Lilacs, Warm Fires and Dark Nights

On the journey this morning I built a roaring fire. It's cold and wet here in Cape Town and the fire was warm and comforting. I watched the tiny, hot embers glow and throw off the flame that would turn the fresh wood into the next embers and thought about 1 Corinthians 14:26. What then shall we say brothers? When everyone comes together everyone has a hymn, tongue, song, word of instruction.... The embers all together combusting to produce flame illustrated how like the scripture we are when we come together. Oh, if we could only set aside our differences and love one another and be for one another! I mean in a deep, meaningful way that when that love may cost you everything kind of way rather than blowing off the relationship and moving on. Know what I mean? I can't, for the life of me, understand how that can be God! The Bible says if we don't love our brother we don't love God. Yeah and we fool ourselves by saying we love them we just don't like them. That made me think of lilacs.

Lilacs are beautifully fragrant white, pink and lavendar flowers with the most pungent nectar! In Ned's home town there are many huge bushes of them. And I remember passing by these big bushes on walks in the evening with him. We would try so hard not to pick them for they don't last much after picking. Then we would run across some that were heavy laden with rain or somehow a branch had been split and we would feel it okay to snap a few off and take them home. The joy these brought us! Simple pleasures! How I long for the days! I wondered about the lilacs- tiny little flowers that seem to grow almost in community on the end of stems. I wonder if somehow we weren't meant to be like that in God's heart.

Then of course, I remember the hurts and issues that separate us from God. The hurts we are presently experiencing and I remember a dream I had long ago. In the darkest black of night with no way to move forward or backward; even the air around me was so black it was oppressing my thoughts; attempting to prevent me from believing my God would rescue me. Sounds like the long, dark night of the soul doesn't it? Oh what a pit. But I must tell you about my friend Patience and the dream she had.

Patience's daughter disappeared about ten days ago. She is 13 years old and not coping well with helping her mother in such a full-time way while Mom works to support them. Long story short, Saturday she came and packed her clothes and left while her mom was working. She left behind her 7, 4, & 2 yr. old sisters and disappeared. Patience heart was broken! And she began to ask God, "Why?" Why? "What have I done?" She saw a person so caught up with her situation, complaining and wailing that she couldn't pray. Then she saw that same person praying and worshiping God and saw her prayers being answered. Somehow she had become so caught up with things that she had lost her focus. It's not that God is selfish and doesn't care about our hurts. Au contraire! He cares deeply but without the intimate love relationship we enjoy with him we lose sight of the bigger picture.

My friend Merina was asking God why Patricia, another young, struggling mom was not able to get any business selling her wares at the market. God told Merina Patricia needed to know about the rainy day. Because she didn't plan for it, because she never thought about it and consequently had no need for God. Until the rainy day, that is. Merina who is a new believer herself, now spends her days praying and asking God to show up and reveal himself in tangible ways so that Patricia will believe. She tells Patricia it's all about having an intimate relationship with him so you can tell him what's on your heart. Please pray for Patricia. I wish there were lilacs here, I would love to pick some and tell her about how lovely she is to the Lord! But alas, we are embers- burning coals keeping the fire of Holy Spirit aflame within our hearts and lives ushering in His Kingdom! Thanks for coming along on the journey today! Bon Voyage!

Relationships are really journeys in a promised land

Don't you think? That is my summation at first glimpse/go round on relationships since back when I was wondering if they last. I mean I guess they last if you want them to, right? If you are willing to commit to them, willing to be vulnerable and transparent or not. All depends on what sort of relationships you are looking for, in my opinion. You reap what you sow. If you are not willing to venture out there in the deep waters of trial and error in communicating, sharing, enduring, forgiving, serving.... Nothing ventured nothing gained, right? I know, today we say no pain no gain. But as far as I can tell, relationships come with price tags. How much are you willing to pay? And are you willing to keep paying? Of course the pay isn't necessarily in the financial form. But more in time, effort and a willingness to love beyond the surface.

Well beautiful diabetic, we left our wallets and cellphones in the car because we had pulled into an enclosed compound. There didn't appear to be anyway anything would get stolen and after all, we figured we are just going to the door to help carry his luggage and escort him to the car.

