Don Egan on healing, faith and life

Is Jesus relevant today?

2011-02-25T11:56:00.001Z

Lots of people today say the church, God and Jesus are out of touch and irrelevant. True enough, parts of the church engage in some activities that are irrelevant to daily life. But can we ever say Jesus is irrelevant? If more of his followers were like him, would the world be so quick to dismiss them?

If Jesus is irrelevant, then why is the Bible the all-time best selling book year after year?

If Jesus is irrelevant, why did massive crowds follow him around the Middle East?

Wherever Jesus went, crowds gathered to listen to him because his words were so relevant.

He spoke about:

Children and fathers
Money and debt
Fishing
Living and Dying
Marriage and Divorce
Childbirth
Farming and the weather
Governments and corruption
Crime and punishment
Telling the truth and lying
Sex and adultery
Food and wine
Tax and fairness
Work and rest
Jewelry and investments
Love and hate
Climate change - Earthquakes, famines and wars
Friends, Neighbours, Home and Away...

It sounds like an average night on TV or the contents of today's newspapers!! Even more importantly, Jesus taught that God wants an intimate relationship with each of us. With me. With you.

In Jesus, God stoops down into our world, to heal, to restore, to comfort and to forgive. Whatever your situation today, I believe Jesus is longing to enter in and touch your heart, your body and you circumstances.

Will you take a moment today to be quiet with him and listen to him and receive from him?

I believe he wants to tell you something personally very relevant to you.

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Personal Development – Developing a Daily Rhythm for spiritual and emotional health.

2010-07-13T09:47:00.000+01:00

If we don’t plan our days, we will become swamped with the chaos of others. I believe it is possible to find daily strength, peace and restoration by developing a personal daily rhythm that includes things that energise us and bring us peace.

Here are 9 questions I am asking myself this week. The answers to these questions will help us develop our days to include things that refresh and recharge us. After answering the questions, sketch out a daily rule of life, a plan for each day with things you will do to recharge and what time of day you will do them.

1. What are the times of day when you feel most energized?

2. When do you feel most tired?

3. How much sleep do you need?

4. What are the physical habits that energize you?

5. What are the physical habits that drain you?

6. How do you find soul rest?

7. What are the spiritual disciplines where you feel most restored by God?

8. Which relationships most refresh you?

9. Which relationships most drain you?

From the answers to these questions we can plan ingredients we want in each day, as a priority, to maintain stability, health and inner peace.

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Resistance is NOT futile!

2010-07-06T15:19:00.001+01:00

One of my favourite TV shows is Star Trek Voyager, particularly the later episodes where the crew of Voyager meet with the dreaded Borg. The Borg were a collective with billions of zombie-like drones directed telepathically by the Borg queen. Their power comes from assimilating many species across space and adding each species' knowledge to it own.

Whenever the Borg are about to assimilate a group of people, and turn them into mindless automatons, they would announce their intention. "We are Borg. You will be assimilated." Then would come the intimidating phrase. "Resistance is futile!"

Usually it was. But occasionally the Borg met a species that successfully resisted assimilation. So actually, resistance was not futile.

Often Satan comes at us to drag us down, to assimilate us into his ways. He knows our weaknesses and cravings. He attacks us at our weakest point and watches us fall again and again for the same tricks. I suspect he smiles and thinks, 'Resistance is futile'.

But God disagrees. Not only is resistance not futile, it is very necessary! God's word tells us to resist the devil. And when we do, he has to flee!

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
James 4:7

The Voyager Spaceship also had 'long-range sensors' to detect the approach of the enemy. The crew had to be vigilant to keep themselves safe from attack.

Likewise, we are called to be vigilant and resist the enemy's attacks.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."
1 Peter 5:8-9

We have an enemy but we are part of a far more powerful federation - the Kingdom of Jesus. Satan may attack our health, our finances or our walk with God. He comes only to kill, steal and destroy. Whatever your weakness, God is your shield. Never surrender. Resist! Because resistance is not futile - it's absolutely necessary.

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He's coming!

2010-01-24T17:01:00.001Z

After Christmas I was praying to God for his word for the year. Every year, I believe God has a word for the coming year that will be like the hallmark of that year.

We can't just keep doing what we used to do. If we just keep doing what we've been doing, we'll just keep getting what we've been getting. God is the God of new beginnings.

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:18, 19

As I prayed about this year, 2010, I got a very short phrase from God - 'He's coming!'.

I don't think this is about the second coming of Jesus but about a change in the spiritual realms.

It was as though I was in the crowd in Jericho when Jesus passed through. As though I was sat by the road, with blind Bartimaeus, and heard a stirring in the crowd. What is it? At some point, someone must have told Bartimaeus, 'He's coming!' because when he knew it was Jesus he cried out for mercy and got his sight back.

Sometimes in the past we prayed and wondered where God was. But now, this year, I'm telling you, He's coming! Get ready for miracles. He's coming! Get ready for healings. He's coming! Get ready for breakthrough. He's coming!

Jesus is coming right into your situation.

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From surviving to thriving!

2010-01-04T10:16:00.002Z

On January 1st 2009, Hazel declared, "In 2009 a bungalow will be mine!" I replied, "Amen! I agree!" Right now, as I write, I am sitting in our bungalow. I want you to know that things can change dramatically in a year. You can go from surviving to thriving! God can overcome every obstacle in your path.

I just want to share a few observations on how we achieved this breakthrough - because it has not been straightforward by any means. We lost our buyer 3 times and the house we were buying twice. Many other delays happened, meaning from that declaration to moving in, took most of a year. We moved in on December 9th.

Here are 4 steps to your breakthrough.

1. Love God more than anything else.
The words Hazel and I said were not magic words - but they did activate a few spiritual laws. Hazel has wanted to move to a bungalow for many years. It has been a desire of her heart. She has been patient but also diligent in seeking God. We must focus first on God, not make a god of the thing we desire.

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."
Psalms 37:4

2. Rise up and make a statement.
"You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways." Job 22:28
God created the world through his word. He said, "Let there be light" and it was so. We are created in his image, so every breakthrough begins with a declaration. Jesus also said of the one who acts in faith, '.. he will have whatever he says.' Mark 11:23

3. Find agreement
When Hazel made her statement that day, I spoke out my sincere agreement. The word 'Amen' means 'so be it'. Jesus said, ".. if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven."
Matthew 18:19

4. Never give up
I can safely say that 2009 has been one of the hardest years of my life. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Deals were broken at the 11th hour. We have an enemy who wants us to fail. And we must understand this - he will try to kill every blessing of God at birth, just as he did when Jesus came.

Between your dream and its fulfillment you will be tested. When we give up, the devil wins.

There are always more challenges, so you better learn to be a fighter in the spirit.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,"
2 Corinthians 10:4

I wish you many mighty and significant breakthroughs in 2010. I believe those who are reading this will go from surviving to thriving in 2010!

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Ready, willing and able.

2009-10-28T10:45:00.001Z

To listen to some people talk you'd think that God may heal the odd headache but he's not able to heal things like cancer or blindness. Yet listen in to a different group of Christians and you would think that God is able to heal those things but he's sometimes not willing. Still others may say God is willing and able but he's not ready. If people would only look at the Bible, they would see these ideas are simply not true.

Firstly, let's consider if God is ready. According to Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven". So are we in the season when God is ready to heal?

Jesus declared to his followers, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will ... lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Mark 16:17, 18,

God said to Jeremiah, "..I am ready to perform My word." Jeremiah 1:12. God has repeatedly declared his intention to heal in his word. It is clear then that God is ready to perform his word.

Secondly, is God willing to heal? If you read through the gospels you will not find any account of Jesus refusing to heal anyone. One particular man asked Jesus the very question we are looking at - is God willing to heal? The man was covered with leprosy.

"..a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him."
Luke 5:12-13

The God who revealed himself as 'Jehovah rapha' is obviously willing to heal. He is ready. He is willing. But is he able?

Simply by virtue of being God surely he must be able. Isaiah declared, "Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear." Isaiah 59:1, (NIV). In other words, if there is a problem, it is not at God's end. Sometimes, particularly if we are very sick or have suffered a long illness, it is difficult to imagine being free. It can be difficult to imagine God overcoming the mountain of illness that seems so big and overwhelming. When Paul wrote to his friends in what is now Turkey he had a revelation - that God was far bigger than our problems and we could never comprehend what God could do or how he could do it.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,"
Ephesians 3:20

God is able! Able not only to do what we are asking for but, 'exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think'. That is more than we can imagine. So imagine the most amazing thing that could ever happen to you. Well God can do far more than that! He is able!

He is ready. He is willing. He is able. Sickness is going. Healing is coming. Now!

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Dare to pray

2009-09-30T14:53:00.002+01:00

When I mention healing in Christian circles I often feel like I'm swimming against the current. So many Christians and many leaders are fearful of praying for healing.

"So what if it doesn't work?" This is the vexing question that paralyzes well-intentioned Christians the world over. What if I pray and nothing happens?

"He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap."
Ecclesiastes 11:4

'What if it doesn't work?' is a question rooted in fear. You may as well ask, 'What if I walked past a tall building and someone pushed a piano out of the window and it fell on me?' It is very unlikely. One thing I can virtually guarantee is that something will happen when you pray for healing. The Bible says that 'nothing' is impossible with God. If 'nothing' is impossible, then 'something' has to happen!

We could ask, 'What if I preach the gospel and no one gets saved?' Or 'What if we share communion and nothing happens?' If God has commanded us to do certain things don't you think we should do them and leave the outcome to him?

Jesus gives his followers power to heal the sick.

"And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease."
Matthew 10:1

He didn't even say we should pray but that we should heal the sick.

"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
Matthew 10:8

Just as you don't criticise a child's faltering steps when he is learning to walk, neither does God chastise us when we try to walk in faith. He is there to teach us and encourage us. So let's step out in faith this week and see what God will do.

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God wants you whole

2009-09-07T14:36:00.001+01:00

God wants you to be whole. If you are reading this word today and you have a physical sickness, I believe God wants to you to be completely healed of that sickness. However, I think God wants to do even more. He is concerned with your whole being - body, soul and spirit.

An example of this is in Acts chapter 3 when Peter and John go up to the temple to pray. On the way they meet a lame beggar who asks for money. Peter replies that they don't have money but they have the anointing. The man is healed, and Luke's description of what happens is interesting.

"So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them - walking, leaping, and praising God."
Acts 3:8

First, it says he walked - so he was healed physically. Then he leaped, which means he got emotional - his soul was healed. Finally, he praised God - his spirit was healed. So we see that God was interested in far more than just healing his legs. He wanted to restore his relationship with his heavenly Father.

God's wants you completely whole - body, mind and spirit.

Another example of this is seen in Luke 17 when Jesus heals the 10 lepers. It says in verse 10 that all 10 of them were cleansed (the Greek word used is 'katharizo' meaning cleansed). But, in verse 19, to the one who returned to thank him, Jesus said to him, 'Your faith as made you well'. This time the Greek word used is 'sozo' meaning 'whole'.

Whatever you are praying for today, you don't need to prize it out of God's hand. He really wants you to have more than you're asking for.

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What are you wearing?

2009-08-24T12:09:00.002+01:00

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."
Ephesians 6:10

As the toll of soldiers deaths in Afghanistan rose beyond 200 recently, there was a cry that their armour is insufficient. One man apparently died as he'd lent his body armour to another soldier.

In times of war, soldiers have to be watchful and prepared at all times because the enemy will come to kill at any time of day or night.

Paul was imprisoned when he wrote to the Christians at Ephesus. From his cell he probably saw Roman soldiers and reflects on how believers can be protected from our Enemy.

He warns them to put on the full armour of God. And look at how many times he uses the word 'stand' in these verses. The message is clear, when faced with our enemy, we are to stand, stand, stand our ground!

The he lists the armour we should have on.

1. The belt of truth
Truth is what holds things together. Just like a belt that holds the breastplate, so truth will hold things together. That means walking in truth and light, and walking in the One who is called The Truth - doing things his way, according to the word of truth.

2. The breastplate of righteousness.
Righteousness will protect our heart therefore it is the breastplate. But please note, it is not our righteousness! It's the righteousness Jesus gave us as a gift we receive by faith.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
2 Corinthians 5:21

Our Enemy comes to accuse us (Rev 12:10). And if we only have our own righteousness we'll be in trouble! No. We must put on the righteousness Jesus gave us - His righteousness. Satan can never accuse Jesus.

3. The shoes of the gospel of peace
Imagine a soldier who gets the command to advance and has to start looking for his boots before he can move. He'd be killed very quickly. At the end of the gospels, Jesus commanded his followers to 'go into all the world'.

Some followers are called to go to other nations. Others are called to cross the street. But we are all called to 'go' somewhere with the gospel. A missionary is not someone who crosses the sea but someone who sees the cross.

4. The shield of faith
Roman shields were large and rectangular. They were also covered in leather. Before battle, soldiers would soak the shield in water so that when arrows of fire were fired at them, the wet shield would extinguish them. So our faith acts as a shield. We know we can increase our faith by hearing the word of God (Rom 10:17). So that is how we drench our shield of faith by being in the word often. Then it is much easier to extinguish the devil's lies. But if we are spiritually dry, it's easier for him to attack us.

5. The helmet of salvation.
The helmet protects our head - where we know things. If we know we are saved by Christ, it protects our thoughts from the lies of the enemy. So our salvation - being saved by Jesus - is our helmet. Whatever happens to us, if we know we are ultimately saved by Christ, we can keep our peace.

6. The sword of the Spirit
This is the word of God. Notice this is the only offensive part of the armour. All the rest are defensive. When Jesus was attacked by Satan in the temptation he replied every time, "It is written�" The most important thing about your situation is, what has God said about it? When we have God's word the devil cannot stand before us and has to flee.

All these things, Paul concludes, are held together with prayer.

So today, let me ask you, 'What are you wearing?'

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FREE from hard labour!

2009-08-06T09:25:00.007+01:00

Yesterday I watched with increasing emotion as the two American journalists returned home with Bill Clinton. Already imprisoned in North Korea for 140 days and facing 12 years in a hard labour camp, they must have thought their life was over.

As Laura Ling spoke about the recent events, I was deeply moved as it reminded me of something else.

“Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea. We feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labour camp. And then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meeting. We were taken to a location and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton.

We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. And now we stand here home and free.”

Watch video of Laura Ling speech

At first I was reminded of Joseph of Egypt who was imprisoned on a false charge. But one day, he was called and taken to another location. He was surprised to be in the presence of the Pharoah who set him free and made him ruler over all. From prisoner to Prime minister in a single day!

But more than that. When we were imprisoned by sin - trapped and condemned by Satan - were we also not shocked that we were called to a different location and saw Jesus the King of Kings had come to set us free? He had done the deal - in his own blood. And, as Laura Ling said, “now we stand here home and free.”

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1

And Jesus came, not when we were free citizens with rights, but when we were lost sinners without hope. He condescended to stoop down into our darkness to set us free.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8

I am glad that Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been reunited with their families. But I am eternally grateful to Jesus Christ that, when I was a prisoner, he came and set me free.

How great is our God!
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The LORD is my Sat Nav

2009-07-27T10:31:00.002+01:00

The LORD is my Sat Nav;
I shall not get lost.
He makes me to drive by green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He recalculates by route;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I drive into the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your “recalculating” and “turn around when possible” comfort me.
You guide me to the service area and prepare me a table in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with sunscreen;
My cup of starbucks runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
“Arriving at destination”
(c) Don Egan 2009

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Resist and Recover all

2009-07-26T21:28:00.004+01:00

Have you ever felt like giving up? Well, if you have, this message is for you. And even if things are going well right now, here is the advice on how to prepare for when things go wrong. Trouble comes to us. It's in the nature of life on this fallen world. Peter wrote a letter to his friends centuries ago, yet it's still great advice for our day.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."
1 Peter 5:8-9

Firstly, he tells us to be alert or sober and vigilant. The devil is like a lion. Lions just attack and devour wherever they can. But they always look for the easy prey - the unsuspecting and unprepared. Don't be foolish around lions.

On my first ever safari in Africa, I was in Uganda's National Park. We were in a minibus and the guide shouted, "There are lions! Let's get out and have a look!"

"No", I thought, "There are lions. Let's keep moving!" You can't mess about when lions are about.

The good news is that the devil doesn't get to devour everyone he seeks. The Bible tells us to resist him.

