Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Franklin D. Roosevelt - strength of spirit
A couple of weeks ago, I was channel surfing, and landed on the History Channel. It was airing the tail end of a documentary on Pearl Harbour, and I lingered because the story has always fascinated me. But the next programme was what got me hooked. It was about Franklin Delano Roosevelt - then President of the United States - at the time of the Pearl Harbour bombing.
Before watching the programme, I didn't know anything about FDR. After watching it, I was really taken by him, and felt that I needed to study more about his life. Throughout it all, I felt God was saying something to me - about how to develop a strong spirit.
But first, here are some nuggets about FDR, and why I consider him to have incredible strength of character:
1. He was president of the United States from 1933-1945, which meant he was leading the nation through one of its most difficult periods of history (The Great Depression, and World War II). The people were frightened, the nation was in an unprecedented and very troubled time, and he gave them leadership and hope.
2. At the age of 39, he was diagnosed with polio, which left him paralysed from the waist down. In the book "Character Above All" (Edited by Robert A Wilson), it is written: "The actor Gregory Peck recalled waiting at a harbor when he was a boy to catch his first glimpse of the President. Like most Americans, Peck had no idea that Roosevelt was a paraplegic. While he knew that Roosevelt had had polio when he was younger, he had no understanding of the full extent of his disability, no idea that he had to call for his valet every morning to help him get out of bed. Because there was an unspoken code of honor on the part of the press never to photograph the President looking crippled, never to show him helpless, never to show him on his crutches or in his wheelchair, most people simply assumed that the polio had left him a bit lame but that he could still walk on his own power.
"So when the young Gregory Peck stood on the dock that day and saw Roosevelt being carried off the boat like a child, he was so stunned that he started to cry. But then, Peck recalled, Roosevelt instantly put everyone at ease. As soon as he was placed in his chair, he put his hat on his head, placed his cigarette holder in his mouth, waved to the crowd, and smiled his dazzling smile, and suddenly Peck said, 'I started clapping and everything was fine. He seemed with every gesture to be saying, 'I'm not pitying myself, so why should you worry about me?"
His wife Eleanor Roosevelt called the polio "his trial by fire". "I think probably the thing that took most courage in his life was his mastery and meeting of polio. I never heard him complain. He just accepted it as one of those things that was given you as discipline in life." After his struggle with polio, he seemed less arrogant, less smug, less superficial, more focused, more complex, more interesting. "There had been a plowing up of his nature" Frances Perkins commented. "The man emerged completely warm-hearted, with new humility of spirit, and a firmer understanding of philosophical concepts."
When he died, the nation mourned greatly for him, which underlines just what a strong, well-loved leader he was in a time when the US was in the crucible of fire (and despite he having to deal with his own disability). The New York Times editorialised that "men will thank God on their knees a hundred years from now... that FDR was in the White House."
All this was fascinating to me. What gave FDR so much strength, that he could not only carry himself but an entire nation through a troubled time; and give himself and them hope to overcome? It is said that one of the most significant achievements of his presidency is "the renewal of courage and hope and faith of the American people".
In an essay of FDR by author Doris Kearns Goodwin, she says the strength came from "an inner well of serenity ... which proved to be an unending source of spiritual refreshment for Roosevelt".
An inner well of serenity. Those words jumped out at me. It is a stillness, a calmness, an inner peace in spite of the outer turmoil, an unshakeable confidence. It is about having an anchor for the soul.
The verse that keeps coming back to me is:
"I have set the Lord always before me,
Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved (shaken)." (Psalm 16:8)
I am definitely not there yet. But I know this is a quality that God wants to cultivate in His people. We cannot be spiritual warriors unless our hearts are still even when there is trouble all around.
This is an old song by Don Moen that I started to sing tonight - God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Amen.
Before watching the programme, I didn't know anything about FDR. After watching it, I was really taken by him, and felt that I needed to study more about his life. Throughout it all, I felt God was saying something to me - about how to develop a strong spirit.
But first, here are some nuggets about FDR, and why I consider him to have incredible strength of character:
1. He was president of the United States from 1933-1945, which meant he was leading the nation through one of its most difficult periods of history (The Great Depression, and World War II). The people were frightened, the nation was in an unprecedented and very troubled time, and he gave them leadership and hope.
