A Father to YOU!

Do we want His ways or His deeds?

2010-08-16T20:57:00.003+01:00

There was a time when Moses asked God to teach him his ways. In fact Moses' request went further than that; he goes on, in Exodus 33:13, to say "that I may know know you and continue to find favour in your sight". In his heart, Moses wanted to know God. He did not just want to know what God did, he wanted to know why he did it. He did not want to know about him, he actually wanted to know him, intimately.

This was something that marked Moses out from the other Israelites. He longed for God's presence. In Exodus 20:18-21 the people were afraid to get too near to God, instead they asked Moses to speak to them on God's behalf. Moses, however, did not hesitate to go right into the presence of God.

Over the past few days I have been meditating on this verse:

"He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel" Psalm 103:7 (NIV)

There is a difference between knowing God's ways and knowing his deeds. Fear stopped the Israelites approaching their Father; they were content to settle for seeing all the amazing things God did.

As wonderful as God's deeds are there is more. There is a door open for us to go through and experience who God is. Like Moses we can say "teach me your ways". As I have thought about this verse in Psalm 103 I have been asking the Father to show me his ways and not just his deeds. I don't want anything to stand in the way of me finding him and I hope as I find him, I will see more of his amazing deeds!

Fragile Heart

2010-08-09T09:10:00.010+01:00

Fragile heart - don't shy away from me
I provided a place for you to stay
Fragile heart - don't turn your eyes off me
Come find your rest in me today

I will be your perfect father
I will love you like no other
I will love you like a mother
Still your thirst and meet your deepest need

I heal your heart
Restore the broken parts
Nothing you will miss
Receive the father's kiss

Susi wrote this song a couple of weeks ago and sent it to me. To be honest for the first day or so I struggled to receive it as I did not think my heart was fragile nor in need of restoration. But as I have thought about these words and meditated on them I have begun to realise how true it is.

Just as we care for our physical heart so too, we need to look after our spiritual heart. It is easily wounded or hurt and can take a long time to recover from damage it has suffered. Tina Turner sang a song ‘What’s love got to do with it’ which contains the line “who needs a heart when a heart can be broken”. Our hearts break easily!

Our hearts are the source of our life and they need to be protected, healed and restored. There is a safe place where these things can take place and that is when we trust our hearts to our Father. His love will keep our fragile hearts safe and bring that restoration and healing we long for. God has promised to cleanse our hearts and give us a new heart (Ezekiel 39: 26), a new heart filled with his life and Spirit.

This morning I read Psalm 37 v4-5: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this."

Since receiving Susi's song I have sought to turn and gaze on him and let my heart find the place of rest he offers.

Workers or Sons?

2010-06-06T17:38:00.003+01:00

Today I went to church. It's the church that our daughter goes to and the one I went to Sunday School at forty years ago!

During the worship I enjoyed the presence of the Father. The leader led with an openness of heart which drew us along with him. As a result we stopped being followers and became participators.

As a church they are about to start a building project and the pastor's sermon was about that. Though not about raising money, nor about all the wonderful work they might do from their new building. No, the pastor spoke to people's hearts and used Psalm 127 as his text. "Unless the Lord builds the house its builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain."

His central theme was that anything we do in our own strength can be hard work, will lack rest and will not have the Father's blessing on it. His encouragement was that doing the Father's work will bring blessing and rest.

The Psalm contrasts those working on their own with sons. It is so easy to drift into doing things in our own strength and becoming weary and burdened. We can start labouring on our own and lose the rest and peace that comes from walking with the Father. Sons, on the other hand, can live in the promises and inheritance of the Father. Yes, they work and maybe they work hard but the fruit of what they do is a result of the Father's blessing and not their own hard work!

Ask for the Ancient Paths

2010-05-31T19:54:00.002+01:00

This is what the Lord says: “‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’ But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV)

For a moment, consider the lives of Abraham, Moses, Noah and David.

Abraham was chosen by God to be the father of the nation of Israel. He was given a promise that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the heavens. Moses is referred to as the ‘friend of God’. He would go into his tent outside of the camp and talk face to face with God. Noah was found to be blameless and, in a time of great wickedness, was a man who walked with God. David, a man after God’s heart, was a worshipper and loved intimacy with God.

