Rain came today and threw Thunder and Lightening a party.  

Sheets and sheets of big water drops fell cascading from the sky just like confetti falling on command.

Gardens overgrown and looking sloppy, refreshed by the drink and cooled from the summer heat. 

Lawn parched and looking tired, drank in deep and even wished for more.

Air so sweet that smell of summer, quiet peace that follows the rain.

You oh God conductor of all seasons. Your timing perfect, each rhythm, each beat.

 

 And I saw a great dark shroud around my people.  Some perceived that there was light on the other side but chose not to venture forth while others craved nothing but the comfort of the dark.  God was waiting just on the other side of the darkness, waiting for them to desire the light and so step forth into it.   The more these beings thought about the chance of light the louder and more persistent the voices of unseen beings from the darkness battled against them.

On day there was lightenings and thunderings from God heard in the distance of this dark place.  Some whose heart lived close to the edge of the shroud grew curious of these soundings so they drew even closer to the edge where the darkness went from dusk to dawn.  As they approached they began to gain clarity of mind, enough to decipher these soundings from God. 

These once thought thunderings from the heaven-lies were indeed the combined voices of the intercessors, crying out on behalf of those on the other side of the shroud. The closer those engulfed in darkness drew to the light curtain the more distinct the names became.

Out of fear the one who stood closest to the lights edge drew back to let the darkness engulf them again.  Yet, they had exposed themselves to the light, even the smallest amount of desire was great enough for a deposit of hunger of light to be made.

Even thru the darkness this ember of light remained and at times its pull to the edge of the curtain was almost unbearable.    Some days the ember would flicker as if almost ready to be extinguished  and then other days the flame would draw the one to the edge again in hopes to have the flame rekindled by the voices riding on His Wind. 

Others began to befriend this one with the ember, for they seemed to have a glow about them even in this very dark place. 

As time continued the ember'd one found themselves venturing closer and closer to life on the edge of darkness, just waiting for those thundering sounds to be heard again.......

It seems the sun and I decided to rise together and as I gaze towards the horizon I see my Masters paint strokes across the sky.  What a loving God, the colors before my eyes so vivid so defined, its as if He speaks to me and says... 

      here my love, this is for you.

As I ponder upon this gift my thoughts quickly turn to the sound of a birds call riding early on the morning breeze.  It is the most beautiful sound, a sound I have yet to hear.  The scale of notes, the staccato and shrill, reminds me again of Him, the One who hung the stars in place and knows them all by name.  He created this gift today, just for me, to take in and enjoy.

Hearing the sound just isn’t enough to fill my inquisitive spirit, I want to see this beautiful treasure box of sound myself, I run to the window to try and figure out where this gift is found.  I can hear the sound but yet cannot see where it comes from.  Frustration begins to settle in and then I am quickly reminded I believe by Him.  

     Isn’t it enough to know that I am here, to hear Me...

                        even though you don’t always see Me.

His Word teaches that He works in mysterious ways, if He did things the same way every time, would we truly appreciate the times when we not only hear Him but see His face as well.  

What about the countless times when we see His handiwork blazed across the sky, we hear a song of beauty coming from the trees, we gaze across the table into a loved ones eyes.  Do we see Him in these times, do we stop to pause and say, Thank You God for your love that is demonstrated in so many beautiful ways all throughout my day.

Does this mean that the next time that He gives me a gift of song or melody through creation that I won't rush to the window to catch a glimpse of Him, absolutely not, for hunger and desire are an escort to the deeper things of God.  

I cannot do a new thing if you are not willing to be an active participant in the process.  I constantly change ~ nothing is stagnant in Me / with Me / around Me.  My Spirit is forever moving, changing, deepening.  As it has to be with your walk, it needs to be a "moving" walk.  Like the moving sidewalk even though the earth is moving underneath you, you are propelled further, faster by moving your own feet upon My moving earth.  

Complacency is a time robber ~ a tool of the enemy, sent to destroy vision, destiny and passion.  The passion of who I have fashioned you to be my child.  Conquer complacency, step beyond, step through ~ there is power in that action.  The physical action of wanting more cuts the spiritual darkness of oppression every time.  Do you truly want more ~ then step forward and I promise the earth will move under your feet.

Your love God reaches to the heavens, your love ascends to the oceans floor.  Your grace and mercies are un-numerable and your peace quiets my soul.  My heart cries out for the refugees of religion.  The ones lost in the fight, the ones disillusioned by those who play church.  Those who choose to walk in complacency instead of reality of relationship in You.  May your tender hand rest upon these refugees of religion Lord.  May they not be forgotten but led from religion to relationship with You.

A lot to be thankful for …

Posted: 02 Mar 2013 03:00 AM  via the SECRET CHURCH

Throughout the month of March, we will be posting daily about Chinese Muslims, the prayer focus for our upcoming Secret Church gathering. We invite you to learn about Chinese Muslims and pray with us for God’s glory to be made known among them. If you would like to read other posts in this blog series, you can find them here.

Many people look at me and think that I have a hard life. But I only see that I have a lot to be thankful for.
My mother died when I was young, and being the only girl in the family, I quickly learned to take care of the house and feed my brothers who worked hard all day.
When it was time to be married, I only wished to marry someone who really loved me. You may think that a small request, but it didn’t happen for most of the girls I knew. In my culture, when your husband doesn’t choose you, it seems seldom that he really loves you.
But unlike many of my friends, I got lucky. Though my husband is 20 years my senior and already had one wife when we met, she was the one chosen for him, but I was the one he chose. In the end, I got my wish – my husband does love me.
With all that I am I want to do right by him, yet we struggle just to make ends meet. We had two daughters before I was able to give him a son, and our middle daughter was paralyzed when she was only a year old and is now unable to walk. The majority of our livelihood comes from making a special kind of bread known well in this part of China. It doesn’t bring in much money, but at least my family is able to be together every day.
I also have a couple friends who come often to visit me. They are different than me in more ways than just the color of our skin. They have told me about a man who is able to heal the sick, give sight to the blind and even raise the dead. I have heard of this man in the Qur’an when my husband sometimes reads to me… but I do not know Him in the way these friends talk about. They talk about the truth and I want to know the truth, but my mind just can’t yet grasp the truth that they have shared.

Prayer Requests:

•  Pray for God to open the eyes and hearts of Chinese Muslim women to grasp the truth of the gospel and turn and follow Jesus.

•  Pray that followers of Jesus will boldly tell Chinese Muslims about Jesus, the man who is able to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, raise the dead and give new life!

Remember Charlie Brown's teacher and how she use to "BABBLE".  

Thought about how I could relate this to my quiet time with the God.

What does our time with Him truly look like?  

Is it tainted with all kinds of "me" stuff, is it full of complaints, requests and "to do" lists?  

Do we babble just to hear ourselves speak?

Why are we so afraid of silence, do we fear He might show us something that we don't want to see, tell us something that we don't want to hear?

Do you enjoy a one-sided conversation?    

Constantly hearing the other person speak, never being asked for your opinion?  

Why are we spending time with Him anyway, if we are not waiting/wanting to truly hear what He has to say?  Is it to make ourselves feel good?

How about just coming to Him in silence.  Saying, "here Lord is my sacrifice to you today, fill it as you desire."  I know for myself it has been very difficult, this silence thing.  But then I laugh inside and remind myself, what could I possibly say to this great God that He has not already heard or knows.  What if I chose to come to Him in silence this day, no agenda, no requests, just letting God be God.  If my silent heart said Lord ~ fill me with Your thoughts.

Lets try silence on for size.