RESURRECTION

When the cross hits your life, a loneliness, a blindness and a darkness come all around you. Darkness and lostness are the worst parts of suffering.

The wonder of the Resurrection is that this darkness was opened out and at the heart of the darkness a secret light was discovered. Each one of us who has come here hasn’t come to this place out of curiosity but we have come because we know the need that is in our lives and we know the frailty that is in our hearts and minds.

We are strangers in the world. In our journey through life anything can befall us. It seems to be very difficult for us as humans to learn how to love, to learn how the let the fear and the resentment and the blindness fall away from us and to come into the special joy and peace and freedom of love.

No matter how assured or competent we may feel, there is none of us who has not large territories of fear in our hearts, fear of sharing ourselves, of opening ourselves, of entering life.

That is why we come to an ancient holy place like this, before the dawn, to let the new tender light of the resurrection touch our helpless fear and transfigure it and open it into courage.

~ John O'Donohue from his Easter Homily at Corcomroe Abbey 1992.

  Photo (Corcomroe Abbey where John's Easter sunrise services were celebrated) 

Voor Golgota

 

Ons deel vandag in Sy uitlewering

Ons foute en pyn het Hom beskuldig

Vandag het hulle hom geklap

Ons het Hom gedoring

Die aardse keiser gekies bo Hom

Donker dag voor Golgota

Doop jou kruislewe in Sy bloed

OVERTURNED TABLES IN THE HOUSE OF LIFE

MARKETPLACE IN THE WORSHIP PLACE "Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 'It is written,' he said to them,' 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" (Matthew 21:1-12-13).    Jesus entered Jerusalem to begin the last week of his life on earth (sometimes called Passion week) with incredible drama. What must his disciples have thought? He rode down the hillside path with throngs of people shouting his praise, and then, approaching the beautiful temple on the other side of the valley, he entered its courts and "cleansed" the temple. Sheep scattered through the courtyard, doves flew out of broken cages, coins rang out as they scattered on the stone plaza, and there was Jesus in the middle of it all, driving away the merchants who saw the temple courtyard as a great place to cash in. Now Jesus had no problem with the sacrificial system. It's in the Old Testament, and the principle of sacrificial giving is part of the plan of God. But when the din of human activity drowns out the prayers of the people of God, then it has gone too far. The temple as "the house of prayer" was to be a place where the worshiper was caught up with awe for the Almighty. It was a place where the people could have an encounter with their Father and Lord. The hubbub of institutionalized religiosity was a poor substitute. And so, Jesus entered Jerusalem at the start of that important week, and smashed everything that did not fit with God's character. Sometimes God can only build after he has torn down. Ponder This: What part of your life might Jesus want to overturn, to cleanse, in order to start over?   Learn how you can increase and deepen your influence HERE... The Brook Network, sponsored by Elmbrook Church, is an exchange of ideas and growing set of relationships. Like us on FACEBOOK   |  Follow us on TWITTER

Everybody All Seasons Total Earth - Remember - EASTER !

GREATER LOVE   "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:9-13).     Jesus said, "they hated me without reason." He was neither the first nor the last person to be subjected to senseless rejection and persecution, but because he was the one perfect, sinless one, the hatred played out against him was the vilest the world would ever see. His haters called light darkness, they saw righteousness and called it wickedness. They even called the work of God the deeds of the devil. We've heard of stories of brave sacrifices-a soldier throwing his body on a hand grenade, a firefighter charging into an inferno only to lose his own life. These are stirring, and they show humanity at its best. But Jesus' sacrifice was not the impulse of a desperate moment. He moved with resolve toward his own end. There is no greater love. We can look through every page of history and every corner of the universe and we won't find anything that comes even close. Jesus looked at his friends, told them he would be laying down his life, and then required one simple thing: love each other.   Ponder This: What do you have to say to Jesus who laid his life down for you?     Learn how you can increase and deepen your influence HERE... The Brook Network, sponsored by Elmbrook Church, is an exchange of ideas and growing set of relationships. Like us on FACEBOOK   |   Follow us on TWITTER

Stop looking back.....