What they all had in common was that they walked closely with God. They knew about intimacy, worship and devotion. They knew who God was and were prepared to follow him, often at great personal cost. Their obedience to God did not come from a sense of subservience, but came out of a strong relationship. They knew God personally and intimately.

Of course, we know they weren’t perfect and some our favourite Bible stories are of occasions when they got things wrong.

In the book of Jeremiah we see God yearning for his people to know who he is and to return to him. In chapter 3 verse 19 he pours out his heart to them:

I myself said, “How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me.”

As their Father he wants them to know that they are his sons and daughters.

In chapter 6 verse 16 he encourages them to look for something they have lost - the ‘ancient paths’ or the ‘good ways’. He is calling them to consider the ways of their forefathers and realise what they have lost by choosing to go their own way. He is calling them back to relationship with him, to walk in his ways, to intimacy with him and to find rest for their souls.

In this verse there are some pointers which may help us as we seek to find the ancient paths, or the good old ways.

First of all we are encouraged to stand at the crossroads and look. I guess many of us live busy lives where we move quickly from one thing to another without taking time to stop and reflect. But if we take time we may discover, or re-discover, pathways of life or, as Jeremiah says in chapter 2:13, springs of living water. Some of the ancient paths may be covered over and we may therefore have to search carefully for them.

The prophet encourages us to ask where the paths are. There may be occasions when we need to ask for help in finding the paths that lead to life.

Having stopped and looked, hopefully, we will find the paths that lead to life. As we choose to walk in these ways we can grow in our intimacy with the Father. We will realise more and more that he is our Father and we are his sons and daughters. For each of us the ancient paths may be something different as we may find intimacy in many different ways. This is because our relationship with the Father is unique to us.

Sadly, God’s people in Jeremiah’s day made the wrong choice.

If we choose to stop, look and find those ways he promises us ‘rest for our souls’.

Back from Uganda

2010-04-17T10:30:00.002+01:00

Well, John and I managed to get back from Uganda the day before the great cloud of dust descended on the UK and Europe!

We had a great time doing a Fatherheart Ministries A School in Uganda. The team was Trevor and Linda Galpin, Jane van der Merwe, Mark Johnson (who is still stuck in Uganda), Ingrid and Winette from Mto Moyoni and myself. We stayed at one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on the planet - the Mto Moyoni retreat centre on the banks of the Nile.

On the school there were about 30 people from four nations: Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya. There was a wonderful openness and desire in them to go deeper into Father's love. Ingrid and Winette had laid a fantastic foundation through their Fatherheart Encounters and Transformation weeks. This meant people came on the school having had a lot of their hurts healed and they were ready to grow as sons and daughters of the Father.

The teaching was well received and in the ministry times we knew Father was doing good things. During the school we ate traditional Ugandan food which was an interesting experience for us - having said that the cook at Mto Moyoni was excellent. The staff there were also very good and made our stay comfortable and enjoyable.

In the evenings we enjoyed different people's testimonies and also some African worship. All in all it was great fun and there is a hunger and desire for more.

At the end of the week I went to one of the villages where Helping Hands in Uganda is working. I preached in the church there and enjoyed more of the people whose lives are being affected by the work done by Joy and her team. Then on the Monday the whole team visited the school in Nankandulo where we took an assembly. We taught the children some songs, spoke to them about being princes and princesses and gave them crowns. We then visited our land and saw the foundations being dug for the first house.

Little by little there is change coming in the health of the community by the work being done by the Helping Hands team.

Of course there was a visit to a nice restaurant and swimming pool and a walk by the Bujagali Falls - but such luxuries are part of any visit!

There are a number of photos on my Flickr page.

The God of Great Expenditure

2010-02-07T11:53:00.005Z

I have just read a very good book - "The Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller. A new and fresh look at the story of the lost sons in Luke 15. First of all he highlights the fact that sinners and tax collectors felt at home and were welcomed in the presence of Jesus. It was the teachers of the law and the Pharisees that could not receive Jesus and it was therefore to them that Jesus told the story.

Jesus told the story to the elder brothers not because he wanted to condemn them but because he wanted them to experience the same homecoming that the younger brother experienced.