Prior to our picking Mike up Ned had a conversation on the phone with him and then we had a nice lunch in Somerset West to share where we were coming from. And I think that is part of 'how much are you willing to invest or pay'. On the one hand, we could have just blown Mike off and said, "No, not interested unless on our terms." But we love Mike and have invested a lifetime in him and wife, Roxy and family. And besides that, isn't that what Blood N Fire stands for? Family? Isn't that what we are fighting for? Relationship? We also are fighting for justice which is a product of broken down relationships. So we knew we couldn't just walk away and also because we love Mike so much we want to spend the rest of our lives in relationship with him. So yeah, relationships really are journeys in a promised land, aren't they? And because of that promised land we get to choose how we want to walk them out. What is that promised land? I think it's what Jesus talked about when he said he had come that we might have life and have it abundantly. God wants that for all of us and so I know we are not done yet on the reconciling side of things... but it remains to be seen who will want it and be willing to fight for it. Thanks for listening!

On The Way to the Gate Beautiful Part 2

So we looked and we saw that we need to often pull over and might even need a little 'overhaulin' ourselves. Our same friend Mike had this vision of people standing in a long line. When asked the people didn't know why they were in the line, they were waiting. When Mike asked God what it was all about, He said they were in line waiting for God's timing. There was a little sign over the door that said Blessing. There was another door with no one in line. Over this door was a sign: Problems. God said one could walk through this door when they were willing to let go of their problems. Both doors led to the blessings. It's just which door would you rather go through? Wait for one day or trade your problems in for the blessings God wants to provide for you! It's all up to us!

I met Pat Bailey many years ago. At that time she kept telling all of us: "It ain't about ya'll!" Boy, was this one hard to figure out! Sort of like when Jesus said, "It's harder for the rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle." I sure loved the story of the rich young ruler. For the part about wanting to know what else could he do. There was one thing wrong, it was harder than he thought to give all he possessed to the poor to follow Jesus.

On The Way to the Gate Beautiful Part 2- It's in the journey! As I journeyed around Cape Town praying a few years ago God led me to pray very specifically for Green Market Square. It's the true center of Cape Town if you are a spiritual mapper. And you know what's there? A big market place. That's where I met Sylvia and Patience and Christine, Theresa, Merina, Babish, and a whole lot of other French speaking women. I went back to visit them every once in a while because I wanted to practice speaking French with them. I had made some friends in Rwanda and the wife, Monique didn't speak English. We had a real Holy Spirit connection but often couldn't talk to each other unless there was an interpreter. So I set out talking to these ladies so one day Monique and I could understand one another.

One day while stopping by to say Bonjour! Sylvia told me that she had been praying someone would come by for she really needed some encouragement and prayer. Holy Spirit took over as we prayed for one another. And as they say, the rest is history. We started meeting there once a week to pray for one another, to talk, encourage, etc. Soon all Sylvia's friends started joining us, including some of the pastors she and her husband knew. Then passersby started sitting in and asking for prayer. My husband challenged me today asking me not to call it a prayer gathering. So Mike went with me today and we decided we'll just call it the Marketplace. How's that? Or the Roadside Stand? The Roadside Service?

We shared today that sin and iniquity. Exodus 34:5-9. We just know we all need to get real. As the Lord passed by Moses, he got real! He bowed down and worshiped God. He prayed that God would forgive our sin and iniquity and heal us. We realized that these are the things that keep us from being real with God. The Blessing and the Problem doors. And everybody got very real. Yep, right there on the side of the road, in the open marketplace. And a young woman passing by joined us. She shared a vision she saw while I was praying- "I saw an open door. Everything you've been praying for- the door is open, God is answering."

Afterwards we visited most of the attendees individually because they are vendors at the market. One of the women asked for prayer, "I need Holy Spirit, I am not complete. I know Father, and the Son but I want to know Holy Spirit." So we prayed. Stay Tuned, Part 3 on the way...

On The Way to the Gate Beautiful

We were actually on our way to pick up a friend at the home of Graham Power.
It was a long, dark 45 minute drive in the pouring down rain to bring our friend back to stay with us in Cape Town for a few days before his return to Minnesota.