On a second trip to Uganda's National Park, we didn't see any lions. We wondered where they were. When we got back to Kampala we found out why. There was a newspaper story about the lions. They had wandered into the nearest town - Kasase. People has woken up in the morning and discovered that where they had tied up a goat, there was just a blood stained rope. It told the story of a night watchman cycling home in the early hours. He turned a corner and was clawed off his bicycle by a lion. Thinking he could die, he quickly picked up his bicycle and hit the lion on the head with it as hard as he could. The lion was stunned and ran off. Peter tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us.

There was a time when David was under a severe attack where even his own friends and followers turned on him. What did David do? We read in the story -

"But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God."
1 Samuel 30:6

Sometimes we have to strengthen ourselves in the Lord. Sometimes encourages are few or unavailable. David then sought the Lord and following his instructions, the Bible tells us that

"David recovered all."
1 Samuel 30:19

I believe that God want to show you how to recover everything the devil has stolen from you - be it health, finance or peace. It's time to recover all.

To listen to the full message from Don Egan checkout 'Resist and Recover all' on the podcast. Click here...

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Are your memories bigger than your dreams?

2009-07-01T08:57:00.002+01:00

In Luke 7:11 we read the account of Jesus meeting the widow of Nain at the funeral of her son. Recently I saw a few things in this story I’d never seen before.

Firstly, as you may know, I have taught a lot about how faith is involved in healing and miracles. Yet this story stands out, as this widow didn’t come to Jesus with faith but was just attending her son’s funeral in grief. She’d already lost her husband and now her son had died.

I know what it is to attend your own son’s funeral – it’s an experience that feels so wrong, a deeper grief.

She didn’t come with faith but Jesus got her attention with an unexpected miracle. I think God does that sometimes. He get’s people’s attention with something they weren’t expecting.

Secondly, the story speaks of two large crowds. The first crowd was with Jesus.

“Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.”
Luke 7:11

Why was this crowd with him? They had seen the miracles, heard the life giving teaching – they were a happy crowd. They may even have been singing though we are not told if they were or not.

The second large crowd was with the widow.

“And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.”
Luke 7:12

This crowd was not happy. This was a crowd in grief and mourning. They were on their way to a funeral to bury the dead.

The story tells us that Jesus was going into Nain and that the funeral was coming out of Nain. The two crowds clashed. Joy met grief.
Then it says something happened in the clash.

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Luke 7:13

There comes a moment in our life when heaven beckons. It’s a defining moment. O the grace and mercy of our God!

As I think about this story, I realise I am surrounded by dead people every day. O they look alive. They walk around they talk, they eat, they watch TV, they laugh and cry and do all the things I do. But inside they are dead. They had a dream for their life, but it didn’t happen yet. They lost hope. They let their dream die.

Let me ask you a question. Are your memories bigger than your dreams? The memories of past hurt and disappointments, of dashed hope and rejections, of abuse? Are those memories bigger than you’re dreams?
I would love to have been in Nain that day. Something different happened.
Normally, when we see a funeral we observe it in quiet respect and stand aside for the procession to pass.

But Jesus did something profoundly different. He stepped into the road and stopped the funeral.

Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
Luke 7:14

Today, Jesus interrupts the burial of your dreams. He steps into the procession of the funeral of your hopes and dreams. And he says to you, “Young man, young woman, I say to you, arise.”

Rise up! It’s not too late! The devil is a liar! It is not over till the barren woman sings! (isa 54:1)

That dream that God put in your heart maybe the reason you were born. Today Jesus is doing the unexpected and giving you a fresh start beyond your imagining. It is time for you to do your part. To rise up!

Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”
Luke 7:16

God has visited His people! What a wonderful phrase. Isn’t that what we want? Maybe today God is going to visit you!

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Favour - the key to breakthrough.

2009-04-09T22:25:00.003+01:00

Right now I am trying to get breakthrough on several fronts. Not least we are trying to move house. In the current climate that may seem risky, I know.

Some of you may be trying to get a healing or change jobs or some other situation where you need a miracle.

I was getting frustrated with my situation. I'd done everything I possibly could. Everything I knew to do.. But the breakthrough did not come.

As I prayed about the situation this week, I heard a word - 'favour'.

Jesus began his ministry with a word about the year of the Lord's favour.

What right do we have to expect to go to heaven, get our sins forgiven or find mercy from God? We have none� apart from God's favour.

As the events off the first Easter are remembered this weekend, I am thinking about the favour of God.

His ancient people only came into the promised land because of God's favour.

"We have heard with our ears, O God, Our fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old: You drove out the nations with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You favoured them."
Psalms 44:1-3

But God's favour isn't automatic. We have to receive it.

Luke tells of a day when healing was available but only one man got healed. Many did not accept his favour and therefore didn't get their breakthrough.

"One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick."
Luke 5:17

But one man did and he was healed completely. His breakthrough came.

If Jesus lives in us and we live in a relationship with him, his righteousness lives in us. God is eager to place his favour upon his people.

"For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield."
Psalms 5:12

I have begun to declare that God's favour surrounds me. I'm expecting a breakthrough not by any cleverness on my part but just because God's favour is upon me.

Whatever you need today, begin to see yourself as surrounded by the favour of God. Things that don't normally happen will happen because of his favour.

ADVANCE NOTICE
RSVP is holding a Healing Conference in Ipswich this summer. More info...

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Would you recognise Jesus?

2009-03-23T20:14:00.001Z

Whenever I speak about the subject of healing in churches, there are always people who need healing. They don't all come for prayer but even those who don't often confide in me afterwards that they wanted to.

We pray so often, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". There is no sickness in heaven and therefore Jesus taught us to pray that the same would be true on earth. And yet so many in the church are sick. Why?

Paul touched on one reason when writing to the believers at Corinth.

"For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep."
1 Corinthians 11:30

So the same was true in Paul's day - there were many who were sick among the believers. Paul says there was a reason for this.

"But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."
1 Corinthians 11:28, 29

Paul tells them that the reason there are sick people in church is because they are 'not discerning the Lord's body'.

Today, pretty much all who call themselves Christian believe that Jesus sacrifice - his body and blood - paid for their forgiveness. Yet, so many of the same people say that God doesn't heal today or they are not sure if it's God will to heal everyone.

To me that's like saying, 'It's not God's will to forgive everyone'.

The scripture is shot through with statements that the new covenant in Jesus' blood, not only paid for our forgiveness but also abundant life which includes peace, protection provision and healing.

Isaiah tells us, "...by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

That is, by his wounds.

Matthew tells us, "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses." Matthew 8:17

Yet today, so many believe Jesus came like a bus conductor giving out tickets he paid for. What he did on the cross was so much more than purchase a place in heaven for you. His body and blood purchased a place in the New Covenant where all God has he shares with you.

"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, ...that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus..."
Galatians 3:13 -14

Be careful today that you are rightly "discerning the Lord's body." That you understand the breadth and depth of his love toward you. That you understand his will is to see you healed and set free from every curse Satan throws at you.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Galatians 5:1

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Don't settle for an Ishmael when God promised you an Isaac!

2009-02-22T21:09:00.005Z

When we're waiting for a divine breakthrough we can become impatient and be tempted to help God out. While we may think Abraham never wavered the truth is slightly different.

"And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."
Romans 4:19-21

When we think about faith, we have to think about Abraham, the father of faith. This verse from Romans 4 seems to suggest that Abraham never wavered in his faith. If that were so, it would be hard for me to relate to his experience because I have, many times, wavered in my faith.

But we need to read these words in context. It is talking about a certain period in Abraham's life. '...since he was about a hundred years old'.

So he became strong in faith at that age. If you study his life before that time, you will find that Abraham wavered in his faith several times. When God told him he would have a son, he and his wife laughed. Not for joy but with doubt.

After some time had passed and the promise had not appeared, Sarah suggested they should help God out and Abraham should sleep with the servant girl Hagar. Abraham had no more faith than Sarah and gladly agreed.

Ishmael was born and they had a son. Abraham was now 86 years old. They wanted Ishmael to be the son of promise but he was not. Fourteen years later, God appears to Abraham again and speaks of the child of blessing.

At this point, Abraham is still wavering in his faith. Although God tells him that the child of blessing will come from him and Sarah, he laughs again with unbelief and asks that Ishmael, their 'plan B', may be the child of blessing.

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"
Genesis 17:17, 18

But from that time, something happened to Abraham's faith. He became full of faith. What happened?

The clue is in God's greeting.

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless."
Genesis 17:1

Up until this time God had appeared and declared he was 'Elohiym' - the divine one, the creator. The one who set the natural laws for all things.

But on this day, he announced that Abraham was being visited by 'Almighty God' - 'El Shaddai' - the most powerful God. The one who could overrule the natural law.

Now what seemed impossible before, would be made possible because now El Shaddai was on the case! So Isaac was born. God's blessing required a supernatural act. That's why Ishmael could never be the child of blessing, though he himself was blessed.

And was God foreshadowing the birth of Jesus? - which would require El Shaddai to overrule the natural law.

When we read of the first miracle of Jesus we see the fast forward button pressed by El Shaddai. The water into wine miracle at Cana accelerated the natural law.

If I plant a grape seed today and plant a vineyard, naturally speaking it will be 2 to 3 years before it will produce wine. But it would be 5 to 6 years before it would produce the best wine.

Jesus, acting as El Shaddai - God Almighty - accelerated the natural process of wine making from six years down to a couple of minutes.

I don't know what your need is today, but I know I have a few things that look like a job for El Shaddai!

We need to be careful if we waver in faith because we may produce an Ishmael. We need to stir up our faith, and call on El Shaddai - and his name is Jesus!

Next time things seem impossible, why not say, 'This looks like a job for El Shaddai!'

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Healing words

2009-02-05T10:01:00.004Z

God has appointed his word and your words as sources of healing. Some people say, ‘I’ve prayed so long but God hasn’t healed me’. When we get sick or we get a disease, it is very easy to focus on ourselves and on the problem. But if we are going to get healed by God we need to shift our attention to his word.

‘He sent His word and healed them…’
Psalms 107:20.

So we need to hear and receive his word for our situation. We need to be reading a meditating on his word for our lives daily. We need to give our attention to his word because his word brings healing and health.

‘My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.’
Proverbs 4:20-22

As we meditate on God’s word it gets into us. As we speak his word aloud and think about it, it gets inside us – into our heart.

‘But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach):’
Romans 10:8

Those are the two places we need to get his word – in our mouth and in our heart. That is when the word begins to take effect.

The word of God comes to us like a seed – we don’t understand it fully at first. It’s like a seed. We can’t see everything contained in it until it grows in us.

‘The sower sows the word.’
Mark 4:14

We have to let the word of God grow in us by watering it with our faith and our meditation. Whatever we give our attention to will grow in our life. When I was a young man, I gave my attention to a young lady. I thought about her often. I dreamed about her. I spoke to others about her. I spent every moment I could with her. The more I gave my attention to her, the more she became part of my life. She is now my wife and we’ve been married for 30 years! I still give her my attention.

So God says, ‘give attention to my words’. (Prov 4:20). He has sent his word to heal us. Now we have to apply our faith to his word.

How do we do that? Well first of all we have to hear his word, let it sink in, because ‘…faith comes by hearing… the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Then faith grows in us that the word is true and for us. Then we can begin to speak out our faith. We can begin to say we are healed because God says we are healed.

‘For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.’
Mark 11:23

Look how many times Jesus used the word ‘say’ in that one sentence. So miracles of faith begin by a declaration. We have to say what we want not what we have. It’s easy to say ‘I’m ill’. But, when we are, it’s better to begin saying ‘I am healed!’ This is what God advises. Say what you want not what you’ve got.

‘Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’’
(Joel 3:10)

Speaking like that begins to change us on the inside. We change from being a victim to an overcomer.

Everything God does in the earth begins with a declaration. In creation he said, ‘Let there be light!’ and it was so. In the same way, we who are made in his image must also declare things before they come to pass.

‘You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you…’
Job 22:28

Our words are powerful to change things in the spirit that affect the natural things.

‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.’
Proverbs 18:21

We need to know what the word says and how to release the power of God otherwise we will be thrashing around in error and speculation.

“Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
Matthew 22:29

So where do we begin? Let us focus on Jesus and what he did on the cross. That’s always a good place to start. Let us see and mediate on the fact that he not only dealt with sin on the cross but also with sickness.

‘..who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes you were healed.’
1 Peter 2:24

‘..by whose stripes you were healed.’ Notice that is past tense. If I was healed then I am healed. Meditate on that today.

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You will also declare a thing

2009-01-04T12:48:00.002Z

I used to love watching Catchphrase on TV when Roy Walker would ask contestants to view a picture and guess the catchphrase. When they were struggling to guess correctly, Roy Walker would always say, “Say what you see.”

When we are struggling with sickness that is not good advice. The more we talk and meditate on the problem, the worse it sometimes becomes. It's understandable to want to talk about the sickness attacking our bodies. As Roy Walker would say, “It's good but it's not right.” Actually, it is not good or right!

It seems to me that nothing is released from heaven without a declaration first. During the Christmas story we have just celebrated, the angels declared Messiah's birth. In creation, God spoke and it was. We are made in his image and, when we make a declaration, something moves in the spirit.

The way to rise up and overcome any situation is to begin by making a declaration about the solution.

“You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.”
Job 22:28

Jesus declared that Lazarus' situation would not end in death. Even though Lazarus died and was buried four days, Jesus' declaration came to pass.

God encourages us to make a declaration about our difficulties.

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

There is no doubt that words are powerful. They are used to promote peace and spread terrorism. They are used to bring down governments and establish new eras.

We need to know what God has said about our healing and begin to declare it wisely over our bodies, our finances and any challenge we face.

“There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise promotes health.”
Proverbs 12:18

What are you declaring about your situation today?

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Only one thing is needed

2009-01-02T11:32:00.003Z

So here we are - a new year and a new beginning. How many of us have made New Year's Resolutions? And how many will be broken before January is out? So often we make too many resolutions and then keep none of them.

But actually, to make a real change in our life often requires just one thing. There is one thing you could do this year that could transform your whole life.

Some of us need to let go of the past. St Paul had been involved in the execution and persecution of Christians before he became one of their most prominent leaders. Do you imagine for a moment that the faces of those he'd had killed didn't haunt him? Many of us have things in our past that hold us back. St Paul wrote, “… one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead,” Philippians 3:13

Some people need to put the past behind them You need to realise that there is no future in your past. Maybe that's the one thing you should do this year.

Others have lost the sense of worship towards God. We need to recapture the spirit of worship David had. Maybe that's the one thing you should do this year.

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
Psalms 27:4

Others lack a concern for the poor that is at the heart of God's love for the world. Jesus said to the rich young ruler, “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21

Maybe the one thing you should do this year is give to the poor. There are many ways to do that. Obviously for me, I connect many people with projects that help the poor directly through RSVP Trust. But there is no shortage of need.

Still others are rushing about, busy with many practical things when what we need to do is listen to Jesus. Some of my most productive moments have come from being still and listening for God's voice. Jesus said to Martha that only one thing was needed, to listen to him.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41-42

What is the one thing you could do this year that would transform your life and your walk with God?

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Your donkeys are safe.

2008-12-15T17:08:00.003Z

Worry and fear will always distract you from God's call on your life. We can't live in faith while we are full of fear and worry.

When God called Saul to be king over Israel, Saul was worrying about his lost donkeys. He'd been searching for them for three days.

Samuel came to speak about Saul's anointing as king - a major national and historic event. But first he speaks prophetically about Saul's immediate concern - that of the lost donkeys.

“As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?””
1 Samuel 9:20

You cannot flow in what God has anointed you for, if you are crippled by fear and worry. So God comes to address our concerns so that we can focus on what God is anointing us to do.

I want to tell you today, your donkeys are safe. Whatever your donkeys are - fear of debt, loss or the future - God wants you to know, your donkeys are safe. Now rise up in your anointing and serve him.

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It's right in front of you...

2008-12-02T00:56:00.005Z

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.””
Luke 1:76-79

What an uplifting week! In addition to my work with RSVP Trust, I am also a Trustee to a couple of other ministries.

On Wednesday I travelled North to a meeting of Proclaim Trust, the ministry of Barry Woodward. Barry, an ex-addict and drug dealer, has a powerful ministry based in Rochdale. One of the things he's been doing this year is a tour of prisons. During his proclaiming of the gospel 479 prisoners turned to Christ and had their lives transformed.

In addition to that, Barry is aiming to get a copy of his book - Once an Addict - to every prisoner in the UK. To date he has distributed 20,000 copies of that powerful book to UK prisoners. Reports back from some chaplaincies are very encouraging. If you can support Barry with his work click here: http://www.proclaimtrust.org

The next day I was in Sheffield with my friend Martin Garner of Freespirit Trust. He took me to a local café to show me some of his ministry. We went with Anna one of his Trustees. They walk round the estate and just make themselves available to God. Martin has connected with a man imprisoned recently from this area. He has visited him a couple of times and he had an encounter with God. The man is now writing letters from prison and has started a ministry in the prison.

