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Welcome to the Hand of God! February 9, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, House Church, House churches, blogging, deliverance, devotional, emergent, links, personal, prophet, prophetic, testimony.
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This is a special welcome to every new member of the Hand of God, especially those personally invited by my new family at the Daily Audio Bible community.  I have made a whole new set of friends on the chat rooms there, and want to shout out AmariNanny, Calico, Dennis, Servant-Ken, Newme, Jai, Southampton and all the others that I’ve started to connect with.

So, if you’re new, you’re wondering what this blog is all about, right?  Right?  Well, according to my About page (didya see that coming? Didya?…):

The purpose of the Hand of God is to chronicle God’s hand in my life, and testify of the things God does when I pray for others.  Here you will see slices of heaven on earth, where the miraculous meets the mundane.  I also share parts of my life and try to be as open online as I am in person.

Here there are several testimonies of God working supernaturally in my life and in the lives of others around me:

My Supernatural Stories series

Here is my series on deliverance teaching – Deliverance Foundations

Here’s another series I’ve done - Life Together series

Ok! That’s a lot!  I’ll post another links page for more forays into the innards of the blog.

Please comment in the blog if you find something you like, or contact me at handofgod.blog (at) gmail (dot) com.

Gestation February 6, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Christianity, House Church, House churches, links, missional, new churches, personal.
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Coming off of my last post and the thought of being hidden away in the secret place, I found a chapter in this book I’m reading that resonates along that line.  The book is “Living Water” by Brother Yun – the second book from this author.  He is a Chinese Christian who detailed his testimony of being persecuted in his home country in his first book “The Heavenly Man”.  This, his second book, is a collection of his own teachings which, as the book says, “have evolved from his life experiences of persecution and revival in China.”

This book is deep. So much so that I can only take it in small doses!  In fact, I’ve gotten this book as a gift (thanks Phillip!) since January 13th this year, and I’ve only just gotten to chapter 6.

I have been stuck for a while on chapter 5 – “The Pregnancy of the Holy Spirit”.  Yun starts off with the account of Jesus’ incarnation – of him taking on human form to be our example.  He comments how God the Father orchestrated this event and protected his Son from the evil Satan was throwing at him in Herod’s murder of thousands of baby boys to get rid of him.  Yun mentions the shepherds on one end of the social scale  and the Magi on the other – all come to worship Jesus.  Next, he recounts the meeting of Mary with the angel Gabriel.

After this account, he states this:

Do you realize that God wants all Christians to be pregnant with the Holy Spirit today? He wants to give you a vision of His kingdom that originates from heaven, not from yourself.  He desires that all of His children would be overshadowed by His presence in such a way that they are changed and give birth to something in their lives that brings many into His kingdom.

He also comments that, “The message I want to share with you is that you must be willing to become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. When a heavenly vision comes to dwell inside your innermost being, the entire direction of your life will be changed.”

This is the season I am in.  I am crying out to the Lord for his birthing in me as I stay in his secret place.  I’m in a period of gestation.  I am seeking God to be formed in me, so that I can express his life through mine!

Brother Yun next speaks to the effect of people allowing themselves to be pregnant by the Spirit.  He starts of by speaking of the persecution of the Chinese Christians after the Revolution in 1949, where churches were destroyed or turned into “gymnasiums, granaries or government offices” and where all of the foreign missionaries were expelled.  The Christian church was forced underground.

Then God started to move in the 1970’s.  Yun used the analogy of seeds scattered on the ground and growing into thousands of trees as a few believers became many.  He said, “Thousands of believers became millions as revival swept our nation, and millions turned into tens of millions, and now even 100,000,000!”

He comments that, “This great revival happened after God found people who were willing to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  They were available and willing to preach the Gospel to every part of China.”

He complains that much Christian activity “seems to originate with our human plans, and it is then carried out in human strength, with human results.”  He mentions that “God is only interested  in His work, not our work. He oversees and empowers those things that originate in His heart.”