This story shows us that both brothers realise there is a debt to be paid. The younger brother feels he owes the father something - that he has to provide restitution for his sin, that through sorrow and repentance he can put it right again. The older brother thinks the father owes him something for his life of unfailing duty. He believes that his life of moral conformity will cause God to hand out blessings and favour. In fact, the truth is, it is the overwhelming love and grace of the father that welcomes them both home.

The key to us entering the feast is not a debt being settled but it is whether we can receive the unconditional and lavish love of the Father.

At the end of the story the 'bad' son enters the party but the 'good' one doesn't. Let me quote you something from the book:

".... the elder brother is not losing the father's love in spite of his goodness, but because of it. It is not his sins that create the barrier between him and his father, it's the pride he has in his moral record; it's not his wrongdoing but his righteousness that is keeping him from sharing in the feast of the father....... ..... This means that you can rebel against God and be alienated from him by either breaking his rules or by keeping all of them diligently"

But to enter the feast there is a debt to pay. There is a cost. An elder brother who truly had the heart of his father would have gone after the wayward younger brother, sought him out and brought him back home to the father. He would have gladly shared his portion of the inheritance with the younger brother. The elder brother in Luke 15 could not do that BUT there is another elder brother who has done it and his name is Jesus.

And so, once again, this familiar story has new and previously hidden truths.....

Faith is the key to unlocking grace

2010-01-31T11:44:00.004Z

Over this weekend I have been reading a few verses from Romans 4 and in particular the first part of verse 16:

"Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace...."

The promise which is referred to is a specific one made to Abraham but the principle of what Paul is saying is true for us all.

Faith releases the grace of God.

Faith is the key to us entering into the grace of God which is freely available for us. In Ephesians 2:8 we are told that it is by grace that we are saved through faith. And the wonderful thing is that the faith we need is given to us - the very thing we need to enable us to believe is not something we can work up but it is a gift.

The opposite of faith is not being able to rely on the Father. It is trying to do it on our own and in our own strength. If we are not relying on him then we are relying on our own effort.

Abraham's faith was what gave him the certainty that God would fulfil his word and promise. In the same way our faith is the key to the grace of God being released into our life.

The Yoke of Relationship

2010-01-24T12:19:00.002Z

Today I read that very well known passage in Lamentations 3:

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail"

After several verses of the writer telling us how bad everything has been he recalls the faithfulness and loving kindness of the Father. He remembers that God is ultimately good and he puts himself back in an attitude of faith and dependence on God as his provider.

In verse 27 he tells us that "it is good man to bear the yoke while he is young". We often interpret this as a discipleship relationship with someone else. Such relationships are very important and, I know from my own experience, very valuable.

But I wonder if this is what the writer had in mind. He has just explained his own dire situation and how he was drawn back to unfailing compassion and faithfulness of the Father. He gives us three keys to a life lived in love.

Wait quietly for Him
Put our hope in Him
To seek Him

I wonder if the yoke he is talking about is a life of relationship with the Father where we recognise our weakness and find a dependency in Him. Where we are held by the Father's arms and held fast to His love and kindness. I wonder if it is a yoke where we are held and carried by Him and where He does all the hard work.

Just a thought........

Going deeper is the only way to go.....

2010-01-17T19:05:00.002Z

This morning we went to Hilary's church and as we walked in the keyboard player was playing "How deep the Father's love for us" - a song I like (with perhaps the exemption of one line). As we sat there waiting for the meeting to begin we sat in His presence, it was wonderful.

Over the last couple of days I have been meditating on Psalm 91 and in particular verse one. This very simply tells us that if we live in His presence then we will live at rest under His protection. The rest of the Psalm is about the blessings that follow from that decision.

One of the things that constantly alludes us is being able to live a life of rest. Yet this life of rest is possible as we live in His presence. This is why the only way is to keep going deeper - the deeper we go in His love the more we can enter into the rest He promises us.

A Promise

2010-01-09T16:39:00.003Z

Today I listened to a talk by Bill Johnson and I received a promise from Isaiah 45:1-3

“I will open (double) doors before you - so they may not be shut”
“I will go before you, I will level the mountains (make the rough places smooth), I will break down gates of bronze”
“I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches stored in secret places”

Some things are too precious to be given as a reward for a fight - they are, instead, the inheritance for sons!