Sometimes your past dominates the view

·        of your purpose

·        the promise of freedom

·        the grace you do not deserve

·        the love you do not understand

Lift up your life

Take another step closer to the Cross

Just walk out into the sunshine of your Salvation

Thank you Joyce for writing this prayer - we all know about Tizzies and this prayer will help us to get rid of them.........!

A Prayer to Be Free From Tizzies*
Dear God,
you who did not invent tizzies,
be with me when I get caught
in the wild worrying of my mind,
and the needless scurrying around
in my fearful heart.

Trip me up when I fret and stew
so I can see the trap of tizzies,
with their schemes to keep me
bunched up in stress and strain.

Let me fall headfirst into the truth
of your never-ending presence,
wrap your kind arms around me
and calm my doubts and fears.

Shout loudly in my spiritual ear
when my nerves get knotted,
my mind feels cramped,
and my stomach screams.

It may be difficult,
but do try to get my full attention,
because tizzies are not healthy,
and they definitely chase peace
out the front door of my heart.

Dear God, you did not invent tizzies,
I did,
and only I can send them on their way,
and I will,
if you strengthen me
to let go of my anxious hold
on what is nonessential.

---Joyce Rupp

*A tizzy is a "state of frenzied excitement or distraction, especially over some trivial matter" (Webster's New Unabridged Dictionary).

Calling ?

"Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service."

Os Guinness, author of The Call

OUT OF ANY CIRCUMSTANCE by Charles Spurgeon

As for me, I will call upon God, and the LORD shall save me - Psalm 55:16

I must and will pray!
What else can I do?  What better can I do?

Betrayed,

forsaken,

grieved,

baffled,

Lord, I will call upon YOU !

The Lord alone shall save me, I desire no other helper
I will cry to Him evening, morning and noon, and I will cry to no one else, for He is All-sufficient.

How He will save me I cannot guess, but He will.
He will do it in the best surest way. 

Out of this trouble and all future troubles,
the great I AM will bring me as surely as He lives

Day 14 - love letter from God

God says
I love you child of Mine 
I delight in you
Nothing than you do or not do will make Me love you more..... or less........ 
My love for you is consistent 
Draw close to Me again and allow Me to love you 
I have heard your prayers 
They will come to pass in good time

Do not give up

Do not give up on our relationship

Abba Father I often struggle to believe that I am as loved as You say I am.  Do what You need in order for that truth to move from my head to my heart! 

Keep HOPE alive in me.

In Jesus Name
Amen

Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden - Jeremiah 31:12

Oh, to have one's soul under heavenly cultivation;

no longer a wilderness,

but a garden of the Lord!

 

Walled around by grace

Planted by instruction

Visited by love

Weeded by heavenly discipline

Guarded by divine power

 

Lord, water me today and cause me to yield You a full reward.

 

Charles Spurgeon





Love letters from God

Day 9
You must trust that I permit terrible things, natural evil that grieves my heart far more than yours as part of the process of destroying the moral evil that offends My heart.  In ways you cannot understand I have the power and wisdom needed to move My plan forward through the evil and the injustice of suffering.

Abba Father as you go about the process of destroying the moral evil in me, I fear that I won't see it as coming from Your heart of love.  Help me to trust You.

Adonai, El Shaddai, Jahwe Jire
God of Abraham, Your Word says: "I love those who love me and those who diligently seek me WILL find me"

Thank you for loving me!  May I always have a "seeking" love for Your presence.

Amen

Love letters from God

Day 1 – Genesis

Then Joseph said 2 his brothers "God will surely come 2 your aid and take u up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...God will surely come 2 ur aid. Genesis 50;24-25

God says: I want u to realize that I never underestimated how thoroughly you’d mess up your life or how painfully you would struggle and suffer, and I don’t want you to underestimate your failures or struggles either. They’re all part of the story I’m telling.

But neither have I underestimated my determination or ability to enter the mess you’ve made and the pain you feel and turn everything around. I can, and I will, make everything good again. Never ever underestimate Me. I have a plan, a very good one, and it will move ahead to completion. Trust Me. Why? Because I love you - even when you’re messing up badly. I love you in the middle of your pain even though I don’t relieve it as quickly as you wish. I have a good plan and nothing will stop Me from carrying it to completion. You must live now in the tension between anguish and hope.