2. At the age of 39, he was diagnosed with polio, which left him paralysed from the waist down. In the book "Character Above All" (Edited by Robert A Wilson), it is written: "The actor Gregory Peck recalled waiting at a harbor when he was a boy to catch his first glimpse of the President. Like most Americans, Peck had no idea that Roosevelt was a paraplegic. While he knew that Roosevelt had had polio when he was younger, he had no understanding of the full extent of his disability, no idea that he had to call for his valet every morning to help him get out of bed. Because there was an unspoken code of honor on the part of the press never to photograph the President looking crippled, never to show him helpless, never to show him on his crutches or in his wheelchair, most people simply assumed that the polio had left him a bit lame but that he could still walk on his own power.
"So when the young Gregory Peck stood on the dock that day and saw Roosevelt being carried off the boat like a child, he was so stunned that he started to cry. But then, Peck recalled, Roosevelt instantly put everyone at ease. As soon as he was placed in his chair, he put his hat on his head, placed his cigarette holder in his mouth, waved to the crowd, and smiled his dazzling smile, and suddenly Peck said, 'I started clapping and everything was fine. He seemed with every gesture to be saying, 'I'm not pitying myself, so why should you worry about me?"
His wife Eleanor Roosevelt called the polio "his trial by fire". "I think probably the thing that took most courage in his life was his mastery and meeting of polio. I never heard him complain. He just accepted it as one of those things that was given you as discipline in life." After his struggle with polio, he seemed less arrogant, less smug, less superficial, more focused, more complex, more interesting. "There had been a plowing up of his nature" Frances Perkins commented. "The man emerged completely warm-hearted, with new humility of spirit, and a firmer understanding of philosophical concepts."
When he died, the nation mourned greatly for him, which underlines just what a strong, well-loved leader he was in a time when the US was in the crucible of fire (and despite he having to deal with his own disability). The New York Times editorialised that "men will thank God on their knees a hundred years from now... that FDR was in the White House."
All this was fascinating to me. What gave FDR so much strength, that he could not only carry himself but an entire nation through a troubled time; and give himself and them hope to overcome? It is said that one of the most significant achievements of his presidency is "the renewal of courage and hope and faith of the American people".
In an essay of FDR by author Doris Kearns Goodwin, she says the strength came from "an inner well of serenity ... which proved to be an unending source of spiritual refreshment for Roosevelt".
An inner well of serenity. Those words jumped out at me. It is a stillness, a calmness, an inner peace in spite of the outer turmoil, an unshakeable confidence. It is about having an anchor for the soul.
The verse that keeps coming back to me is:
"I have set the Lord always before me,
Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved (shaken)." (Psalm 16:8)
I am definitely not there yet. But I know this is a quality that God wants to cultivate in His people. We cannot be spiritual warriors unless our hearts are still even when there is trouble all around.
This is an old song by Don Moen that I started to sing tonight - God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Amen.
Monday, December 19, 2011
I need you more (Kim Walker)
Beautiful, beautiful song, which expresses a deep, heartfelt love for the Lord!
I need You more, more than yesterday
I need You Lord, more than words can say
I need You more, than ever before
I need You Lord
I need You Lord
More than the air I breathe
More than the song I sing
More than the next heartbeat
More than anything
And Lord, as time goes by, I will be by your side
Cause I never want to go back to my old life.
We give you the highest praise...
I need You more, more than yesterday
I need You Lord, more than words can say
I need You more, than ever before
I need You Lord
I need You Lord
More than the air I breathe
More than the song I sing
More than the next heartbeat
More than anything
And Lord, as time goes by, I will be by your side
Cause I never want to go back to my old life.
We give you the highest praise...
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Prophetic Worship (Views by Matt Redman)
There's a sense in which the prophetic flows from that place of Intimacy. You have to be close to God to hear His voice... He speaks with a whisper. He maybe shouts to His enemies but to His friends He whispers. If you want to sing, play or dance prophetically, it has to come out of place which is close to God.. where you hear His voice, you become His spokesperson.
The prophetic is that which reveals Jesus. In Revelation it tells us that the spirit of prophecy is "the" testimony of Jesus, it's that which reveals Jesus. We often think of the prophetic about revealing the future; but the prophetic is far more about revealing Jesus. The heart of the prophetic, the heart of God is to reveal Jesus. That can come about in so many different ways; you could reveal the heart of God through dance, a spontaneous song - 'a song of the Lord'. The effect of that spontaneity is that people are drawn closer to Jesus.
The prophetic could be that you really feel to play a song one day, an old song maybe, but you feel this is the song the for tonight; and you play it and it is the song for tonight That's prophetic, something happened there which revealed Jesus; it brought us into His Presence more and more... it revealed the heart of God. We mustn't fall into the trap of thinking that the prophetic is just one thing... silence could be prophetic. You hear the voice of God and you act in such a way that it brings people closer to Jesus. Prophetic playing may bring a time of intercession or compassion for the lost, but the effect is always ultimately to glorify Jesus.