Narnia and the North

2010-01-06T17:03:00.005Z

Last night we watched The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe on TV. Apart from being a brilliant film it is also a fantastic story: Aslan laying down his life for the children, the white witch being thoroughly incompetent and useless, the brilliant effects and beautiful scenery. But last night the thing that struck me was the children. They were destined for great things; they were the ones who would set Narnia free and bring peace to the country. But they did not believe in themselves, they recognised their own weakness and their inability to conquer evil. They were, after all, just children. But others, particularly Aslan, believed in them. It was only when they accepted their weakness and started to believe in their destiny that great things could happen.

And so it is with us. When we recognise we are children and can do nothing in our own strength it is then that the Father can take us and use us. We are ready for what ever may lie ahead.

But there was another thing that struck me and that was the children were destined to sit on four thrones and rule. I was reminded of the verse which talks about creation groaning with eager anticipation, waiting for the sons of God to revealed.

There is a destiny for the sons and daughters of God. Creation is watching and waiting for us to take our place as true sons and daughters of the Father. But, as in the film there is a link between the childlike heart, weakness and the revelation of the true sonship. For us to be revealed to the world we need a childlike heart, we need to know that we are weak and can do nothing in our own strength.

There are thrones prepared for the sons and daughters of the Father.

And so to the North. Last week our house on Skye was extensively damaged by a burst water pipe. At the moment we don't know the full extent of the damage, that will become clear over the next few weeks. But we have decided to sell the house once it is repaired. I think we have always held lightly to possessions and never valued them too highly. Yesterday I listened to James and he was talking about the greatest thing: "knowing that He is loving me now eclipses everything". It was a time to stop and think - do I know that He is loving me NOW and does that eclipse everything? So far as Skye is concerned - the answer is YES. But nonetheless it is a question to ask and a lifestyle to go deeper into. Living loved really is the only way to live.

A Father to YOU - November newsletter

2009-10-30T09:41:00.004Z

Elien's Story

Always smiling, anywhere and anytime, but deep inside I was so unhappy.

Life was a huge struggle for me as I was anxious when doing anything that normal life involved: like opening the door when a visitor came, going to the butcher, reading in front of the class, picking up the telephone. At night I was bathed in sweat, being scared of the darkness, but I didn't dare tell anyone. These hidden fears and this anxiety in doing even the normal things in life were my little (big!) secret and I was determined to overcome them. I had been brought up with the idea that 'you are what you do' and for a person like me this created a huge pressure. But I decided to pursue 'freedom' and do what I was supposed to do and to do it well.

I guess I was striving and trying too hard to survive this performance-oriented world. But the moment eventually came when I was completely worn out and exhausted. I was crying for hours a day, lying in my bed and I had withdrawn myself from everyone and everything. I had begged God to give me a sign of life, but the walls around my heart did not let in His response.

It all seemed very hopeless when I decided to go to the Inheriting The Nations School in New Zealand. It was clear to me that only God (if He was there) could help me. And He was there and He did not disappoint me! At the school I got to know Him as my best Papa ever! One evening He spoke straight into my heart with the words, "I did it all"!

He did it all... I probably had heard this a thousand times before, but it had never landed in my heart until then. These few words touched me so deeply because I always thought I was the one who had to do everything. Here was my Father saying to me that I didn't need to do anything because He already had taken care of everything. I could just be His daughter. My whole life had been about pursuing the 'freedom to do', but now I realized I could live in the 'freedom to be'. What a revelation for me!

Knowing that 'He did it all' was the key for me to relax and let Him do the work. One day soon after I crashed and allowed Him to tear down the walls around my heart. I ended up in the arms of Denise Jordan and as she was praying, her arms really became the arms of the Father. For the first time in my life I felt safe and comforted when the Father's heart touched mine. As His love was pouring into my heart, all fear, anxiety, hopelessness and trauma had to leave, and it did!!! I had never felt so loved. Then I knew that I became a daughter of Almighty God and recognized Him as my perfect Father.