As we sat in the local café we met various people including an alcoholic who is discovering Jesus. As builders and other workers came in and out for bacon rolls, we laid hands on and prayed for various people, right there in the café. A local 'dealer' met with Martin in a corner of the café and I watched as Martin shared the scriptures with him. The man is hungry for God. What a unique and effective way to share to life of God in Christ!

On my return to Stowmarket, I met with RSVP evangelist, Ali Fenning, who told me how she had visited a brothel this week, and by listening to God, she has found favour with the owner and is free to visit and minister to the women there.

When I came into the office this morning there was a message from a lady who was healed of blindness in one of our meetings. Here is a bit of what she says,

My name is Irene and I met you when you were at a healing service in All Saints Church, Cleveleys.

I came away after this service with my whole life changed! I could see faces again after being registered blind for over 25 years

When you shook my hand I saw your face and it is a face that I had seen over the past 6 months when I closed my eyes, this was overwhelming.

I didn't tell anyone immediately, I just had to get home where I went down on my knees and cried for about 15 minutes and thanked the Lord for you being there and filling me with the Holy Spirit.

I read your little book on healing.

I think that the most wonderful thing though is that the Holy Spirit I felt that night when you healed me has never left me and it overwhelms me with abundance in whichever Church I am in.

So, Don Egan, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thanks be to God! We give him all the glory.

As we move into Advent this week, I am greatly encouraged. I think of all these people, many in very dark and lonely places having a personal Advent as Christ appears in their life. Thank God for the pioneers who make themselves available to God to reach the lost for Christ.

This week I began a daily photo journal - which involves looking for a photo opportunity every day. I'm seeing things I didn't see before. But as I reflect on the great people I met this week, I realised I need to be much more intentional about looking for God opportunities. Like photo opportunities, God opportunities are all around us if only we have eyes to see. I'm off to my local café this week to see what God's doing there.

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The Lion roars

2008-11-10T17:18:00.002Z

Last Thursday was an unusual day. I left Stowmarket at 5.30am to catch the early morning flight to Belfast. I was attending a meeting of Freespirit Trustees. On arrival in Belfast, I was met at the airport by the other Trustees, flying in from Sheffield.

We drove to the centre of Belfast and arrived at an old vicarage, which is now an office and conference centre. It turned out this had been the home of C S Lewis' grandfather.

We had a quick tour up to the attic room where the wardrobe used to be - the one that led to Narnia. Sadly, there is only a steel stationery cupboard there now.

We went back down to the front door to see the doorknob. There it was - the lion's head that inspired the character Aslan in the Narnia stories.

I imagined C S Lewis visiting his granddad here and seeing this doorknob every time he came here.

Often we think of the gentleness of Jesus, his peace, his grace and mercy. But there are times in our life when we need a man to make a whip and drive out evil from the holy place. There is a time when we need to hear the lion roar at our enemy. Sometimes the battle is fierce and we seem so fragile and weak.

Today I want you to know, the lion is here. Aslan is standing at your side and the enemy is trembling. You will breakthrough if you press on in faith.

“But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed ...””
Revelation 5:5

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Are you in the right place?

2008-10-21T13:42:00.002+01:00

Forty summers ago, I had a great time. My friends and I discovered we could climb trees, big trees. We spent most of that summer up one tree or another. We found we could see right across the park from up there. We could see things we'd never seen before. We spied on passers by from our secret branch, above their normal eye line.

But you know what? I haven't climbed a tree in a long time. People of my age and standing just don't climb trees. In Luke 19 we read about Zacchaeus. He was rich but found he was a bit short when Jesus came. He decided to go out on a limb. He ran ahead and shimmied up a tree so he could see Jesus. He repositioned himself for something new.

Zacchaeus was very well off. He no doubt dressed in good clothes. People of his age and standing didn't usually act like ten year olds and climb trees. But he had a desire. He wanted to see Jesus. It was never going to happen where he was. He had to move. Not only that he had to humble himself. He had to do something a bit embarrassing to get into position. What would others think? He didn't care.

I think quite a few people today have reached some of their goals. They may have the Mercedes they always dreamed of, or the house or the wife and family. But something still leaves them unsatisfied. They have achieved success but they find it's a bit empty.

What they long for now is significance - what could they do in life to be significant? Zacchaeus had been successful by good means and bad. But he couldn't bully or manipulate his way to see Jesus. He had to do things a bit differently. So he climbed a tree to get into position. Things looked differently from up there. Up there, his small stature didn't matter.

When Jesus got to the tree he stopped and looked up. Zacchaeus wasn't expecting that. He certainly wasn't expecting the visitation that followed.
Suddenly his values were realigned. He didn't give the tenth of his income as the Bible taught - he gave fifty per cent to the poor. Then he announced that he would restore anyone he'd cheated fourfold. You know the gospel has had an impact when it touches a person's wallet.

But his values had changed. He wanted to move from success to significance. And he saw that he needed Jesus in his life if that was to happen.

“…without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

Are you in the right place for the next season of your life? Or do you need to become like a child and start shimmying? Do you need to reposition yourself, your finances or your values? Would you be ready if Jesus visited you in power today?
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Stability in uncertain times

2008-10-15T12:40:00.002+01:00

“Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times”
Isaiah 33:6

We are living in unstable times. Fuel prices at unprecedented levels, food prices soaring, house prices tumbling, inflation rising and governments seem impotent. Many people are living in fear of what will happen in the next few years.

This is the kingdom of this world. It is often unstable. So what should we as believers do? First of all, we must recognise that fear is the foremost demonic spirit which Satan uses to attack the people of God. We must not yield to fear, but be controlled by the Spirit. (Rom 8:9 NIV)

Secondly we must grasp the word of God in Isaiah: “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times”. Wisdom and knowledge will bring us stability. Not the wisdom and knowledge of this world but of the kingdom of God. We must stand on God's word and walk in the economy of heaven.

Do you think God is selling off our mansions now? Is he laying off angels and giving Jesus a redundancy package? No! There is no shortage in the Kingdom of God. He is more than able to meet all our needs today. But our part is to set our minds on his kingdom, to seek it first.

We live in this world and have to deal with this world's economy. We are 'in' this world but we are not 'of' this world. We have to stand in God's economy. It doesn't mean believers will never face redundancy or other difficulties. But we can have confidence in God. Sometimes, life's interruptions become godly opportunities. With God on our case we can move from tragedy to triumph. With God on our case, we may not understand everything, but we can stand through everything.

God can bring to us miracle provision in times of economic famine. Isaac went through a time of famine, yet while the nation suffered he received a miracle harvest right in the midst of famine.

“There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. … Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.”
Genesis 26:1&12

In these uncertain times, come back closer to our God. Reach out to touch the hem of his garment in prayer. Then his wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times.

Right now, we as a ministry face some financial challenges. But I’m not looking at the UK economy with doom in mind. I am looking to God who is our source of supply. He is still able to meet all our needs however bad the storm gets. I’m planning for growth not decline. Wisdom and knowledge from God will be the stability of our times.

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RSVP Mission of Hope to Rwanda

2008-09-03T14:06:00.003+01:00

Just a quick update. We are shortly off to Rwanda on the Mission of Hope. Please pray for us. Download prayer info here:
http://tinyurl.com/63uw8f

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You are not a prisoner!

2008-08-11T12:01:00.002+01:00

In 1987 I spent five weeks in Wandsworth Prison in London. Perhaps the key thing you should know about those five weeks is that I was not a prisoner. I was working with the prison chaplains for five weeks as part of my training.

As I was a short-term temporary chaplain, I was not given keys to the prison like the other chaplains. So, as I went about the prison, visiting people and attending meetings, I had to wait with prisoners, at the end of each wing, until a warder came who had keys to open the door. The doors in Wandsworth Prison are every few yards, so my progress through the prison was often slow.

In many ways, I was like the prisoners who had to wait for someone with keys as they went about their duties. But there was one fundamental difference between me and the prisoners - at the end of every day, I went to the main gate and someone would let me out, so I could go home. I wasn't a prisoner.

A few nights ago I had a strange dream. I was in prison with a friend, escorting some prisoners to a meeting when suddenly the prisoners took control and took us hostage. A battle ensued with the prison staff and somehow we broke free from our captors. We ran down a corridor and my friend pushed the door at the end of the wing. Amazingly it wasn't locked. I said we shouldn't go through as it led out of the prison. My friend turned to me smiling and said, “You're not a prisoner! You can leave anytime.” With that I woke up.

I had been feeling trapped by something and I felt this dream was a word from God - I am not a prisoner, I am free!

I believe many people today feel trapped by something - an illness, an addiction, a situation. I have good news for you today. The door out of your prison is not locked. Jesus Christ unlocked your prison 2,000 years ago. The door is open. Just push it with your faith - it will swing open and you can walk out.

For many people, their prison is between their ears. They are imprisoned by their thinking - misled by Satan's lies. I want to tell you today, you are not a prisoner!

“…you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:32

“…if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
John 8:36

You are not in a crisis - you are in Christ. And, if you are in Christ, you are free. Say it out loud - “I am NOT a prisoner!”

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God’s surround sound

2008-07-29T10:02:00.007+01:00

One of the questions I am asked very often is, “How can I hear God’s voice?” The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that God has a good plan for your life. But how do we hear God’s voice to follow the steps of that plan for our life?

When I was about 9 years old, my Dad came home from work carrying a record player. He plugged it into the electric socket then we had to wait for the thing to ‘warm up’. This machine had valves. Eventually he put a vinyl record on and we sat amazed as the sound came out of the speaker. It was just one speaker in mono sound.

Sometime later my elder brother started work and saved up for something called a ‘stereo system’. My Dad didn’t like the sound of it because it had two speakers instead of one - which he could only assume, was to make more noise. Only when he heard the stereo effect – as though the musicians were in the room with him, did he fully appreciate the wonders of stereo sound.

One of my pastimes is watching movies. But I often get distracted at the cinema by people talking, mobile phones and rustling sweet wrappers. So, a while ago, I bought a surround sound system so I could watch movies at home but with cinema sound. I like it because it draws me into the action on the screen.

One of the problems that keeps us from hearing God’s voice today is the constant noise we are surrounded by. It draws us into the world and away from God. One of my pet hates is background music in shopping centres. It seems almost a sin in the modern world to allow for any silence.

If we are ever to hear God’s voice, we will have to switch off our surround sound and listen to God’s surround sound.

Now we have to be careful when we say God has spoken to us. The Yorkshire Ripper said God told him to murder his victims. But this is not true – God says ‘You shall not murder’ and he doesn’t contradict himself. God will never contradict his word in the Bible.

Before I became a Christian, I was riding on the top deck of a bus through Salford near Manchester. I had been thinking about becoming a Christian but hadn’t really done anything about it. The bus passed by a church. Outside was a large poster with a scripture on it. It read:

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”
Isaiah 55:6

My friend mocked it and read it out loud. As he spoke, my heart pounded. It felt like God himself was telling not to delay! Even in the mouth of an unbeliever, the word of God was powerful. It was shortly after that incident I went to church and found Jesus.

When Hazel and I first got married, we lived in a rented flat in Manchester’s notorious Whalley Range area, the red light district. Our nights became interrupted with joy riders and fire starters. Night after night they would set the empty house opposite us on fire, or just phone the fire brigade to say it was on fire. Either way, our sleep would be disturbed in the early hours. Other nights neighbours would have all night parties and teenagers would be outside the window all night being rowdy.

One time, I prayed all night that God would bring silence. I was disappointed that nothing happened and the noise continued. As we went to church next morning, I was angry with God and thought he didn’t care. Our friend Gordon stood up to read a passage from the Old Testament. My jaw hit the floor as I heard him say,

“And I will provide a place for my people … and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them any more, as they did at the beginning”
1 Chronicles 17:9

Shortly afterwards we moved to our own home in a very quiet street!

(There are more examples of how God has spoken to me on my podcast at www.doneganpodcast.co.uk)

The Bible says:

“You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah”
Psalms 32:7

It is often when trouble comes that we need to hear God’s voice. God is our hiding place from trouble. And his surround sound is ‘songs of deliverance’. As we begin to worship God in song, we switch on his surround sound and our deliverance begins.

“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.”
Psalms 32:10

God also surrounds us with mercy. In my experience, over the last fifty years, God often comes to me in mercy. I am so glad he comes in mercy and every day his mercies are renewed. I’m glad because I used all yesterdays up!

“Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22 – 23

If you really want to hear God in your life, I set you a challenge for the net 30 days:
1. Get a notebook and a Bible.
2. The book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. Each day read the chapter that matches the date – if it’s the 7th of the month, read chapter 7 and so on.
As you read it, jot down any thought that come into your mind. If this was God’s personal letter to you, what issues is he addressing in your life?
3. Read a few verses from Mark’s gospel. His was the first gospel to be written and the shortest, but it’s a powerful book. As you read the account of Jesus life. What is God saying to you? If you find yourself writing in the first person – ‘My child, I love you….” – go with it and see what you write.
4. After 30 days review your notes. What do you think God is saying t you. Is there a recurring theme or a challenge to action?

What about doing this for another 30 days or better still making it part of your daily routine? If you think you don’t have time to do this, here’s a tip: look round the back of your TV. You’ll see a wire going to a socket in the wall. When you find the socket, pull the plug out. You TV will go off. You just created time!
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Yellow Wellies and Hungry Wolves

2008-07-17T16:10:00.003+01:00

Leonardo da Vinci once wrote:
"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer; since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgement. Go some distance away because the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen."

Hazel and I have just returned from a week's break in the Lake District. It was good to just get away and stop. Although, we did walk many miles on the hills during our time there.

Whenever I get some solitude I'm always listening for God's voice. What is God saying to me today? There were two moments last week when I felt God was speaking to me.

Firstly, there was the little girl in yellow wellies. She was paddling in the edge of Lake Coniston trying to catch the little ducklings, who were in turn looking for food from people. Every time she tried to catch a duckling it swam into deeper water out of her reach. I watched this little girl to see if she would catch a duckling. As I did, I noticed that the more she tried to catch one, the deeper she ventured into the water.

Her wellies were only short and it was only a matter of time before she stepped in too deep and the water would come over the top and flood her yellow boots. As it was a cold day, I wondered what her reaction would be when the inevitable happened. She stepped in deep to try to catch her latest target. The water flooded over the top of her boots and filled them up. To my amazement she didn't bat an eyelid.

I was impressed. This little girl was carefree. Her flooded wellies didn't bother her. She continued chasing the ducks. As I watched her, laughing and splashing about, I thought, that's how God wants us to live - carefree. 'Unless you come as a child…'

Secondly, on another day, Hazel and I walked round Humphrey Head, the only true sea cliff in North Lonsdale. In 1281, Edward 1 commissioned a man called Peter Corbet to kill every wolf in the kingdom. The last English wolf lived on Humphrey Head. As we passed through the woods on the far side of the head, I imagined Peter Corbet here hunting his last wolf. What a task - to pursue and kill every wolf in the kingdom.

I thought of our walk with God and how we need to constantly subdue the flesh lest our enemy turn on us and devour us.

Somehow we are called to hold these two things in tension: To live a carefree life and to be alert to the wolves prowling in the kingdom. Peter obviously thought about this when he wrote:

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:7-8

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The spirit of infirmity

2008-07-01T14:07:00.003+01:00

“And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.”
Luke 13:11

I am learning that there are two levels of sickness at work in people's bodies. There is the physical problem in a person's body - whatever the sickness or disease is - but there is also a spiritual level. The Bible calls it the 'spirit of infirmity'.

The spirit of infirmity is a demonic spirit that oppresses people in their body. Now let me say, first of all, not all our sickness begins with a demonic attack. If you've eaten too many hamburgers all your life, and you end up with a weak heart, that's not the devil, that's too many hamburgers.

If you trip and twist your ankle - that's not the devil, you just tripped.

But, the devil takes that weakness and begins to come on you to keep that weakness in your body and make it worse. He wants to establish a spirit of infirmity that you can't shake off.

The spirit of infirmity tries to make your sickness into your identity - 'the blind man', 'the deaf woman', 'the cripple' - Satan loves those titles.

This is why, when I pray for the sick, I really view it as deliverance. I see all sickness like a snake seeking to poison us and suck the life out of us. Satan's plan for your life is to steal from you, kill you and destroy everything you have. (John 10:10)

We see repeatedly in the scriptures that sickness is oppression of the devil:

“…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Acts 10:38

“… The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.”
1 John 3:8

“Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.”
Matthew 17:18

So what does Jesus come to do? He comes to free us from bondage. Back in the story in Luke 13:10, we see Jesus' response to the spirit of infirmity.