This is why I have come to a place of peace concerning this season in my life. Where I was champing at the bit like an over-eager stallion, now I am learning to rest in him and let him do the work in me.  I am not wanting another thing to spring up that is “our work.”  I’m only interested in “God’s work.”  I’m seeking his rest, as he builds me and forms me in the secret place.

I like what he says here:

If you become pregnant by the Holy Spirit, it is very important that you go and visit someone else who is also pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  Only people who are going through this experience can provide encouragement and comfort when others are attacking you.

Mary visited Elizabeth, who was also pregnant.  And what happened? Elizabeth blessed her, and the unborn John the Baptist leapt in the womb at the sound of her voice!

He continues:

When you become pregnant with a vision from the Holy Spirit, seek out your Elizabeth.  Such a person will not mock or condemn you for obeying God’s call on your life…. Spend as much time with others who are pregnant by the Holy Spirit. I know that each time you see them, something will jump in your spirit!

Brother Yun warns next that birth is a very painful process, but he encourages us not to be afraid, for “God will sustain you and complete the birth of that which is inside of you.”  He says that for the “joy of being pregnant by the Holy Spirit, I have been called to endure persecution and torture for the sake of the gospel”, but “[a]ll of this was worth it for the great joy of seeing God glorified as he blessed and saved people through that which He placed inside of me.”

This gives me encouragement, and I am ready to go forward – whatever the cost.

He ends his chapter with a challenge:

Our loving heavenly Father is looking for people who are willing to become pregnant with His presence, vision and power.

Are you willing to surrender control of your life into the hands of God?

Will you be like Mary, and pray, “I am the Lord’s servant; may it be to me as you have said”?

You will never regret such a prayer.

Lord I am willing.  Make me pregnant by your Holy Spirit.  May it be unto me as you have said.  Hear my heart’s cry, Lord JESUS! As you have hidden me, I submit to your hand upon my life.  I pray for all those reading this as well, that they will be moved to cry out in the same manner – Be it unto me, according to your word!!!!! May those that read this also become contagious, so that the revival fires will continue to rage, and many more will know the Saviour of the World!  AMEN

Personal Devotions – Hiddenness February 4, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, links, personal, prophet, prophetic, testimony.
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The Wise and Foolish Builders

24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

God led me to this passage as I was asking him whether I could be released from my sabbatical from ministry in order to intercede for one of my best friends, who’s going through a rough patch. God was talking to me about my foundations – that they need to be on the solid rock.  The ‘rock’ represents the revelation of Christ – see Peter’s confession ‘Thou art the Christ….” and Jesus’ reply, “… upon this rock I will build my Church….”  Matt. 16:15-18

The lady helping me through this area in my life said to me that ministry attracts attack from the enemy – every time I pray for someone or even encourage them prophetically it invades enemy territory – and he won’t take that lying down!

The reason for the sabbatical’s extension, even although I have repented of my past sins, is not to punish me. (I was starting to feel that way, honestly!)  What was revealed to me was that every life that carries ministry must have firm foundations.  I am in a season where I am rebuilding my walls and re-laying foundations.  If I take ‘pot shots’ at the enemy by continuing to minister while being restored, then Satan can use the weaknesses in my defense to take me out! She said that the frustration I feel at not being free to minister to others like I want to is a motivator to get out of my broken state and be completely set free.

While in prayer with a new intercessor friend today,  as I shared the details of my sabbatical, I felt that God was telling me about being hidden for a purpose.  The Scripture was dealing with foundations. Foundations are hidden things.  The foundation is under the earth, and it anchors the building that is resting on it.  God was telling me about the foundations of my faith and my life, but I also heard him say, “Hidden for a season.”  The thought came of being formed in the Secret Place, like a baby being formed in its mother’s womb – Psalm 139:15-16

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

So, I’m now settled.  I understand what I need to do.  God has me hidden. It’s time for me to seek his face again.

Please – pray for me.

