Awakening to Love - #11 - God's Demonstration of His Love

Key Scripture - “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! “ – 1 John 3:1

Key Thought - “God has healed our separation by embodying himself into human flesh and opening a door of spiritual power of reconciliation through his death on the cross.”
Love and truth are the essence of who God is and his nature that reaches out with a cosmic embrace and offers us life. At the beginning of time, when out of chaos life was created His love stirred and implanted faith throughout the universe.

Everything that exists is a manifestation of God's love and truth created for the pleasure and delight of the creator and the creation. Life is only possible with the breath of God breathing into it.

Everything that is natural is an expression of the heart of God. Every sunset is a vivid picture that lights the sky with lavish colour. Each season fills our thoughts and emotions with a tapestry of moments that fills our body, soul and spirit with the fullness of creation.

Nature is a whisper to our hearts of the love of the Father. It declares to us that everything and everyone's purpose is to know, experienced and be united with the unconditional love of God. God simply is love. And it is us, his created humans that are the focus of his love. We are free either to embrace this love or push it away. Only God has the power of transformation, the ability to enter into and become part of his creation. And through his love we have the opportunity to embrace ourselves as manifestations of God.

And how does God pour his love out upon us, how does he enlighten us to his truth? Through the person of his son, Jesus. God by his love gives us the gift of faith and pours out his grace and peace as we come to embrace Jesus. We are brought into a spiritual union and relationship with God through Jesus.

The separation we feel in our innermost being is a conflict that Jesus came to heal. He came to heal all those who were broken-hearted, to heal the loss that kept us in the captivity of our own prisons. God has given us through Jesus everything we need for life, and everything we need to know and experience God

God has healed our separation by embodying himself into human flesh and opening a door of the spiritual power of reconciliation through his death on the cross. He came to everyone born to awaken us to his unconditional love and truth in Christ in every moment and every aspect of our lives. When we embrace Jesus Christ, we come into right relationship with God, the cosmos, and creation flows within our veins. Opening our minds and lives to receive Jesus in all his fullness penetrates all we are and starts us on the greatest grace adventure of our lives.

In Christ heaven and earth are united into you and me.

Awakening to love - #10 - Awakening to God's Unconditional Love and the Truth of Christ.

Key Scripture – “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

Key Thought – “The truth is that you are deeply loved by God more than you can imagine and beyond your wildest dreams.”

As we open up to the whisper of God, we begin to recognise that very often we are not looking for God; far from it, almost all the time we are so wrapped up in our own world that any consciousness of God is put to the  back of our experience.  The entanglement of everyday life and the pressures of survival fill our minds to the limit and added to this is the temptation of social media. No other generation has given the chance of fame and adoration to so many, so quickly.  We are so often either trapped in our world or captivated by a world which we are trying to create.  However, both options result in one goal and that is for us to feel valued and accepted by the God's of our family, friends and others worship. 

Jesus gave us another picture that whispers to us about the unconditional love of the Father to us.

"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do?  Won't he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go and out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than the ninety-nine that didn't wander away. In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish. " Matthew 18 : 12-14.

God has opened his heart to accommodate us, in our pain, our confusion, our fear, our helplessness and our wandering.  He knows our rebellion, he understands our shame and knowing everything about us he takes it all into account. He followed us into our own darkness and it was there where we had run to escape him, we ran straight into his arms.

It is where we are at this present moment , whatever we have done, whatever we have got into that the whisper of God calls us to begin. The Father searches for us, calls to us and pursues us to come back and join the party. Today, is the moment that his unconditional love invites us to access his kindness despite all our actions and shame. In the unbounded spaciousness of God's heart, love is not-judgemental and unconditional.

God's love doesn't not change.  And that which does not change is his true nature. The deeper you go into the unconditional love of God the darkness disappears and the light goes on, the crooked places become straight and the storms become calm. No matter what, He is working for our good. Mostly the canvas of love is formed by the relationships we experience, or the ones portrayed to us in our culture. We learn about love in the melting pot of life and we galvanise love into the good and the bad. But God is reaching out to contact us with the infinite embrace of his passionate love, he looks us straight in the eye and calls us his own.  His whisper is relentless and tender and tells us that we are valued and accepted even when we are lost. Sadly, somewhere in our hearts we find this difficult to believe.

The bare truth is revealed in the life of Jesus when we see him through his eyes of compassion. It means seeing things from His perspective.  Compassion, mercy and goodness, eyes that reach down and meet us in our place of need. Truth is the life of God demonstrated and offered to us in his son.

Truth is the penetrating of this moment with the words of Christ alive in your heart. It happens when you are rooted into the life of Christ. Opening to Christ means letting the truth of all he is change how you think and feel. The more you immerse yourself in his truth the deeper the truth changes your soul. And the closer you get to the truth in Christ to more you understand who you truly are.

The truth is that you are deeply loved by God more than you can imagine and beyond your wildest dreams.  Truth is like a sword that cuts through all our weaknesses, our problems and our issues. In cutting through all that hold us we are free to take risks, free to try new things, free to be fallible and free to be wrong.

The truth is that all Christ has been poured out to us, because in the deep depths of God's unconditional love his truth has been made know and given to us in Christ Jesus.

Awakening to Love - #9 - Embracing the Whisper of God

Key Scripture – “Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track”- Proverbs 3:6

Key Thought – “His whisper to our innermost being is his call in us to join with him on his grace adventure and recapture our hearts.”

The good news is that God is reaching out to us to embrace him. His passion is focused on his love for us and to draw us into an intimate relationship with him. His whisper to our innermost being is his call in us to join with him on his grace adventure and recapture our hearts. He tells us that we are his delight, and his voice speaks and  invites us into a new life and a new perspective.

One of the biggest revelation that came to me was when I realised that God was constantly speaking in me. I stood in a shopping line, with my trolley, queuing in the supermarket. People were chatting all around me when an impression came into my mind. "Listen to the conversations around you and I will speak to you through them." So, I took a few minutes to quieten my heart and mind and I listened and I let God speak to me. Conversation after conversation awakened me to the whisper of God.

God's whisper that started off so quiet gradually became louder! So instead of struggling to hear it , I began to hear it in the places I went and in the voices of those around me and as I grew accustomed to it, it became part of my everyday life.

But it was just not that whisper in the midst of a busy life it became the whisper of God calling me through creation. It was a whisper that carried to me through the rustling of leaves in the wind.  It is a whisper that touches my hearts through favourite songs, enjoying the waves crashing onto the beach and the sunset setting the sky on fire on a warm summer's evening.

It is here also that God whispers to us in the pain of life. Through the suffering that we endure God softens our hearts and dissolves the ocean of enmity that rises within us. God calls us through the deepest experiences and rouses a relentless wanting deep within us and sets our hearts on a course to find its creator.

This relentless wanting whispers in us to fully embrace the openness and depth of God's presence. The whisper speaks in our heart to connect His spirit to our spirit.  And so, every time you open your heart to God you tune your heart to his voice and this softens you to your creator.