But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”
Luke 13:12

And we know that Jesus still wants to do that same thing today. He still wants to loose people from their infirmity because he is the same today as he was then.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8

A Prayer
I pray for those of you who are sick today - I curse every sickness and disease in your body. I bind the spirit of infirmity at work in your life. I break the power of sickness and disease attacking you today. I declare you are loosed from all sickness and disease. May the Holy Spirit come and touch your body right now. Sickness is going and healing is coming! Right now, in Jesus name. Amen.

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Keep on moving

2008-06-20T16:28:00.006+01:00

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.

Special book offer for readers!
For two great books for when sickness or trouble comes, check out this special offer.
http://www.rsvptrust.co.uk/healingbook

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God saved you for a purpose.

2008-06-15T23:31:00.003+01:00

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...?

2008-06-09T15:59:00.001+01:00

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.

2008-06-07T09:42:00.004+01:00

“…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?

2008-06-06T22:18:00.002+01:00

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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Vision - the key to miracle breakthrough

2008-05-28T10:26:00.002+01:00

Over the last few posts we have looked at how to increase our faith for miracles and healing, and how God is thinking about us and is mindful of his covenant.

Today I want to look at the place of vision in your miracle. If you can't see your miracle on this inside of you, you won't see it on the outside either. When we stir our faith for something we have to begin with a God given vision.

“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint”
(Proverbs 29:18)

Put it another way - 'where there is no vision, people are all over the place'. When we don't have a vision or a road map, we are in confusion, tossed this way and that way by every opinion or feeling.

But when God gives us a vision - when we see things how they should be, in a vision on the inside of us - then we can move forward in faith towards that vision. Vision enables us to be single minded, which in turn gets us the breakthrough we are looking for.

Even when we choose a car, it begins with a vision. We see a picture in a brochure or we see a car in the street. That produces increased desire which in turn leads us to getting the thing we have been meditating on.

Look at the steps Joshua took to get the breakthrough at Jericho.

1. He meditated on God's word.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
(Joshua 1:8)

Step one is to see what God says and meditate on that until that is bigger in your mind than the problem or sickness you are facing. It means spending some quality time in God's word and in God's presence.

2. He had the vision on the inside.
Jericho was a terrifying obstacle. Lesser men would have turned and run. But Joshua knew there could be no Promised Land blessing without going through Jericho.

It's said that Jericho's walls were so thick you could race chariots along the top of them. Joshua knew it would take a miracle to get the breakthrough.

The day for battle came. Joshua led the army towards Jericho. Look at the first word God said to Joshua.

“And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valour.”
(Joshua 6:2)

First of all God says “See!” In other words, look at the vision on the inside Joshua. You can see victory on the inside. You know by faith what is going to happen here.

Then God says, “I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valour.”

Now that was not yet true. The battle still had to start. But God was saying, 'See it on the inside first. When you see it on the inside of you - when you know it in your spirit - then it's a foregone conclusion what the outcome will be.

Later we read the outcome. At the end of verse 20 it says,

“…and they took the city.”
(Joshua 6:20)

So the steps to your miracle are:

1. Hear from God's word and meditate on that.
2. See the vision of what it will look like to get your miracle or healing
3. Act on the vision and walk towards it as though it was already yours
4. Take what God has already given you.

These things sometimes take time. It's rare to see the answer to your prayer as you say the 'Amen' at the end of your first prayer. Be bold. Press through to victory using these steps.

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What is God thinking?

2008-05-23T14:01:00.001+01:00

As Albert Einstein lay on his deathbed, he asked only for his glasses, his writing implements and his latest equations. He knew he was dying, yet he continued his work. In those final hours of his life, while fading in and out of consciousness, he was working on what he hoped would be his greatest work of all. It was a project of monumental complexity. It was a project that he hoped would unlock the mind of God.

“I am not interested in this phenomenon or that phenomenon,” Einstein had said earlier in his life. “I want to know God's thoughts - the rest are mere details.”

Wouldn't it be great to know what God is thinking right now? Actually, I can tell you exactly what God is thinking right now. He is thinking about two things and how they fit together. Firstly, he is thinking about you.

“The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.”
Psalms 115:12

God is mindful of you - yes you! Is he thinking how bad you are or how you've let him down? No! He is mindful of you and he is thinking about how to bless you.

The second thing he is thinking about is his covenant. He is thinking about the covenant he made through Jesus because that is the mechanism of his blessing.

“…He will ever be mindful of His covenant.”
Psalms 111:5

Thousands of years ago, God looked at the condition of men and women, who were separated from him, and started his plan to bring you and me back into a loving relationship with himself. He found a man called Abram. He saw faith in his heart. He performed a miracle and brought Abram into a covenant so that everything God has was his and everything that Abram had was Gods. That's what the covenant was. What a great blessing!

“On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram…”
Genesis 15:18

Fast forward a few thousand years and God extended that blessing to you and me through Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross he was fully God and fully man. As the blood ran from his veins, the blood of God and the blood of man ran together in a new covenant.

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, …that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus…”
Galatians 3:13-14

Now all that God had was ours and all we had was his! He took our sin and gave us his forgiveness. He took our sickness and gave us his healing. He took our poverty and gave us his provision. He took our fear and gave us his peace. Jesus taught that this would happen in the story of the lost son. When the older brother complained that the prodigal was being blessed even though he sinned and that he himself had received nothing, Jesus puts these words into the mouth of the father who represents God.

“And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”
Luke 15:31

It's amazing! Everything he has is ours when we live in the covenant blessing relationship. It's so amazing many Christians live like the older brother - they live with the father, try and be faithful but never benefit from the blessing because they don't realise it is there's already!

And the reason God is thinking about blessing you through his covenant is that it is set forever as the channel for his blessing.

“For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.”
Isaiah 54:10

I don't know what blessing you need today or what sickness you need healing for, but God is already thinking about you and how to bless you. It's just one of the benefits of the covenant. Here is a list of a few more.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”
Psalms 103:2-5

See how healing, protection and forgiveness are all tied together in the covenant that Jesus paid for, with his blood, on the cross.

What is God thinking? Right now he is thinking about you and how he can bless you.

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Fire in Belfast!

2008-05-21T08:55:00.002+01:00

My good friend Peter Roberts was touched by the Lakeland Revival whilst watching it on TV at home. He has written a moving post on his blog. Have a look here:
http://1manandhisguitar.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-did-i-fall-down.html

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How to increase your faith for miracles and healing.

2008-05-19T11:21:00.004+01:00

There was a day when the disciples of Jesus wanted more faith, perhaps wishing to see the miracles they saw Jesus do, happen in their own life.

“And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
Luke 17:5

Now you need to know first of all that, if you are born again, you have a measure of faith. Every believer is given a measure of faith by God.

“...God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Romans 12:3

But the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. So we begin with a measure of faith. But we can increase our faith. Jesus said that even with a small amount of faith we can see miracles.

“If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Luke 17:6

Faith is a seed and like all seeds it has the ability to grow. Everything God does in the earth begins with a word. Creation came about through the word of God.

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Hebrews 11:3

So every healing and every miracle begins with the word of God. So, if we want to increase our faith we must start with God’s word, because that is where faith comes from.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17

As a Christian you believe that your sin is forgiven. You feel that you know it and that no one can take that from you. It’s God given. You believe it because you have heard it preached so often. Faith for forgiveness came because you heard the word. Faith comes by hearing.

So if you heard the word on healing as much as you have heard it on forgiveness your faith for healing would be just as strong. And you can begin by speaking out God’s word. When you hear yourself speaking the word, faith comes. That is why God says we should speak the solution not the problem.

“Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”
Joel 3:10

Why should weak people say ‘I am strong’? Because God always contradicts our fallen condition. To the sinful he says ‘you are forgiven’. To the poor he says, ‘you are rich’. To the weak he says, ‘you are strong’. To the sick he says, ‘you are healed’

Using the healing words of scripture in your everyday life is explained in my book A Word about your Healing, available from our website.
www.rsvptrust.co.uk/resources.html

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Lakeland Revival – is it of God?

2008-05-17T10:20:00.010+01:00

Well, it didn’t take long for the ‘Heresy Hunters’ to arrive on the scene did it? I have watched amazed and awed at what is happening in Lakeland Florida and Dudley UK. For years I’ve prayed for revival in the UK. I’ve studied just about every account of revival in the UK and in other places. So when I heard from my friend Anthony Delaney about his visit to the Lakeland Outpouring I was quite excited.

A hallmark of every revival is the critics, usually religious people with no spiritual power in their own lives. They crticise outpourings because they fear getting close to God themselves – though they will always say they want a visitation from God. But they secretly want it only on their own terms.

The Messianic revival in Israel was constantly under attack from the Heresy Hunters – the Scribes and Pharisees. They had no power themselves but hated the anointing on Jesus.

But even those in the flow of what happened began to question Jesus' anointing. There were all these weird healings and strange confrontations. It was a bit embarrassing. So John the Baptist sent some of his people to check out the revival outpouring in Jesus ministry.

“When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
Luke 7:20-23

In the last sentence, Jesus exposes the real issue – offence. People, specially religious people, get offended when Divine spontaneity disrupts the ordered flow of religion.

Make no mistake, Jesus’ words were a rebuke and a warning to John and his followers. Don’t get offended if you want to stay in the blessing. God is God. He will always do things his own way.

But there is a more important thing we should be concerned about. It is dangerous to speak against God’s outpouring.

“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.”
Matthew 12:31

I think it may be safer to err on the side of acceptance than to rush in and condemn a move of the Holy Spirit.

People have commented on Todd Bentley’s way of shouting ‘Bam!’ as he anoints people. But you know, Jesus did some strange stuff in his healing ministry. In John 9:6-7 Jesus spat on the ground, made some mud and pushed it into a blind man’s eyes and then told him to go and have a wash!

All revivals break convention – ‘Something new is happening!’ is how revivals are first noticed. Let’s not be offended by what God is doing in Lakeland and Dudley but let us pray the fire spreads.

Jesus showed what the real test should be – ‘by their fruits you will know them’ – so he told John’s disciples, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

That was the test Jesus put on a revival – healings, freedom, and good news being preached. And as I watch the Revival by satellite I see all levels of society are being touched – including the poor having the gospel preached to them.

I realised a long time ago that when God moves it can never be on our terms. We are made in his image but he does things differently.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.”
Isaiah 55:8

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Healing - Doing your part

2008-05-02T16:47:00.003+01:00

"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed."
Luke 17:11-14

I've been looking at this familiar tale of the 10 lepers lately. We normally rush past this bit to the following verse where only the Samaritan leper comes back to thank Jesus for his healing. So, wrongly, we assume its about saying thank you to Jesus...

But let's look what really happens. Jesus meets ten men who 'stood at a distance'. Lepers were not allowed to mix with other people. They had to live separate lives. They were outcasts.

They shouted to Jesus and asked for mercy. Jesus' reply must have sounded the most outrageous thing they ever heard in their lives! “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

I wonder what they thought? 'Is he mocking us?' You would need to know, as they did, what Leviticus 14 says about leprosy. There's a whole chapter detailing more than a week long ceremony to declare clean someone who has been healed of leprosy. They knew and understood - Jesus wasn't just saying, 'Let the priests have a look at you.'

He implied they were healed and should start the process of restoration and proving their healing. I wish we could have seen their faces. They stood there covered in leprosy and Jesus said, 'Go show yourselves to the priests.'

It was an outrageous statement and unbelievable. BUT... what did they do?

"And as they went, they were cleansed."

In other words, they acted on their faith and the words of Jesus. Covered in leprosy, they turned to go and tell the priest they were healed. At that point their healing had not manifested. But they acted in faith, believing they had received what Jesus had said. And as they went - as they acted in faith - they were cleansed.

When I pray for the sick in our meetings I always try and make time and tell people to try and do something they couldn't do before we prayed. Many are amazed that they can now do things they couldn't do before.

If you're praying for your own healing, are you acting as though you have already received it? That's what these lepers did. Acting on what Jesus said, they acted in faith and their healing manifested.

We need to pray. We need to believe that by the wounds of Jesus we are healed. But there also comes a time to take action.

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While you’re waiting for healing…

2008-04-11T13:53:00.003+01:00

I’ve seen many people healed from many things. Just a couple of weeks ago a doctor got healed of arthritis in his knees after I prayed for healing in a church service. Last year a blind lady was leaving the church after a healing meeting and thought she saw someone’s face as she left. She didn’t believe it at first, but by Wednesday of that week her eyesight was restored.

These are great stories… but what should we do when we are praying for our own healing and it hasn’t yet appeared? Here are a few thoughts for those who are praying and waiting for healing to manifest in their own bodies.

We need to view sickness like a snake climbing up our leg. If that happened we wouldn’t just mildly complain about it to others. No. We’d stand up, shake it off our leg and probably shout a bit! We may even curse it and then beat it till it was dead.

When we’re trying to get healed of a long-standing illness, I think there are a few things we should know. Sometimes, if the sickness came as a long process of decline, let’s not be surprised if our healing is a gradual process of improvement as well.

Think of the great oil tankers out at sea. You can’t just turn those things round. When the captain turns the wheel, nothing seems to happen for a while. But if he’s consistent, if he keeps the wheel turned in the same direction, gradually the vessel will turn. He mustn’t give up he must be consistent.

When we are waiting for healing, we, too, must be consistent in our faith - looking to God as the source of our healing and trusting and believing that he wants to heal, will heal and has healed.

It’s a bit like your sin:

- you were forgiven (on the cross)
- you are forgiven (as you receive the gift)
- you will be forgiven (at the judgment)

Our healing really took place on the cross 2000 years ago. Now we are enforcing that healing through declaring what God has said and agreeing with it. “… if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:19)

We begin by speaking out our faith – we say what we want, not what we have. So we begin to say ‘I’m healed’ instead of going around telling everyone we’re ill. It’s an act of faith.

For example, Joel 3:10 says, “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’” Why would the Bible tell us to do that?

We do this strange thing because Jesus said, “…he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23) So we speak the solution not the problem.

So, for example, as I am praying for my friend Tracy who has cancer, I am saying, "Tracy is healed. The name of Jesus is above every name. It’s above the name of cancer. I command this cancer to leave now. I declare that it’s the cancer that will curl up and die – not Tracy. Tracy is healed by the wounds of Jesus. Cancer is going NOW! Healing is coming NOW!" And I’ll pray like that every day – as long as it takes.

We should be expectant. We should tell Satan that his plan, to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), will not work in our body because our healing has been purchased with the blood of Jesus.

We need to come to the place where we have as much confidence that we are healed as we have that we are forgiven. How do you know your sin is forgiven? Can you prove it? No. You are trusting that the blood of Jesus paid the price on the cross, that it’s a done deal in the Spirit and that you have passed from death to life. Gradually an inner witness grows in your spirit.

Well it’s the same covenant that heals us as forgives us. How do we know we are healed? It begins by trusting that the blood of Jesus paid the price for our healing. (Matt 8:17 ‘He took our infirmities’). We believe it’s a done deal – we don’t need to qualify it with little get out clauses for God (just as we wouldn’t do that for forgiveness). Gradually an inner witness grows that we are in possession of our healing. When we get it in the spirit, shortly after it will manifest in the flesh.

Like Jesus said to Jairus, when the servant said ‘your child is dead, trouble the master no more’, he replied ‘only believe’ - and keep believing and don’t quit believing.

I love Psalm 103 because I did some research and found that the Hebrew word translated here as ‘all’ actually means… ALL!

“Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Psalms 103:2-5

I was 51 last week but I declare with the psalmist “My youth is being renewed like the eagle’s”

Whatever you are facing today, you need to stand up on the inside, like David running to face Goliath in battle, boldly confident that you are facing a defeated enemy. You are healed in the name of Jesus!

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Another year older...

2008-04-04T09:33:00.003+01:00

Ah birthdays... Once you're past 30 the novelty kinda wears off doesn't it? How do I feel today on my 51st? (I know I don't look that old... I'm just wearing well). Today I feel a year older but not sure if I'm a year wiser.

As I think about life today, what I've done and not done over the years, I come to the conclusion that what really matters is family and friends. We are designed to live in community and in families. Some families don't get along, and I think all families have areas of disfunction. But with all the weird and wonderful things about families and friends, I think our relationships are the most important thing.

My grandson sent me this video this morning. I think it sums up my life well...

