as they are playing on the winning side, they will be a family of star players.

Standing in the gap for individuals, groups or agents requires a different kind of prayer and application of God's Word. I won't have time to share this on the blog so if you need more information about this topic, please be patient until it appears in printed format - hopefully all teaching resources will be available in printed format by January 2009.

In the meantime, support is needed for projects being developed on the ground in Lesotho. If you would like tp partner in prayer or financially with mission teams in Lesotho, please visit www.jewelsofhope.org , www.sentebale.org or e-mail lmlesoth@ilesotho.com

My prayer journey- week 1

These are recollections of the way I was guided by the Holy Spirit to pray specific scriptures as an act of consecration. What did I seek to consecrate? Everything. Coming back to Lesotho after 7 months on the battlefield, I was so thankful and felt so incredibly blessed that I was ready to say: "Lord, use me in whatever way you choose".
The first thing I felt led to consecrate was the project at the Louis Gregory Centre in Mokhotlong. The Lord showed me how plentiful the harvest is there and how vital it is to attract labourers for Christ to this beautiful, peaceful, God-fearing community. But the mission centre is still considered "neutral territory" by the different denominational groups working in the international aid community. I realised that the Lord wanted me to "sound the trumpet" in other ways until the way is cleared to advance the gospel. After attending the annual Arts and Culture Festival in Morija, once a thriving evangelical centre and rich in history, I asked intercessors at a local church to pray for the monarchy of this country to be able to spread their influence through the charity projects they support and endorse- the Louis Gregory Centre being one of them. These prayers and reflections fall under the heading Enthroned.

The purpose of God's covenant with us is for Lord Jesus to be enthroned in our lives, in our neighbourhoods, in our cities, in our countries and eventually in the world around us.
To confess that having Lord Jesus as the master of my life is now being extended to my family, to the people I work with in Mokhotlong, to the nation of Lesotho and to all my contacts around the world, I devoted a week to reading, studying and meditating on the scriptures listed under the heading 'Enthroned.'

The verse I chose to memorize was Isaiah 52:2 : " Shake off your dust; Rise up, sit enthroned O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion".

A Prayer Journey

My prayer life has become more meaningful and insightful since I read about Prayer Journeys and prepared for 30 days of consecrated prayer to unlock harvest. I was not properly equipped for the discipline of consecrated prayer so my journey has really been a process of getting to the place of receiving guidance and instruction from the Lord for future periods of consecration. There is such a lot to learn and mediatate on regarding the topic of consecration that I am developing a teaching series around it flowing from my meditations on and application of Luke chaptes 14 and 18, 1 Peter 2:9-11, 2 Timothy chapter 3, Matthew 6:24-25 and Matthew 10:37-39. I don't know when this series will be ready for publication as I will be in Mokhotlong, serving at the mission centre in the mountains of Lesotho, until the end of November. The Lord put it on my heart today to share the scriptures and key learning points gained from my prayer journey to date. I hope it inspires others to take their prayer life to a new level and become equipped to consecrate more and more areas to the Lord.

I have created lists of the scriptures I prayed for each week of my journey under the headings described below. Before my prayer journey began in earnest, I was reminded of the importance of asking the Lord to put the armour of Christ on us before embarking in any new direction we feel led in. A televised sermon by Pastor Hagee spoke directly to my situation as I made the transition from Pretoria and the Living Faith Ladies Ministry to Lesotho and the Louis Gregory Centre. My reflections and the scriptures I was led to study and apply from this sermon are listed under the heading : The Hope of Glory.
The reflections and scriptures I prayed during my first week in Lesotho are listed under the heading Enthroned.
Week 2 falls under the heading Purpose and Passion
Week 3 saw me devoting special prayers to all those who have encouraged me, empowered me and helped me to grow over the years - especially Jewish mentors and friends. I therefore did not pray specifc scriptures but consecrated that week (which happened to be the week in which Rosh Hashana began) to interceding on behalf of others. My reflections on this can be found in the post entitled Those who invested in my development.
Week 4 falls under the heading Atonement Promises

If you have time to read the posts under each heading, it will shed light on how a prayer journey evolves and can be structured. However, every prayer journey is shaped entirely by the particular burden the Lord gives us and the Holy Spirit guides everyone in different ways on a prayer journey, so it may be useful to just go striaght to the lists of scriptures and derive your own understanding and application from them. However you choose to begin a prayer journey of your own, I am confident that the Holy Spirit will use the scriptures you feel led to meditate on to bring revelation. This morning in church, I suddenly understood why the Lord instructed me in creating and developing this blog the way he did when the pastor said: "Revelation is useless until it becomes application. God's power can only be released by the application of His Word". May all who use this blog to apply God's Word in their lives and in every situation they are facing be blessed by the outpouring of His grace.