The interesting thing is, once you start to recognise this whisper is that you face your greatest challenges.  In other words, once you hear it you have got to deal with it. God is not going to give up on you. Once he started he was not going to go back!  Each day is a new opportunity for God to whisper into your life.

And his whisper keeps speaking to us over and over again and softens our hearts little by little until we come into the light of his grace and we embrace his oneness.

Awakening to Love - #8 - The Miracle of God's Mercy and Kindness

Key Scripture – "Because of his great love for us God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ when we were dead in sin, it is by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:4

Key Thought – “God's yes to us, his total acceptance of who we were created to be is demonstrated to us in his mercy and kindness."

The secret of God's plan for us is revealed in his promises. Over and over again through the ages he consistently declared his intentions and commitment to us. Through the prophet Jeremiah he told us that he loved us with an everlasting love. The prophet Hosea tells us that God will never give up on us. God says he will never leave us or forsake us and Jesus declared that whoever would come to him would never thirst again.

Paul in his letter to the Ephesian church writes a remarkable declaration describing how God entered time and pursued our hearts.

"Because of his great love for us God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ when we were dead in sin , it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." - Ephesians 2 : 4-7.

This passage is a rich vein that reveals the miracle of two amazing truths about God which sometimes are overlooked in the bigger picture of God's story.

The first truth shows us the God did something good for us when we were dead in sin. What moved him to do this good thing? It was his great love for us that caused him to help us, for he is described as rich in mercy. Mercy is a truth that shows us the love of God to withhold the punishment we deserve. Mercy is God moved in compassion to reach down and pull up those who have fallen into the ditch of life and are alone in the cold. Mercy is God's unfailing love poured out to us in our time of need and mess.

Over time, our minds become confused and twisted with the lies that surround us and we become locked in the emotions that invade. It is the miracle of mercy that causes God to reach out and provide all we need to give us back his life.

Added to this God has also provided the miracle of his kindness.  For it is because of God's kindness that he shows us his true nature. He hears our cries and responds to our longing.  His kindness opens a doorway into a new restoration of our souls that enriches our lives and freely gives us all the blessings of heaven. Whatever circumstances arrive at your doorstep His kindness has been poured out to restore your soul. It is here in the offer of genuine, guaranteed kindness that you can be assured that whatever path you may take God is totally committed to you and will constantly be drawing you back into his loving embrace. Every dark shadow of trauma or the constant gnaw of a debilitating illness God's kindness reaches out and invites us to come and lie down in green pastures of his overflowing grace.

God's yes to us, his total acceptance of who we were created to be is demonstrated to us in his mercy and kindness.

In the now of the moment we can connect with his unconditional love and let his mercy and love embrace our hearts as we experience the openness of all he is.

It is an amazing thing but the wider you open to let God in, the more meaningful and delightful life becomes. In acceptance, God becomes a kaleidoscope of mercy, kindness and goodness to be enjoyed and a love story written throughout creation.

Conscious awakening to all God is, is the way to navigate our course from captivity to freedom.

Awakening to Love - #7 - Breaking the Lie of Separation

Key Scripture – “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10

Key Thought – “Realising that God wants you is simply a change of heart perspective to a see God as the author of a creation founded in love and desire to be with you.”

We have been born into a lie of separation, to guard, defend and amour ourselves so that we stay safe. We build walls around our hearts to keep ourselves from hurt and withdraw ourselves, so we don't have to deal with those things that we don't like. This separation is ingrained into us that we don't even realise it.

If we want to truly come to know who we are a good place to start is the truth that God has never separated himself from us. It is easy to think that all we see, feel, hear, smell and touch are the sum of our existence but God’s truth is that we are accepted and valued by God and that each of us are wonderfully and beautifully designed and made.

Realising that God has never separated himself from you has the potential to break you free . For God is inviting you to dive into his river of life and experience the perfection of communion with him.

He is awakening you to live in the fullness of your creation.  The truth is that God is pursing you.
That you are the delight of his heart and his desire is to be with you. You are in fact loved greater than you could ever imagine. In the same way he came and showed himself to the first murderer, he comes to you and speaks to you. This may come as an extraordinary revelation that God is searching you out and seeking after you. That he has never withdrawn himself from you and that he is after you. It breaks the power of the lie of separation, the lie of a wall between God and us. We are so bound up with lies and illusions that the ordinary of God's pursuit of us is overshadowed by our feelings of unworthiness.  We need to let go of what we feel and start to believe all God says about us.

Realising that God wants you is simply a change of heart perspective to a see God as the author of a creation founded in love and desire to be with you. Ultimately, it is a vision from the bondage of soul thinking to the liberation of God's unconditional love. We don't have to wait to be good enough or spiritual enough to realise that God has never separated himself from us. The fact is simple, that we separated ourselves from him in our shame.

The freedom that our hearts seek is found in God, in the very moment of his value and acceptance of us.  God is pursing us and calling us with his Holy Spirit in every thought, each feeling and every connection with our heart.

It is embracing the call of a pursuing God that awakens our hearts to who we really are.

Awakening to Love - #6 - God is in the Now.

Key Scripture - “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?  How can I let you go?” Hosea 11:8

Key Thought – “God's goodness is his story. His story is a work of total commitment, desire and passion.”

Every time we open up ourselves to the love of God we move into the now of time.  And in the now of time the omniscience and omnipotence of the creator meets the compassion and goodness of the Father.

But it is here in the circumstances of the now that we can start to doubt the goodness of the Father and focus instead on his power and knowledge. Somewhere in our souls we start to see God as something else than a heart that overflows with generosity and compassion. Instead of going with the flow of God's love we end up swimming against the tide. Eventually we end up drowning in doubt.

Whenever we move away from the abundance of real love, life clips our wings and dulls our shine. God's love was given to be shared. Shared from his heart of goodness. A manifesting in and to creation that we were created and birthed out of His good pleasure. And every moment is a now moment where his love is giving his goodness to us.

God's goodness is his story. His story is a work of total commitment, desire and passion. It is a story about yourself, about someone else, about the world, about life, about God and above all else it is a story of intimacy beyond our wildest imagination.

When you dig deep into the depths of God's story you will start to discover that it is a rich tapestry of promises. Every promise of God is given in the now and is kept by his unfailing love.  God continually declares this by the way he passionately pursues his people, the children of the promise given to Abraham.  He comes to Israel in the bondage of their adulterous relationships and gives them hope. He hears their cries of anguish under the oppression of their taskmaster and opens up a path to set them free. In the midst of their constant rejection of his love he weeps for them and is consumed with a heart to heal their brokenness.  Instead of judgement and anger, hurt and rejection he offers grace and a solution.

What God gives us is an insight into the ache within his heart.  God's ache is his intention to come and restore us into all he created us to be. He never sees us as products of actions, he never looks at us through the lense of black and white. He removes himself from judging us to be right or wrong or good or bad. Instead he sees us as a prism of light, multi coloured, a bright radiant spectrum of his love. In short, he sees us as we were created to be.

God created us to be whole. He created us with his desire to have perfect communion with us. To enter the perfect relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to enjoy and celebrate his perfect love. His holiness was birthed into our hearts, his breath birthed our spirit and he placed the pinnacle of his desire in a garden of delight.