As I write I remember a few weeks before when we were on the road in the dark and rain on our way to Durbanville to dinner with family. There was unusually heavy traffic for so early in the evening. We approached what might have been the cause, seemed to be a fender bender with a lot of cars pulled to the side of the road but they hadn't really gotten out of the road! Just when we were wondering why and getting irritated by it we saw him, a human being lying still in the road. There wasn't room to pull over, so many people alaready had and were on their cell phones but no one was near the man. He wasn't moving. The shell of what was left of a human being lay lifeless on the road. Others looked as if they had done what they could and were waiting for the ambulance and police to arrive.

We were disturbed to say the least. An emptiness that would not easily be shaken seemed determined to now rob us of the joy of a family dinner out. The reality of the cold hard facts there on the road. We weren't so shallow. Our hearts wept for this man. Did he have family? Who would mourn his death? Who had hoped and prayed for him all his life? Where had he been going before being run over by a car or before he collapsed in the road? We prayed for him and for them- his family, wherever they were.

Back to picking up our friend, in my mind flashed pictures of the dead man on the side of the road. Our friend had accompanied some others to our town with some very different purposes. It seemed odd to us that he would come to our city to do stuff that we were already doing. It was a bit awkward, weren't we doing the job well enough? Then why wouldn't he want to do those same things with us? Well, as only humans can, lots of stuff clogged up the path of our relationship. It was this little thing called communication that muddied the waters. Long story short our friend hadn't known the agenda or details of the trip he was making to our city and didn't ever call or let us know the particulars. We were feeling hurt and abandoned. So, as we went to pick up our friend that night I was feeling a little bit like the man left on the road. When our friend didn't communicate with us we felt a bit removed from family. I used to wonder when someone said so and so was a first cousin once removed if that meant you were kicked out or overlooked, rejected from the family for a bit and then returned. You know what I mean? No, we weren't dead but I assure you the raw feelings inside of us were killing off years of love and relationship we thought we'd established and built with our friend Mike.

We pulled into the driveway of a home called, God Willing. God willing what? We didn't know. With our cell phones and wallets left in the car, we walked in to help our friend carry out his luggage so we could transport him to our home now that the Transformation Africa people were through with him for the twelve days they'd had him over to pray for Africa. Now it was okay for us to approach and pick him up so we could spend time with him. Hmmmph! I know they didn't mean it that way, but it so felt that way.

We'd left family and virtually everything behind to move to South Africa to establish relationships with God's people. Believing God had called us to get involved in their lives and pray for their country. And here these people were importing others to come and pray. Were we not good enough to do that? Why did our friend Mike qualify to come for a week or more when we had given our lives for the people here? Mike and his wife believed, as did we, what was said to the Thessalonians: "we loved you so much we decided to spend the rest of our lives with you." We certainly didn't know and were aghast to think that Mike wouldn't even tell those who invited him that we existed. It wasn't about titles, positions or recognition. For us it was about relationship. Didn't we have one with Mike? And if we were invited to Minnesota we certainly would recognize that God had called Mike and his family there. So we would phone them, explain and say, what do you think God is doing and saying? How can we do this together? But Mike didn't. So we were hurt, disappointed and felt very jilted. Could we have eventually ended up like the man on the road?

Perhaps that man had died being run over by a car. Perhaps he had died all alone, having been rejected and kicked out of family or perhaps not. Perhaps he had been on his way to the nearest store for a bottle of milk for the baby, we will never know. But one vital thing: someone cares! God cares! And so do we! And our friend Mike cared! We wished he'd figured it out the first time but well, if we really are committed to this thing called relationship it means we have to get real with one another. We need to go to great lengths to see about each other, be sensitive to one another and approach one another in love!

Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 13: And now I will teach you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of the angels but have not love I am only a resounding gong, a clanging cymbal.... If I give all I possess to the poor but have not love it profits me nothing!

I love that first part, the most excellent way! We need to apply it! Are you easily angered? Are you rude? Proud? Judgmental, bitter, unforgiving? How about this one? Do you keep a record of wrongs?