The Walls of Jericho

The Holy Spirit led me to meditate on Joshua chapter 6 after an intense discussion with unsaved family about matters of faith. We cannot bring down "vain imaginings and high arguments" until we have taken time to be still in the presence of the Lord and hear His voice above the clamours of the everyday world. I had not spent enough time in the "listening room", meditating on what God is doing in my life, in my family and in my environment at this time and tried to overcome arguments in my own strength. After the discussion, feeling exhausted and guilty for not having been a better witness, I asked the Lord what I could ahve done differently. It was then that I remembered the extraordinary message that David had sent me just that morning. Inspired to complete the writing of his book after his personal coach offered him the use of a large holiday home in Los Angeles, he sent me both an extract from the book and some musings from the writer Paulo Coehlo that he had come across while trying to get the creative juices flowing. To be so blessed by this generous gesture should have prompted me to work on my own book, but I was at a crossroads: do I really want to present this book to an evangelical Christian audience as originally intended or do I want to modify it for a larger audience and reach a few lost souls struggling with the same issues the protagonists in my book faced and overcame?
When we come to this kind of crossraods, we may think that we operating from a place of love and compassion to reach the unsaved, when in fact we are allowing our own desires and pride to tempt us into disobedience. If the Lord had wanted me to teach a wide audience, including non-believers, about principalities and powers, he would have told me so from the start and shown me how to do it. The argument I had with my unsaved family was about the reality of these very powers and principalties I write about in the book. I suddenly realised that I come up against the walls of Jericho and that this was one battle I could not possibly win. As I repented and re-committed to editing the book to conform to its original purpose, I felt the Holy Spirit planting the instructions from Joshua chapter 6 in my heart and mind: walk around the city for six days, only blowing the trumpet once but otherwise remaining silent. On the seventh day, when the trumpet is sounded, give praise and worship in spirit and in truth and then you will see the walls come tumbling down.
My prayer journey since I arrived in Lesotho has taken many strange twists and turns and was not making much sense to me as I could not discern any clear pattern and could not see where the Holy Spirit was leading me. When i read the Bible Study note for Joshusa chapter 6, this journey began to take on such a deep meaning that revelation knowledge came flooding in. When something in our daily walk with God does not make sense, we have to simply take the time to attune ourselves to His voice and follow it with complete trust and assurance that He is in control and has a plan that we could never even conceive of. The instructions given to Joshua about preparing to invade Jericho must have seemed bizarre to the priests. Nevertheless, they obeyed and fed the understanding that God was preparing to do something amazing- something along the lines of parting the Red Sea or bringing water out of a rock. It was this obedience, understanding and complete faith in God's power to accomplish anything He wills that gave so much force to the sound of the final trumpet blast that it brought down the walls of Jericho.
In David's message this morning, he also reminded me that evry act of praise and worship draws angels to our side and they lend us the power from God necessary to overcome every "vain imagining and high argument". Indeed, just before Joshua received the instruction from the Lord in chapter 6, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him he would not need to fight in the battle to take over the city, that this was the Lord's battle and victory was already assured. It was that visitation that enabled Joshua to confidently proclaim to the priests that the instructions he had received would bring victory. Had I perceived David's message as coming from God, I would have been much better prepard for the argument that ensued with my unsaved family. Nevertheless, God has a plan and I now just have to tune in to the daily trumpet sound. It seems that as many evangelical churches decided to participate inc elebrating Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur this year as a gesture of solidarity with friends and missions in Israel and in the Messianic Body amongst Jews, the Holy Spirit saw fit to spread the sounding of the "shofar" (trumpet or ram's horn that is blown during the 10 days leading up to the Jewish New Year) further than ever before- in my case, right up to the walls of Jericho! The more we tune in to this move of the Spirit over all nations at this time, the more we will be empowered to advance the gospel and the kingdom. For me the best part about any spiritual battle is the fulla ssurance we receive at the outset that the victory is already won!

The Banquet continued

Blogging is very new for me so I am still learning how to naviguate...