It was here in this garden that the first man and woman lived and enjoyed the glory of God. They enjoyed every moment experiencing the unconditional love of their Father. They lived in a complete relationship until a fallen angel spoke a lie into their perfect existence.  This lie was simple as it was destructive, it produced a thought that God did not want them. That to please God they had to do something to make themselves more acceptable.  And it was the lie that entered their heart and planted a seed of separation.  And it was this lie that caused suffering to take root and illness, violence, greed, jealously and selfishness started to run rampant.  For it is our separation from God that is root cause of our death. When we lose connection with the Father who created us, we  forget who we are and become divided in our spirit, soul  and body and become separated from each other.

We fail to see the creator in everyone and everything and we close our hearts and hide away in shame. And in a shame based world, our sight is clouded and we start to see everything from a dim reflection in a mirror.

Breaking the lie of separation requires us to look again at God and start to see the world from his perspective.  To overcome our feeling of shame and accept the reality of his unconditional love.

Awakening to Love - #5 - The Perfect Union for Life.

Key Scripture – “for God is love.” – 1 John 4:8.

Key Thought – “Moments of tenderness and kindness spring from the demonstration of God's desire birthed in our hearts. “

God is a God of relationship.  He is the author of all good things that flow from an intimacy that was so perfect it transcends our wildest imagination.  It is here in the deep fathomless love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we find the centre of the universe, for perfect relationship is the heart of all reality.

Friendship, partnership, laughter, joy and happiness are all part of God's design for our lives. Delight has been woven into the fabric of life. Moments of tenderness and kindness spring from the demonstration of God's desire birthed in our hearts.

The fact is life is full of rich moments that make life worth living. It can be amazing and wonderful in its ability to connect with our souls. There are days when our hearts are captivated by the experiences that enlighten our darkness and change the mundane into adventure. Those captured memories of precious moments where the richness of love and the closeness of acceptance are found in the value of those we treasure and love.

Today's fast living world does little to encourage us to embrace the experiences that surround us. Modern media sells us a dream of a perfect world where we can have anything we want providing we have the resources at our fingertips. And if we don't it sells us the tools to get that which is out of our reach. But deep down inside we know that the things that surround us don't really satisfy us.

For life in all its glory is found complete in the embrace of its designer. Every experience is a chance to connect with the God who formed the universe from nothing. As surely as the sun rises, the sun sets and as surely as the tide flows in, the tide flows out. The everlasting love of God is as relentless and as sure as the universe that we are placed into. And it is here that the mystery of God’s love shines into our world, for God who is complete does not need creation in order to experience love because he is love.

Awakening to Love - #4 - The Call to Embrace Life.

Key Scripture – “Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” – Psalm 139 : 7-10.

Key Thought – “Every interaction we have with every aspect of our life provides an opportunity to experience the power and life of Christ within us and his spirit is guiding our hearts into a realisation of all God has given us.”

God is calling to you in every experience of life.  His whisper is his invitation to come and embrace the fullness and depth of his love. Every moment you breathe offers the promise of deep intimacy with infinite possibilities. It is an invitation to become a new creation in Christ and live in the wonder of eternity in you.

Beyond appearances, beyond the influences that draws our attention, is the God that does not change, the God that is the all in all. The truth of all God is found in the presence of this moment. In this moment he is pursuing you. In this moment he is whispering to you to add nothing and take nothing away.  In his moment he is inviting you into the deepest places in the cosmos and the highest place of eternity.  In this moment of the invite, the Father is offering you life, to come into and enjoy the union you were created for. To come into union with God.

God is the infinite glory, the designer and artist of creation, the One that is the substance and value of everything.  All that exists has been created by love, in love and for love.  Created as a reflection of the perfect love of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The closer we get to experiencing the pure unconditional and unadulterated love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the closer we get to live in the delight we were created for.

Awakening to Love - #3 - An Ocean Of Love

Key Scripture – “For in Him we live and move and exist” – Acts 17 : 27.

Key Thought – “Choosing Christ is choosing love over fear in every moment and every circumstance and this transforms us from a consciousness of darkness to a consciousness of light.”

How we view God is crucial to what kind of world we live in. The transformation that we need has already happened in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His once and forever death two thousand years ago has opened up heaven and brought the divine into everyday life. His call to us is to come and receive new life, to let heaven dwell in our hearts.

For God no longer lives far away up in the clouds, waiting till we arrive at Heaven's door before he reveals himself, He is found in the heart of every believer who believes and receives him. God resides in his New Creation.  God resides in every action, every thought, every feeling and every breath of every believer.

Recognising that we are now New Creations in Christ is the truth that animates each moment and brings heaven down to earth.  It heals the feeling of separation in our hearts and heals the oppression of our suffering.

It is from this place of knowing and experiencing the life of Christ alive inside that we can begin to see God at work in everyone and in everything. Slowly this realisation of our new life dispels fear, frees us from our struggle and disperses guilt. Here in a New Creation life we are free to express our new unlimited life and be empowered to manifest our Christ given potential.  For, in him we are filled with the majestic beauty of creation and overflow with the joy of a celebrating Father.

Every detail of life - from the mundane to the wonderful - is an opportunity for you to receive all that Christ has provided for you. Everything we need has been given to us in a rainbow-coloured unconditional love that reaches out into the conflict of our world and lays down its life in peace. It is this love that cherishes our every breath and brings healing and restoration to our body and soul. It is a love that invites us to give instead of taking and it is love that ignites desire and puts to death self-reliance. It is a love that has a passion to change and cries out with a response for action. It is a love that says you are valuable and that you are accepted.  It is a love that says it died for you to bring you new life.

It is a love that shows us that truth is found in sacrifice, that to know truth is to know Christ. This truth speaks into the depths of our innermost feelings and expresses the heart of God and it gives us the courage to drop pretences in order to reveal the tenderness of an open heart. 

The truth found in Christ bridges the gap of our humanness and gives us the perfection of our heavenly father.

The whisper of God to each of us is to dive into love even when fear screams at us to run and hide, to open up our hearts into the midst of chaos and encroaching darkness.  This whisper invites us to live in the vastness of God and let him live and work through every moment of our lives. It is calling you!

God is calling you. You are being invited to join the party and become one with your heavenly father.

This whisper asks us to come and become who we were created to be. This whisper says come and take that step of courage and let love conquer your heart.

Awakening to Love - #2 - The Eternal Story.

Key Scripture – “How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.” – Psalm 36:7.

Key Thought – “The story of our life is the story of the long and passionate pursuit of your heart by the one who knows you the best and loves you the most.”

The belief that we are small and powerless in the face of life is a lie that has kept us asleep for thousands of years.  But God has come to us and is knocking at the door of our hearts and is inviting us to wake up to the full glory given to us in his unconditional love.

We have the opportunity to stop believing that someone or something else has the answer and actually embrace the change we are being offered.  Our future is in our hands. Our future is in the choices we make. Our future is to choose life over death, to choose love over fear.