Prophetic worship is not a new thing; the Psalms are great example of prophetic worship, they revealed the future and they also revealed Jesus. In 2 Kings 3:15 Elisha said, "Bring me a harpist, and while the harpist was playing the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha." People may have experienced that in a meeting; all you're doing is playing and it's revealing the Lord; the Presence of the Lord is being ushered in... just through playing.
Just in the same way that God speaks through creation; you see a lovely landscape and you think 'now I know there's a God, I can sense Him speak through these things'. It's the same in music; you can hear Him speak through music which is just another part of creation. God created it for His glory and His honour but it can be used in many different ways; even sometimes when someone is not playing it for the glory of God (example Dave Gilmore with Pink Floyd playing a big guitar solo) it points you towards the Lord. How much more so, we who are saved, with our music point people towards the Lord; usher them into His Presence. It allows peoples minds and their hearts and their spirits be stirred, even by the music alone. Again in the Old Testament; I Chronicles 25:3 it talks about Jeduthun's sons. It says they prophesied using the harp, thanking and praising the Lord.
It doesn't always have to be spontaneous. You maybe preparing for the meeting and you write a little song, and that song will only ever get sung in that meeting; it seems to be the song of the moment.. addressing something that is on the Lord's heart for that night
Sometimes we're just playing along, the worship time is just normal; and then into the worship leaders mind, or a dancer or musician, comes something. And because that's the thing on the Lord's heart for that moment, and that's how He's chosen to reveal Himself, suddenly something happens... there's a dynamic... you change gears as it were; you find yourself even deeper in the Lord's Presence.
A prophetic word will break through into your life. In the same way prophetic songs, dance, music will cause a breakthrough in a time of worship. People sit up and listen when you prophesy over them, a change occurs. It's the same in worship. People get ushered into the Lord's Presence through the prophetic in our playing or in our words. That's what we should be aiming for. Our aim is to put people in touch with God.
Playing or singing prophetically is like walking a tight rope; sometimes all I have is a line in my head and I think 'OK then, here we go'. The thing about walking a tight rope is that you mustn't look down. In the same way when stepping out in the prophetic keep look 'straight ahead' towards God. Keep focusing on the Lord, focusing towards Jesus. I keep my eyes shut personally, because there will always be a few people giving you a weird look. lf you lookdown and worry about falling you probably will.
The Bible says we only see in part when we prophecy. One day we'll see in full. Often with the prophetic we won't understand the whole of what we're singing or be consciously cognizant that we're not seeing the whole picture.
I was in Norway once and in the middle of the worship time I felt the Lord put the Michael Jackson song 'You are not alone, I am here with you' into my head. So I sang this song out and at the end of it I felt 'Oh no, what have I done', I thought - at least I'm in Norway, we'll be going home in a couple of days'. At the end of that I felt 'that was not from the Lord... your a prat.'. But then this lady comes up to me at the end and says 'I've been desperate for the Lord, I've been crying out for him and I came tonight In the car I said to God I felt so alone, where are You... You're not with me.'. That seemed to be the heart of God for that day... God will often leave the 99 to go after the 1.
The prophetic is that which reveals Jesus. In Revelation it tells us that the spirit of prophecy is "the" testimony of Jesus, it's that which reveals Jesus. We often think of the prophetic about revealing the future; but the prophetic is far more about revealing Jesus. The heart of the prophetic, the heart of God is to reveal Jesus. That can come about in so many different ways; you could reveal the heart of God through dance, a spontaneous song - 'a song of the Lord'. The effect of that spontaneity is that people are drawn closer to Jesus.
The prophetic could be that you really feel to play a song one day, an old song maybe, but you feel this is the song the for tonight; and you play it and it is the song for tonight That's prophetic, something happened there which revealed Jesus; it brought us into His Presence more and more... it revealed the heart of God. We mustn't fall into the trap of thinking that the prophetic is just one thing... silence could be prophetic. You hear the voice of God and you act in such a way that it brings people closer to Jesus. Prophetic playing may bring a time of intercession or compassion for the lost, but the effect is always ultimately to glorify Jesus.
Prophetic worship is not a new thing; the Psalms are great example of prophetic worship, they revealed the future and they also revealed Jesus. In 2 Kings 3:15 Elisha said, "Bring me a harpist, and while the harpist was playing the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha." People may have experienced that in a meeting; all you're doing is playing and it's revealing the Lord; the Presence of the Lord is being ushered in... just through playing.
