Let go…..and let God…….
How
many times will I have to hear that message or a variation on it?
Yesterday was the Staff team day for Flames of Fire and I
was tired before we set off. I want to go up to Keswick for the Convention on 17th
July and I need to get the magazine posted and a banner finished before then,
to say nothing of a meeting to arrange and lots of personal stuff.
Why do I find so much to do when the garden needs attention and the whole
point of having a garden is to enjoy it?
So
many times I’ve heard God tell me to rest in Him and enjoy the love and peace
of His presence and yet I still fall into the trap of service on my terms.
When things start to go
wrong we blame the enemy, but perhaps the real fault is tiredness and
forgetfulness. I lose
things and waste hours searching for them, then the computer plays up, probably
due to my haste, and ……… I really do want to serve
the Lord with every ounce of
my body but that is not what the Lord wants.
I enjoy the time I spend at the computer and making banners so I am my
own worst enemy and I need to remember that, before I get tired.
So
to my shame it took a dear sister in Christ to give me a word from the Lord when
she prayed for me yesterday.
It is so subtle the way we listen to our own anxieties and desires to do
a good job instead of listening to the Lord.
I did not recognise the word given me until I prayed again after
returning home to some preparation for a family service.
“Hands off, let God do it”.
And He did. Now I return to the magazine knowing that
there is a lot to write but knowing that He will do it, I’ve just got to press
the right keys!
John 6 :28-29 has more significance that we easily take
on board.
‘Then
they asked him,
“What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work
of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” ‘
What
does it mean in practical terms to believe on Jesus?
It means that we have to live our lives with a certain knowledge of the
Holy Spirit within us and act on all His commands and believe all His promises.
If only we did, what a
Church we should be, knowing His love and living in joy and certainty.
Passages like John 14 :12-14 would
change the world:
’Very
truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do
and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the
Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may
be glorified in the Son. If in my
name you ask me for anything, I will do it.’
So
how can we move into that place of faith? Certainly
not by trying but by resting in God and allowing Him to do it.
I know this is what our Lord wants and I know that if we are willing
then we will be used to show
God’s glory to the whole Church and to the world.
We are still asking about the future of ARM(Wales) and Flames
of Fire but it comes down to demonstrating the truth
of our Lord’s words in our lives and giving Him the glory.
Just be available to Him and let Him have His way.
Total surrender does not mean trying to serve as I have been doing
recently, but more time resting in
Him.
So
this issue may not have a recognizable theme but is about faith and prayer and worship,
about God’s plans for ARM England and our hopes for ARM (Wales),
about listening to His voice and responding.
In fact it is about the Church as we are and about what we could be.
Michael Bennett reminds us of the value of pilgrimage and Arfon Jones
tells us of the new Welsh Bible.
Charles Owens has given us an update on the L.O.S.T. school building
project – it is thrilling to hear of visible work being done to the glory of
God. Only He knows how it will be used to further His Kingdom in that war torn land,
but Jesus said,
“Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” and
we
also know from Roman 8:19 that “…. the creation waits with eager longing
for the revealing of the children of God;”.
It
is indeed the Kingdom that we must proclaim and we need to think what this means
to us, especially as we look at the future of Flames of Fire and ARM(Wales).
I had been sent a review
copy of Mike Endicott’s new book on Healing.
I have only read a part of it so I handed it over to Brian to review but
well aware that he has not yet received his healing.
He questions Mike’s theology but is not denying that the Kingdom is
already here and that we can be a part of it now.
I
have already quoted John 6:28-29 and I believe that “believing on Jesus”
in the way He intended is entering into the Kingdom that is available to us.
Either the church does not understand this or is not wiling to accept the
conditions or cost. Also much
of our Anglican Church does not like words like “Charismatic” or “Renewal”
and I am questioning how we can talk about these things without turning people
away? My response is to start
writing a series of articles and look for opportunities to talk about it.
It is all about our relationship with God, and God as Trinity.
It means starting where people are and letting
God do it - which is how I started this editorial.
I’ve put a few thoughts into print under an invitation to draw near to
God but I also invite you send me
your thoughts on these topics.
Please
meditate on some of the verses I have quoted here. We
need to hear from you what God reveals.
Matt 11:25-25; “At
that time Jesus said, “I
praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these
things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes,
Father, for this was your good pleasure”, encourages
us all.
Mary
Newsom