Every step we take towards the light is an opportunity to bring us closer to the whisperer of love. For each step is a moment by moment journey that draws us on. It is not easy because fear pulls us back.  It is the gentle whisper that draws us on.  It means that God calls us in the present moment, he encourages us to let go of the past and to put on hold our future. But to come and look into his eyes and be captivated by his gaze.

God is that which is bigger than us, the great mystery, the one that is all in all. Our creation is by love, in love and for love. 

God is relationship, intimacy beyond our wildest imagination and deep infinite intimacy. The Trinity is the centre of the universe; perfect relationship is heart of all reality. He is the divine creation of oneness existing before time and acting within time and from him all compassion flows to everything that exists.

God’s creation is the eternal story of passion and desire. The story of pursuit and sacrifice, the story of a cosmic drama with us at the centre. It is this story that calls us to wake up and become who we were created to be in order to transform our lives, our world and our future.  

But also, within this story we are surrounded by towering shadows that stand in our way. Gigantic obstacles that obscures our view and keep us in captivity. These towering Idol’s try to rob us of our value and acceptance. 

They fill us with fear and shame. They focus our attention on what we wear, what we eat and what we drink. They convince us that the thirst and the hunger we feel can only be satisfied when we worship our own self crafted Idols. That the land of milk and honey is a place where we are God and the whisper we hear is answered in self-recognition.  

It is here where we start to see that the emphasis of our lives is routed in the God's and idol’s we serve. And these are built on the foundations of our self-crafted love and truth.
 
Today we live in a man-made world that is built upon what we see, feel, hear, smell and touch. For most of us God is viewed as a distant concept that we call upon in moments of crisis or acts of nature that we cannot explain or reconcile. But also, within this world we find that God is also synonymous with life and that the more we open up to receive every aspect of God's existence in his fullness, the more He explodes with vibrant intimacy.

For God's whisper is to come and have a relationship with him. To enter into an adventure that brings love closer to us and closer to everyone and everything in our lives. For everything we seek is found in the embrace of a Father, who gave himself to us in the incarnation of a son.

For God is manifested in the human form of Jesus.  

Awakening to Love - #1 - Recapture Our Hearts.

Key Scripture – “I have loved you , my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” – Jeremiah 31:3

Key Thought – “Our deepest desires are formed by passions and stories that reside in our innermost feelings and are kept in chambers locked away opened with the key of love.”

Amidst the chaos that surrounds us we are being given the opportunity for liberation. It is totally natural for each of us to search in everything that is pushed at us to find the connection that our heart’s passion desires.  When we stop looking outside ourselves for something to make us feel better, safer, stronger, richer or happier and instead begin to open up to the whisper that is guiding our hearts. It is this whisper that has the life transforming ability to bring us into perfection in every moment we experience. For this whisper invites us to enter in to the Kingdom of Heaven and let it reign in our lives.

For what we seek is to be part of a story that is far greater and more magnificent than anything we could have imagined.

The truth that is there in front of us and calls out to us, is that each of us were created to be a manifestation of God. It is this realisation that has the power to transform the world.  God created us to be his reflection on earth. He created us to see his divine light shine through the eyes of everyone. A living, breathing demonstration of the love, beauty and glory of himself.

It is almost too much to comprehend and almost impossible to believe. But deep in the purposes of God is the place where we need to see beyond gender, race, class, wealth, job-title or any other label, all boundaries evaporate and you find yourself in the wonder and beauty of the Father's creation.

Each day we stand on the edge of a reality that has the power to transform our world. This whisper of God is calling out to us and inviting us in to come and join the party and come and live in the fullness of God.

It is a soft whisper that is trying to recapture our hearts.

A Tool Box

Now there are somethings I am not good at

Swimming – I can’t swim, in fact it’s more like drowning

Golf – I can’t hit the ball off a tee- I have tried to amusement of others

To name a few

But my wife will agree that ‘Do- It-Yourself’ is probably high on my list

I get myself in all sorts of muddles

When it gets more complicated than changing batteries in the central heating clock

In fact my tool box

Is a sad excuse for a tool box

A few spanners, pliers, a saw, an old hammer and nails, nuts, washers and bolts

It is very sad

That is why when God shows me a picture of a tool box I know it’s important

Or he is having a laugh with me

So, I get this picture of a pristine tool box, full of new tools, all ready to be used

And God says,

“I have given you the tools you need.

I have placed my new tools, ready, opened there for you to use,

They have been given to you for you to use

Pick up the tools and use them.

Let me guide you,

Let me show you how to use them

Let me direct you

Take the tools, the gifts I have given you and let me work through you.

Do not doubt yourself, but let me work through you.”

Here is the truth of all Christ has given us

For Christ has placed his tools into our lives

His tools to work in and through us by his Holy Spirit

Supernatural tools

Tools of His life in us

Forgiveness

Healing

Communication

Value

Acceptance

Kindness

Long-suffering

Patience

Perseverance

Acknowledgment

Insight

Wisdom

joy

love

Peace

For all these tools are tools of reconciliation

Tools to craft and demonstrate the unconditional love of God

And instead of asking for God to give us these things

It is better to take the tools Christ has placed inside us

And use them in every situation of Christ

Let God reveal to you the tools he has given you

And let him work in and through you with those tools

He is an open tool box

He has given you the best tools

He is delighted with you

He is your tools in very situation of life.

Christ is the full supply of God given to you.

Vanished

Vanished
That was the word on the sweatshirt
On the bus
Just one word
Just written for all to see
And the girl wearing it was probably unaware of the powerful message it conveyed.

For God speaks in the most mundane places and uses the most ordinary things.
Nothing is outside the embrace of God
And if you look and listen
You can find God in everything.

For that simple word is the truth of the gospel
For in one act
One sacrifice
Jesus vanished our sins forever
Our old man
Our old life
Our old person
Vanished at the cross
Our failures were vanished at the cross
Our defeats were vanished at the cross
Our condemnation was vanished at the cross
Our guilt was vanished at the cross
Our self-righteousness was vanished at the cross
Our bondage was vanished at the cross
Our yoke of self loathing was vanished at the cross
Our captivity was vanished at the cross
Our separation in our minds was vanished at the cross.
Jesus in one act reconciled us back to God at the cross
And the wall of separation was taken away forever.

Our blindness was healed
Our deaf ears were healed
At the cross we were healed
And we can now see the fullness of Christ
We can now hear the voice of the father
We are now made one with Christ.

God has vanished our old man.
It has gone forever
We are now New Creations in Jesus Christ.

Party With Christ!

“Let’s prepare a great feast and celebrate. For this beloved son of mine was once dead, but now he’s alive again. Once he was lost, but now he is found!’ And everyone celebrated with overflowing joy.”-Luke 15 : 23-24

Life in Christ is all about death and rebirth.

A turning around, a change of direction, a change of heart, an end to the old and a new beginning, from being betrothed to a joining in marriage, from being lost to running into the embrace of God, from being apart to being held, from seeking to being satisfied .

And it all begins with the truth that we are unconditionally loved.

That although through no fault of our own that stain that started in our hearts and spread to every corner of the earth has been dealt with once and forever by Christ

It was evident in the alienation that has separated our minds, emotions and thoughts from God

Our unbelief

Our hard hearts

Our walls of self security

Our rejection of our own responsibility

Through all our callousness

God has come and reconciled us back to him

God has come and declared that the war is over

God has made peace with us.