Can we pull over here for a little roadside service? We may need to ask Jesus to look under the hood a little while, perhaps we, too, might need to take a long, hard look ourselves? There is a part 2. Till then...

My Life As A Praying Mantis

Yes, resultant to a praying mantis siting I write. We'd watched one climb from a chair to a small house plant trying to reach the wall on the side of the house. Funny, they have such big eyes but didn't seem like they could figure out exactly how far it was to the wall. It kept putting its front legs out almost as if he was feeling for it. Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever wonder how effective is my prayer? Is anyone listening? Is anyone there?

So we found the mantis later in the house at the end of the passage. I was sweeping and noticed he was making his way to the door, how could he know that was the way? I picked him up on the dustpan and realized that one of his front legs had been injured. It was withered, actually. Hence my decision to check out a bit of research on the Praying Mantis. What a play on words! It does look a bit like it is praying but in fact it is preying! And do you know what Mantis means? In Greek it means diviner or prophet. Hmmm. Just found that interesting as we continue on our journey to the promised land.

The female actually can make a meal out of the male as they get together to make baby praying mantids! Is that wild?!!! The male actually risks becoming the females' main dish just to reproduce! And then when the babies are born, they eventually will eat each other!

A group of friends meets on Fridays to pray. One of these friends this morning was commenting on the power of words and how lifegiving and/or devastating they can be. She also went on to ask our opinion of whether ministry should supercede relationship. There's that word again, ministry. Guess it is time to look up the origin of this word. But for a later post, so tune in again! And feel free to let me know anything you find on ministry and/or superceding relationship!

Friday morning really got me thinking. First of all, it was one of the first times someone got real at the prayer meeting. I mean, we pray a lot for Africa and its nations- very seriously and are either related to or involved in reaching into many of these nations and the people. Seldom though do we hang out with each other- this group of pray-ers.

Then I started thinking about what Jesus told the disciples when He ascended into heaven. Go back and stay in that place till my Father does what He promised. Hmm. What do you think they did all that time in that room? Do you think they ever talked to one another, shared personal stuff, fears, concerns, hurts, etc. Or rather did they just stick to the prayer topics that someone wrote out for them? No offense, but I believe Jesus wanted them to get together in that room for more than the standard rituals that went on in the temple. Besides, it wasn't in a temple that He told them to wait! It was in a house, wasn't it?

Okay, I don't think I need to defend the whole house church idea. That's not what I mean when I talk about this. Remember, we were talking about relationship superseding ministry, right? Jesus is the ultimate example of relationship for us all! He did only what He saw his father doing- wasn't always healing, preaching, rebuking, etc. Sometimes it was just hanging out, having coffee, a meal and fellowship; right? Forgive me, but I really think that when Jesus said do this in memory of me he meant fellowship! I have nothing against communion, it makes sense, it is right. It represents what He did for us. Ultimately He forgave us, healed and reconciled us to His Father! That's relationship, and I think we are falling way short if we don't make room for and value relationship. Ministry, which we have yet to define, still shouldn't supersede relationship. If so, then Jesus might still be here! Hello?

Journey

As a young child I was privileged to experience God’s ‘church’ in a very hands-on way. Interestingly, that expression of Kingdom shaped and melded how I see my relationship with God and others today, forty-two years later. I have a hunch it is the way God intended His Kingdom to be in this world.

Today the church is sorely lacking in the area of relationship. What? You say, “We have small groups and social events galore to foster relationship in the church.” I say, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” Jesus modelled relationship for us. He showed us His relationship with His Father so that we also might relate with our God in heaven. He died for us, becoming the ultimate sacrifice, that we might be reconciled to our God and King that we might have life in abundance. So is it too early to ask, “Why do we think God only wants to meet one day a week with thousands in attendance?” What’s He doing on the other days of the week?