Since I got back home from the school in New Zealand everything has changed. I have again got hope for the future and energy to live. Our dark house where depression was very real is now a joyful place where the Father's light is present. And the relationship between me and my dad has been restored!

As time goes on, I realise that I still have to walk in 'the path of daughter-ship'. I love being a daughter. I feel so free! However, I have come to realize that as soon as I take a few steps 'off track' and do things in my own strength I feel the depression and burnout lurking round the corner again. I could not understand why the Father didn't also heal that 'burnout part' of me, but I have come to understand one thing: The Father did not (and will not) heal the orphan in me, He has been restoring the daughter in me.

How wise He is! I used to be able to live far away from the path of daughter-ship when I lived out of my own strength. That orphan life was nothing more than survival. That wasn't what I was created for! The burnt out orphan in me is not a weakness, it is my strength because it forces me back to the path of daughter-ship. It takes me to the path where I can just be and let my Father love me. To the path where I find rest, where I can live and be free. On that path I feel that I am home. And that makes me very happy!

Where shall I look?

2009-08-10T15:46:00.003+01:00

On Saturday I was the photographer for a friend's wedding. It was a great day!

As I took all the group pictures I was aware that there were a lot of other people around me with their cameras or mobile phones. They all wanted to get the attention of various people in the group and so there was a constant chorus of "Look over here" or "Look at me".

Regularly I heard people in the group shout out "Well, where shall I look?" To which I replied "Look at me!"

As the 'official' photographer I felt I could request their attention for a few moments in order to get the best possible picture to give to the bride and groom.

I thought more about this afterwards. There are many things in the world that clamour for our attention and we look everywhere to try to find answers. We are bombarded with a myriad of alternatives - all of which claim to satisfy. Yet, there is only one place to look and we are reminded of this is Psalm 27: 4.

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

We have the privilege of gazing on our Heavenly Father and being totally satisfied. He is more beautiful than the couple on Saturday and he is the answer to everything!

Doveny, Hungary

2009-06-20T21:32:00.004+01:00

Well, here it is. The report from last weekend's trip to Doveny, Hungary.

I went with Steve and Cary Matthews who live in Morecombe Bay near Blackpool! They have a house in a village in Northern Hungary called Doveny. This is a largely Romany Gypsy community and by European standards quite poor. They still drive around in horse drawn carts!

Steve and Cary are seeking to provide food to the widows and orphans in three or four of the villages in this area. They do this through the local church.

So on Friday morning the food should have been distributed but the pastor was on holiday. So we took a quick trip to Tesco's (yes Tesco's!!) and got some food to hand out. We were able to bless twenty families in the village. They were very grateful and quite moved by what we had been able to do.

On Friday evening and Saturday I spoke at a conference hosted by the church. Despite the language barrier we felt that the hearts of the people were very open. We had a very good interpreter who caught the heart of what I was saying. We were able to pray for most of the people at the end of each meeting. Food featured very prominently as it always seemed to appear after each session!

On Sunday we did two church services: one in the village in the morning which Steve and Cary spoke at and then one in a nearby city in the afternoon which I spoke at.

On Monday we went into the village Kindergarten and saw the under five year old children. It was very clean and the children seemed happy. Once again we were fed creamy cakes!

There are some photos on my Flickr page - click here.

It was wonderful to get to know Steve and Cary and be part of their story!

Hungary

2009-06-16T21:11:00.002+01:00

There are some photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26983106@N03/sets/72157619836467936/ and then click on the slideshow icon to play the pictures. A full report to follow.....

Hungary

2009-06-07T12:47:00.000+01:00

On Thursday I am off to Hungary for the weekend to speak at a
Fatherheart conference.

As I have been preparing this morning I was reminded of Psalm 19 -
there is no speech or language that is deaf to voice of God. His voice
goes out to the end of the earth.

It gave me great encouragement as it is always a bit of an unknown
quantity speaking through an interpreter!

A report and pictures will follow

Sent from my iPhone

Sonship and freedom

2009-05-30T20:38:00.000+01:00

Freedom is talked about a lot and we are always looking to try and
find it.

Freedom is our inheritance but all too often we are robbed of it.