THE LOVING FATHER

Extraordinary, is the only way you can describe the Father’s love

Scandalous, is the best description of his grace.

Acceptance, is the way the Father greets us

Free, is the choice God gives us to accept or reject his invitation to the party.

For Christ is the party alive inside of us.

A party of celebration, of joyous abandonment, of wild feasting, of abundant provision, of love beyond our wildest imagination.

A party free of condemnation

A party free from guilt

A party free from worry, anxiety, fear

A party of wholeness, restoration, healing, happiness

THE PARTY IN YOUR HEART

God is love

God creates

His endless joy and peace are planted in to heart of man

He plants into us the fabric of creation

A NEW creation

A NEW creation that destroys the chaos of our old life and brings us into the party of heaven

Where we are free to trust him, because he trusts us

Where we are free to love, because he loves us.

Where we are free to live a life without sin, because we are eternally forgiven

Where we are free to passionately know the delight of God

Where we are free to live in the inspiration of God inside

Where we are free to celebrate

For Christ has become the party inside our hearts.

Time to Receive

I went to work on the bus today
on a Friday...?
drove past a house today, one that sticks out like a sore thumb.
it’s the one where the front garden is just one massive trench!
and it’s been like that for the last ……5 years, in fact it might even be more!
the house where the front garden is a construction site.
a work in progress
just the same work still going on year after year
seems to the casual observer that nothing much seems to happen
no great excavations
no great landscaping
no great planting
just laying those foundations

Year after year
digging away……
and so often that can be our experience in life
nothing much changes
nothing really occurs
unlike a soap-oprea, where everything happens
most days are just mundane
just the same things going on year after year
perhaps livened up with a life changing, “suddenly”
and here is the big trap of living by our mind and emotions
we think that if there is no “suddenly”
Then God must have fallen asleep
and he is sleeping there waiting for us to wake him up.

We convince ourselves that God needs waking
We convince ourselves that God needs to come and visit us
and its our job to get him to move
But God is not stuck!
God is not asleep
God is resting in the finished work of his Son.
God has poured out his spirit on all flesh
God has acted
God says “It is finished.”
We look for a “suddenly,”
God says look to Christ.

We cry out to God to move
He says, “It is finished!”
He says, “It is your turn to move, it is your turn to receive.”
It is us who are stuck
It is us who are asleep
It is us who have the risen Christ living inside.
God has poured out his spirit into our hearts
Instead of asking, its time to receive
to awaken ourselves to all Christ has won and given us
to awaken ourselves to the finished work of the cross
to live in an awareness of the fullness of Christ living inside.

The Best Wines

The Best Wines

Some months ago I had a picture of a wine cellar full of the best wines.
These valuable wines lay hidden in a dark cellar, almost forgotten awaiting the moment when they were needed.
Over time the wine matured and giant cobwebs covered them.
They were hidden treasures, assets of great value.
I felt the Holy Spirit say that this was a picture of many of our hearts.

God had deposited his treasure of grace into our hearts but we had hidden it away and almost forgotten the value of the best wines we now had been given.
That His grace had matured in us but we had let the cobwebs of life cover over the grace of God so that all we could see was the cobwebs . The cobwebs has obscured the grace.
But the value of the wine was increasing.

The grace of God was increasing in value in us.
Like valuable bottles of vintage wine the best was inside us.
God was in the business of clearing away the cobwebs.
He was working in us to dust off the valuable stock.
For the day is coming when the wine cellar will be opened and the best wines will be drunk.
The day is coming when the best wine will be given to all guests.

And that day is upon us, that day is now. For we live in the day of the Lord's favour.
The day all oppression and brokenness has been healed by the resurrection power of Christ.
And in this God said don't let the world rob you of your inheritance. Don't let the enemy steal your birthright don't give what is yours in Christ away for the fleeting satisfaction of the moment.
Your inheritance is beyond measure and it is yours given freely and deposited into the treasure chamber of your heart.
Don't be deceived into thinking that God is somehow holding out on you. That God is holding back from you.
God has given you all things in Christ.
God has provided a complete and eternal salvation.
God has provided a complete and eternal deliverance from the captivity and oppression of the world.
You are his best wine and his best wine of grace is alive and flowing in you.

I Can Never Go Back

It's unreal, how I'm becoming the person I never imagined I would be--
but in all the small ways,
the unexpected ways--
the unimportant ways.
like making sure my son gets up for work, even if he doesn’t need me to…
going grey and having little or no hair
and it is the losing of hair that obsessed my youth ,
I was worried that baldness was a real possibility.
I hated the thought of losing my hair,
and wouldn't even consider any product that would promise to keep my hair.
I also used to wonder,
as a teenager,
I would examine my hair loss and watch for any signs,
making sure that I would never go bald…
now I know.

I can never go back to that teenager that was so obsessed with their baldness..
I wish sometime I could go back and tell myself
the secrets of my future.
I would smile, as I breathed out the silvery words, "life is a fountain of opportunities ."
I would look into my eyes
and encourage myself to embrace the glorious unconditional love of God..
I'll never have that chance...
but I can move on from this point in time
for it is the same God, and it is the same unconditional love.
God’s offer of his love is timeless
God’s has never changed in his value and acceptance of me
It was at the Cross that God accepted me
It was at the Cross that he took a hopeless rebel--
and made him his son
It was at the Cross that He kept me  and offered me all that he had created for me.
it was at the Cross that his goodness overflowed to me.
sometimes His love blows my mind.
when I think off his extravagant grace
and I know that his acceptance to me is an act of scandalous generosity and infinite love
even though I know it deep inside my heart
I'm so overwhelmed by the magnificence of his grace
that it sets my heart dancing
and keeps me forever in his wonderful embrace of love.

The Garden Bin

I heard the rumble of rubbish collectors today, and knew immediately.
the garden bin!!!!
there are moments when you just know
sounds the alarm bells in your head
and panic set in..
that moment of madness when you rush outside to get your garden bin.
and place it where you hope they will see it
and you hope that you haven’t missed it.
I am now wondering why did I not do it last night
when I remembered it
I feel...
like I should have done it when I thought of it
not left it
not put it to one side
but actually done it when I thought of it.
I know what this means
a change of routine
a change in the way I think
a change in my actions
I just needed to change in my head...
It is in this moment of awareness
that God speaks his whisper to my heart
and I become aware that God can use anything to speak to me…

He tells me that He has done it all for me
He has put out the garden bin of rubbish
and cleared it out.
I don’t have to worry about clearing the rubbish because he has cleared it
I don’t have to struggle with the rubbish because he has dealt with it
I don’t have to collect the rubbish because he collected it for me
I don’t have to panic because he has provided all I need
He has made the way

I live in his finished work
and my he has transformed my heart.
and that I am a New Creation in Christ
His performance and action effective in my life
His performance and action giving me a new heart
so...I receive all that he has won for me.
it is now his story alive in me:
I live a life of Christ living and working in me
I live a life of Christ living and working through me
as He is so now am I.

