Restoration, healing, a pledge that you are my new creation

My bible readings this week are based on Joel and today I read:

Joel 2:25- I, the Lord your God, will make up for the losses caused by those swarms and swarms of locusts I sent to attack you

Restoring the years the locusts have eaten is a reality to me.  This verse which was given to me very early on in my walk with God has come to mean so much to me.  It is a promise I hold dear, a promise from God which I can see him answering over and over again.  God is faithful and good, he bears no grudges and will use each and every one of us as we desire to draw close to him, regardless of how our years may have been wasted.

RAPID GROWTH

I made some mistakes, I left it quite late to fess up and speak to God, I’d made some bad choices, listened to wrong voices, my track record was not something to be proud of, but as I laid it all on the ground at the foot of the Cross, I received a promise that affected me profusely, I will restore those years, the years where you were fearful, angry, tearful, those days of hurt and sorrow, of wishing that tomorrow would never come, I vow that from now on as you draw close to me, have faith in who I made you to be, you will be restored.  Restoration, healing, a pledge that you are my new creation, nothing you have gone through will ever be wasted, let me do this new thing in you, love me and let me love you, let it go and I will show you all that I have planned for you, acceleration as you spend your time in worship and adoration, rapid growth as you soak in my presence, blessings upon blessings as you confess your sins and repent, the life you dreamt of a reality, perfect peace and harmony, knowing who you’re meant to be, living life expectantly

 

Our lives are saturated in victory

I have been thinking about the past and how the enemy tries to use it to drag me down.  But the thing is, however hard he tries, as long as I keep my eyes on God he will fail.  Was talking to my counsellor about my scars the other day and how I still feel a degree of shame when I look at them.  With summer coming it’s hard to always keep them covered so I need to learn to embrace them.  They are part of my story but they also reflect the victory God has wrought in that area of my life.  So, looking at them positively is a much better tactic than the negative, shame filled way. Embrace your past, it makes you who you are and shows you how far God has brought you.

1 John 4:4 – You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

VICTORY

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, what a name, Jesus is the name above all names, and we claim the victory in his name, victory over death, victory over fear, victory over all the little things that we can’t clear from our heads, the thoughts that nag away night and day, gone, defeated, our lives are saturated in victory, our sinful nature history, our story is one of overcoming, a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, twists and turns, as we learn to discern the voice of God, listening hard as the enemy raises the sound, shouting his deceit and his lies in his urgent quest to reclaim our lives, as he sharpens the knives we put on our armour, the army of God is on the move, nothing to prove for the victory was claimed when Jesus conquered the grave, but we march for the Lord, we march for his Kingdom, greatness is his and we want to witness, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus his name is power, his name the name above all names.

I’ve developed a faith and it’s bearing good fruit

It’s sometimes hard to recognise the power that is in us or at least believe that we have the same power as Jesus.  But when I think that the Holy Spirit now lives in me and consider how I am changing, I start to get it.  I am not just a new creation, I am a new creation with the power and might of Jesus within me, I just need to learn to harness this power to live out my anointing to bind up the broken hearted, heal the sick and free the captives.

The Holy Spirit gives me love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  The Holy Spirit gives me wisdom (James 1:5).  The Holy Spirit makes me peace loving, submissive, full of mercy and a yielder of good fruit (James 3:17).  The Holy Spirit is there for me in my weakness and helps me to pray effectively (Romans 8:26).  The Holy Spirit helps me to resist and overcome Satan (James 4:7)

HOLY SPIRIT YOU ARE WELCOME HERE

At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, at the name of Jesus demons will flee, the prisoners will be set free, at the name of Jesus a power is released like you’ve never before seen, power to heal, power to raise the dead to life, power to overcome wars and strife, at the name of Jesus I proclaim I am redeemed, baptised in water and baptised in the Spirit, my life changing daily as I challenge the limits of human understanding, as God is transforming me through his Spirit, I’m growing in wisdom,  resisting temptation, I’ve even found patience despite my weakness, growing in kindness and goodness, I’ve developed a faith and it’s bearing good fruit,  resolute in my prayer, I’m becoming effective in battling and fighting the lies and deception of Satan who comes to kill, steal, destroy, but instead I’m filled with uncontainable joy

I won’t downgrade my expectations to fit your perception of reality

I am reading “The God Chasers” by Tommy Tenney.  Just into the second chapter and I am already reeling from the first.  When God turned up at church day after day the power was thrilling, his presence enough to draw non-believers from the street to repent, leaving those who experienced it first-hand, hungry for more.  That’s exactly what I want, I want to be a God chaser, I don’t just want to read about this, I want to experience it for myself.  I want to feel God’s power, witness his miracles and partake in the supernatural with God.  Do we stifle God sometimes by not allowing him to act in his way.  When we say “wait on God”, do we wait or get bored half way through our time and start talking at him?!  I am going to rethink my time with God and chase after the absolute best he can give to me.