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Searching for God

2008-04-03T15:46:00.002+01:00

When I was a teenager, I began to wonder about life the universe etc. Why were we here on planet earth? I looked into various religions and read information. One name kept recurring during my research - ' Jesus'.

One day I had an encounter with God and my life was changed forever. I was sharing some of my story on Easter Sunday in Basildon, Essex, UK. Five people responded and gave their life to Jesus. Some people got healed including a doctor.

You can listen to this message online, on your computer, or in iTunes. Click here to listen now.

Or to read stories of other people who searched for God, visit www.searchforgod.co.uk

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God calling…

2008-03-27T11:46:00.003Z

After a really busy few weeks, I’m just pausing this week to reflect and take stock. Where am I? Shortly, RSVP will be moving to new offices, something we’ve needed to do for more than a year. As I just take stock today, I’m listening for God’s voice.

Yet it seems that God is always trying to get our attention, but so often we are just not listening. When Jesus came, he spent three years trying to communicate what God was like. He used lots of parables, stories and illustrations so that everybody could understand.

He’s the bread of life – so bakers can understand.
He’s the water of life – so plumbers can understand.
He’s the light of the world – so electricians can understand.
He’s the cornerstone – so architects can understand.
He’s the hidden treasure– so bankers can understand.
He’s the life – so biologists can understand.
He’s the door – so carpenters can understand.
He’s the great physician – so doctors and nurses can understand.
He’s the good teacher – so educators can understand.
He’s the lily of the valley – so florists can understand.
He’s the rock of ages – so geologists can understand.
He’s the true vine – so horticulturists can understand.
He’s the righteous one – so judges can understand.
He’s the pearl of great price – so jewellers can understand.
He’s wisdom – so philosophers can understand.
He’s the word – so actors can understand.
He’s the good shepherd – so farmers can understand.
He’s the alpha and omega – so scientists can understand.
He’s the way – so traffic wardens can understand.
He’s the truth – so politicians can understand.

He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Somehow he is communicating with you and me today, through his word in the Bible, through nature and the changing seasons, through life’s joys and sorrows - he is the God who is involved in your life. That loving, gentle hand. Closer than our own breath. Nearer than our own hands and feet.

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Watch where you are going

2008-03-15T19:18:00.001Z

A recent report suggested that, in 2007, more than 68,000 people in the UK banged their heads on lampposts whilst walking and texting on their mobile phone. It also said that some local councils are planning to put cushioning material round lampposts to protect such people.

I think this new phenomenon symbolises life in the UK today – so many people are not looking where they are going. Not only in the street but in life.

Are you looking where you are going today? Do you have a plan for your life. If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail.

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Proverbs 16:3

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God is calling you to himself

2008-03-14T16:23:00.003Z

Today, God is calling. He is calling to you. In the hustle and bustle of our lives sometimes we don't hear his still small voice, calling in our hearts.

I believe God wants to speak to you right now. To touch you, to heal you, to change you, to know you.

Pause for a moment, watch this video and listen, in your spirit to the voice of God.

But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9

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Pregnant men

2008-03-13T16:03:00.002Z

I would like to announce today… that I am pregnant and I think you are too. Can men be pregnant? Yes they can. I am pregnant today with a vision to see the hungry fed, the sick healed and the lost coming to know their Creator.

You may be pregnant with a vision, with a car, a house or a ministry. God’s word plants a seed in the hearts of men and women, that grows and develops and eventually they give birth to their vision.

“The Bible is high explosive. But it works in strange ways and no living man can tell or know how that book, in its journey through the world, has startled the individual soul in ten thousand different places into a new life, a new world, a new belief, a new conception, a new faith.”
Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin - May 1928

A new baby usually deprives it's parents of 400-750 hours of sleep in the first year. As we give birth to our vision it will take time, energy and commitment. Just like a newborn baby, our newly birthed vision may consume our waking hours and some of our sleeping ones.

It needs to be nurtured, cared for and protected until it can stand on its own feet.

When my wife became pregnant with our first child, I noticed something. The way she used to walk, which I found so attractive, began to change. By the end of nine months and with the baby slightly overdue, she was walking very differently. When we are pregnant with the promises of God, it will change the way we walk in the world.

What are you pregnant with today?

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The power of ‘Hello’

2008-03-12T00:31:00.006Z

When surveying people who stopped attending church after six weeks, 92% of them said it was because no one talked to them. I think that we in the West have a different kind of poverty to that found in the Third World. There we find a lack of material needs. But here in the UK our poverty is a poverty of spirit.

As I observe and listen to people, the cry of the human heart I hear is loneliness. We can earn a good wage, have a nice family and be surrounded by people and yet, we can be so very lonely.

By nature, I am a bit shy. But these last few months, I have been making an effort to speak to strangers. To smile, say 'Hello' – to say something just to make a connection with other human beings. To the checkout girl, to those we meet everyday who probably don't normally get thanked or even noticed.

We are drowning in our high tech society. The Utopia we sought has arrived. But now it’s here we are not so sure it’s what we wanted.

“I am much more scared of living than I am of dying. Dying would be easy, living is the tough one.”
Sophie Anderton

Human beings were made for relationships, for community. The pub quiz, the flower arranging class, the book club and the fun run – all of them show we need others to be truly ourselves.

“It is a paradox, one best captured by Jung, who said, years ago, that we need others to be truly ourselves. ‘I’ needs ‘We’ to be fully ‘I’. Looking up, however, at the office blocks in every city, those little boxes piled on top of each other up into the sky, one has to wonder how much room there is for ‘I’ amid the filing cabinets and the terminals.”
Charles Handy

What about you? Have you spoken to anyone today? More importantly, have you spoken to someone new today. In our daily routine, we need to value contact with other people, to be open, to be a friend.

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:15

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Who are you following?

2008-03-11T17:52:00.002Z

In 1977 when Elvis died, if indeed he did die, there were 34 known Elvis impersonators. By 1990 there were 20,000 Elvis impersonators worldwide. If this trend continues, by 2035 one in five people alive will be an Elvis impersonator. They will replace the Chinese as the largest people group on earth.

The Elvis phenomenon has all that one would need to make a religion:
- death of the founder and sightings since
- statues and visits to birthplace

In fact, in Easter 1994 devotees held the first service of the Church of the Living Elvis and have since planted a daughter church.

Someday you will decide to believe someone and that someone will decide the rest of your life.

Imagine you are walking down the road. You reach a point where the road branches into two and you don’t know which way to go. Two men are lying there by the road - one is dead and one is alive. Which one would you ask for directions?
Jesus is alive! He is unique among all past religious leaders.

Who are you following today?

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Holiness in strange places

2008-03-10T20:57:00.004Z

I think there is a line in Les Misérables where a Bishop is found in an unlikely place. The character that discovers him expresses his surprise at finding a Bishop in a brothel. The Bishop replies something to the effect of, ‘You will find holiness in strange places’.

I love that picture. Not the shame of a religious leader found to be corrupt. Not the clergyman who embezzles funds. Not the evangelist found using prostitutes. But like Jesus at parties with prostitutes and tax collectors, so the holy touches the profane.

One of the ministries we are involved with at RSVP Trust, is an outreach to young women involved in prostitution. I think one of my favourite moments of that ministry was the night my friend Alison and I stood in a car park talking to two young women who were out looking for clients. One was shaking with withdrawal symptoms, the other was angry with the police. But they both shared very candidly about their life. A moment of connection based on trust. The trust came about through our faithfulness in visiting the area over several years.

That moment taught me that holiness isn’t a ‘feeling’ we sometimes get in church. It is something rooted in pure motives and a relationship with God. Holiness is indeed found in strange places.

"Everything in God's world can be holy if you realize its potential holiness. Everything we do can be transformed into a Sinai experience, an encounter with the sacred. The goal of Judaism is not to teach us how to escape from the profane world to the cleansing presence of God, but to teach us how to bring God into the world, how to take the ordinary and make it holy."
- Rabbi Harold Kushner

As far as Jesus is concerned, everything is spiritual. He wouldn’t understand the phrase, ‘How is your spiritual life?’ Everything we do is spiritual. Either opening us to evil or to the holy.

What does your presence bring to a situation? Are you a channel for the holy to touch the ordinary?

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Quick quote

2008-03-09T16:33:00.000Z

- disciples have scars and stories.
- believers have creeds and promises.
- christians have bumper stickers and catch phrases.

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Amazing grace

2008-03-08T12:45:00.002Z

I recently found this quote about grace. The more I think about it, the more I am amazed at God's grace. I was recently walking in the hills and came to a waterfall and thought of it again.

“In a way, to say we ‘receive’ the grace of God is as academic and abstract a way of putting it as to say that some little crevice halfway down Niagara Falls receives some water from the waterfall. Receiving isn’t quite adequate to the notion of being absolutely saturated and soaked by something that descends and passes on and draws you in.”
Dr Rowan Williams

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Under construction

2008-03-07T08:54:00.002Z

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6

When I’m criticised, I sometimes tell people, ‘I’m an oil painting, not a photograph. God hasn’t finished with me yet’.

We are not what we should be. We are not what we will be. But by the grace of God we are not what we were. We are not people who have everything all ‘sorted’. Followers of Jesus are people in whom God has ‘begun a good work’. That work continues for the rest of our lives. We are in a process of transformation.

So when we relapse, make a mistake, or, in my own case, do something through crass stupidity, let us not beat ourselves up. But let us try again, learn the lessons and stay in the programme.

God is at work in us. He is transforming us one painful step at a time. Be confident of this.

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Persistence

2008-03-06T10:13:00.006Z

I have the great privilege of working closely with the people of Rwanda. It is a beautiful country populated with some amazing people. Mention Rwanda and people often talk of genocide and killing. But there is something much more striking about Rwanda – more striking than the horrific days of genocide.

What I find amazing about Rwanda, is the total lack of desire for revenge. The country has recovered well from the dark days of killing. There are still a lot of hurting and traumatised people.

Last year I met a lady called Serephima. She showed me round the ruin of the church, where all her family were murdered by the Interhamwe. The bright African sun beaming in narrow shafts of light through the bullet holes in the roof.

Recently, the man who had been jailed for killing her family was released. I asked her how she felt about that. She told me she didn’t like him being back in the village, but he had led her to the remains of some of her other relatives. So she was able to lay them to rest.

“I don’t want him to be killed.” she said. “If we get revenge and kill those who killed there would be no one left. Rwanda is a very small country. I don’t want them all executed. I just want to live in peace. We all do.”

There is a real dignity in the way the people of Rwanda have handled their grief – grief that continues to this day. I find it puts my problems in perspective and inspires me to persevere.

"In the battle between the rock and the stream, the stream wins every time. Not through strength but through persistence."

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Power thinking

2008-03-05T19:45:00.002Z

What do you spend your time thinking about? It is important. Your thoughts create your words. Your words create your actions. Your actions create your habits. Your habits create your character. Your character creates your destiny. So, your thoughts effectively create your destiny. And, for most of us, our thoughts are greatly influenced by our past. But they don’t need to be.

We need to decide what we think about because it has such an impact on our life. What are you thinking about today?

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8

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The hungry spirit

2008-03-04T16:06:00.002Z

Sometimes we are busy with many things, yet restless in our hearts. We run around being busy, but busyness is not necessarily the same as fruitfulness. In the modern world we sometimes forget that we are spiritual beings. Our spirit is hungry and needs feeding.

If your output exceeds your input, then your upkeep will be your downfall.

We are spiritual beings and we were designed to work in relationship to our Creator. Jesus said he had food that his followers knew nothing about. (John 4:32) He said doing his Father’s work was spiritual nourishment.

We need to feed our spirits if they are to grow. We need to feed on God’s word. We do that by reading his word, listening to good Bible teachers and passionate Christians who have a good track record.

Today, in the Western world, we have countless resources to feed our hungry spirit - podcasts, blogs, books, tapes and CDs. The resources on the internet are often even free.

How about you? Are you taking sometime in your day to receive, to have some input? Or does your output exceed your input? We are called to walk with Jesus - to receive from him, to feed on him in our hearts, by faith with thanksgiving.

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4-5

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Who stole your dream?

2008-03-03T18:35:00.002Z

Life can wear you down. We have to live. We have to find money to live on, a place to live, and experience all the relationships that make up our life. If we are fortunate enough to have children, we have to help them grow and develop, and be involved in their life, their hopes and their dreams.

For many people, it seems life is a perpetual quest with an uncertain destination. People look to consumption to give satisfaction and meaning to their lives. But you were born for a purpose, not just to be a consumer.

“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.”
Jeremiah 29:11

At one time you had a dream. You knew the plan for your life. But these days, maybe, the dream got lost, swamped under life’s pressing demands.

Who stole your dream? When did you give up? When did you admit defeat and begin to think your dream would never become reality?

God wants to call you back to your dream, to give you a new vision. He sends his Holy Spirit on everyone, to touch and inspire, to call them to himself.

“In the last days”, God says, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
Acts 2:17

He’s sending the Holy Spirit on you right now as you read these words. You will see visions. You will dream dreams. Write your dreams down. Pray for revelation. Become a Joseph. Become a Daniel.

“Daniel distinguished himself … because an excellent spirit was in him…”
Daniel 6:3

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Mothers’ Day

2008-03-02T17:18:00.003Z

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
Tenneva Jordan

I remember sitting with my wife during 14 hours of labour as she gave birth to our first child. From that moment I had an even deeper respect for my own mother. I could never have known what she went through just so I could live. My Mum invested in my life in many ways. In ways I didn’t really appreciate till she was gone. She was a kind selfless person who lived a sacrificial life.

Sure, we don’t always get on with our mother. It can be a difficult relationship. My friend John says his Mum is a travel agent for ‘Guilt Trips’!

When my Mum died, it was such a shock. It was like some spiritual cord had been cut. The one who gave me life had gone.

Today we remember our mothers. Some people don’t know who their mother is. It’s such an important relationship. It can mess with our head. Today, whether we know them or not, let’s give thanks for our mother.

It is such an important relationship. And yet, Jesus said there is a relationship that is superior even to that of a mother and child - the relationship between us and our Creator.

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:48-50

God's love is even greater than the love of a good mother. Most, if not all, mothers would die to save their children. Yet God says his love towards you is greater.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...”
Isaiah 49:15-16

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Healing (1)

2008-03-01T17:17:00.000Z

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
3 John 2

God created you to be successful and healthy. Have you ever heard people talking about someone they know, who has a tragic illness? “What is God doing? His ways are mysterious” they say. Then maybe they pray, “Lord, if it’s your will, please heal so and so”, as though they are not really sure if it is God’s will to heal.

So let me just clarify: sickness and disease are never God’s will. They never have been and never will be. How do I know? Because I have looked at the places where God’s perfect will is done and sickness and disease are not part of it.

Take heaven for example. Is there sickness in heaven? Of course not. ‘Ah, but maybe it is his will on earth!’ you may say. Well not according to Jesus. He taught his followers to pray…

“Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10

God’s plan is for you to have success, good health and a long strong life. ‘Well why haven’t I got that?’ people ask. John, one of Jesus’ closest friends, wrote the words we started with today. He prays that we may ‘prosper’, or have success, ‘in all things and be in health’. But he adds, ‘just as your soul prospers’.

Men and women were separated from the relationship with their Creator through rebellious thinking and actions. Today, we need to come back into a relationship with God by inviting Jesus to live in our hearts and asking his forgiveness for the past.

But even then our soul needs to ‘prosper’. We need to feed on God and his word. The more we are transformed by walking close with God the more his covenant blessing will flow in our life.

At the heart of any relationship is communication. Without communication any relationship will grow cold and die. We need to really feed on God’s word so that our soul prospers and then we will begin to prosper in all things and be in health.

“My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.”
Proverbs 4:20-22

How is your soul prospering today? Are you feeding on God’s word? If you need a healing, feed on what God says about healing. If you need a financial breakthrough, feed on what God says about finance. As we feed on his word, our soul will prosper and we will be in health, as his word brings life to all our flesh.

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God knows

2008-02-29T16:38:00.000Z

“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.”
Psalm 138:7

God is on your case. Your victory is on the way. Stand firm and see the deliverance of your God!

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No one remembers the half time score

2008-02-28T16:03:00.002Z

What matters in life is finishing well. If things go wrong in your life, it’s not the end of the story. I have friends who have been through painful divorces. I’ve never met anyone who enjoyed getting divorced. It is obviously very, very painful and emotionally draining. But it is not the end of life.

Others I know faced crippling financial problems and even faced bankruptcy. But you would not know that now, if you met them for the first time. They came through and moved on.

I remember when our son died just before his third birthday. That really did feel like the end of the world. But you know what? Even that awful event was not the end. It was not the last world on my life. I’m still here and life went on, as it has to.