Okay, it is not my intention to accuse the church. It is my intention to share my opinion in such a way that brings about change. For God desires that we all experience His perfect love. It doesn’t take getting all your priorities right before you can get there; it takes involving Jesus daily in your thoughts, words, deeds and prayers. He said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom and all other things will be added unto you.” Jesus’ Bride, the church, has been perverted by lesser ideas and means of how we relate to Him. Jesus said he came that we might have life abundantly. Not only on Sunday from 9-12. Now I know that’s not really what the church means to do. Man has somehow put the institution of church in a box that he only has/makes time for on Sunday mornings. He is driven by his desires and need to acquire and achieve so he can’t possibly be available on other days of the week. We've got diaries with busy schedules, after all. Harsh statement? Yes, but we need to talk about it, expose and reveal the truth that the Light of the World will come and lead us back to Him! Do you think Abraham was an intercessor with specific, appointed times to be at the church in prayer or do you think he was God's friend? Do you schedule the time with your friends by appointment only? Do you ever meet with them because you need their help or you just want to be with them? Or is your schedule just too busy for that?

The church of my childhood is not the same today. My parents knew the people and pastors in the church. And the pastors and people knew them and us. Today’s world is not conducive to community like this as people’s jobs transfer them all over the world. But God’s Kingdom was meant to be the place where we can find a home! And sadly, many of us do not want to be real enough to embrace ‘home’ today.

The people in my little hometown got together socially in addition to Sundays and planned events. They even had dinner together just because it was a nice day and they could. My church experience was like a committed family in community. And my family benefited greatly from those relationships.

Fifteen years ago when my husband and I were starting our family we were transferred 15 hours away from our family and community. We thought the new church we began attending would be an extension of this. Yet, we hardly ever had the chance to speak to anyone. Odder still! Our next door neighbors attended the same church. We saw them every Sunday but only threw up a hand to wave hello rather than make an effort to get to know one another. We saw the pastor every Sunday but again, we didn’t know him either. He didn’t know us from Adam! Even when our child was baptized, it was more like a liturgical duty performed rather than a joyous celebration of life between us all!

When my husband began to attend another church I was very concerned. I didn’t want to leave the one I had grown up in, even though this was a new location. But I simply could not find fellowship in this church. I felt rejected when I sang with the choir, who was I to sing when they were singing? Well, I thought we were all free to worshipping the Lord! When I accompanied my husband to the other church I found a place where people worshipped freely! Everyone was encouraged to join in. I wasn’t going to be fooled or tempted by that, though. That was not enough to lure me away. I began to ask the Lord in my prayer times, ‘was it about the building and denomination or was it about the personal relationship we had with him?” Funny enough, those prayer times were born out of wanting to enjoy fellowship with God and my husband together. So I just had conversations with God every morning asking him to bring my husband to church where we could worship Him together.

In time we found ourselves in discussions about God and our faith with a lot of the folks that attended the new church. We discovered commonality in our relationship and faith as we began walking it out together. It seemed as though God had led us in this direction. I hadn’t grown dissatisfied with the other church, but certainly was seeking to find God where He would be found. I had secretly prayed for years for God to bring my husband to church and to Him. I was shocked that God would answer that prayer by taking him somewhere other than the church my children and I attended.

The church I had grown up in had become so large it no longer communicated with the flock in a personal way. It had become a smooth running machine that was out of touch with the needs of its community. It became more about the needs of the church which should have been about the people in the church but it was more concerned with the hierarchy of leadership and how to support that than with ministering to its people daily. Again, I am not intending to make a judgment, only an opinion of my own experience. Perhaps it was as simple as finding another one of the same denomination that was more caring. But somewhere along the way I began to sense Holy Spirit leading us to the new church my husband had found. I sensed a cross over of denominationalism that would bring about true relationship with God and His people. And we began to dare to believe God was orchestrating a community of believers who loved God, served God and met with God daily in their own lives and homes rather than a set time and appointed place. It wasn’t about what we were on to but about what God was revealing to us in those times of coming together after church or when we gathered as a group to pray or share a word from the Bible. We began to see a small group of people taking shape that wanted to share in each other’s lives and walk with God closely. This was a far cry from the other church that had looked at me with disdain when I joined the choir in singing. I suppose if I wanted to sing I should have joined the choir and earned the right to be placed according to my voice and wear the right robe. It seemed so cold and sterile to me. Not the church I had been raised in where the pastors and nuns had been mother and father to us children when our mother was ill and our father was working long hours to hold it all together. Not the church that gave us a home and stepped up to the plate to help us learn to read and write and grow while our parents were unable to do so. What had become of that church? I found myself asking God where was he when I entered the building. I couldn’t find him there any longer.