This follows on from my reflections about Pastor Ray McCauley's message that shopping could be added to the list of spiritual gifts. I thought the joke was in poor taste when i heard it but after seeing how few people were at the weekend festival to celebrate Lesotho's heritage and culture, I realised that there is in fact a profound message behind the joke.
One "minor" incident during the ceremony pointed to the message that the Holy Spirit would have brought forth if anyone had had ears to hear. A minister of the church got up to speak and a young boy who was badly crippled and appeared to be mentally retarded to suddenly came limping across the field and stopped in front of the pulpit. The minister paused and looked to the side where the security personnel were standing, signaling to them to do something about this "intrusion". The security personnel did not react and in my spirit I felt the fear that seized them as they recognised the demonic force operating in the boy's life. And yet he was not physically threatening in any way; I realised that he was in fact asking for help and deliverance, that he was not there to cause any kind of commotion. The minsiter of the Lord was oblivious to this poor soul's need and I wondered what to do: part of me was ready to jump up, interrupt the ceremony and run to meet the young boy's need. I asked the Lord if this was what he wanted me to do and he said no, the timing was not right. He was only using the incident for the Holy Spirit to convict the minister of listening to things from the world instead of to what God's Word says. I realised that this was a minister who does not believe in faith healing; had the ceremony not been for the purpose of the king lending his benediction to the annual festival, the Lord would have dealt with him. The young boy then walked past the minsiter into the tent where the speakers and guests were seated and it was at that point that the security personnel reacted and came to take him away. How ironic that the security personnel overcame their fear of the unclean spirit to perform their duty to protect a government minister but could not do so to assist a minister of the Lord!!
The king's speech was just another speech, a formality. It had no impact and his presence at the festival could have easily gone unnoticed. This is what the nation has reduced the monarchy to: patrons of the arts and culture whose appearance in public makes for an excellent photo opportunity. No wonder the churches of Morija, once the epicentre of evangelism in Lesotho, are now dead. The monarchy and the evangelical movements in Lesotho have always worked hand in hand and this is what the Lord is going to restore to this nation. The only thing of signifinace in the king's speech was his mention of how the mountains make of Lesotho a 'fortress". It is this fortress that the Lord will use to create places of refuge and safety for those who are prepared to once again consecrate all aspects of their life to him. I went to Mroija thinking that I would learn about consecration from the history, traditions and heritage of this important mission centre. Instead, I learned about how easily the enemy strides across the field and blcoks God's Blessing when we stray from God's Word, make excusues for not taking up the cross and turn important functions into objects of idolatry instead of consecrating them to the Lord.

The Banquet

The parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14:16-20 would have been a most appropriate reminder of what happens when we do not take the time to consecrate an activity to God, at yesterday's Closing Ceremony at the Morija Cultural festival. Very few people came to hear the king's address or enjoy the gospel concert. The atmosphere was dull as vendors packed up their wares and people started drifting away. Pastor Ray McCauley, in the televised broadcast of Rhema's morning service, had said that we will soon have to include shopping as one of the gifts of the spirit since more people today seem to operate in this than in the gifts of prophecy, healing, interpretation of tongues or discernment.

Independence Day

I have been doing a Bible study about the meaning of Christian Consecration this week and realised that the Holy Spirit was asking me to look more closely at my values and invite Him to show me how to really live them. It is easy to write down ' humility, love, courage, integrity, self-discipline' as character traits/ virtues to develop but in practice, making these virtues an integral part of who I am and what I do at all times, in all situations requires God's grace.
I never realised that there are many times when we have to ask the Father for the grace to accomplish something. we have to come before Him, get down on our knees, confess our sins or weaknesses and earnestly pray for Him to come in and "invade" a situation. It has been a while since I got down on my knees and confessed that I cannot do what He asks of me on my own.
A 30-day period of consecrated fasting and prayer was humanly impossible for me to even contemplate, never mind attempt. The devil immediately reminded me of how badly I failed during the 21-day fast at Living Faith church to loosen the bondage in Michael and Uriah's lives. The first week wasn't too bad, though I cheated once or twice, but by the second week, I realised I might as well stop pretending I was committed to this fast and prepare myself better for the next one. As I studied all the scriptures related to consecration and read Bible study notes on the topic, I realised that it is one of those principles that falls into the category I now call The Divine Exchange. Ours is God of relationship. Almsot everything that God requires us to observe or submit to has as its ultimate purpose a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. We all know that when we become born-again we are "set apart" (this is the most common definition of consecration). But why does God set us apart from the rest of the world? I had never really given any serious thought to this. Obviously, on a superficial level, being consecrated for Christ flows from God's love for us and ensures that we are protected from the temptations that ensnare those who belong to the world. But when we study the scriptures that describe this consecration in more detail, we realise that we have been called, sanctified and justified for a divine purpose. What is that divine purpose?
Essentially, the purpose of consecration is building the Kingdom of God on earth. Most Christians don't take salvation much further than being baptised into the Body of Christ. as Pastor Chrane of 3-C Ministries pointed out, most of us never get past the commandment "Go and make disciples of all nations" because we have a problem with the word "Go". To go anywhere necessarily means moving out of our comfort zone, facing periods of uncertainty and instability and being prepared to "rough it" for a while as we learn to cross the wilderness. All the great journey stories of the Bible reveal God's pattern of taking His people from the land they knew and had always lived in to "a land that He shows [them]". It is how we respond to and handle different aspects of this journey that we truly become consecrated.

This is a teaching I will be developing over the next couple of months and would be grateful for any comments or insights to add to this blog. Today is Independence day in Lesotho and I am rushing off to a festival in the town of Morija, which the kings of old and 19th Century missioanries consecrated to the training of evangelists and clergymen. There is signifinace in today's celebration which I have not quite grasped yet- I will be sharing my experience of this 2-day festival in my next entry.