Don’t milk it for all it’s worth..

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.  And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” - Leviticus 19:9-10

I love this.

I love this so much.

In this, we see a command not to take every penny for ourselves. Here is the message: some of our wealth was given to us to be given away. The LORD who controls the harvest and how fruitful it is says to you, “Look! Your harvest is bountiful  this month. You have all the riches you need. So give what I have portioned to be given away! Every last cent that you own has been given to you out of My love for you. Use it as I wish, and I wish to bless others with it.”

Isn’t He amazing?

You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

Psalm 40:5.

Oh what joy! That the LORD has been so good to me that I could never be able to speak of all His mercies. Even if I never ceased to declare them, this fleeting body would run out of breath. 

God is good, and He has done great things.

I will live to proclaim His goodness to me, for - oh! - it has been abundant.

Sweet conviction.

The night where the LORD draws you in, and you realise how rotten you are and how empty your promises to Him are. How you tell Him that you would surrender all of your life to Him, and yet cling onto Him as if no vow was ever spoken. Forgive me, LORD. 

And He does. Sweet waves of mercy - new every morning. 

A new season is upon us.

Take root in His Word and in His love, and flourish. 

A word for those with eating disorders & self harm struggles

My body was broken so that you don’t need to break yours

My blood was spilled so that you don’t need to spill yours

Beloved, the cost of My life was enough to cover Yours. Trust Me and live.

To the Christians who argue we should focus more on Jesus and less on Kony

Jesus is glorified when we call for justice in this world.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? - Micah 6:8

It’s not about the campaign. Maybe you disagree with the ‘trendy’ nature of this, or with Invisible Children..I don’t know. But consider this: if you opt out of this campaign for the right reasons, then you need to be loving the LRA victims by praying for them, financially supporting the organisations that do rehabilitation work in Uganda, and raise awareness about this anyway. And when I say pray, I don’t mean ‘quickly arrow pray’. I mean get down on your knees, and intercede, calling on God to reveal Himself to Uganda and the rest of Africa again as the God of Justice that He is.

There is no other way for Jesus to be made known to this world, no other way to shine as His witnesses in 2012, if you do not do what the LORD requires of you: to do JUSTICE, to love KINDNESS, and to walk HUMBLY with your God.

Genesis 18: Intercession

So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

- Genesis 18:22-33

Absolutely. Insane. Passage.

Abraham speaks to God and actually takes the courage to make requests, of the God who created him and holds the whole universe in His hands. And God actually listens to his requests.

Bizarre. Crazy. 

I wonder if sometimes we forget who we speak to when we pray. I think sometimes we take it for granted and forget to take off our spiritual shoes since we stand on holy ground when before Him. 

Intercessory prayer is bold, it’s exhausting, and the Scriptures are full of examples of men and women, seeking after the lost and fearing God in reverence, interceding.

Here’s a few points to take away and remember about intercession:

• Appeal to God’s nature, as He will be true to Himself. Notice that Abraham presents his requests to God not by asking God to please him, but by praising God for who He is. “Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the  Judge of all the earth do what is just?”  When you are in intercessory prayer, remember that it’s not about trying to convince God that He should answer your prayers because you are great or deserving, but that intercession is about appealing to His own nature and glory. It’s about reminding God of His steadfast love, of His mercy. When I pray in intercession, I praise God for His mercy and blessing extended to me, when I was so undeserving. As His people, we know that He is good. It’s not about manipulating or convincing God, it’s simply reminding ourselves and praising Him for who He is. I often pray this prayer for others, as I do for myself: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?” (Psalm 30:9). Remember that we intercede for others for His glory, and that is the purpose, that He would be glorified through our prayers and though the answers He so generously gives. 
• Recognise who you are before God in humility.  Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.  Every moment you speak to the Mighty LORD is an incredible privilege. Intercession is not about demanding a list of requests. It’s about coming before the LORD, praising Him for the joy of prayer, that we can approach Him and make our desire for others to experience His blessing known to Him. Remind yourself of that, for there is no other way to speak to the Lord of Lords.
• Be BOLD. Abraham makes bold request after bold request. Each made in humility, recognising that he is in no way more powerful than God. We see in this snapshot of their conversation that God does respond and listen to what Abraham is asking of Him. Recognise that while God is great, and mighty, He loves you, His child, greatly, and He will always be true to His character. Make your requests bold, and specific, and trust that God is listening.
• Be patient. Be still, and be focused.  …but Abraham still stood before the Lord. This is a really painful one. Intercessory prayer takes time. It’s exhausting. Other things are all too distracting. But know this. Intercessory prayer is about praying until you are certain that the request has been heard, that the answer has been given. And until then, you commit yourself to praying and praying and praying. You need to be focused. If you find yourself getting distracted, quietly bring your mind back, ask the Spirit to help you fix your eyes on Christ, and continue back in prayer. You cannot get on your knees in intercession when you are watching TV. Intercession in this case is not just a quick arrow prayer. It will take energy, but it will be worth it. He is glorified when we commit to prayer to honour Him with all our hearts.

It’s not easy, but I do feel that we are losing sight of how great a mission we’ve been given, and how much help we are granted through prayer. May we remember always the words of Christ:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” - John 14:12-14

Psalm 34: Taste and see that the LORD is good!

 ¹ I will bless the LORD at all times; 
   his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 
² My soul makes its boast in the LORD; 
   let the humble hear and be glad. 
³ Oh, magnify the LORD with me, 
   and let us exalt his name together!

 ⁴ I sought the LORD, and he answered me 
   and delivered me from all my fears. 
⁵ Those who look to him are radiant, 
   and their faces shall never be ashamed. 
⁶ This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him 
   and saved him out of all his troubles. 
⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps 
   around those who fear him, and delivers them.

 ⁸ Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! 
   Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 
⁹ Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, 
   for those who fear him have no lack! 
¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger; 
   but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

 ¹¹ Come, O children, listen to me; 
   I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 
¹² What man is there who desires life 
   and loves many days, that he may see good? 
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil 
   and your lips from speaking deceit. 
¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good; 
   seek peace and pursue it.

 ¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous 
   and his ears toward their cry. 
¹⁶ The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, 
   to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 
¹⁷ When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears 
   and delivers them out of all their troubles. 
¹⁸ The LORD is near to the brokenhearted 
   and saves the crushed in spirit.

 ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, 
   but the LORD delivers him out of them all. 
²⁰ He keeps all his bones; 
   not one of them is broken. 
²¹ Affliction will slay the wicked, 
   and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 
²² The LORD redeems the life of his servants; 
   none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.