John 8: 31-36 says that if the Son sets us free then we shall be free
indeed. True freedom is found when we find the Truth (Jesus) and allow
him to work in our lives. The freedom he gives is a place in the
family with God as our Father.

Sons (and daughters) of the Father are free. It is our birthright!

Romans 8 shows us the impact our freedom will have .......

Wow!

Sent from my iPhone

Hidden behind labels

2009-05-24T10:12:00.000+01:00

More and more I am getting to dislike the questions "what do you do?"
or "what are you?". Traditionally I would answer "an accountant". But
that is not who I am. It is what I do for a few hours on five days
each week.

Far more importantly I'm a husband and a father. These are way more
important to me than what I do to pay the bills.

When we hide behind a label we limit ourselves to the size of the label.

We are much more than we do. We are who we are!! Sons and daughters of
the Father - an unlimited label if ever there was one!

Sent from my iPhone

Last night in Sunningwell

2009-05-17T12:03:00.002+01:00

Last night a few of us met in Sunningwell and I spoke about our home being in the Father's heart. (Sadly the recording didn't work so it won't be on the website!)

I was struck again with the amazing statement Jesus made in John 17: 26.

"So that your love for me might be in them" (The Message)

Jesus asks the Father that we would know we are loved in same way and with the same love as Jesus himself is loved.

As far as Jesus is concerned we have the same right of access to the Father as he has. We live in the same place - the Father's heart and the Father loves us as if we were Jesus. We are drawn into the same intimacy of relationship that Jesus enjoyed. There are no second class people in the family of the Father.....

Amazing!

We have access to the Father

2009-05-09T10:36:00.001+01:00

My last post was about our home with the Father. If we live somewhere we have access to the other people who also live there. In fact we have more than that - we have relationship with them.

In John 14: 13 Jesus tells us that he is going to the Father and because of this we can ask Jesus for things and he will ask the Father on our behalf.

Later in John 16: 26-27 he says that we can ask the Father for anything in his name. But we are not using Jesus as our messenger - we are asking the Father ourselves. Because the Father loves us as he loves Jesus we can ask for things as if we were Jesus.

That is the relationship the Father seeks - that we should be like Jesus.

Amazing! ☺

Sent from my iPhone

What is your address?

2009-05-04T21:41:00.000+01:00

Everything has an address these days. We have our home address, our office address, email addresses, a web address and now maybe a Twitter address. Each address is something that identifies us and fixes us to a certain point or place.

The word ‘address’ seems to have lost its meaning as we have so many. But I guess for each one of us our home address is the one with the most meaning. It is the place where we can be ourselves and relax. Our home may be the place we return to at the end of a day. It is the place we long to get back to when we have been away. There is something warm and familiar about our home which only we feel. Home is the place where we can kick our shoes off and hold the pressures of life at bay. ‘Home is where the heart is’ is a well known saying.

There is something intimate about home. It may not be a palace but it is ours. When I was in Uganda recently we visited some villages on a island in Lake Victoria. While we were there one of the pastors wanted to show us his home, so he led us through the dusty village streets and proudly threw open the door of his one roomed home. He showed us the desk, the chair and the sleeping area behind a screen, (from where a bat scuttled up the wall!)

Home is also very personal.

Jesus promises that he and the Father will come and make their home with us. They long to make their home in our hearts. In Zechariah 2: 10 the prophet foretells this longing: “Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you, declares the LORD.”

It struck me recently that if our hearts become the Father’s home then we have to be comfortable with love, for he is Love. We encounter the life-changing love of the Father as we live in him because we are living in love. (1 John 4: 16) Just as we are comfortable in our own homes so we start to become comfortable in his home of love.

And so we have another address. We have another home where we can be comfortable and be ourselves. It is a place where we can let the barriers come down as we allow ourselves to soak in his love. God does not want his children to live in fear but he wants us to live in love which is to live in him. All of us, as children of God, have a new address; a new home.

Northern Ireland

2009-03-16T16:06:00.002Z

This past weekend I was in Northern Ireland staying with my friends William and Charmian Calvert and speaking at a conference they had organised. It was good to meet up with friends and to have the opportunity to make some new ones!

When speaking on the Father's love you have to be prepared for pain to come to the surface. There is something in me that does not like seeing people going through their pain. I don't like seeing people being upset and knowing that, in part, I have caused it by what I have said.