Day 2 – Exodus

Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8

Consider the lenghts I go 2, just b with u - as u see My willingness 2 go camping 2 be with My people, know this: I will do whatever it takes 2 fully restore My family and 2 b with them 4ever.

 Dag3 – Leviticus

Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. Hebr 2:11

You want Me to solve your problems but you don't know what your worst problem is; don't u realise that distance from ME is your most lethal problem. When u read Leviticus note that I never just solve anyone's secondary problems. The issue was worship and intimacy with Me, not health, wealth or personal comfort. So many of My children miss that. They identify their needs and then view me as a God who wants them satisfied and happy before I deal with their un-holiness. But because I love them I've made a way 4 u 2 revolve your life around Me as your 1st thing. Everything else- your marriage, your check book, your job, your cancer is a secondary thing. When the 1st thing, namely Me is in 1st place in your life every secondary thing will be taken care of.

 

Deliverance not limited

Job 5:19: “He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you”

The rapid succession of trials is one of the sorest tests of faith.

Before we have recovered from one blow it is followed by others, until we are staggered……….

Still, the equally quick succession of deliverances is exceedingly CHEERING!

New songs are rung out upon the anvil by the hammer of affliction, till we see in the spiritual world the antitype of “The Harmonious Blacksmith”.

Our confidence is that, when the Lord makes our trials six, six they will be and no more.

It may be that we have no rest day, for seven troubles come upon us. 

What then?

“In seven no evil shall touch you”

Evil may roar at us, its hot breath may distress us, but its little finger cannot be laid upon us.

So we will meet the six or the seven troubles, and leave fear to those who have no Father and no Saviour.

 

CH Spurgeon

(from Faith’s check book)

RE-DISCOVER YOUR GOD

Let me re-discover you !

(Downhere song)

Your spirit hovers over my waters
Your love burns longer than the sun
The skies of thunder echo you wonder
Your praises can't be over - sung

The whole Universe is witness
To only a part of what you've done
So let me rediscover you
And breathe in me your life anew
Tell me of the God I never knew
Oh, let me rediscover you

You see my weakness, my pride, my blindness
You wield your power through them all
Of all the mysteries, still, the greatest to me
Is that you're faithful when I fall

How can I say I know you
When what I know is still so small?
Let me rediscover you and breathe in me your life anew
Tell me of the God I never knew
Oh, let me rediscover you

Let me cry "holy, holy, holy"
Let me awaken to your majesty
And see a glimmer of your glory
Let me abide in you

let me rediscover you
and by your grace I'll follow through
reveal to me the God I thought I knew

let me rediscover you
And breathe in me your life anew
Tell me of the God I never knew
And let me rediscover you

Oh, let me rediscover you
Tell me of the God I never knew
Jesus, let me rediscover you.

Ewige reis

Here,  hierdie reis se spore lê nog vars, herinner my asb aan dit wat ek moes leer!

 

REIS VERHAAL

 

In die ou tyd het mense wat graag gereis en geskryf het, reisverhale gepubliseer.  Deesdae kan die “travel channel” en “google” jou op enige reis vat.

 

Ek kan jou slegs vertel van ‘n onsigbare reis wat ek onderneem het.  Ek het nie foto’s om te wys nie, maar ek kan jou vertel hoe my hart besny is. 

Die Israeliete weet van woestyn reis en ek het altyd gewonder hoekom hulle so hardkoppig en terselfdertyd flou kon bly oor die doel van hulle reis. 

 Ek wou niks te doen hê met my woestynreis nie, veral toe ek uiteindelik agterkom dat ek in die middel van niks staan. 

My roetekaart was deurtrek van donker leuens.

 Verleentheid en skuldgevoel het aan my rugsak gehang en my bly aftrek in die stof.

 Ek het baie gestop om te bid. Ek het die jare ingeskryf by die Woord verse in my Bybel.  Partykeer het ek vol hoop gestap, ander kere neergeplof in die sand en stof.