Our lives are judged more by how we finish rather than a particular period in the course of our life. If we end in sin and corruption, that’s how we’ll be remembered generally. But, even if we have many ups and downs, if we finish well, that’s how we’ll be remembered – as someone who finished well. No one remembers the half time score. They only remember the final score.

Whatever is happening in your life today, it’s only half time. What people will remember is the final score. So you need to make sure you never give up. Press on. Press on!

We may feel weary from time to time. That’s natural. We may feel weary, but let’s not become weary. There is a difference.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9

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The love we desire

2008-02-27T16:54:00.003Z

Human beings desire love. Just last week a man was convicted of murdering five women. One assumes you would have to be hard and unfeeling to do that - to violently take the life of a human being, let alone five. But another story came out after the trial. The story of a seven-year old boy whose mother left home and made no contact with him for forty years. The devastation and rejection that boy felt was put forth as a possible reason why he grew up to hate women.

It is true that we long to be loved and those who are deprived of love in their formative years often have a hard time in later life.

I wonder if it was the unusual, genuine love that flowed from Jesus that attracted such crowds to him?

"I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I founded empires, but on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love and at this hour millions of men would die for him."
Napoleon Bonaparte

Jesus taught that we should attune our life to his life, that we should follow his teachings to find true love deep within our hearts.

“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.”
John 15:9

I meet so many hurting people who wonder if there really is love in this world. For me, the day I asked Jesus to come into my heart, was the greatest day of my life. Nothing could ever match the power of Jesus’ love that came into my life that day. It was like standing under a warm shower of unconditional perfect love and being washed clean on the inside.

What about you? Have you invited Jesus to the centre of your life – into your heart? If you have, Jesus has another command – ‘Now remain in my love.’ To remain in his love, we must walk and talk with him, read his word and follow his ways. To be a true disciple of Jesus is to take repeated steps of obedience in the same direction. Are you remaining in his love today?

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Do the right thing

2008-02-26T16:02:00.005Z

I think many people on the planet are trying to do the right thing. If, today, we can do the right thing, in the small matters of life, together we will make a difference to the larger issues of the world.

Who we are, what we do and keeping our integrity really do matter. The almost daily stories of corruption and over-claiming of expenses, in our government, makes depressing reading.

Character may be manifested in big events but it is formed in little ones. The world chases new problems to solve when it hasn't dealt with the old ones. And the most important ones are the matters of the heart.

“Sometimes it seems that the more we know, the more confused we get; that the more we increase our technical capacity the more powerless we become. With all our sophisticated armaments we can only watch impotently as parts of the world kill each other. We grow more food than we need but cannot feed the starving. We can unravel the mysteries of galaxies but not of our own families.”
Charles Handy - The Empty Raincoat

If , today, we can repair a broken relationship, pay off a debt, encourage someone who’s downhearted, or just be a good friend or a faithful spouse, we will make the world a better place. Often the hard thing to do and the right thing to do are the same thing.

How is your character and integrity today? It’s important because anything minus integrity equals zero.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
Luke 16:10

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There is no future in your past

2008-02-25T20:44:00.000Z

We cannot do anything about yesterday. Tomorrow may never come. All we have is today. And yet… how often are we chained to our past. We have let past mistakes define us. But they are not the story of our life, merely an unfortunate episode or two.

We forget what we should remember and we remember what we should forget. We forget that God is for us. We forget we are made in his image. We forget that he has given us his blood, his power, his spirit, his wisdom and his favour. These are things we should remember but we often forget them.

But we also remember those things we should forget. The parent, teacher or other adult who said we were stupid and would never amount to anything. The past mistake we made that still has consequences today. That betrayal by a close friend long ago – it hurt so much. These are the things we should forget. They should not be holding us back after all this time. But often they do.

There is no future in your past. It’s time to look up and walk in life with your head held high. God loves you and has a plan for you. You may yet make missteps along the way. But remember, failure is not falling down, it is not getting up again.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
Isaiah 43:2

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Jesus Saves

2008-02-24T11:14:00.002Z

Jesus Saves. It’s a phrase used by Christians that the world doesn’t understand. The old joke – Jesus saves; Moses invests – shows we don’t really understand the powerful meaning of this phrase.

The world doesn’t see any danger so they don’t really think they need to be ‘saved’. But when we look at the dictionary definition, we begin to get an understanding of what Jesus wants to do in our life.

Save:
-to rescue from danger or harm
-to preserve from injury, destruction or loss
-to put aside for a particular use
-to deliver from sin
-to keep from being wasted or lost
-to keep an opponent from scoring or winning

These are the things that Jesus wants to do in your life. He wants to save you from and for - to save you from sin and death and save you for a purpose.

So, I ask, are you saved? Have you turned your life over to Jesus so he can do these things for you? Without Jesus we are lost and in danger. We must ask Jesus to save us. Have you ever asked him to save you? If not, do it today, right now.

“Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.”
Psalms 68:20

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Just do it.

2008-02-23T15:52:00.001Z

I was hungry and you formed a committee to investigate my hunger.
I was homeless and you filed a report on my plight.
I was sick and you held a seminar on the situation of the underprivileged.
You have investigated all the aspects of my plight,
Yet I am still hungry, homeless and sick.

When everything is said and done, there’s a lot more said than done. Sometimes we need to do something. I remember a few years ago a member of our staff wanted to start a work with the homeless in Ipswich. We talked and planned how we should meet Christians and social workers and other parties and get their views. Maybe we should look for a room for a drop in. We talked about it for weeks… but we did nothing.

Then one day, the member of staff whose idea it was, came into the office and said, “I started the homeless work yesterday!”

“How did you do that?” I asked.

“Well, I just made some sandwiches and some cakes and some coffee. Then I took it to the homeless and asked if they wanted something. I was there for two hours chatting to them!”

I learnt something that day. Less is more. Sometimes we need to stop talking about it and just do it.

Lots of people have plenty of wish bone. But God is looking for someone with back bone. Every journey starts with the first step. Every book starts with the first page.

What one thing could you do today to make a difference to someone’s life? As the prophet Nike says… Just do it!

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Have you planned your break?

2008-02-22T17:25:00.006Z

We live in busy world moving at an increasingly fast pace. The computers that we invented to help us do things quicker mean that more is now demanded of us. Myriad items of information pass before our eyes everyday.

Human beings were made for a weekly rhythm that includes a day of rest. We also benefit from periods of reflection and solitude. If you feel like you’re always working 24/7 then something is not right. Eventualy something has to give.

Leonardo da Vinci once wrote:
"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer; since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgement. Go some distance away because the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen."

Space in our schedule does happen on its own. It has to be planned just as our work has to be planned. I remember the year we launched out to live by faith. We didn’t book a holiday in advance because we weren’t sure if we could afford one. Well, when the time came we didn’t get a holiday – we were able to afford one easily… but we hadn’t planned for it, so it didn’t happen.

Have you planned some space in this year to come aside and rest? Are you taking a weekly break from your normal routine? If God rested on the seventh day, so should you.

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;”
Hebrews 4:9

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Final Answer?

2008-02-21T20:27:00.005Z

The atmosphere around the steam powered carousel is amazing. The smell of steam and all the brightly decorated horses, rising and descending, grabs the gaze of young eyes. I took my grandson last summer and watched so many children do what our girls did when they were little.

The carousel stops as they wait patiently. As the previous passengers get off the horses, other kids rush on. The pink one! No the blue one! O there’s a yellow one! No the green one! You wonder if they will ever decide. As the carousel begins to move and they are sat on the horse they finally chose, they always say… “I didn’t want this one. I wanted the other one".

We are all surrounded by choices. Our difficult choices are not between a good opportunity and a bad one. They’re not between a good opportunity and a great one. Otherwise there would be no difficulty in choosing. No, our difficult choices are often between two or more equally good opportunities. We fear failing at the one we choose and wondering ‘What if?’ about the one we reject.

The difficulty is not only choosing one opportunity, but knowing, like the child choosing a horse on the carousel, that we must let the others go. And in the larger matters of life, we may have to lay down some other things – things that we love.

God gives his children good desires, the mind of Christ and the wisdom of God. He has more than one plan for your success. Like modern day Sat Navs, if you take a wrong turning, God is able to recalculate the route so you still end up at the right destination. You know, sometimes, I think God is happy whichever good opportunity we chose.

Jesus came to set his people free. Whatever we do in life, God wants us to walk in holy freedom and liberty.

“But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.”
Jeremiah 40:4

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Surround Sound

2008-02-20T21:48:00.006Z

Who are you listening to? We are surrounded by many voices – friends, enemies, TV and radio, newspapers, the government, the man down the road… What we hear affects what we think and therefore what we do.

I love Bill Cullen’s account of his childhood, in his book Golden Apples, he tells how his Ma made him stand in front of the mirror and tell himself he was terrific, twenty times before she would let him go out for the day. And then his Gran told him ‘You’re the best fella you’ll meet today!’ With that level of family affirmation it’s no surprise he went on to become a successful millionaire.

By contrast we all know people who were put down by their parents and others, and who now from suffer low self esteem.

That’s why so many of us love motivational speakers – it’s just so helpful to be affirmed occasionally! We need to think about what and who we listen to.

Jesus said “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.”
Mark 4:24

Jesus said we should be careful what we hear and how we hear it or how we measure it. As we listen to God’s word and what he says about us, how are we measuring it? Do we believe and receive it? Or do we doubt and go without?

When we hear and receive God’s word, it brings life, healing and hope. We should attach far greater value to God’s word than the word of anyone else.

“My child, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.”
Proverbs 4:20-22

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First things

2008-02-19T19:41:00.001Z

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33

What are your priorities? We sometimes rush around doing stuff that we hope will improve our life. We hide from trouble and seek out promotion, property and pleasure. Yet often we still feel unfulfilled.

We search for our life purpose and wonder what we should do with our life. One of the most depressing experiences of human beings is looking back on life with a lot of regrets. It’s not dying that people really fear so much as not having really lived.

When we chase material gain and leave life’s meaning to our spare time, we have our priorities in the wrong order.

Jesus said we should reorder our priorities. He said we should seek God first and then material blessing would follow. Unlike many religious leaders, he didn’t say that material things have no value, just that they should not be put first.

He said we should put God FIRST. He should be FIRST in everything.
First in our Finances
First in our Interests
First in our Relationships
First in our Schedule
First in our Troubles

When we put God first and seek his kingdom, then ‘all these things’ – all the material things we need – will be ‘added’ to us.

Who or what is really FIRST in your life today?

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A quick hello!

2008-02-18T21:51:00.002Z

I really appreciate all you readers from the UK, USA, Australia, Romania, Denmark, Turkey and anywhere else! Do drop me a line and say ‘Hello’.

If there are any topics or questions you want answered or subjects you’d like me to write about, do contact me. I really want this blog to ‘scratch where people itch’ if you know what I mean.

(Today’s word is below this message)

You can contact me by clicking the link below!

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Go large

2008-02-18T15:14:00.003Z

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”
Isaiah 54:2

The moment for boldness has arrived. God is calling you up to another level. All of life is lived at different levels and each level is lived at different stages. We can’t stand still.

Today I believe God is telling you that you have completed the current level. Each new level has its own devil to overcome – new level, new devil. But now, it is time to move up to a new level in life. Sure there will be a new devil to overcome in order for you to be established on this new level, but you need to overcome. You were born to overcome in life.

“…everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
1 John 5:4

At McDonalds you can ‘go large’ for an extra 50p. It may cost you more than 50p, but God is also calling you to ‘go large’ in life, in faith, in action. Come on!

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Stop the Pick 'n' Mix

2008-02-17T11:09:00.006Z

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6

Woolworth’s pick ‘n’ mix are great aren’t they? The old days of having to buy bags of only one sort of sweet are long gone. Now we can pick and mix the selection we really want. What a great idea.

It’s really attractive to the modern independent spirit that demands consumer choice. Unfortunately people have applied the idea to God.

A man recently wrote to me saying he had tried everything to be healed of a chronic pain he was suffering. He told me his about his ailment. It certainly sounded aweful. He had tried mediums, acupuncture, crystal healing, yoga and just about every other alternative therapy, as well as the doctor. They’d all failed to heal his pain.

Then he told me he’d read my book A Word about your Healing and that hadn’t worked either. If fact, he said it had ‘condemned’ him.

I sympathise with his pain, I really do, but I could instantly see a flaw in his approach. He was using the pick ‘n’ mix approach to faith. Any old thing would be given a try. Understandable but not a good idea.

Jesus claims exclusivity and doesn’t not allow us to mix faith in him with faith and, by implication, trust and possibly worship of other spirits. ‘No one comes to the Father except through Me.’

Yesterday we looked at Abram leaving his family. They were all tied up with Moon worship and God told Abram to get away from them to a new land, to reposition himself, connect with the true God alone, and then he would live under a great blessing.

Be very careful today that you don’t try to mix Jesus with New Age thinking that pervades the UK. Jesus won’t allow it. That stuff is really demonic in the end.

“Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
2 Corinthians 11:14

Jesus calls us to an exclusive relationship with himself. We were born to worship him and have relationship with him and exclude all other spiritual entities.

He is more than enough for us. He is able and he alone is worthy of our worship, attention and love. Where is Jesus today? Is he inside your life? Or outside?

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20

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Reposition yourself for blessing

2008-02-16T16:12:00.002Z

As the plane lifted off the ground the navigational systems failed. The pilot decided to press on and use his years of experience. After about one hour, the Captain came on the loud speaker.

“The bad news” he told the passengers, “is that we are totally lost. The good news is that we are making excellent time!”

If we don’t know where we are, it’s impossible to know where we are going. From the very beginning of time, men and women have been on a journey. And that journey depends on our relationship with God.

But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9

I don’t believe God’s question was one of geography but of relationship. Where are we in relation to God?

God’s plan was to bless men and women. Those were his first words to human beings.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:28

When that all went wrong he chose Noah and his family to start all over again. As the waters of judgement receded, God pronounced the same blessing on Noah as he had on Adam.

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. …As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
Genesis 9:1, 7

Sadly, Noah’s family fell out of relationship with God. So later, God appears to a man called Abram who was living in Haran, part of modern day Turkey. His family was involved in the worship of ‘Sin’ – not our word for wrongdoing, but the Moon god of Haran in ancient Turkey. (Interesting that Turkey’s flag has a moon on it today).

God told Abram to leave his family and the land he was living in and start off on a journey and that God would bless him. He put on Abram the blessing he put on Adam and Noah.

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
Genesis 12:1-4

Abram was promised a great blessing if he repositioned himself for the blessing, by following God’s lead on an incredible journey.

It is not enough just to pray for God’s blessing. However fervently we may pray, the time comes when we must do something. God promises to prosper what we do, not what we pray.

“Whatever he does prospers.”
Psalm 1:3

What is the vision or call that God has given you? Men, in particular, are very visual. That’s why God later showed Abraham the stars as he told him ‘So shall your descendants be’. It was visual so it stirred up vision in the man’s heart.

What do you see? If you can see the invisible you can do the impossible. Is it time to reposition yourself for a new season of blessing?

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Don Egan –the obituary

2008-02-15T14:14:00.011Z

It was one of those moments when I had too much time on my hands. I was waiting in for a package to be delivered. Waiting is a strange activity. So I thought I'd surf the internet for a few minutes. I checked Facebook and wasted a few minutes on there.

I was a bit bored so… I googled my own name, just out of curiosity. The first few listings were our ministry website (www.rsvptrust.co.uk), which I was expecting, but a few links in, I found two obituaries… for Don Egan!

It sent a shiver down my spine. They were both guys from the USA. One was Don Egan, a Fire Chief, greatly loved by his co-workers, who wrote warmly of his great community involvement.

The other Don Egan was a doctor who had led the field in respiratory care.

Dr. Egan was arguably the father of modern respiratory care,” says Paul Mathews, PhD.

There’s a great and scary moment in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol where the ghost of Christmas future silently points to a gravestone in a misty cemetery. Ebenezer Scrooge sees his own name on the grave. It’s the final kick that causes him to change his ways. My experience felt a bit like that.

It got me thinking that really our days on planet earth are short. A few ticks of the clock in the day of eternity. If each day of the week represents a decade of our life, most of us would have a week, representing 70 years. So Monday is 0-10 years, Tuesday is 11-20, Wednesday 21-30… and so on. I’m on late Friday afternoon at the moment. How’s your weekend looking?