Father, I thank you that you have answered my prayers.  Thank you that you have explained your will to me. I love you so much.  Please help me to make the most of my hiddenness… I want to be completely hidden in you!  Help me to be patient, and not to chafe at the bit wanting to run out of the racing stocks. I want to be complete in you, and when you are ready, you will release me to do what you have called me to.  I ask you to draw people to pray for me and your work in my life, so that I will be able to get your will done through me.  Thank you for your hiding place! AMEN

Table Churches February 1, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, House Church, House churches, emergent, links, missional, new churches, testimony.
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Stumbled onto this blog post Fulcrum Express, and this post,  Improbable Church, where the author starts off with

The church that meets together at my home each Friday evening to share a meal, encounter God and minister one to another is an improbable assembly of believers and even not-yet believers. We cut across races, cultures, nationalities, social status, and so many other lines — producing a rich tapestry of interwoven lives.

I love his explanation of how the church meets in his context – share a meal, encounter God and minister to one another.  That is so simple, yet so profound!  A mottley crew of people of all walks of life – even people who have not yet committed to the faith… that’s so awesome!

It makes me remember my friend Archie, who’s starting a whole new expression of the body of Christ called Fresh Connection.  He told me the first time people are meeting is this Wednesday – I told him I’d love to be there online.. maybe we can see how that can work.  God’s doing some great things!

His post references another post on the same blog site, “Table Church, Podium Church and Facilitating Leadership” which has an interesting ‘twist’ to the New Testament church model, made popular by the proliferation of ‘house based’ or ‘cell based’ churches that are gaining popularity.

The first part of this new post speaks to the author’s having to deal with a controlling pastor and how this experience made him search the Scriptures to find Biblical evidence of leadership.  He says, in part:

“Church” as it’s come to be is now largely pastor led and podium focused, with professional “ministry” and largely passive pew sitters. We have lost the New Testament pattern of a community of believers served by local elders and other leaders, who function in a collegial framework of diverse gifts to sacrificially equip all believers for works of service as we all minister to each other. See Eph. 4:11-12 & 16.

So there’s the challenge of our day: Do we want New Testament leadership that is facilitating rather than controlling, elders who are engaged rather than pastor-centric, and ministry that is diversified rather than centralized? Are we willing to take back our churches and once again be the church?

He coins an interesting term for traditionally styled churches – podium churches.  I don’t want to beat the dead horse of traditonal vs non traditional churches specifically… I want to get to how the church is shaped in his context – what he  calls ‘table churches‘.

The home-based model for the first three centuries of church history was firmly rooted in the New Testament, where believers met, fellowshipped, shared communion and a meal together in each other’s homes. Interestingly, and contrary to our current male dominated “churches” where women are typically excluded from key roles, those home fellowships were often hosted by women such as Mark’s mom in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12), Lydia in Philippi (Acts 16:15 & 40), and Priscilla in Ephesus and then Rome (Rom. 16:3-5 and 1 Cor. 16:19).

That’s the beginning of his context.  He mentions that Jesus himself orchestrated the home based model

Jesus himself established this pattern of home-oriented fellowship in Luke 10:1-11. He sent seventy disciples, two by two, to find houses of peace (likely headed by those who were not yet believers) to serve as focal points for bringing the Kingdom of God into a new town or village.

The author says that he focused this text – wrongly – on the disciples, but that the fulcrum was the homes of peace that the disciples were to use to operate from:

For too long, I wrongly focused in this passage on the disciples. After all, they were the ones sent out by Jesus himself and I thought they were the most important element for advancing God’s Kingdom. In reality, however, the key was those homes of peace, where hospitality and blessing could flow forth and draw people in. Absent such households, the disciples could do nothing and were commanded to shake the dust off their feet as they left for the next town.

Again, he says

I don’t think this focus by Jesus, Peter or Paul on using peaceful homes as the foundation for authentic fellowship, discipleship and church growth was an accident. It simply is not possible for people to feel the intimacy and security needed to open up, share with each other, develop their gifts, and minister one to another in larger, podium-focused meetings. Plus, homes of peace are the ideal setting for being the church, because the gift of hospitality naturally draws people in and fosters authentic relationships.

So how does he express the meeting of the believers? These are the points in his article that are expanded on:

New Testament churches typically met in homes where people shared communion and fellowship over a meal.

When New Testament Christians gathered together, they each were to come with something to contribute so they could minister one to another.