 MAAR in hierdie woestyn was die water van die lewe in oorvloed!  Ek kon by verskeie fonteine stop waar die Heilige Gees Sy troos kon gee en my dors kon les.

 Fonteine van profetiese woord en groot doop, heeltemal buite my gemaksone, maar ek was so gereed daarvoor. 

 Eers toe kon ek my hart in my hande uithou na Jesus en Sy koninkryk ontvang.  Eers toe kon al die nodige aardse “kruideniersware” bygevoeg word.

 As jou lewe vir jou soos ‘n raaisel voel, raak maar solank opgewonde en was en stryk jou feesklere!

 Ek het nou nie meer ‘n kruidenierslys gereed vir my gesprekke met my Koning nie.  Al wat ek heeltyd wil weet is:

Wat is U begeerte vir my,

Wat het U in gedagte vir my?

U wil is my vrede

Here, gee my wat U van my vra

Vra my dan enigiets

In my rugsak is nou net kosbare skatte van gehoorsaamheid, oorgawe en ‘n vaste hoop.

 Dankie Jesus dat U vir my ‘n stukkie van die hemel kom wys het.  Ek het my naam in U handpalm gesien.  Ek het gesien hoe U glimlag en my naam vir my wys.  En toe het U met my gedans.....

 

“Oh will You dance with me

Oh lover of my soul

To the song of all songs!”

 EK STAP NIE MEER NIE, EK DANS!

RAIN WITHOUT CLOUDS ?

NEVER!

If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth – Ecclesiastes 11:3

Why do we dread the clouds that now darken our sky?  True, for a while they hide the sun, but the sun is not quenched; he will shine out again before long.  Meanwhile those black clouds are filled with rain, and the blacker they are, the more likely they are to yield plentiful showers.  How can we have rain without clouds?

Our troubles have always brought us blessings, and they will always will.  Our God may drench us with grief, but He will not drown us with wrath;

He will refresh us with mercy.  Let us not worry about the clouds, but sing because May flowers are brought to us through the April clouds and showers.

O Lord, the clouds are the dust of Your feet! 

How near You are in the cloudy and dark day!  Faith sees the clouds emptying themselves and making the little hills rejoice on every side.

Charles Spurgeon

When last have you been to the Holy Place?

I have 10 seconds to justify my existence
God made me fast.  When I run, it pleases Him
(quotes from Chariots of Fire movie)

No justification is needed my friend.  We are trying so hard to perform and impress others and God.
When we are in the presence of the Most High we feel totally insecure and we should.
Our existence and calling is justified by the One who made us and died for us.

Psalm 73 speaks about the good life of arrogant and wicked people and how the children of God cannot understand that.  But only when I came into God's holy place/presence, did I finally understand (verse 17). 

As long as I have You,
I don't need anyone else in heaven or on earth
My body and mind may waste away
But God remains the foundation of my life
and my inheritance forever (verse 25)

I challenge you to complete this sentence with yourself in mind:

God made me .........................  When I ........................, it pleases Him.

His glory first and foremost. It is not about the calling but about the Caller!

Let us leave our list of urgent requests for a moment and just worship Him, stay in Him, remain in Him

"The colour of the morning is inside His eyes
I see His power in the moonlit sky!
He is beautiful!!"

Falling on my knees
Offering all of me

Lean into Him and rest.

He will not only give you supernatural peace but will take you to glory in the end!(Psalm 73:24)

SKRYF

29 maande skryf ons naarstiglik

Skribbel skribbel

 

Ons skryf – maar die letters bly afval

die papier bly wit

Het die storie ‘n einde – as ons

nie eers verstaan hoe dit begin het nie……..

 

blanko bladsy waar is jou woorde?

Skeppeling waar is jou Skepper?

 

Gee tog net vir Hom die pen!

want...............

Jy kan nie spel nie en jou paragrawe is te lank

Sy letters sal op die bladsy bly – ewig bly

Sy storie het ‘n Hemelse einde - eintlik ‘n begin sonder ‘n einde....