“As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.”
Psalm 103:15-16

I thought back to a few years ago… My parents died in the late 1980s. It seems like yesterday. But they never heard the words ‘email’ or ‘internet’. The world has changed rapidly since they left. They were kids during the Second World War and both had stories about that period. They invested in my life and I have a great deal to thank them for.

Each one of us leaves a footprint on earth, for good or ill, as we pass through this world. God has a plan and a purpose for your life. The world will be different because you lived. It is time to hear from God what he wants to do, in you and through you… and then take some action. What footprint will you leave on the earth?

What do you want your obituary to say about you? Then what will you have to do to cause those things to be said?

“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

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Love is in the air

2008-02-14T17:59:00.004Z

My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”
Song of Solomon 2:10-12

St Valentines Day. Mmm. Maybe you forgot, as I often have. Maybe you believe, like the woman at the carpet shop I spoke to yesterday morning, that it’s all just a ‘load of rubbish to make money’ for the sellers of flowers, chocolates and greetings cards.

But in amidst all the bad news of war, hatred and killing that churns out of the TV every night, it is good to hear about love.

Love that breaks down the hardest hearts. Those words, ‘I love you’ when said with sincerity mean so much. The father, whose ongoing difficult relationship with his daughter, explodes into an argument that ends in tears… with him saying, ‘I just want you to love me’.

I remember the first time my grandson rested his head on my chest, hugged me and said, ‘I love you Granddad’. What a feeling!

It’s because we we’re made for love. To give and receive love. It’s the real purpose of sex – for two people to share intimacy. But like most things we’ve treated the gift casually.

And we rejected our Creator’s love for us. That’s why he sent Jesus. To call us back to himself. To forgive us. He didn’t come to rub it in. He came to rub it out.

God’s word for you today is that the long hard winter of loneliness is over. He is calling to you today. Return to him, your first love, your first passion. A new warmth, a new season opens up before you. Can’t you hear him calling to you?

“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”
Song of Solomon 2:10-12

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Been here before?

2008-02-13T12:13:00.004Z

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing.”
Romans 7:19

Isn’t it frustrating when you go round and round the same old problem without getting it properly resolved? Israel took 40 years to complete a two week journey. Why? Because they went round and round the same old rebellion against God and his ways. It took only a day for God to get Israel out of Egypt. But it took 40 years for God to get Egypt out of Israel.

Some people go round and round the same old problems, the same insecurities, the same old addictions. It’s frustrating because we start hating ourselves when we find we’re back at square one.

Today I want to share a little plan I’m using to prevent myself going round the same old mountain. Observe. Reflect. Plan.

If we keep on doing what we’ve been doing, we’ll keep on getting what we’ve been getting. Taking the same action time and again and expecting a different outcome is really insanity. So let’s look at how we could do things differently.

1. Observe
What made you do this again? What triggered the behaviour or the reaction? If you can discover the trigger then you can do something about it. If you keep getting into debt, what causes you to spend money you don’t have, on things you don’t need, to impress people you don’t like? Or if it’s an addiction, did you keep going to the place that triggers the addiction?

2. Reflect
Once we see what is repeatedly triggering our behaviour, we can think about alternatives. I used to get into a lot of debt. However many times I paid off my debts, the next time I felt down, I’d buy something expensive hoping it would make me feel better. But the buzz lasted only an hour or two. Before the packaging hit the bin, any happiness induced by shopping had dissolved. And I was back in debt with no way to pay it off. So I decided to cut up all my credit cards and determine not to spend more than I realistically had. I changed what I did, so I would have a changed outcome.

3. Plan
What can we do differently? Can we avoid the places and people that trigger our negative behaviour? Could we rearrange our day or involve other people to protect us from whatever triggers the negative behaviour? We should write down our plan and even keep a diary or journal of what changes we made and how they worked or didn’t work.

We need to do something otherwise we’ll keep going round the same old mountain, frustrated and hating ourselves. Let’s change what we do to change what we keep doing.

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5 Things every believer should know about sickness

2008-02-12T10:37:00.000Z

1. Sickness is a curse
When God was telling his people how to walk in blessing and avoid being under a curse, he said,

“However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”
Deuteronomy 28:15

Then God listed the curses, which included sickness.

2. Sickness is bondage

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
Luke 13:15-16

Jesus said the sickness was bondage to Satan.

3. Sickness is oppression from Satan

“…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Acts 10:38

Sickness is used by Satan to oppress people. He tries to overwhelm them and to destroy them.

4. Sickness is captivity

“And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
Job 42:10, (KJV)

The Hebrew word ‘sheb-ooth’ means captivity. Job was captive to sickness.

5. You have the right to be free!

When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
Matthew 8:16-17

Jesus took up your infirmities and sickness and every disease on the cross. Christians should never accept sickness. Our good health was purchased by Jesus, with his own blood, on the cross. His blood paid the price for our freedom. He bought us the right to be healed.

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Keep it in perspective

2008-02-11T15:44:00.000Z

Sometimes things seem more important than they really are. When we have conflicts and disagreements, sometimes it’s all we can think about. But for most of us in the Western world, things are not really so bad.

Just recently I’ve heard of a couple of people I know of, who are very wealthy, they are surrounded by people who care for them, yet they are very sad. Their lives seem to be falling apart. From outside the situation, it looks ridiculous. They have so much yet they are so unhappy. Sure possessions will never make us happy but they seem to have lost perspective about what is troubling them.

Last year I visited some refugees in Rwanda. They had been evicted from Tanzania with just the clothes they stood up in. Pushed back to their homeland after a 10 – 30 year absence. And pushed into an area of bushland suffering from drought.

Thanks to the generosity of one of our supporters, I was able to take 3 tons of food to them. When our team arrived, the refugees met us. As I shared a few words of hope with them, I was really moved. We had laughter.

Amazing! Despite all their hardships, pain and hunger, they had life in perspective and could find something to laugh about. We took some musicians and we ended up dancing for ages till the sun went down.

When I feel under pressure, I often look at this picture. It puts things in perspective. By comparison, my difficulties are a temporary inconvenience that I will eventually overcome.

I don’t know what’s troubling you today, but look at it in perspective. In the great scheme of life, is it so insurmountable?

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I will never leave you

2008-02-10T18:23:00.000Z

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5

Sometimes we feel we’ve made a real mess of things. I’m personally familiar with that feeling. Then the devil whispers in our ear that we’ve even disappointed God… implying that he’s left us too. But that’s a lie.

Whichever way you read the Bible, it is clear that though we may be unfaithful from time to time, God is always faithful towards us.

“if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
2 Timothy 2:13

The love of God never ceases to amaze me. But I shouldn’t be surprised at God’s faithfulness. Let us look in our minds eye at Jesus on the cross. Why did he die? Was it the Pharisees who had him arrested? Was it the Romans who executed him? No. It was he himself who laid down his life for me and for you… because he loved us.

There, on the cross, through all the shouting, abuse and blasphemy, do we not hear the voice of Jesus? “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Others may desert us. But God is faithful. Talk to him today.

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Face your fear!

2008-02-09T21:40:00.000Z

Special extra post today. This morning my daughter wanted to go up the church tower to take some pics for her college photography course. I was torn between my fear of heights and being with her for the experience. Finally, at the last point, (a rusty ladder over a long drop into the bell frame), I bottled it. Then when the others were on the roof, I decided to go for it. So glad I did! What a view. Moral? Face your fear and do it anyway!

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Help!

2008-02-09T16:55:00.000Z

“O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.”
Psalms 30:2

Sometimes… when things go wrong, or you feel trapped in repeated behaviour or addictions, you just need to call on God for help. God hears the cry of your heart. As you call to him, he will answer you.

Sometimes it takes a little while to turn things round. Big things, like sea going oil tankers, take quite a while to turn around. Initially, it looks like nothing is happening. But the guy holding the steering wheel just keeps it turned in the direction he wants to go. Eventually, the vessel begins to turn.

Perhaps what you are trying to turn round in your life is a bit like that. You start trying to turn things round. It will only work if you consistently keep doing things to turn things around. Eventually, by consistency and persistence, things will begin to turn round for the better.

As you call to God, he will work with you to bring change. Don’t give up. Change is on the way. As you draw close to God, he will draw close to you.

Contact Don

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Lift up your head

2008-02-08T15:26:00.001Z

Today I just feel someone will read this who feels full of shame. Shame is one of the root causes of low self esteem. It eats us up inside. Studies have shown that 85% of people’s problems are the result of them not liking themselves. That’s why the devil loves to put shame on you. He wants you to feel repeated failure so you begin to dislike yourself.

We can be filled with shame for all sorts of reasons: things we said and did that we regret, failure, isolation, alcoholism, broken relationships - the list goes on. We reject ourselves and then isolate ourselves because we think, ‘If I don’t like myself, then no one else will either.’ We walk round looking at the floor, keeping out of the way.

Today, I want you to look up! Lift up your head. God, who created you, loves you deeply. He came to deliver you from shame.

“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”
Psalm 34:5

Today you need to lift up your head. Stop looking at the floor. Look the world in the eye. Say out loud, “God loves me!” Say it now. Say it again! “God loves me”. This is how we lift up our soul. By declaring what God has said. King David did it often. He had many seasons in his life when he was on the run, under threat of death. Then he committed adultery and arranged a murder. Don’t you think he felt low self esteem and full of shame? But he lifted up his soul.

“To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No-one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.”
Psalm 25:1-3

Today God comes to comfort you. He’s reaching out to you through these words. You need to look up. As I look back over my life, I could write a book about what I should be ashamed of. But thank God, he has set me free from the past.

Last year a man began emailing me and attacking me personally. He repeatedly used the phrase ‘Shame on you for…’ and reeled off a list of his complaints. But I didn’t accept the shame. Shame is not on me. The love, grace, mercy and blessing of God – that’s what’s on me. And that is what is on you today.

“Lift up your eyes and look about you...”
Isaiah 60:4

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Your deliverance is coming!

2008-02-07T20:17:00.000Z

I don’t now what things are troubling you right now or what obstacles you face. Maybe your plans for life have been held up by something that seems immovable, like a mountain standing in you path. Maybe you’re faced with a Goliath intimidating you everyday. Maybe you’ve even resigned yourself to the idea that things will never change and you will have to live with things as they are.

If that sounds like you, I’ve got some great news for you. Things are about to change. If you can see your problem, then change is on the way. The Bible says,

“For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
(2 Corinthians 4:18).

The things of God, which we cannot see, are permanent. God has no end. He does not change. But everything we can see with our eyes is only temporary. Unemployment, debt, broken relationships, ill health - all of these are only temporary. If you can see it, it is going to change.

The eternal, unseen kingdom of God is far above and more powerful than the temporary seen world in which we live. The Kingdom of God determines what happens in this seen world. So we need to be right with God above all else. If we don’t get our relationship with God right, nothing else will work really. That’s why the Bible says,

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
(Colossians 3:2).

Now, there are some people who are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good but that’s not what I mean.
We should be focussed on God’s plan for our life and be fulfilling that. We are called to a relationship with him and with others. And we are called to overcome all obstacles that face us in this world. If we are born again, in Jesus, then we will overcome. The Bible says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” (1 John 5:4)

You need to begin to speak to your problem and tell it to be removed from your path. Tell it that it is about to be removed and thrown into the sea. Jesus said we could speak to mountains and expect them to move. What is your mountain today? Speak to it now and command it to go in Jesus name. Get ready, your deliverance is coming!

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Don’t give up!

2008-02-06T16:05:00.000Z

“The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”
Psalms 145:14

What a great promise this is! We all fall from time to time. We may fall into trouble. We may fall into sin sometimes. It’s OK to fall as long as we fall forwards. As long as we get up and try again.

This is not the time to quit. If we fall, the Lord upholds us. In other words he lifts us up. And it says he upholds ALL those who fall. That includes you and me right?

And he ‘lifts up those who are bowed down’. That’s great news. Sometimes, it’s not us who have fallen but circumstances have bowed us down. We can be bowed down by debt, bowed down by broken relationships, bowed down by unexpected tragedy.

In the mid 1980s, I was bowed down with grief of all kinds. It began with my mother’s premature and sudden death. Then our son was diagnosed with a heart deformity. Then my Father suddenly died of cancer. Then our son died during an operation. Then, to top it all, we ran into serious debt and we nearly lost our home. I often wondered what would happen next?!

But you know what? I’m still here! The Lord upheld me when I fell. He lifted me up when I was bowed down. Those two years of tragedy are not the story of my life… they were only a season of my life.

I don’t know what you are going through today. But however difficult it may seem, it will only be for a season. Don’t give up. Hold on in there. A new season is coming to you. The Lord is about to lift up all those who are bowed down.

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Solitude brings perspective

2008-02-05T07:00:00.000Z

Sometimes we can get so worked up about some difficulty we’re having. We go round and round various scenarios and we can’t see a way through that will make us happy.

We lay in bed thinking about the same thing over and over and our thoughts just snowball until it all looks impossible. Finally, we wonder if there I anyone on planet earth who really knows what we’re going through or appreciates us?

That’s when its time to get some solitude. We need to go for a walk. I find just being in the countryside, away from the area where my problems exist, begins to bring peace. If I can get an early morning walk in the countryside, all the better.

When we get away from things for a while, and realise the world is a big place, and realise that our place in the big scheme of things is actually quite small, somehow it bring peace. We get perspective. What seemed so urgent or important before actually isn’t.

If you’re facing overwhelming problems today, get away for a bit. Go for a walk. Talk it over with God. Solitude brings perspective.

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

What is your problem?

2008-02-04T09:54:00.000Z

I’ve been in ministry for about 25 years now. In that time, a lot of people told me their problems. I used to think I was quite good at helping people solve their problems. But you know what? I noticed that, however much I helped some people, they just came back next week with a new problem. I realised that some people are problem carriers. No matter how many problems you help them solve, they’ll always come back with new ones.
I want to briefly show you 8 things you need to know about your problems.

Problems are:
- Predictors
- Reminders
- Opportunities
- Blessings
- Lessons
- Everywhere
- Messages
- Solvable

1. Predictors
The way you react to your problem will determine the outcome. If you run around like a headless chicken saying its the end of the world, your problem will overcome you. If you see your problem as a temporary obstacle that can be overcome, then you will almost certainly overcome your problem.

2. Reminders
Problems remind us that we need others, we need help and we need God. Men and women were not designed to struggle through life on their own. How often have you gone over and over a problem in your mind and then had coffee with a friend and they just see a solution you didn’t see?

3. Opportunities
O don’t you just get irritated with those people who tell you your problem is an ‘opportunity’? ... But actually, they could be right. Some of my most serious problems turned out to be opportunities. I remember reading a letter from my employer telling me they were no longer going to pay me and we needed to vacate the house that went with my job. To lose your income and your house in one go - that’s a challenge! But you know what? Looking back it was the best opportunity I’ve ever had. I now work for myself and live in my own house - much better.

4. Blessings
Just like opportunities, problems can turn out to be blessings. In 1987, my son died just before his 3rd birthday. It was horrible. My heart ached as we ‘grasped his ghost’. God didn’t send that experience, it was from the pit of hell. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came that we might have life. Out of that dark experience I began a work in Rwanda helping people overcome the trauma of the genocide. Out of my darkest hour, God brought hope to others. I could have sulked for years and held a pity party daily. But I chose to move on. I lost a son but, today in Rwanda, hundreds of children see me as their ‘Dad’.

5. Lessons
Some of my problems were caused by my own character flaws. Ouch! Sometimes we have to admit we were wrong or we need help. If you are going round and round the same mountain having the same problem, then the problem is probably you.

6. Everywhere
Don’t think you can avoid problems. They are everywhere. Jesus said we would have trouble in this world. Problems are everywhere. Learn the lessons and move on.

7. Messages
Problems can be messages. My friend Paul McGee runs a Life Coaching business called S.U.M.O. It stands for ‘Shut Up Move On’. Sometimes we just need to hear the message and move on.

8. Solvable
Sometimes people present their problem as though no one on planet earth has ever had a problem like they have. You know what? What keeps me hopeful in my problems is the belief that I am not the first person who has had this problem. Someone somewhere has already had this problem and they probably solved it. That's why I love reading biographies, so I can see how people overcome their obstacles.

I don’t know what problems you are facing today but I do know that your problems are: Predictors, Reminders, Opportunities, Blessings, Lessons, Everywhere, Messages and Solvable.

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

It’s OK to be you

2008-02-03T09:55:00.001Z

Why do we spend so much time trying to please everybody? Maybe we weren’t complimented when we were younger. Maybe we feel a bit insecure. Maybe we just want to be liked. That last one is true of most people.

Sometimes we pretend we are something or someone we’re not in order to gain friends. The problem is, if you do certain things to get friends, you will normally have to keep doing those things to keep those friends.