A few years later I wrote the pastor of that church telling him we had joined a new fellowship and what we were doing. He never called or wrote. But the church bulletin arrived always in the mail. When our family moved to South Africa I again had to write them to tell them to stop sending the bulletins since we wouldn’t be there. I had enjoyed reading them and staying in touch with what was happening but I was sure surprised they didn’t want to know about us. And then I just realized I didn’t want them to waste their money sending mail when we wouldn’t be there. Again, they never wrote back. Even when I wrote a thank-you letter to the original church that had helped our family, they also never acknowledged receiving that note or that I even existed. How could that be God’s church? You might think I wanted this to be about me, I assure you I did not. I wanted fellowship but it did not come. I don’t know if that was because it could only be on their terms or why. But I did give it more than the old college try. All of these churches are not alike though, I know the church my mother attends is in great fellowship with one another and the pastor. I know my sister is deeply involved in her church and the fellowship of believers so I do not believe all church is like this. However, there is a danger of becoming apathetic to God’s purpose for church and those who lead in the church and who they are leading.

The pastor of the new church, and his wife and family, got to know our family. We often shared meals and birthdays together. We met with them often to pray for them, for us or others in the church who also were in need. Our kids enjoyed spending the night together, riding bikes, swimming and celebrating birthdays together. It began to look more like the church I had grown up in and the one I read about in Acts 2. Relationships grew with one another and God. As we matured and the kids began to grow we were able to get even more involved in ministry to the poor. At first this was through part-time outreach but it grew into a full-time ministry that God said we should name Blood N Fire.


We read about a man, John Wimber. He was out in a desert one day, broken and alone when God began to speak to him. God restored his marriage and family. He began attending church and his life began to change. One day he walked into the church and asked, “When do you do it?” They replied, “Do what?” He said, “You know, the stuff that is written in the Bible.” They replied they only read about it but didn’t do it today. John was challenged by their response. I think he must have believed God had it written down to give us the opportunity to live the Word. When Jesus said he had come that we might have life and have it abundantly he meant it, right? He modelled it for us! Surely we were supposed to follow his example. Isn’t that what He meant in the Great Commission? I don’t want to be one of the goats to whom Jesus says, “depart from me I never knew you.” I don’t want to have to ask, “When? When were you in prison and I didn’t help you? When were you sick, needy, naked, hungry?”

The way I see it, the Pharisees and Sadducees were reading about it and teaching about what the Word said, but not living it in their day. And don’t we find ourselves living in a similar time today?

We dared to believe Wimber was on to something. And we began to walk it out as Holy Spirit led us into the streets of the inner city of Atlanta. And eventually that is what led us to Cape Town, South Africa and the nations of Africa. It’s what we began doing at Atlanta Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Atlanta where Holy Spirit began leading us to the streets of the inner city of Atlanta to the homeless, addicted and the poor. On this journey we’ve met many of God’s wonderful nameless and faceless people. You know, the ones without important titles and positions. We’ve learned a great deal about relationship. And we are still learning even more. We’ve been allowed to walk out a life of faith that keeps challenging us yet brings the kind of rewards that don’t have price tags! Money can’t buy these journeys! While cruising through Africa two years ago we realized the only way we were going to cross the borders was through faith, relying on Holy Spirit to open the gates that we might cross over to the other side. And truly there were testimonies in every country and relationships that developed with friends we made along the way. Some of them remain nameless and faceless yet our God knows their name and they know well the scripture: “my Beloved’s is mine and I am His.” To have been able to go through these nations reaching out, discussing, receiving and sharing with a people we’d never known was absolutely transforming. Journey to the Promised Land is about the journey of life we are all travelling on and what happens along the way that shapes and moulds and leads us as we step into the destiny God has prepared for us. My prayer is that it will enlighten you, teach you and lead you into a life with God that will change your life forever! Get to know God! I stand in awe of His Love and Majesty! He has never forsaken or forgotten me! He never lets me down, but is always right by my side, allowing me the pleasure to be by His right side. And I am thankful for all those people He put in my life along the way that guided me in His direction, knowingly and unknowingly! From one sojourner to another - Bon Voyage!