 

Mensekind gee vir Hom die pen

Hy het jou storie lankal opgeskryf in die mooiste taal

Ja, daar is baie drama in jou storie en hoofstukke oor die doodsvallei

Maar Sy vulpen is vol kruisbloed

Sy Woorde klou aan die papier

 

So skryf Sy kinders saam met Hom

Getuigskrifte deurvlek van Hoop

Deurspek met Genade!

 

SURRENDER YOUR VISION

I surrender … I found myself saying those words while talking with the Holy Spirit about my frustrations.

Whether you are in ministry, in the marketplace or tackling the all-important task of raising a family—or perhaps, like me, doing all three at the same time—you will no doubt come to a point in your walk with God that you feel like giving up. Paul wouldn’t have admonished us not to grow weary in well doing if he hadn’t witnessed people losing heart at times along the journey (Gal. 6:9).

But I’m here to tell you that the answer is not to quit and give up. The answer is to surrender. And there’s a vast difference between the two. As much as I want to sometimes, I’ll never admit defeat in the midst of doing something God has called me to do. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13). And, of course, we know that God always leads us in triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14). I could rattle off a few other Scriptures to drive home the point, but you get the idea.

No, as much as I want to quit sometimes, I’ll never admit defeat in the midst of doing something God has called me to do. But I have learned that there is a time to surrender the vision. Miriam-Webster defines the word surrender as “to yield to the power, control or possession of another upon compulsion or demand,” and “to give up completely or agree to forego especially in favor of another.”

Absolute Surrender
Yes, there is a time to surrender the vision. And that time is not after you’ve done everything in your fleshly power to bring it to pass. That time is not when you get so frustrated you feel like giving up. That time is not after people and circumstances have worked against the very thing God called you to do. No, the time to surrender the vision is immediately after God gives it to you.

What am I saying? If God didn’t give you the vision, there’s no use in trying to labor for it anyway. Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” In other words, “’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 4:6).

See, it’s not really your vision. It’s God’s vision (if it’s not, He has no obligation to empower you to bring it to pass). God has chosen you to be His hands and feet on the earth. But apart from Him you can do nothing. The faster we learn that truth and surrender to His will - obeying His way of executing the plan and yielding to His grace flowing through us to get the job done—the faster we’ll see the vision become a reality. We have to remember that it’s not about us. It’s about Him.

Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]’” (Matt. 16:24 AMP).

Denying Your Rights
Deny your “right” to do things the way you think they should be done and surrender to His ways. Deny your interests in the project and surrender to His interests. Deny your feelings of frustration and surrender to His grace. When we follow Christ, we walk in peace, love, joy, righteousness and the like. When we follow our own will and our own way—even when our will and ways are eager to serve God’s vision—we just plain wear ourselves out.

I know the harvest is plenty and the laborers are few. But your crew—however small it is—is a mighty force when you surrender to God. Don’t worry about who walks away from the vision, who betrays the vision or who is too scared to execute the vision. Just surrender the vision to God and He will bring you the resources you need for the victory.

I’m reminded of Gideon. God gave him a vision to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Gideon was surrendered to God to the point that the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with Himself and took possession of him (Judges 6:34). But not all of his brethren were as sold out to the vision of deliverance. Gideon started out with 22,000 men in his army and ended up with just 300 after obeying God’s instructions.

With 300 men, it seemed like an impossible task to defeat the Midianites. Surely, Gideon would not have chosen to execute God’s vision for Israel’s deliverance this way. Gideon could have gotten frustrated to see 12,000 men turn back in fear and trembling. He could have been disappointed that another 9,700 were not ultimately called to battle. He could have decided not to enter the war seemingly so ill-equipped.

Gideon’s men were faint yet pursuing the enemy as they crossed over the Jordan (Judges 8:4). No one would even give them bread to eat. Gideon had every natural reason to quit and give up. Instead, Gideon surrendered the vision to the God of the vision. And God’s vision became a reality: The Israelites conquered the Midianites so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had peace and rest for 40 years in the days of Gideon (Judges 8:28).

If you want peace and rest, even in the midst of the battle that rages as you co-labor with Christ to bring God’s vision to pass, don’t surrender to the enemy by quitting—surrender to God and watch Him bring it to pass. Amen.

Jennifer LeClaire