The truth is... it’s OK to be you. Why are we all trying to fit in when God has called us to stand out? My friend Andy has made it his New Year resolution to be more eccentric. Some of his friends think he’s already too eccentric. But I like the idea. Be a bit more individual.

Jesus was different. The Pharisees were all out of the same mould but Jesus was different. He spat on the ground, made some mud and rubbed it into a blind man’s eyes. Then he told him to wash it off. The blind man got his sight back.

Jesus walked into Bethany cemetery and shouted. O no! Jesus! Don’t shout in the cemetery. Its a place of respect, of silence and whispers. No, he shouted... “LAZARUS!!!” ... A man four days dead came back to life.

Now I don’t mean that it’s OK to go around offloading all your unresolved anger on people. I don’t mean it’s OK to manipulate people so you always get your own way. And I don’t mean it’s OK to bully people. I am talking about who you are more than what you do. The two are not the same.

You are unique. Don’t let people put you in a box or stick a label on you. It’s OK to be you. Pray to Jesus. Read his words in the Bible. Listen in your spirit. Be yourself. Change the world. It’s OK to be you.

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Freedom

2008-02-02T09:43:00.000Z

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17

Jesus declared that his mission was to set people free. His opposition did not come from the ungodly or the pagans. It came from within the people of God. From the Pharisees and Sadducees. They had created many little boxes to put people in. Many labels to define people by.

They didn’t allow discussion. They didn’t permit debate. They silenced anyone who disagreed with them. In Jesus they met their match. He not only thought outside their box. He implied there was no box.

Jesus purchased our freedom. True, he didn’t purchase our freedom as a licence to sin. But I don’t think people need a licence to sin. If they want to sin, they’ll just do it.

I’m always amazed how the modern day Pharisees want to shut down discussion rather than engage in debate. And some modern day Pharisees are in leadership in churches or organisations.

“The Israelites killed Israel’s prophets. Church leaders and their followers have persecuted evangelists and reformers and sought to suppress revival”
John White - Excellence in Leadership - p74

I am fortunate to have a very good relationship with my Church leader. I think he is very wise in the way he handles people and doesn’t try to limit them to a box.

I think men and women everywhere want to talk about God. They want real answers to real questions. Restricting people’s questions like some modern day Pharisee will never communicate the Kingdom of God.

Jesus went to parties with prostitutes and society's outcasts. The Pharisees hated him for it. And yet many of the ‘sinners’ found the Kingdom in their relationship with Jesus.

He never said everything they did was right. But he met them where they were and how they were. He didn’t expect their behaviour to change before they belonged and believed.

If your faith has not brought you into freedom, it’s possible you have not encountered Jesus yet.

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

God is not your problem

2008-02-01T10:06:00.000Z

“If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you.”
Isaiah 54:15

God never told us that life would be without trouble. He says in many parts of the Bible that he will deliver us out of trouble. That assumes we may get into trouble in the first place. But he promises to deliver us.

Some people get some trouble in their life and they say, “Why has God sent this trouble to me?” or they say ‘What is God doing to me?’

The word above tells us that when an attack comes... it is not God’s doing. God does not attack his own people! What sort of leader would attack his own people?!

No. He says, ‘it will not be my doing’ and then he makes a great promise. ‘whoever attacks you will surrender to you.’

So trouble may come but it must not overcome. Whoever attacks you will surrender to you. God has spoken. There is authority in those who follow and serve Jesus.

Whatever you are facing today, remember, whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

Books by Don Egan at: www.rsvptrust.co.uk/resources.html
Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

You shall not be defeated

2008-01-31T10:15:00.000Z

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper...”
Isaiah 54:17

O the storms of life come against us sometimes, don’t they? Everything can look bad. We’ve done everything we know how to do to be faithful to God. But sometimes the war seems intense.

If you are in a war right now, and you’re praying for God to rescue you, I’ve got some good news. The devil is defeated. He acts big but he’s a liar. And a defeated liar.

As soon as the blood of Jesus was shed on the cross, he was defeated forever and he knows it. That blood paid for our deliverance, paid for our healing, paid for our forgiveness.

He may form new weapons against you but God has a word for you .

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper...”
Isaiah 54:17

Take courage today. No matter how fierce the battle, don’t give up. The victory is yours. You will soon overcome if you don’t give up. When the dust settles it will be your Enemy who is defeated.

Put your hand in the hand of Jesus. Trust him and all will be well.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Visitation from God

2008-01-30T09:27:00.000Z

“Glorify the LORD with me: let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalms 34:3

My friend Ian Ferguson, a prison chaplain, visited our youth group years ago. When he finished speaking to us, he led us in singing a little chorus based on the words above. Suddenly, the light hearted mood of the meeting changed and the power of God fell upon the house we were meeting in. We continued to sing these words. One by one, we were overcome by the love of God and dropped to the floor until the floor was full. Those left leaned against the wall and then slid down to the floor.

For over an hour the power of God was heavy and no one could stand. Some wept. Others laughed. What a visitation from the Lord!

There is something powerful when we join together with the sole purpose of worshipping the Living God. It’s true that not all worship results in such a tangible visitation from on high, but we enter into another dimension, if only we would see it in the spirit.

The second sentence in this verse says that ‘God delivered me from all my fears’. Fear is what distracts us from our relationship with God. Fear and faith cannot abide together.

Today, sing a song to God. Rise up on the inside and worship him, whatever fears may be facing you. Call on the Lord and he will hear you and deliver you from ALL your fears.

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

God is faithful

2008-01-29T09:52:00.000Z

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
Numbers 23:19

God is faithful. For centuries, God promised Israel a Messiah who would set them free. Most didn’t recognise him when he came to them. But to all who received him a gift was given.

“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”
John 1:11-12

It took a long time but God was faithful. Today, you may be wondering about a promise God made to you, or a word that was spoken over you. Will it ever come about? Will it ever happen?

If God has spoken, it will. God knows the time and the seasons of your life. He appointed your days before you were born.

“My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Psalms 139:15-16

The hand of God is indeed on your life. The plans he has for you will give you a future and a hope. Put your hand in the hand of God and walk tall in life. You are unique. Called for a purpose. Don’t try and be someone else. Just be you. This is your year of visitation. God is coming to you.

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Working from rest

2008-01-28T12:09:00.000Z

Man’s first day was a day of rest. We were not designed to rest from work. We were designed to work from rest. The book of Genesis tells us the ancient story of our origins. God created the world in six days and he rested on the seventh day. But Adam was created late on the sixth day and so Man’s first day on earth was a day of rest.

So rest was where we started. From that rest and communion with our creator we went to work. We worked from rest. The rhythm was rest then work, not work then rest.

“We have constructed in our civilisation a false world of plastic flowers and astroturf, air conditioning and fluorescent lights, windows that don’t open and background music that never stops, days when we don’t know whether it has rained, nights when the sky never stops glowing, Walkman and Watchman cocoons, frozen food for the microwave oven, sleepy hearts jump-started by caffeine alcohol and drugs.”
Al Gore

Today we see the consequences of ignoring this God given rhythm. We see people who are doing it backwards - resting from work - tired faces, ‘sleepy hearts jump-started by caffeine alcohol and drugs.’

Years ago, I worked with a group of people in Social work. A significant number of them were Jewish. They kept the Sabbath on Saturday. But what I noticed was they arranged their time so they finished work Friday lunch time... to prepare for the Sabbath.

The Sabbath rest, the rhythm of their week was very important in their faith. They not only kept the Sabbath, they began preparing for it the day before. Looking back all these years later I can see that these friends of mine were touching the rhythm of life, the rhythm of God.

So many people I know live chaotic lives under a great deal of stress. If we would tune into God’s rhythm of working from rest, life would be much more peaceful. We’d actually be far more productive and creative.

You and I were designed to work from rest. And we will never find true peace until we connect with our creator and his rhythm of life.

Do you have a Sabbath rest every week?

Get Don’s book - Rhythm of Life - at the RSVP Trust bookstore online.

Listen to Don online - www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

God’s first words to a human being

2008-01-27T21:10:00.000Z

God’s first words to a human being were about increase. God’s plan for your life is increase. God wants you to increase.

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:28

God’s plan and purpose for Adam was for him to succeed, be fruitful and increase. As we know from the Bible. Adam and Eve chose to go their own way and ignore God’s plan for their life. Eventually, God regretted creating man. He brought a flood and destroy all the evil in the world. Just one family survived. The family of Noah.

When the waters of the flood receded God repeated the same blessing on Noah and his family.

“So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
Genesis 9:1

But Noah too, fell into sin. God had tried a second time to bless a man who would be a father to all people. He had pronounced the same blessing of increase. But once again men and women went their own way.

Then God chose a man called Abram and gave him a new name - Abraham - ‘father of nations’. Abraham and his wife were childless and barren. But God chose to declare this blessing of fruitfulness and increase on them.

“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:2-3

So Abraham became the father of faith. He was faithful to God’s calling. Despite a few ups and downs the promised Isaac arrived and began to fulfil God’s promise.

The Bible tells us that Jesus died to bring you and me into this covenant blessing of increase that God pronounced on Abraham. Through the blood covenant of Jesus, you and I stand in the same blessing as Abraham.

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us ... that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus...”
Galatians 3:13-14

Today God wants you to know that he loves you, he has great plans for you - yes you! - and that he wants you to increase and be fruitful in every good thing.

“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.”
Jeremiah 29:11

Listen to Don Egan at: www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Three lies of Satan

2008-01-26T10:02:00.000Z

Disciple simply means ‘follower’. Discipleship is a long walk of obedience in the same direction. God has a plan for your life and he calls you to follow him. But the Enemy of our souls repeatedly attempts to discourage us with his lies. He has three particular lies he uses often. He likes them, as they are often effective because they strike at the core of our being.

1. You’re unworthy
This is a clever one because, in many ways, it’s true. None of us are worthy to do anything for God in our own strength. But Jesus redeemed us, sanctified us and purchased our forgiveness. So whatever made us unworthy, Jesus has cancelled so we can have a close and loving relationship with God.

When Christ lives in us, he makes us worthy in God’s sight because he is worthy. Paul said this was the great mystery of our faith.

“...the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Colossians 1:27

Think about that. Christ in you. Christ born of a virgin, in you. Christ who opened blind eyes, in you. Christ who stilled the storm and fed 5,000 with a miracle, in you. Christ who raised Lazarus from the dead, in you. Christ in you. ‘Christ’ means ‘the Anointed One’ - Christ, the Anointed One, and his anointing, in you! Now!

So what did Satan say? ‘You’re unworthy’? Jesus doesn’t seem to think so. So why listen to a liar?

2. It’s impossible
When Satan fails with number one, he turns to his second attack. ‘It’s impossible.’ And this is an easy one to convince us of if we are trying to obey God, because he calls us to amazing things.

Mary, a virgin, was called to give birth to the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. It was unbelievable! Even Mary, a woman of faith, was moved to ask a question.

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
Luke 1:34

How can a virgin give birth? A reasonable question. But Satan wants us to move from questioning God’s plan to disbelieving God’s plan. And he knows that’s a short step.

But God’s calling is always beyond our natural abilities. It must cause us to go to that place where we have to hold the hand of God. If all you plan just requires time and effort, you have not heard from God. God’s call always requires faith.

3. You’re making it up
Finally Satan strikes at our ego. He pushes us into false humility. ‘Who do you think you are? You are inadequate. You’ll never amount to anything. You’re clumsy and always mess up.’ Does that all sound familiar?

On our own merits, some or all of that could be true. But we are not doing things on our own merits. We are doing stuff through Christ in us. Or at least we should be.

I wonder if Mary began to wonder if she’d made it all up. After the angels and the shepherds had gone, and she got on with life with a new infant. With nappies, night time feeds and the usual chaos surrounding a new birth. How reassuring then, when she met Anna and Simeon in the temple.

“So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him.”
Luke 2:27-33

Satan has nothing new really. These are the three lies he will use to make you give up your walk with God. This is why we need to be in the scriptures often. It’s not ‘the law’ that Christians should read their Bible everyday. But reading the Bible daily, will protect us from listening to the lies of Satan.

As we keep the true promises of God before our eyes, we are protecting ourselves from the lies.
What about you? Are you believing what God says about you or what Satan says about you?

Listen to Don Egan online at: www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

God wants you well

2008-01-25T09:28:00.000Z

Sometimes I cringe when I hear people say, “Well, if God chooses to heal me, great. If not I just have to pray for patience”

I’ve got some good news for you... God has chosen to heal you. As far back as the second book of the Bible, God revealed that he wants you well.

“... I am the LORD, who heals you.”
Exodus 15:26

‘Well, if that’s true, why am I still sick?’ We need to understand why we can be healed. You know, God is not some sort of religious magician who floats around spreading a few bits of magic here and there. Some people talk as though God was like Sooty and Sweep with their little magic wand.

No, God exchanged a contract to set you free. It was a contract signed with the blood of his Son on a Roman cross of execution. On that cross, where the blood of God and the blood of man mingled down the body of Jesus, a divine exchange took place. Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness. He took our poverty and gave us his riches. He took our punishment and gave us freedom. And he took our sickness and gave us healing.

“He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
Matthew 8:17

So now we need to receive the work of the cross. We need to receive Jesus personally into our lives. We need to say sorry for the past and receive what he did on the cross. His healing is our inheritance. In order to receive our inheritance someone has to die. So some people think they can’t be healed till they go to heaven. No, it’s not us who has to die. Jesus died to complete the terms of the inheritance.

Now, we have an Enemy who doesn’t want us to benefit from our inheritance in Christ. But, as with an earthly inheritance, once we are sure what we inherited, we begin to enforce the contract, so we receive what was given to us legally. So we must enforce the work of the cross. Christ paid for my healing. He gave it to me. Therefore I must declare that I receive it, expect it and will enforce it. We enforce it by faith, by reciting the words of the contract.

“...by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5

We have to speak what we want. We have to speak the solution not the problem. Sounds stupid? Well, the Bible tells us to say what we want not what we have.

“Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”
Joel 3:10

God wants you well. But you need to engage with the contract on his terms to see a breakthrough. Your healing was purchased by the blood of Jesus. We need to meditate on the blood and all Jesus purchased for us. We need to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will lift us up in due season.

Listen to Don Egan online at: www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Faith and Fear cannot abide together

2008-01-24T09:50:00.000Z

Faith and fear are the opposite side of the same coin. They work the same way. You hear a word, meditate on it, come to believe on it and then act on it. Worry follows that path and so does a miracle of breakthrough.

It’s really a question of who we will believe. God loves us and has amazing plans for us.

“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.”
Jeremiah 29:11

Will we continue to believe God’s plan for our life when things go wrong and trouble comes into our life? We have an enemy of our souls. Jesus called him a thief and a liar. He also said that while Satan’s plans for us are only evil, Jesus’ plans for us are always prosperity and success.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10

Abundance means more than enough. Whatever comes your way this month, don’t give up. Hold on to the truth that God loves you more than you love yourself. He will not abandon you. He is closer than your arms and legs. Nearer than your own breath.

Do not allow fear to drive out faith. But overcome fear with faith - trusting in God’s love for you. He gave his best - Jesus - to rescue you for eternity. Whatever you need today, God already has it covered.

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Romans 8:32

Listen to Don Egan online at: www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

Delivered from Trouble

2008-01-23T09:33:00.000Z

“A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all”
Psalms 34:19

Life has trouble. Jesus said that, in this world we will have trouble. But we are to have courage because he has overcome the world.

Some people say, ‘Trouble comes in threes’. It’s not really true but it does often feel like, when you’re having trouble, more trouble comes. Then sometimes even more.

Christians are not immune from trouble. Preachers who say, come to Jesus and all your troubles will be over’ are simply lying or deluded. Indeed, sometimes our troubles temporarily increase when we draw close to God.

It’s not God making things difficult, but we have a spiritual enemy who will always do his level best to make us frustrated and angry with God, so we curse him and break relationship.

Yet the best friend to have in any sort of trouble is God. When God is in our life, trouble may come but it must not overcome. The Bible verse above says that a good man may have many troubles BUT the Lord delivers him from them ALL. And the Hebrew word translated as ‘all’ actually, in the original Hebrew, means... ‘ALL’!

God will deliver you from your troubles. Whatever happens, he can bring you through. Your mess always becomes your message. There is always hope.

As I look back over 30 years of friendship with Jesus, I can assure you it’s true. You may have many troubles, but the Lord will deliver you from them all. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Your breakthrough is just around the corner.

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www.rsvptrust.co.uk

Listen to Don Egan online at:
www.doneganpodcast.co.uk

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