His grace transformed my life
His grace is transforming my life
His grace is beyond my wildest dreams
His unconditional love unlocks the door to His treasures in my heart.

The Car Drive Home

the drive home, with a
clear
bright
cloud free sky shining on carpets of bright yellow fields--
like shining, radiant streets paved with glistening gold
like the pictures I drew as a kid...
or photo’s I would take
but I can’t take a good photo if I tried.
but I always hoped I would make a great modern artist--
splash of yellow here, flick some blue there:
this is my impression of a wanderer on a summers day...
A Matisse or a Monet
fields of bright red poppies
captured by me.

I love those moments that make my heart sing
the fields of gold
the glorious, wonderful songs of the birds
the morning chorus
the sparkling sunshine on a clear blue lake
but these are just moments that come and go
so I guess it's just a fleeting experience that lights up each day
delight
delight in the wonder and glory of creation
times when you know the delight God has for you when you see his creative brilliance
unconditional love
bountiful
wonderous
there for everyone to see
a masterpiece in shades of the fathers love.

There is a radiance in the delight of God
that he is delighted with me
that he is delighted with Christ in me
that he has entered  time and space
that he has made my heart his home
my life is now his life
my resurrection happened the moment he entered my life and dwelt in me
that is my New Creation life
I am created new in Christ
not washed clean but created new
my hearts is new
my spirit is new
I now feel and know the Holy Spirit alive in me
and everything that says it is not so
has been taken away and destroyed
I am who God says I am
and the same radiance that lights up creation lives in me
never to be extinguished
but to shine in me throughout eternity
to transform me into the very image of God.

Isolation

Isolation...
like a  man standing on the edge of a shopping centre during a Saturday morning in a big town...
I often feel the world moving around me--
I try to touch it, even.
but somehow I am not a part of it.
It does not pass through me.
alone.
solitude amid the busy, talking, excited,
makes me want to disappear.
wishing I had more to give--
more self to impart, more heart to be engulfed by.
to reach out and change the world
or stand up and shout?
To change or be changed or perhaps
neither.
or just to press onward.
moments become opportunities for
deep breaths.
Insolation…
It is just an illusion, it is not who I am.
Because I am never alone.
Never separated from the eternal God who lives inside me.
I don’t have to look for God because He has found me.
I don’t have to search for God because He searched for me.
I don’t have to feel isolated for He has united me to Himself forever
I don’t have to strain to hear him for He is whispering to my heart.
I don’t have to plead with him because He has given me all things in Christ.
So why do I sometimes feel isolated.
Because I ask where did God go?
What happened to me?
His Spirit living in me is the answer to my hearts longing
His Spirit is his waves of Grace crashing over me.
I can never lose him
I can never be lost to him.
For He has found me and He holds on to me.
I am safe in Him.
What happened to me?
Christ embraced me
And I was changed forever
Held and kept by his grace.
Held and kept in His unconditional love.

The Red Car

It is so easy to slip back into the way of the world's thinking.
It only takes a few seconds to revert back into old perspectives.
I know that I am a New Creation in Christ.
I know that I have the living God within me.
But it is those little instances and happenings that distract my mind into my old mindset.
Just a few seconds at a roundabout and a red car that decides not to stop.
In a few seconds my heart leaps and those negative perspectives capture my mind.
Instead of blessing, I get upset.
No need for it.
No excuse for it.

Because my decisions do not define me.
It is who I am on the inside that defines me.
I am new in Christ.
I am defined by his word alive in my heart.
I am who God says I am.
My heart knows it.
My spirit knows it.
But my mind and thoughts need to know it.
God works in me to transform my inner image of myself.
Who I am is who God has recreated me to be

For now my New Creation life is the good ground I can plant every promise and seed of God into.
And as God sows his word in me it will produce a ripe abundant harvest.
For Christ in me is the hope of glory not my performance or my self effort but His life alive in me.
Those moments in life where I slip back are in fact just what they really are.
Moments are not my life.
I live in each moment but I am defined by the unconditional love of God and the truth of Christ through his finished work.
Love and truth are the ripe harvest of my heart.

I Regret Nothing

"I regret nothing"
Those were the words printed on a tee shirt of a student on the bus today
it just immediately spoke to my heart
it was like a light went on
shining like a beacon
like a wasp to a glass of lemonade the words came alive
the power of leaving the past behind
the power of moving on
the power of forgiving yourself
the power of living free
I regret nothing
so simple
so important
forgive yourself
so wonderful
to live a life without regret
and I am FREE
innocent
righteous

"I now regret nothing"
I am accepted
I am new in Christ
I don't have to look back
I now have a hope, an assurance that all things work for my good.
regrets will hold me back
regrets cast a shadow over my future
Christ tells me I am secure
I am embraced in God
I am held in the unconditional love of God
he took all my regrets and cast them into his sea of forgetfulness
and he left them there
they died with him
I am free from my regrets
Since I am now alive in Christ.
and I am the delight of his heart
Accepted and not rejected
I'm embraced in his unconditional love.

New Tricks

New Tricks

"You can't live a life worth living when it is rotten at the core "- Brian Lane - New Tricks .

Yes, God speaks through "New Tricks " on the Drama channel.
God is absoultely amazing . No matter what is happening, He wants to speak to you.
At the end of a crime drama I hear the voice of God.
That little whisper.
That little unction inside
That little word of confirmation .
The feeling inside of God.
Out of the ordinary thoughts, thoughts that you know on the inside.
It is difficult to explain.
But there is something inside you that says, listen God is speaking .
And it is here when we need our spiritual ears.
And God is constantly speaking to us in the midst of life.
And through all different noises and experiences.
We just need to listen.
And what did God say.
Yes, Brian.
If you think you are rotten at the core you will see life as a reflection of your heart.

Life is worth living when you know the truth of your heart.
For Christ has given you a New Heart and planted his fruit into your heart.
Now nourish it, nurture it and guard it.
Give the Holy Spirit the freedom to cultivate the power of the Resurrection life of Christ in you.
Unforgivenes is not you.
Forgive completely and don't let it's weeds grow.
Worry is not you. Don't let worry take root and grow.
Fear is not you. The perfect love of God is in you and fear is not yours.
Brokenness is not you. Christ has made you whole and you are complete in him.
Captivity is not you. In Christ you have been set free and delivered.
Sickness is not you. For by the wounds of Jesus you are already healed.
The Holy Spirit in you produces the fruit of all God is.

For when the life of Christ is at the centre of your core then you are Holy and Righteous at the core.
And life is worth living in all its fullness in Christ when the creator of the universe is alive and planted into our hearts.
The core of our hearts is good in Christ and His fullness is our righteous core.
We now live in the abundance of New Creation life, we are united with Him as our source, we let him flow in and through us and his life produces life in us.
In Christ we have a new centre to our lives and his love and truth reigns in us.
Now our centre is unconditional love and life is worth living.
In all its abundance.