Matthew 7:7 – Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you

Ephesians 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

FEARLESS

I want to be fearless in pursuit, risking it all, when they look at me let them see the girl who decided to “go for it”, more committed to God than to my comfort zone, not caring if that means I do this alone, chasing his power, surrounded by doers, believers and receivers, all of us recognising that we’re not here to fit in, I won’t stop believing, I won’t downgrade my expectations to fit your perception of reality, no, I upgrade them to match my promised destiny, chasing God who is capable of amazing things, to fly and touch the sky my dream, no longer waiting I hustle hard in my pursuit of the Lord, it says in his word I can do immeasurably more than all I have asked or imagined because of his anointing, miracles, breakthrough, I’m ready to smash through glass ceilings, don’t try and stop me I’m like a child who climbs the tree, earnestly seeking to reach the sky, some say don’t try you’ll never succeed, I say I know who I’d rather believe, my God is waiting for me to pursue him, to search for him with all my being, my life’s goal, to seek God fearlessly.

I know the one who held those oceans in his hands

Sometimes I think I forget just how great God is, just how powerful he is and when I think about that I wonder why sometimes I just don’t give him every burden just like that instead of clinging on.

I love Isaiah 40:31 – But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.

Today I was reading an earlier part of that chapter and God’s power was really brought home to me.

Isaiah 40:12 – Who has measured the oceans by using the palm of his hand? Who has used the width of his hand to mark off the sky? Who has measured out the dust of the earth in a basket? Who has weighed the mountains on scales? Who has weighed the hills in a balance?

 GOD OF WONDER

God of wonder, God of power, oceans will rise and Kingdoms will fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever, alive and powerful, I know the one who held those oceans in his hands, he holds me too, I am not unloved, I was to die for and the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in me, all the forces of darkness cannot stop what God has ordained, he flattens the mountains and enters my circumstances with power, when all else fades, God remains, when I had nothing left, I discovered that God is enough, he gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless, trust in him and you will soar on wings like an eagle, you will run and not grow tired, walk and not grow weak, our God is not meek, his might is unequalled, he is unrivalled, he’s measured the sky with the span of his hand, weighed the mountains on scales and measured the dust of the earth in a basket, I ask you can you think of anything more full of wonder than my awesome God who’s stronger and more powerful than all Satan’s armies, never lose sight of God’s immense might, don’t try and fight your battle alone, God knows, God sees, he says come to me, God protects, God shields us, God sent his son Jesus, cleared a way for the Lord in the wilderness, every valley lifted high that the glory of the Lord would be revealed, the Lord God full of might, the Lord God our everlasting light.

Receive God’s power and the weapons of the enemy shall fail

What a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus, what a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus.  Just listening to that song as I wait for an important phone call and struck me that nothing is more important than our love of Jesus, our worship of Jesus and our trust in him.  This phone call is to find out the prognosis for my Dad now they have discovered secondary bone cancer.  But strikes me the fact that my Dad has now returned to the Lord and has made his peace with him shows how powerful the name of Jesus is. Of course, we all want a good outcome from his diagnosis but we can rejoice that Dad is no longer in the wilderness, he is right back in his Father’s arms.  I know God’s going to look after him no matter what news we hear today and no matter what we are facing there is power in simply speaking the name of Jesus.

Mark 16:17-18 – These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover

Luke 10:17 – The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

ALL HAIL

All hail the power of Jesus name, the mountains shake before him and the demons flee, enter his courts with praise and he enters your circumstances with power, be God centred,  be on fire for God, say his name out loud, be bold and courageous for the Rock of Ages is mighty to save, be not ashamed of his word, for it holds the power of salvation for all who read and believe, receive God’s power and the weapons of the enemy shall fail, his plans will never prevail when you use the power of Jesus name to break every stronghold and every chain, stand firm in your faith, stay alert, stay awake and pray for Jesus sake, sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion, rise up and seize the authority to trample on all the power of the enemy, for God has given us freedom, a hope and an assurance of eternal life in his heavenly Kingdom.

Breakthrough, breaking the chains that bind you

I have been learning more about prayer and have been looking at “breakthrough prayers”.  It’s great to really draw closer to God in prayer, using his word as a powerful tool to springboard our prayers but I also get that it’s important to use others to support our prayer life.

Matthew 18:19-20 – Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

I suppose the question is, do we have real faith to see this through, faith to pray big, bold and breakthrough prayers?

BREAKTHROUGH

Breakthrough, breaking the chains that bind you, chains of oppression, depression, obsession, chains of addiction and sickness, chains of weakness, use the name of Jesus, his name is power, higher than any other, Jesus empowers us to do his work, we are his church, his people on earth and wherever two or more are gathered he is with us, Jesus in our midst, if we stand in agreement there is freedom, stand on his word, it is our sword, separating the sin from the sinner, he delivers us from the enemy, he breaks our chains and sets us free, do you have a mustard seed of faith, are you ready to change people’s stories through praying powerfully for their freedom, are you perfectly placed to draw on the power of his Kingdom?