Table churches are not supplements or tack-on’s for podium churches. If anything, it should be the other way around!

Jesus told us to go out into the world to gather the harvest, and that’s what New Testament Christians did.

I will encourage you to read the article, but basically I will end with one more quote from this author:

Go! Find a household of peace or, if there are no households, then a person of peace — even if they are not yet believers. Bless them by asking what they need Jesus to do for them, then pray for them. If the Lord confirms his blessing by meeting them in their needs, you don’t have to “organize” things. They, instead, will call their friends and neighbors to come and share a meal at their house as they exclaim what the Lord has done for them. They will be excited and God will use their natural gift of hospitality and peace to attract people into the Kingdom.

From there, it’s easy — ask those who come (even if they are not yet Christians!) to share with each other what God is saying to them as he draws them to himself. They just sort of naturally become Christians without needing to be pushed!

In fact, I’m seeing on average about two to three people testify each week, sitting around various tables, that God met them over the prior week and they committed their lives to Jesus. Others in that fellowship will quickly come beside them to help them to find their own gifts, teach them to expect that God will continue to speak to them, and to lean that God will give them whatever is needed to minister one to another. Sometimes I jump in, but mostly I just sit back and watch ‘em take off!

More Divine Connections! January 29, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Christianity, blogging, personal, pondering, testimony.
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I’ve been thinking a lot about divine connections – about meetings orchestrated by the Spirit of God.  You know …. where one or the other person was in the right place at the right time to meet the right person?

Think about Moses.  His mother hid him away for as long as she could. and when she couldn’t hide him any more, she built a basket of bullrushes and placed her baby in it.  I’m not sure she knew what was going to happen next – but the only person who could probably have kept her baby alive happened to come to bathe – Pharaoh’s daughter!  Not only that, but the princess hired the baby’s mother to take care of him!  Think about that – being paid to take care of your own child…. interesting prospect…. (Exodus 2:1-10)

In Genesis 24, God orchestrated the meeting between Abraham’s servant and Rebekah, where Abraham made his servant swear that he would not find a wife for his son Isaac.  The servant prayed, and before he could finish praying, Rebekah turned up – who would eventually accept the proposal and agree to get married to a man she’d never met.  (Genesis 24:15-21, 26, 50)

In the New Testament, Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman (John 4) was also a divine connection,  as would be Phillip being sent to the Ethiopian eunuch – not to mention being transported somewhere else afterwards!  (Acts 8:26-40)

I’ve been thinking about the divine connections the Lord has orchestrated in my own life.  Friends of mine who I have not yet seen in the flesh, but who have, over time, proven loyalty, dedication and have become family.

There have been people I have met online through the blogosphere who have stood by me through my recent marital struggles and have been there to encourage and pray and support. Some of those people I have met I would willingly do anything for because their level of support for me has gone beyond the call of duty.  I have even met a couple people who loved me enough to let our communication end for our mutual benefit – to those people (you know who you are, if you ever read this) I owe a huge set of gratitude and love, because they took quite practically the Scripture injunction to cut off the hand that causes you to sin.  Their willingness to put to death something that started well for the sake of their knowledge of where God was taking me still humbles me.

Now God is allowing more divine connections.  I’m excited to see where he is going.  Through the internet, God is linking his entire body in such a way that people all over the world can band together and pray for issues in a short space of time.  I am enthralled to see how God has joined my heart to South Africa, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas and Canada, among others…  all these people who have prayed and are praying for me, and to whom I owe my life. God has even done some binding of hearts to others here at home in Barbados – people who definitely were meant to be in my life for the long haul.  I’m just ready to see where God goes with this!

I pray for everyone reading this… I pray that divine encounters be released to you, and that God connects you to others according to his divine plan!

Bajan Tidbit - The national dish of Barbados is cou-cou and flying fish.  Cou cou looks something like mashed potatoes, but is made traditionally from corn meal, and may contain okra slush.  Most Bajans like their flying fish breaded (covered in bread crumbs) and fried.  Go here for some more details!