Wildflower Verges

The local council have tried to convince us that because they are not cutting the grass verges coming into the town they are creating wildflower havens.
Now there is some truth in this.
They are creating those wildflower havens.
But we all know they are really cutting back to save money.
The less verges that are cut = the more they save.
As it is with all things, it contains truth but it is not all the truth.
Annette asked a question, "What would happen if nature took over ? . Would it just keeps going, self seeding, forever?"
Here in the verges of wildflowers is a picture of God's grace.
For everything has been provided for nature to flourish and thrive in the place where it seeds.
The seeds float on the breeze and life falls where it plants.
And here is one of the great strands of the bible and of life that God is with us in the midst of life.
That God is united in us and to and He is working to bring us into an awareness of his presence in everyday life.
We often strive and struggle to find the 'will of God'.
When his will is that we enjoy his love and delight right here, right now in every circumstance of life.
For His life in us is the power to overcome and know his love working in us.
For we are never separated from the love of God.
He is the awareness of heaven in our hearts
He is the assurance that all our needs are supplied in Christ.
He is the kindness that captivates our emotions.
He is the light that guides our path.
He is the loving father that embraces us.
He is the party on the inside.
And his seed always produces good fruit.

We need never fear or doubt because God always produces the perfect fruit from the perfect seed planted in us.
It is His seed
It is His fruit
It is perfect, righteous and Holy.
Because Christ is perfect, righteous and Holy.
He is planted into our hearts.
Only the good seed of Christ produces the perfect fruit of God.
He has sowed his seed into our hearts and He will reap it's harvest in our hearts.
We are the ripe, summer harvest of the unconditional love of God.

Rabbits and Birds

It was an early morning start today.
My son works at a local golf course, as a green keeper
So for him early mornings are the normal.
Today his car lift was on holiday so I took him in.
5.45 is a bit of a shock to the system.
But it certainly had its rewards.
The roads are empty
And the countryside is full of life.
And one of the most amazing sights was a family of rabbits running free at the edge of a field.
Adults and baby rabbits enjoying the morning.
Without cares and worries.
Enjoying the wonder and provision of creation.
As I think about this I am reminded that this is grace.
That grace is the freedom to run and enjoy life knowing that God has provided everything in Christ.
That I don't have to ask or plead for anything that God has provided for me in grace.

For grace is Christ.
Grace is Christ alive in me.
Grace is Christ poured out for me.
Grace is Christ formed inside me.
Grace is:-
God's healing alive inside me
God's provision alive inside me
God's abundance alive inside me
God's delieverance alive inside me
God's love alive inside me.
God's joy alive inside me
God's freedom alive inside me
God's kindness alive inside me
God's compassion alive inside me
God's mercy alive inside me

It is his healing power, healing my body, soul and heart.
It is his release freeing me from the captivity of my mind, my emotions and the wounds of life.
It is his power in me from his resurrection life.
Grace is the riches of heaven poured into me.
And it is for freedom Christ has set me free.
Free to live and enjoy his unconditional love.
Free to live in his delight in me.
And God is not finished there.
As I come back and enjoy breakfast.
The morning chorus of birds fills the sky.

A symphony of joy and delight.
Each bird with a unique song
Each bird full of the joy of summer.
It is the unique song of creation.
We each have a unique song that needs to be heard.
God has placed unique gifts and talents into our hearts that He can shine through.
God's love is expressed in the uniqueness of our lives.
That is the beauty of creation.

That God shines his unconditional love through the beauty of our lives.
We are a living, vibrant building of the glory of God.
God is glorified when we let him shine his love through us.
For love, unconditional love is the answer to the ache and longing of each individual heart.
And love, unconditional love is the answer to the heartache and suffering that surround us and that we live in.
For love shows us that we are all family.

And Christ laid down his life at the cross so that His family could rise with him into glorious, abundant and free everlasting life.
A life that is now in the New Creation of very heart that has a passionate desire to be God's delight in Christ.
The song we now sing in Christ is a New Creation song of God's delight alive in our hearts.
For the song of the birds in the morning is a foretaste of the eternal song alive in our hearts.
A unique song that sings out the unconditional love of God.

The Smell of the Bar-b-que

What is it about the smell of a Bar-b-que
It just smells delicious.
No matter what time of day it is
When that smell wafts over I am immediately transported to a place of heavenly, meaty delights.
It takes me back years to when our children were little.
Summer evening in the garden enjoying the sausages and burgers.
It creates a hunger, a desire.
It stirs my senses.
It makes me connect.
And I know in my heart and mind that connection is why I was created by God.
I was planned and purposed in God to connect with His beauty and love.
My senses were created for me to experience the glory of God in my body, soul and spirit.
I am created to be one with my heavenly father.
And Christ is the connection.
Christ is the sweet fragrance of God.
For God comes to us as a sweet fragrance
He comes to us as a column of smoke
He comes to us as the morning dew
He comes to us to entice our senses
To ignite our desire
To penetrate our walls of self reliance
He comes to us as a consuming fire
To burn away the dross
To burn away our worldly perception
To burn away the dead wood of unbelief
To burn away the lies of self effort

His fragrance wafts into our senses to create a longing to be with him.
And it is His fragrance, Christ's fragrance in us that we give to everyone and everything thing we touch and connect with in every day life.
For In Christ we are the fragrance of heaven in a corrupted world.

We are the sweet perfume of the unconditional love of God to those that are crying, desperate and alone.
We are the fragrance of healing and restoration for those lost and without hope.
We are the fragrance of hope.
We are the fragrance of the unconditional love of God.
For Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world but to give us the very life of God in a New Creation of his love and life.

Somewhere in the Garden Centre

My wife and I love different varieties of flowers.
I adore heuchera. She isn't to keen.
But the one we both agree on is "Cosmos"
Easy to keep, stunning in colour.
These are definitely our favourite.
And so a trip to the garden centre is usually a search to find them.
And hidden away in the centre we found a few.
Red and White to be precise.
But it was worth the search.
And today potted up they sit on our patio.
Adding colour and life to our garden.
As I look on them and in all their glory, I see all that God has provided for me in these beautiful flowers.
The God is the universe created each one of them for me to enjoy.
For God wants me to enjoy him.
It is not enough for God that I just like.
It is not enough for Christ that I just acknowledge.
He is passionate that I embrace and enjoy.
His desire for me is that I enjoy all he has given me.
And this can sometimes seem alien to me,
Almost disrespectful
That I enjoy God

But that is what love is
It is an enjoyment of being with each other.
A sharing of our intimate emotions and feelings.
God wants my emotions to enjoy him.
God wants me to experience his joy
His love
His delight
For when I enjoy him , I am really enjoying his love alive in me.
He wants to enjoy me.
He pursues me to captivate my heart
He is jealous for me.
God's unconditional has been poured into my life for me to overflow with his goodness and kindness.
Enjoying God is what I was created to do.
Enjoying God is the reason God came in Christ and reconciled me back to God.
Enjoying God is the glory of my New Creation life.
I was made to enjoy God forever.

A New Magazine

The good news is
That my wife  decided to buy a new magazine
Now this is quite interesting
"LandLove" is the name of the mag.
And I was very impressed with it.
Lots of interesting articles and little sections.
It was full of variey.
And I was pleasantly surprised as I read it.
And things just popped from the page.