The Real Journey

I began writing a collection of people’s stories five years ago as God brought them across my path. Their stories reminded me of the children of Israel whom God delivered from captivity in Egypt. In the midst of their flight was the Red Sea. They would have to cross over it to get to their promised land. Moses cried out to God for help and God said, “Stretch out your hand….and part the waters.’ Moses needed a great deal of faith to stretch out his hand and part the waters. But when he did God’s power moved through that faith and brought them into their promised land. We meet people with stories just like that all over Africa!!! When I was young, we used to say in our family, “No one would ever believe these things really happened to us. We should write them down!” We never really did. So after I married, had a family of my own and we moved to South Africa it was just time to start writing!

On my way home from Green Market Square today I watched a homeless woman greet a very pretty young black woman as she walked to her destination. “Hi Macie!” said the woman and she had the biggest smile on her face. The woman looked and kept right on going. The homeless woman and her friend sitting on the sidewalk just laughed. One might say they were mocking that girl. One might say they laughed to hide the pain inside when she didn’t say hello back. To me, it was an invitation to relationship. The young woman may have thought it was a relationship she didn’t want, which is exactly what was communicated to them. But what if it were the door that Hosea spoke about when God said:

“Therefore, I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. … I will show my love to the one I called, ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people, ‘You are my people;’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”

Call me naïve, say I’ve lost my mind; but I believe that Valley of Achor, that place we fear most; more than likely is the very door of Hope open to us. Yes, it is naïve to think we can solve every problem every person has in the world. Only God can be there for them. But- He often puts people like that homeless women in our path for a purpose- not to harm us but to give us a future and a hope; for us and for them- if we are willing to check in with God and ask, seek and His door will open Everytime!

Ask and it shall be given, Seek and you will find, knock and the door will open- to you Everytime!
KevinProsch

When we crossed over the Atlantic to the southern tip of Africa five years ago, the Lord said to me in a dream: “Arica is the last greatest place on the earth.” That revelation blew me away as it began unfolding in our personal lives. Previously written on my heart were wanderings and longings from my life with a deep desire to be like the pioneers in the Wild West in America and with Nehemiah’s quest to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Comparing my life’s journey with those of the people of Africa, Journey to the Promised Land came into view! My new acquaintances and I had more in common than we realized. We discovered we’re all on an amazing journey and God has been right there beside us every step of the way! Just as it was with the children of Israel, our desert places are where we can see Him best; especially when we look beyond our circumstances.


Song of Solomon 3:6:

“Who is this coming up out of the wilderness, like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from the spices of the merchant?”

It’s the place of breakthrough, the promise of His presence, the Promised Land! Palanquin. It’s the place of refuge, the fulfilment of God’s promise. He is!!!!

Roadside Service

A friend from Botswana sent me an article about the Service Station. It's a cafe in Spokane, Washington in the U.S. Their mission is to serve people and build relationships. The owner used to be an assistant pastor who decided to quit the ministry to be able to serve people. Hmm.

The author of the article, John Fischer, writes that if we just get these important principles we won't have to quite the ministry to do it. What I want to know is when and how did it become ministry to begin with? When I read Acts 2 it seems to be the way people lived their lives. How did what was once our lifestyle become ministry?

It makes you want to do some heavy research to define ministry. Have you ever seen that word in the Bible? If we are following Jesus' model we wouldn't have need for this word.

Rick Warren talks about the Purpose-Driven Life and there is even a daily devotional entitled: The Better LIfe. I have never seen it but the title just puts me off. It feels exclusive somehow. What if we, like Abraham, trust and obey God's direction to go to a place He will show us versus all we've ever known?

The Service Station didn't want to look like a cafeteria. Neither does the Promised Land look like an assembly line conveyor belt with choices and decisions like Door #1, 2, & 3 where we pick and choose what days we will go to church; Sunday for sure, and maybe if the calendar is clear, Wednesday or maybe a small group on another night. Hello?