Miraculous Reconciliation! January 26, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, devotional, personal, prophetic, testimony.
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I just want to give God a HIGH note of PRAISE for his WONDERFUL, POWERFUL intervention!  I can’t stop praising the Lord for how he has done in about three / four days what I thought was going to take the whole year to do… God is restoring my marriage completely!

Let me preface this by saying that one of my closest Spiritual connections – my South African sister Jennifer – had a prophetic word for me on November 26 last year, where she said in part,

Jennifer: yes….true….well there u go….u won’t even need to lift a finger….THE FINGER OF THE LORD IS POINTING AT YOU and He will work this out!!!!!

And he has been true to his word!

My wife Lesanne went to a leader’s retreat at church over the past couple days and on Saturday came home and lined the whole family up and prophesied to us each in turn… Through her, God told me that I had to pass through the way that I did because he was preparing me for the new season in my life. She prophesied over the entire family as a unit as well – and it was a powerful experience! She was severely impacted by the presence of the Lord while praying and laying hands on us – especially our younger son Jonathan.

But that’s not the best part!

God worked on her over the retreat so that we have become one again! There was a lot of confession, and asking for and receiving forgiveness on both our parts, and all the past has been washed away in the power of the spirit of reconciliation! And, just like Jen prophesied – without me lifting a finger.  Isn’t God AWESOME?

Since that time, we have really been re-linking and really connecting on a deeper level.  We woke up on Sunday and worshiped together, singing songs of praise and worship together on our bed – something we hadn’t done in a LONG time.  I remember when she said, “I love you,”  and I could actually see the love shining from her eyes again – that sight nearly broke me.

After the singing, I, following the prompting of the Spirit, told her that I would put our wedding tape (still VCR, haven’t had it copied to DVD, yet – I know, lazy, right?) in so that we could have it playing in the background while we got ready for church.  Guess what it started on (it wasn’t set at the beginning)?  The first things we hear are the prophetic words spoken over our marriage by the leaders of my house church at that time – an observation that the colours chosen for the wedding were white and gold, and how gold represented the glory of the Lord, and prayer – and that how Lesanne was being called into a ministry of prayer which included me, her husband.  The prophetic symbol for her was a piece of gold coloured cloth that was draped around her shoulders; when the word included me as well the cloth was extended and placed around both our shoulders together.

The prophetic word over me was an encouragement to continue in the prophetic call I had been released in – the call to show the church its dimensions and what it is to look like. Prophetically, I was given a gold coloured straight stick, representing a measuring rod. Ezekiel chapters 40 -42 detail the account of the prophet seeing an angel measuring out the exact dimensions of the Temple area with a measuring rod.  In fact, there was a time that the Lord literally forced me (naturally I was bored out of my skull at the time, but I was compelled!) to read that entire account – and I knew afterwards that this was my call.

That’s what was shown immediately after our prayer time.  Is God saying something to us?  I think so!  He is re-establishing our call together as a couple, and speaking the words over us that he did on our wedding day!

I went with her to her assembly as well that Sunday, and we were touched there powerfully as well.  The sermon was on the fear of the Lord, taken from Acts 9:31, which reads in the NIV -

31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

See this same verse in the NASB

31So (A)the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. (my emphasis)

The sermon used the analogy of needing two legs to walk, with the two legs being the fear of the Lord AND the comfort of the Spirit.   That sermon was so powerful…. the congregation was challenged to come forward as the Lord wanted to release a new awareness of the fear of the Lord on us.  Lesanne and I both went forward, and suffice it to say that the Lord touched both of us quite tangibly.  There were tears and shaking and having to be picked up off the floor and everything…

And I took my diamond to lunch as well – the glass of wine went well with our meal … :)

We have a lot to thank God for! That’s a major understatement…. I am in awe at the majesty of our God!

Join me in praise and worship and thanksgiving as the Lord has restored us!  I pray that he puts in place what is necessary to continue to knit us together, and I pray that you will continue to pray for us as we seek God’s face together – a pride of lions roaring to our King!

Celebration! January 21, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in links, personal.
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Today is January 21st, Errol Barrow Day in Barbados, where I live.  Just like the American’s have Martin Luther King Day, Barbadians celebrate the birthday of the man who led Barbados to Independence from Britain on a rainy night on the Garrison Savannah on November 30th, 1966.

