Rest

"Do you recollect the delicious sense of rest with which you have sometimes gone to bed after a day of great exertion and weariness? How delightful was the sensation of relaxing every muscle, and letting your body go in perfect abandonment of ease and comfort. The strain of the day has eased, for a few hours at least, and the work of the day had been laid off. You no longer had to hold up an aching head or a weary back. You trusted yourself to the bed in absolute confidence, and it held you up, without effort or strain, or even thought on your part. You rested!

But suppose you had doubted the strength or stability of your bed, and had dreaded each moment to find it giving way below you and landing you on the floor; could you have rested then? Would not every muscle have strained in a fruitless effort to hold yourself up, and would not the weariness have been greater if you had not gone to bed at all?

Let this analogy teach you what it means to rest in the Lord. Let your souls lie down upon the couch of his sweet will, as your bodies lie down in their beds at night. Relax every strain and lay off every burden. Let yourself go in that perfect abandonment of ease and comfort, sure that, since He holds you up you are perfectly safe. Your part is simply to rest. His part is to sustain you; and He cannot fail."

Taken from 'The Christian's secret of a Happy Life' by Hannah Whitall Smith

The battle

So, I have been reading some blogs and something that popped up was to do with battling and swords etc. And I decided to be lazy and search out old files on my puter for something D or I had written regarding this "battle". I found something suitable that D wrote. . . here goes:


prin-ci-pal-i-ty (prins-pali-te)n.pl. prin-ci-pal-i-ties. 1. A territory ruled by a prince or from which a prince derives his title. 2. The position, authority, or jurisdiction of a prince; sovereignty. 3.

Col 2:13-15
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
(NKJ)


The Truth

He has removed, taken away, spoiled and stripped all princes of their territory, positions, control and authority. These princes are now harmless, have NO weapons, are naked, without power and have been deprived of the means to attack or defend themselves. We, on the other hand, have been given and have received all territories, authority and riches. We are True warriors, have all weapons, are clothed and have all Power. Nothing that comes against us will prosper.

Their armor is a deception and the sword of truth pierces through it.
They seek to mislead, ensnare, betray, delude and conceal or misrepresent the truth. They say that He is not what He says He is. They say that He has not removed, taken away, spoiled or stripped them of their power. They say that they have territories, control and authority. They say they have many weapons of great magnitude and power and that they can defend and attack. They are what they are. Deceivers and Liars. The Truth is not in them.

Jesus Christ is the Truth.

He is the Great One, the Mighty Deliverer, The Great Redeemer, The Regenerator. He has recovered ownership of all things by paying the price of "The Cross". He has put an end to the ruler of this age. He is the Restorer, Serpent Crusher, Slayer of all deception and Bondage Breaker. He is what He is. He cannot deny Himself. He is Truth. I have heard it said, "Walk ye in it". It is obvious, by our actions, how much we believe Him, the Truth. Must we continue to walk in a deception; defeat, Misery, bondage, corruption, lie. "Walk ye in it". Agree with what He has done and He will make your path straight. Walk in agreement and not against Him. Is it by what we do that we can walk in this? Have we removed Him, The Great Deliverer from our eyes and replaced Him with our "self". Self-Righteous, as though we could possibly be the One. It is NOT by what we do. It is by what He has done.. Accept it. Walk in it. Walk according to it. Don't try to earn it. It has already been paid. Do not walk any longer in the lie. Do not listen to the deceiver of the world. Do not base your belief on a deception. Do not try to see with these eyes. See with His eyes. Do not look around you at the snakes. Look at the Cross. It is Finished. Walk in it. He is what He is. Do not be afraid. There is no longer anything to be afraid of.

Disarm
1.render harmless.
1. To lay down arms. 2. To reduce or abolish armed forces.[Middle English disarmen, from Old French desarmer : des-, dis- + armer, to arm (from Latin armare, from arma, weapons. See ar-.).]--dis-arm'er n.1

To Strip, remove, take away - of a weapon or weapons.
To deprive of the means of attack or defense;

Principalities and Powers are:

-Harmless
-have no weapons
-naked, stripped of any power--Powerless

Isa 54:14-17
In righteousness(Abraham) you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake. "Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, who brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the spoiler to destroy.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me," says the LORD.

Eph 3:8-12
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

Col 1:16-23
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
(NKJ)

Wiped out

I am exhausted in all ways.
Went this morning to hear a "speaker" out of morbid curiousity. Left my d and son sleeping and took the girls.
Pleasantly surpised that he was speaking on the finished work of Jesus! Quite encouraged. He also spoke about a "run-in" he had with a homosexual. I won't share the story right now, but basically the Lord showed him the love and lack of judgement He has for that fellow. That he had already died for him so how could we treat the fellow any less? My oh my did I cry when I heard that story. Oh, the love He has for "sinners". And oh how we have judged.

It wrecked me for the rest of the day.

I tell you, the love of God is the end of me!

I seriously have not been able to function properly for the rest of the day. Totally absentminded. and exhausted. Like I have undergone some sort of surgery.