Just in the same way that God speaks through creation; you see a lovely landscape and you think 'now I know there's a God, I can sense Him speak through these things'. It's the same in music; you can hear Him speak through music which is just another part of creation. God created it for His glory and His honour but it can be used in many different ways; even sometimes when someone is not playing it for the glory of God (example Dave Gilmore with Pink Floyd playing a big guitar solo) it points you towards the Lord. How much more so, we who are saved, with our music point people towards the Lord; usher them into His Presence. It allows peoples minds and their hearts and their spirits be stirred, even by the music alone. Again in the Old Testament; I Chronicles 25:3 it talks about Jeduthun's sons. It says they prophesied using the harp, thanking and praising the Lord.
It doesn't always have to be spontaneous. You maybe preparing for the meeting and you write a little song, and that song will only ever get sung in that meeting; it seems to be the song of the moment.. addressing something that is on the Lord's heart for that night
Sometimes we're just playing along, the worship time is just normal; and then into the worship leaders mind, or a dancer or musician, comes something. And because that's the thing on the Lord's heart for that moment, and that's how He's chosen to reveal Himself, suddenly something happens... there's a dynamic... you change gears as it were; you find yourself even deeper in the Lord's Presence.
A prophetic word will break through into your life. In the same way prophetic songs, dance, music will cause a breakthrough in a time of worship. People sit up and listen when you prophesy over them, a change occurs. It's the same in worship. People get ushered into the Lord's Presence through the prophetic in our playing or in our words. That's what we should be aiming for. Our aim is to put people in touch with God.
Playing or singing prophetically is like walking a tight rope; sometimes all I have is a line in my head and I think 'OK then, here we go'. The thing about walking a tight rope is that you mustn't look down. In the same way when stepping out in the prophetic keep look 'straight ahead' towards God. Keep focusing on the Lord, focusing towards Jesus. I keep my eyes shut personally, because there will always be a few people giving you a weird look. lf you lookdown and worry about falling you probably will.
The Bible says we only see in part when we prophecy. One day we'll see in full. Often with the prophetic we won't understand the whole of what we're singing or be consciously cognizant that we're not seeing the whole picture.
I was in Norway once and in the middle of the worship time I felt the Lord put the Michael Jackson song 'You are not alone, I am here with you' into my head. So I sang this song out and at the end of it I felt 'Oh no, what have I done', I thought - at least I'm in Norway, we'll be going home in a couple of days'. At the end of that I felt 'that was not from the Lord... your a prat.'. But then this lady comes up to me at the end and says 'I've been desperate for the Lord, I've been crying out for him and I came tonight In the car I said to God I felt so alone, where are You... You're not with me.'. That seemed to be the heart of God for that day... God will often leave the 99 to go after the 1.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
The Throne Room (Graham Cooke)
Completely love this sharing by Graham Cooke - as it gives a new perspective on what to do with people who offend us. "God allows in his wisdom what he can easily prevent by his power." The difficult people He puts in our lives are there, many a time, to shape us. Lord, give us the grace to see things the way you see them.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Child of God (Kathryn Scott)
Beautiful beautiful song about the greatness of the Father's love for us.
Been attending the Father Heart conference in Singapore, and am once again reminded that it is only in knowing His love for us that we will be sustained through life's journey.
Love is the only thing worth living for and dying for.
It is such a privilege to be known and loved and held by God, now and forevermore. May we know this and drink of His everlasting love deeply.
With every breath, with every thought
From what is seen to the deepest part
I offer all that I’ve come to be
To know Your love Fathering me
Father You’re all I need
My soul’s sufficiency
My strength when I am weak
That love that carries me
Your arms enfold me, till I am only
A child of God
With every step on this journey’s walk
And wisdom’s songs that the soul has sought
I give myself unreservedly
To know Your love fathering me
Been attending the Father Heart conference in Singapore, and am once again reminded that it is only in knowing His love for us that we will be sustained through life's journey.
Love is the only thing worth living for and dying for.
It is such a privilege to be known and loved and held by God, now and forevermore. May we know this and drink of His everlasting love deeply.
With every breath, with every thought
From what is seen to the deepest part
I offer all that I’ve come to be
To know Your love Fathering me
Father You’re all I need
My soul’s sufficiency
My strength when I am weak
That love that carries me
Your arms enfold me, till I am only
A child of God
With every step on this journey’s walk
And wisdom’s songs that the soul has sought
I give myself unreservedly
To know Your love fathering me
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