Keep on moving

Bad stuff happens to good people. That's the nature of life on earth. We see it everyday on the news. But what if we are that person? What if the bad stuff comes our way? We need to look up and listen to Jesus!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

One of the most dramatic pictures in the Bible is the story of Ezekiel's valley of dry bones.

“The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.”
Ezekiel 37:1

Sometimes we talk of being 'down in the dumps'. These bones were down in the valley. It was a place of depression and difficulty. At some point in our lives we all pass through this place.

Most people rush on and talk about the amazing image of the wind coming on the bones and the spirit bringing life to the dry bones.

But I am wondering about something else. Why were these bones there in the first place? What caused them to die in the valley?

They stopped. When the going got tough… they stopped right there. And died. They camped on their difficulties. We've all met people who are stuck because of something that happened so very long ago. They have stopped in the valley of their trouble.

King David had a different approach.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalms 23:4

He didn't say 'even though I stop…' but 'even though I walk through'. He wasn't stopping in trouble. He was going through. When trouble comes we must keep moving. We have the promise of God - he will deliver us.

“He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.”
Psalms 91:15

If you are in the valley of trouble today, don't stop! Keep on moving. Keep believing that God will deliver you. Keep praying. Keep taking steps out of trouble.

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God saved you for a purpose.

As recent weeks unfolded, I have become very aware of God's purposes for my life. Last week I had a phone call from an old friend I haven't seen for a long time. She was telling me how she believed God had a plan for her life that included being a partner with RSVP.

She also told me that years have come and gone and, although she's done a few things about God's plan for her life, she hasn't remotely reached her full potential.

God wants you to reach for your full potential.
This week I believe God wants you to reach for your full potential. As we seek his face in prayer God will give us revelation. God says to you…

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13

Some people I meet don't really believe God can do anything with their life because of things that happened in the past. If you've read my book 'Beautiful on the Mountains' you'll know I had nothing to offer God. I was a zero really. But Jesus is the holy One. What I found was that when this zero stood next to the holy One we became 10. Then I noticed a few other zeros standing with Jesus. We zeros became millions as we stood next to the holy '1'

I like the way Muhammed Ali put it:

“If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”

What are your plans for this year?
It is not unspiritual to make plans - far from it. The Bible recommends we make plans.

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.”
Proverbs 21:5

In fact, if you fail to plan then you are planning to fail. We need a plan for this month, this year and the next five years. Be aware though that, in reality, most of us overestimate what we can achieve in a year. But we underestimate what we can achieve in five years.

And when you've made some plans - take some action!

Vaclav Havel said, “Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.”

I like that. What is the one thing you could do this week that will make a difference to your life? Maybe there is some decision you could take right now.

It is time to step up and reach for your full potential.

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Who is Jesus...?

My friend Antony Delaney posted this video on his blog and I just think it's fantastic.



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Calling those things which are not as though they are.

“…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;”
Romans 4:17

God calls those things which do not exist as though they did. What a great statement! God is always contradicting the darkness in the world.

In creation God contradicts the darkness. 'Let there be light!' When he said that it was dark. He contradicts the situation.
Jesus tells the cripple to stand up.
He tells the leper to be clean,
He tells the blind to see,
He tells the mute to speak, and the dead to rise!
He tells the storm to be still and the evil spirits to be silent.
Everywhere he goes he contradicts the circumstances.

We are made in God's image and we need to rise up and start contradicting a few things. We already do it in the natural world. When we come home and it's cold we turn up the thermostat. We come home and find the house too cold at 8 degrees. We turn up the thermostat to 22 degrees. We call it 22 degrees but it's initially still 8 degrees. We are calling those things which are not as though they were. It's time to set your thermostat on your situation by faith.

We overcome the world and our difficulties by faith. We change the climate of our situation with our faith.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.”
1 John 5:4

We are not to be moved by what we see but by what we see in the spirit.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith is a fight!
Moving by faith in the world is a fight. Sometimes we think we'll say a little prayer and something will happen. But often that doesn't work. No. We need to rise up a start contradicting a few things. We need to curse sickness, poverty and oppression. We need to start to fight!

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
1 Timothy 6:12

Fighting and faith go hand in hand. The devil may start it but me and God are going to finish it. Towards the end of his life Paul wrote:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7

And we fight the fight by calling those things that are not as though they are. The Bible says:

“Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'
Joel 3:10

We are to call things that are not as though they were. Let the sick say I am healed. Let the poor say I am rich. Initially it may sound a bit peculiar. But you are called to be peculiar!

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
1 Peter 2:9, KJV.

Say these statements out loud right now!

I am strong!
I am healed!
I am in a period of uncommon favour.
I am a millionaire!
I have no fear!
I have power to get wealth!
God has healed all my diseases
I have the strength of a teenager!
I am free from every addiction the devil put on me!
By his wounds I am healed!

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Have you ever noticed how God always lets Satan go first?

Satan comes only to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). That is his plan for your life. It always has been and always will be. Sometimes when we come under attack from Satan we wonder why God doesn't act immediately.

But the Bible shows that God usually let's Satan go first. He lets him do his worst and then God moves in and redeems the situation. Nowhere is this fact clearer than in the book of Job. Yet we see it throughout scripture.

In the beginning… Satan came to Eden and corrupted Adam and Eve.

He used the Egyptian Pharaoh to bring the people of Israel into slavery in Egypt. The people were mistreated and abused for years. They grew in number, which led to the slaughter of innocent Israeli babies… then God parted the Red Sea and brought his people to the Promised Land.

Goliath intimidated the armies of Israel day after day. No one dared challenge him… until God raised up the shepherd boy David.

The prophets of Baal entered into a contest on Mount Carmel with Elijah. Elijah let them go first to see if Baal would answer… but it was the Living God who answered Elijah's prayer with fire.

Daniel was thrown into the lion's den before God delivered him.

Jesus' ministry began with the temptation in the wilderness first.

Before Jesus conquered sin and death, he was nailed to the cross first. Then came the resurrection.

Sometimes I wonder if God is taunting Satan. “Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!”

God is always ready to contradict the attacks of Satan on our life.
That is why your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurt. Your greatest victory will always be in the area of your greatest pain.

Your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurt.

In 1987 my son died during a heart operation. Around the same period my parents both died prematurely. I think I can confidently say that episode of my life was the darkest.

And yet today, my most effective ministry is in Rwanda - a place of genocide and premature death. Every family has been touched by the finger of death. Yet in the midst of that nation's grief I find my most effective ministry. Unlike so many, I am not intimidated by the shadow of death that falls across Rwanda because I know my God can bring life after grief.

If you are in a place of darkness, difficulty and fear right now, get ready because when Satan has done his worst, and the dust settles, God is going to move to redeem your situation. And when he does you are going to see the glory of the Lord.

In the meantime we need to stand firm in our faith refusing to be moved by what we see.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.”
(1 John 5:4)

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