All I can say is there is NOTHING like the LOVE of GOD. Nothing. Oh, that He would continue to open my heart with His heart and open my eyes with His eyes. . . There is nothing I need to ask him for other than this. Really, I have a roof over my head. I have clothes. I have food. I have people to love and people who love me. What more can I ask for other than for His heart?! Really! Everything else just pales in comparison. Nothing has any value unless I am consumed with His love while I journey on this planet.

So be it.

Love

The most powerful weapon there is.

Something is happening.

Words do "it" no justice.

All I can say is that I am in the process of being woken up and it is awesome.

I am tasting His heart again and I am so desiring more.

Compelled By Love

Presently reading, "Compelled By Love" by Heidi Baker. Quote that stood out was something she was sharing with some "poor" Africans. Essentially it went like this: Would a mother feed one child and starve the rest?

Funny and wondrous things

So this last week or so has been interesting. . .
Yeah.
I won't go into too much detail, but I do have to say that God surely works in mysterious ways! Very neat, very unexpected.
I feel like I have been severely "pruned" (thanks for the picture Jamie!)the last few years and am starting to see the blossoms appear again. It hasn't been bad or full of suffering, but it has been a definite honing.
Anyway, homeschooling my 7 years old (eldest). Lately she has been especially trying and been begging to go to school (she is very social). I have been hemming and hawing. Not so sure about that. But wondering if she is miserable since she wants to be at school like other kids. Sometimes i think, yeah, that would be a relief. And then I think, no, i have this privelege to spend this much time with my child before she no longer is a child. . . And various other thoughts. So i am asking God about this, not sure what to do. Open for whatever. And all I really get is walk forward, do not go to the left or the right.

But I want a different answer. My daughter has such a bad attitude (flare-ups - not constant) and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I think maybe she would be happier at school. . . But is that the reason to send her? All I know is that I have a check in my spirit and there isn't necessarily a logical answer.

So, I talk to my Father and tell him that I really don't know what to do here. It isn't clear. Please do something with her. I am unable.

A few days later. . . We watch the movie 'The Ten Commandments' with Christian Slater's voice as the voice of Moses. God is after that guy. Anyway, the kids watch it, even River (who is just 21 months now). The girls capture me after I put River to bed (D puts the girls to bed) and question me about Moses and the power of God etc. i answer them rather quickly as I have to pee and want to go downstairs and relax. But "something" tells me to wait it out. And i realize that finally my daughter is genuinely interested in "receiving the power of God". Don't get me wrong. We have shared many things with her and she has seen and understood many things. But there has always been this uncercurrent of resistance from her when it actually came down to her having a conversation with God. She can't wait to go to heaven and has told people she can't wait to die. . . But there was this certain resistance to us praying for her unless she was sick. . .

It was different last night. She wanted to 'receive the power of the Holy Spirit'. So, I asked God to fill her and she was wholeheartedly with me for the first time. My firstborn child who just turned 7. . . And then she says to me, now pray from Adielle, i want to talk to God right now. She has never said that. And she was so eager for Adielle to experience what she was receiving. Adielle is 4 and much different in temperment (though very stubborn as well - who did they get that from?). So, I ask Adielle and she says yes. So, I ask God to fill her as well - with her in total agreement. And as I am leaving the room Galena tells me,'I just love God. He is the best in the world'. Now she has sung these things, made up lovely songs about God and all sorts of pictures for God etc, but this was different! It was a sort of a grown up receptivity done with her will. If that makes sense. . . and her attitude is different. No, she still lashes out at her sister and brother (of course I Never do such things as that. . . cough cough), but there isn't that wrangling and resistance there was before.

Who would have guessed that watching 'The Ten Commandments' would lead to such a wonderful thing. My one prayer for my children is that they would fall in love with their Father and Saviour! That is all I really want for them in this life. I don't care how well or how badly they do "in school" or dance or anything else, as long as they know the love of God and receive his love. What more could I ask for for anyone. It all STEMS from His love. . .

Snakes and Ladders

In case you picked up on some non-graceness in the quote from my last blog, let me explain that it was the love of Jesus that got me and broke my heart, not all the other stuff which can sometimes throw you for a loop.

Anyway, was reading He Loves Me, by Wayne Jacobson the other night, when something aka Holy Spirit really stuck me on a little passage on obedience. Wayne was saying that if God merely wanted obedience from us, then he would have been a lot more careful to relay to Adam and Even exactly what the repercussions of eating from the tree of Knowledge would have been. But He didn't. He only told them that they would die, and of course crafty serpent twisted His words to trick Eve. Wayne went on to say that if God had explained it all to them, then Adam and Eves motivation for not eating from that particular tree would have been totally self centred, rather than pure and simple trust in God.

So, I thought. Is not obedience one of the biggest idols in most Christian circles (in a whole variety of ways) today?! Really! It is huge! It is one HUGE reason why I couldn't bring myself to send my kids to a 'christian' school. I just didn't want to deal with my child being inundated with nonsense like 'God wants you to be good.' And all sorts of other stuff related to action oriented appeasing of God in order make Him happy (aka give Him Glory). It is all about 'How to be good' How to be a good wife. How to be a good Christian. How to be a good follower. How to be submissive.