BUT I also know that to be healed you have to go to the place of pain. It is only there that the Father can come and start the healing process. I am always so grateful that I don't have to be the one who heals! The Holy Spirit never brings something to the surface in order to condemn but always to heal. So seeing people in tears is becoming more liberating for me and I hope for them.

It was a good weekend and some of the talks will be on the website in a day or two.

And oh, by the way on Sunday I went to the Giant's Causeway and did the tourist bit. In security on the way back my bag was checked but thankfully the dodgy item was only my music stand!

Carried by our Father

2009-03-10T21:38:00.004Z

There is something that is easy in Uganda, easy in Northern Ireland but harder Monday to Friday at home or in the office.

I guess we need the bar to be lowered so it becomes a more natural thing.

What is it?

In Deuteronomy 1:29-31 Moses reminds the people that God had carried them like a father carries his son, out of Egypt, across the desert and ALL the way to the promised land. He would have carried them into and through the promised land if they would have let Him. (This promise is spoken to a rebellious people!) I think the key is ALL the way..... Never do we become too heavy that our Father has to put us down for a rest.

Again at the end of Moses' life he reminds the people that God has His everlasting arms underneath and around them - ALL the time.

So do we let ourselves be carried by our Father?

For sure, we do when we go to Uganda or when we speak at a conference in Northern Ireland. But what about the rest of life? I guess we do if we are aware of His presence - this is what we are desperate for. More of Him. The more we see Him and know who He really is the more we can let Him come and carry us....

Of course He carries our burdens, He is happy to that, but He is more interested in carrying us. Not just when it is tough but ALL the time.

And oh, there is a catch. The small matter of becoming like a child, humbling ourselves and letting Him do the work!

www.afathertoyou.com/media - then select Carried By Our Father

Back from Uganda

2009-03-10T21:27:00.006Z

I am just back from Uganda and what a time it has been.

Last weekend we had the Ugandan team with us at Mto Moyoni - a retreat centre at the source of the Nile. There was a lovely sense of family amongst us! Over the weekend I spoke about the Father's love and how He wants to be a Father to each one of us in a very personal and ongoing way. One of the sessions was on forgiveness from the heart and that started to bring people freedom as they released the hurts they had carried for years. The stories were horriffic - one lady had not been allowed to speak to her father until she was about 13, many had been treated harshly (and I mean harshly), some had fathers with multiple wives! Many tears were shed! The teaching was well received and the testimonies at the end of the weekend were quite powerful.

One of the highlights was watching the Sound of Music with them on Saturday evening. They were on the edge of their seats, a rare experience for them to watch a movie!

The team left us on Monday and on Tuesday we went up into the villages. Having visited one of the schools we went to the land we have purchased. I was totally amazed at the size of it. It is huge!! We had just met some people from an organisation that helps Christian organisations with building projects. This was amazing timing as we know nothing about buildings and they may be able to help us. A weight off our minds - particularly Debbie's.

On Wednesday we went to the islands - many new experiences; being lifted onto the boat (we have the photos and video), the trip across the lake, seeing the villages on the island. Even the two of us riding on the back of one motorbike - behind the driver!! (thankfully no photos of that). On the island we met a couple who are working there and that also was a timely meeting. The journey back was fun as it was quite choppy - a swell of between 6 and 8 feet in an open boat. An unforgettable day! I'm now incredibly sunburt!

It has been a good week with a lot being started and accomplished. In some ways it was a trip of new beginnings, in other ways it was just carrying on what has been started already. There are clearly many new opportunities and Debbie's work can expand - all we need are the right Ugandan workers with the same heart and vision. It is very exciting to be part of this wonderful journey.

All I can say is that I am filled with admiration for Debbie, she has a lovely relationship with the Ugandans and is very much at home with them. She honours and values them in a way they have probably not experienced before. Their love for her is also very evident. I certainly felt the Father's blessings and favour on what is going on there.

Please keep praying for Debbie and Moira - they will have left the comfort of Mto Moyoni and are now living in the village for the next week and a half - that is challenging! Also pray for favour with the building consultants and lawyers towards the end of next week.