Jesus modeled a lifestyle for His 12 disciples and in turn it became the 'way' the first believers lived- not ministered! A fundamental problem we have today is the separation of our lives and our relationship with God. Shouldn't these be one in the same? And represented by an interesting word- lifestyle? I seem to recall Jesus saying, "Behold, I make all things new." He also said He only did what He saw His Father doing. Do you think he went to temple on Saturday to check to see what that was?

The author of Hebrews first tells us: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. "

Then Chapter 10:19: "Therefore, brothers, since we have a confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain... let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

I am convinced the promised land is before us all the time. Like when Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is at hand." Where? As close as the palms of our hands that we can use to serve others! This requires laying down your own life for your brother, though. It requires that you have an unoffendable heart. There is nothing in you that can be offended when the desire of your heart is to serve God and your neighbor. Tall words, eh? Yep, but they have not come without a whole lot of experience!

Often Revelation 12 is use when teaching on Spiritual Warfare. A very powerful key is found starting in verse 10:

"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

"Now have come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers who accuses them before our God night and day, has been hurled down.

They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down in yu! He is filled with fury, because he knows his time is short.

Were you hearing any alarm bells when you start to read about the accuser of the brother? Oooh, Holy Spirit pricked my heart for the times I have judged and gotten angry and offended! The prize surely is before us in vs. 11! They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Could that mean that it wasn't always about them? How often in disagreements are we looking out or defending our selves? We aren't even aware of it most of the time, we do it so much. When someone is offended by us and lashes out we are shocked as if to say, 'what did I do?' 'What's wrong with them?' 'Can't they see what they are doing to me?' 'Why aren't they sensitive to my need or hurt?' Could it be about their own hurt or need? Does that look like Revelation 12:11?

Stephen gave up everything, laid it all down and threw himself into the life and fellowship of the church. I don't think that means he abandoned everything to move into the church building. I think it looks more like: he didn't love his life so much. He trusted God for where he would eat, sleep, pray and go. Now before you go getting all mad at me or judge me for suggesting this I want to say: Not everyone is a Stephen or a Paul or a Peter. Jesus knew a lot more folks than just the 12! So not everyone is called to lay everything down. But there are seasons, even instant ones, where God is asking us to do something for him. It could be as simple as a hug, prayer, smile or as complex as a cup of cold water or shelter or praying for a miracle. The thing is, will you love your life so much that you won't care? The Good Samaritan certainly had this choice before him and so do we each day. Whether it be simply extending our hand to the poor and needy in the streets or to one in our own family. When it was said that the Son of Man had no place to lay His head. It wasn't meant for pity but compassion! Jesus was saying, "Follow Me! Lay down your lives, pick up your cross and follow me! My Father cares for me in every way. I have all I need."

He wasn't interested in fine cars and or travels to Italy and the like. He wasn't interested in positions, titles or even the number who would follow Him. He was interested in doing only what He saw Hif Father doing. He hung out with twelve guys, pouring everything into them because He knew they were the ones to carry on. They were the ones that would produce the fruit that lasts, the Bride. It wasn't a building but those He loves and longs for. His sheep are His Bride! And they know His voice because they know Him. And therein lies the Promised Land. 1 Corinthians 13 says that now we see but in a glass dimly, then we shall see fully even as we are fully known! Wouldn't you like to be known? Wouldn't you like to know Him rather than just know about Him?

It is in the journey!

St. Martha wrote that the promised land is there. It's just that it's in the journey along the way. I couldn't agree more. Opportunities abound for us in relationships. It's all in our approach and which we choose. Do you think sometimes we see/hear/perceive through a type of filter? Maybe that filter can even be extremely spiritual, fundamental, intellectual, political, racial, scientifical or completely clueless. I mean if one were a chef, one might see/hear/think through the world of cookery.

A friend of mine recently took her SAT test and the essay question was something like: Can one truly have their own opinion? The friend answered no because we are influenced and swayed by so many things today.

So as we continue to explore the promised land of relationship I think the filters of communication may play a pivotal role.