Oh man oh man, I could just cry. WHAT IS THE FOCUS HERE boys and girls?! It is so often primarily focused on what 'I' can do for God. And the 'I' comes before God. Oh I should. . . Oh I can't. . . Oh I must. . . Oh how sadly deceived many people are. Thank God that there is a WAY out of all that muck and nonsense. Whenever i start I-ing I can tell there is something seriously wrong with my thinking. Look up to Him the lifter of our Heads. Them snakes swirling about our feet need no focus. As He told the people through Moses to look to the serpent on the stick lifted high, so He tells us today. Lift up your eyes to the One Who saves rather than the ones who destroy. You can't get yourself out of the cesspool of snakes. You can do nothing, but lift your head to see your Saviour. It is that simple and it is that difficult. Who do we trust? In what do we put our faith? I just want to know the one who saves me from all the striving so much more. I want to be undone by His love day after day, so that my sight is set on Him alone whilst traversing this "dangerous" terrain (dangerous only if you give it focus). . .

So obedience. . . Ah yes, a natural response from one who knows their Saviour. Nothing contrived when you are compelled by Love.

Clarification and tears

So, yeah, when i wrote that aforementioned poem (post before this one) I was having some severe difficulty with intense frustrations with someone in particular. i will be kind enough not to name my husband. . . yeah yeah yeah. . . It's amazing what God does in times like those. Just in case you were concerned and didn't understand the poem. The first line was relaying lies I was hearing about my heart. The rest was countering the lies and coming to rest. Just really a condensed version of my thought process during an onslaught.

So yeah, I came across this letter under the most recent blog from Heidi and Rolland Baker with Iris Mins. It got me. . . Just had to share with you.



"Madagascar (Submitted by Caroline Thomas)
At the end of last year, I really felt God leading me to Iris Ministries to do the mission school this past summer. I learned so much and really enjoyed spending time with the children. During the last two weeks of school, God began speaking to me about my future. Heidi challenged us one day in class, that if we were prepared to lay our lives down for Jesus, if we felt like we had to answer His call to missions, to come to the front and ask God to show us His plans. I went up and as I began to pray I had a vision of a room of abandoned babies, lying in rags in the darkness, still, cold and silent. I began to cry and ask God to give me these babies. One by one the babies started to die, first one, then another, until they had all died. He then showed me one more vision of a baby being left in a dumpster and abandoned at night in the dark. I cried and cried and begged God to let me have them, that wherever they were, please, could I go to them and please, could they live and know that they were loved.

When I opened my eyes with my face soaked with tears, sitting in front of me was one of the precious little Iris girls, only nine years old. She grabbed me and just held me. I heard God whisper then that she was sent right then as a prophetic sign. I would get to hold the children, that they would live and know love, and that just like I was holding her, I would hold them.

The next day in worship, God took me back into the room of dead babies. I didn't want to see it again. But He said to me "Caroline, look up!" I looked and above the room was a shimmering translucent heat haze. Jesus said, "the Holy Spirit is here, He's hovering above the room. Just sing over the babies".

I started singing over them. As I did, the Holy Spirit swirled throughout the room and totally transformed it! First, windows opened up in the dark room and sunlight flooded in. The room vibrated with bright color, the dirty rags disappeared from the children and they were dressed in beautiful clothes like princes and princesses. At the same time, they came back to life. The babies started moving and smiling. They became chubby and started waving their little arms in the air and laughing. It was a total transformation. I again had tears running down my face as I said "But Jesus, I didn't even touch them, I didn't do anything!" He said, "exactly, it's not just about holding them and feeding them. I want you to know that as you pray over them and sing over them, that it's me who is going to transform these babies back to life".

Heidi was teaching that day. At the end of class she said that she felt like the day before people had seen pictures of their future, of God's calling for them, but that they didn't know where, and if that was you, and you wanted a country and a city, to come up and pray and ask God where this place is. I was up at the front like a shot! I asked God where these babies were, and He said, "Madagascar!" I could hardly believe it since Madagascar is the country that I love, having previously spent six months there as a midwife! I felt like God was saying to start an Iris base there, as this was the DNA of Iris, to save abandoned babies and let God restore them back to life. I spoke with Heidi about it and she said that she'd been praying for someone to go to Madagascar for years! So after speaking with her and some of the long-term staff at Iris, we decided to start Iris Madagascar with a baby house in Madagascar!!

I had already booked a ticket to Madagascar on the way home from Mozambique to visit my friends there. So, I used this time to ask them all that I could about abandoned babies. They all told me that babies were abandoned in the capital, and that they had heard of babies being abandoned in dumpsters and being left to die. Many of the orphanages are currently full, which leaves no where for these babies to go, so there was a big need for a baby house there!

I am in the process of setting up this baby house, God's baby house where He can restore His precious babies back to life and they can know that they are loved. I am working on the paperwork to get Iris registered, praying in money and getting a team together. I would really appreciate prayers for these three things, especially on getting the right team, the team that God has chosen for this very special and exciting work!"