Like:
"Think before you plant"
"It is good to remember too that good lawns you do keep will thrive with infrequent soaks, rather than frequent sprinkling, as this will encourage roots to search deeper for water. "
As I read this i took a few moments to ponder.
There is whisper from the Holy Spirit that this contains something I need to know.
But as I read, it seems to go against what I believe.
For I know that God is never separated from me.
I know that the Holy Spirit is constantly watering the garden of my heart.
I know that living in the constant sprinkling of Christ in me has been the greatest freedom in my life.
I know that his living water is still the fountain in my heart.
So I wait.
I wait on God to reveal to me what he wants me to hear.
So I wait and listen.
And He let's me wait and he starts to say.
My love is revealed to you
And my love is revealed in you.
You have to let my love take root in your heart.
You have to let my love go deep into your soul.
You have to let me reveal my love to you.
It is in the place of waiting that I reveal deeper truths of my love.
Waiting is not passive, like waiting for a bus or train.
Waiting is active, it is an anticipation of good , it is an expectation of living in the answer.
Waiting is a response to the blessing of God working in you.
God is revealing greater depths of his love and truth planted in your heart.
So don't fret , instead wait for He that is faithful will keep his promises.
And it does not stop there!

As I turn the page this article catches my eye.
Know your soil
"Identifying what type of soil you have in your garden is a big step towards becoming water -wise. "
My heart leaps.
Yes, it says know your soil.
Know the soil of your heart.
Know what God has planted in your heart.
For now as a New Creation in Christ I have new good soil planted in my heart.
I have the best soil in the universe in my heart.
I have the soil of the finished work of Christ in my heart.
In my good New Creation soil I have been planted into the fullness of Christ and from my heart grows the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Planted in me are:
Love
Faithfulness
Goodness
Kindness
Joy
Peace
Patience
Gentleness
Self-control
All these are there inside me growing and transforming my belief system so that I can now live a life as I am.

I am a New Creation in Christ.
I now renew my mind and thoughts and feelings to believe who I am.
It still amazes me that God speaks to me through the articles of a magazine.
But that is because He loves me and He delights in me and He loves showing me the delight He has in me.

Bus Day

Wednesday is Bus Day.

Wednesday is the adventure of the bus
A chance to connect with the voice of God admist the kaidescope of life and noise that is the bus.
What an opportunity to see life in all its vivid colours.
How incredible is creation.
The trick is to try to anticipate where the sun shines. So you don't roast in your seat.
I know the ride.
So I sit where I will be most comfortable.
But the sun shines regardless of me and where I sit.
And the bus carries on its journey.
Sometimes I am in the full glaze of the sun and sometimes I sit there in quiet obscure shadows.
For the shadows and the sun are always there.
And here on the bus I hear God saying:-

"The bus takes you wherever you want to go. Sometimes it's dark, cold and shadowy. Sometimes it's bright, radiant and shining in the sun. But the sun is always shining it's where you position yourself. Shadows come but know that the sun is always shining. The sun never seen leaves you or goes away. Inside you is the brightness of my beauty. Open your mind and your heart and experience my unconditional love and know that you are never alone or deserted.

There is a sense where we can all feel deserted, but you are only deserted if you focus on the journey and not the sun.
So focus on the sun and enjoy the ride "
Today is a day to open your eyes.
It easy to go through life with your eyes closed.
Closed to the grace of God given to you in Christ.
Closed to the goodness of God.
Closed to the glory of creation.
Closed to the will of God
Closed to the unconditional love of God.
The whisper of God is to open your eyes.
The shout of God is to call you out and live in His fullness.
The cry of God is to come close.
The urging of God is to come into his love.
For God is not hiding from you.
He is inviting you into his intimate embrace.
Don't look from afar

Come close
For you are His intimate delight.
When you open your eyes you see the goodness and love of God shining to you.
You see the unconditional love of God overflowing from your life.
For now in Christ it is not you that lives but Christ who lives through you.

The Dentist

The best place for silence is a dentist waiting room.
But when all is said and done it's the last place I want to be.
It is a necessary torture.
And there is nothing I can do about it.
Endurance is the only option.
Yet sitting there in the silence there is an awareness of something i was created to experience.
Intimacy.
And here in the dentist waiting room I breathe in the love of God.
And all fear fades.
Because God was never separated from me.
So where do I find God?
I don't
Because He has found me.
I just breathe him in.
For God is there, deep inside,
His heart of burning, passionate desire.
His heart birthed into my heart.
A desire that He created
A desire that He planted
A desire that He ignited
A desire that I connect with.
His voice is the desire of my heart.
His passion is the fire in my heart.
His love is the answer to the longing of my heart.

My Dentist tells me that all is well.
Come back in six months time
I am relieved
I trust his words of reassurance.
I trust his judgement.
As I consider my experience I realise that trust is a heart condition that God trusts me with.
He trusts me with his Spirit.
He trusts me with his love
He trusts me with his kindness
He trusts me with his compassion
He embraces me with his trust.
My trust is really His trust working in my life.
I am secure because Christ trusts me.
He trusts me with his message of reconciliation.
He trusts me with his healing.
He trusts me with his loving-kindness.
He trusts me to be His ambassador of His unconditional love.
I trust because He trusts me.

Whatever comes my way in life God trusts me with His unconditional love.

Precarious Pears

Yes, yesterday was Monday.
Another week starts as I let time work its way in my life and I find my place in the universe.
I used to worry about time slipping through my fingers
And although it seems to pass at an ever alarming speed.
I have generally let it take its course.
After all there is nothing I can do about it.
Might as well enjoy the ride.
Eternity will be an amazing dynamic.

There are some things in life that present challenges to me.
Eating pears can be one of those precarious challenges.
Because more often than not the juice is just uncontrolable.
It has a life of its own.
And no matter how hard I try it always ends up overflowing and staining my shirt.
I do try to be aware of its intentions.
But it has secret properties that always cause havoc.
Uncontrolable and overflowing is how the Holy Spirit should be in our lives.
God was never meant to be contained.
He lives in us to overflow.
For the more we give out the more we are filled up.
God has limitless resources.
It is me who limits God.
I need to push back the boundaries of my thinking.
In simple terms. (That always appeal to me). He says it, so I believe it.

I had a glorious evening with our group exploring how to hear God's voice.
And the theme of giving away to be filled was a strand of gold throughout the evening.
Sometimes stepping out with what God is whispering to you to daunting.
But if we are willing to take that step we find that God is constantly pouring his words of encouragement into our lives.
I know that I am never disconnected from his presence.
But life has a way of coming in and changing my perspectives.
I am never away from his unconditional love.
For he loves me totally and utterly because I am the delight of his heart.
I am the child of his heart that he always wanted.

The commitment of God to us is a reality that is often tangible but more often it is something we simply need to believe.
God holds you and me in his loving embrace.
There is no fear of falling if we are held securely.

The thought I will leave you with is from Romans 8:32 from The Passion Translation.

"For God has proved his love by giving us his greatest treasure, the gift of his Son. And since God freely offered him up as the sacrifice for us all, he certainly won’t withhold from us anything else he has to give."