Errol Barrow

First Prime Minister of Barbados

Here is a picture of the life sized statue of the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow – one of the ten National Heroes of Barbados.

Errol Barrow statue

The Errol Barrow Statue

Here’s some more details about him – and you can search the underlying site to find out more about Barbados, too.

Ok! Off to my holiday for the day!

Bajan Tidbit - Because we were colonized only by the British, we drive on the left side of the road, rather than the right, like the majority of the road.  It’s always hard when I have to drive in the US…   haha!

Hear the Lion’s Roar! January 18, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, devotional, personal, prophetic, testimony.
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This post should really have come before the last Personal Devotions post, but busyness made it sleep in my drafts folder for weeks.  If I don’t work on it now, it’ll stay here another two weeks – and it’s important as both it and the last post link into who I am now.  So, read on!

I had an experience (about two weeks ago now) that is hard for me to put into words – I can’t articulate it properly, and that’s saying a lot.  It was a deep experience where I was crying out to the Lord for change, but was so broken that I could only use sounds – sighs, sarcastic sounding short laughs (think, “Heh!”), trickling tears…. can anyone say “The Spirit intercedes for us with groans that cannot be uttered?”

Long and short of it, I was challenged that boredom and busyness have been eating away at my marriage and that I have cocooned myself into a life that is unexciting and humdrum.  I felt like I had a storm of emotions inside that boiled down to me never really allowing myself to enjoy my youth and all my life I’ve existed behind my ‘avatar’.

Yes, it came after watching the movie Avatar, but being a computer geek, the name sparked a deep revelation for me.  For the uninitiated, an avatar is defined as an ‘embodiment’ – and its usual meaning on the blogosphere is the picture or animation that represents a poster or commenter.   Some people are only known by their avatars – as you will probably never see them all in real life.

Anyway,  it hit me almost like a conviction that I lived my entire life behind the screen of a computer and never really DID anything – in fact, when I was going to my classes for my Microsoft certification in January of last year, people who had ‘normal’ lives were itching for the classes to be over, and I was all excited because I had some place to GO on a Saturday.  That was only one memory of many that flushed through my mind at that moment – each one giving another reaction.  All I could do is stand there in the midst of all these emotions, but inside I was crying out, “God! Help me!”

Sometime during the night I had an experience with the Spirit of God who told me that I was a lion inside and that the lion nature needed to come out!  He told me (as my body shook by being in his presence) that I was raising a pride of lions in my family: my wife already sees herself as a lioness, and has told me as such;  my boys have told me they are lion cubs (all innocently – and before this incident with the Lord.)  It is so much so that they like practicing their roars around the house!  (Truth be told, my younger son has since told me that he is not a lion – he’s a tiger lolol)

I woke up with the the insatiable need to ROAR!  When I shared it with my wife (shyly, as I was embarrassed – another weird emotion for me) she encouraged me and we roared together!

Since then lions have been on my mind.  This last weekend, God arrested me while showing my boys an old videotape of The Lion King – where Simba loses his father through false accusation and has to face his past and return to Pride Rock to save his family from destruction.

There were so many parallels to where I am right now…  but what made me feel the wind of the Spirit around  me was at the end  when Simba had defeated his evil uncle Scar (who was a usurper to the throne) and started to climb Pride Rock to face his family as the rightful king.  Halfway up the rock he looks up and hears his father’s voice intoning “Remember who you are…. Remember… Remember…”  (This scene always reminds me of these two posts concerning remembering – read them here and here.)

What really gets me is when Simba ROARS – which gets the whole pride roaring alongside him.  God used that image to call me to remind me of how he sees me.  As Simba had to overcome his past, so has he called me to do – to “remember who [I am]”  and to ROAR over my circumstances.

As I mentioned in my last post, the Lord spoke about a Band of Brothers to me before leading me to the Band of Brothers website.  In part, their ministry can be summarized in this quote from their website:

This is the goal of the Band of Brothers’ ministry – to cast a vision to our tired and warn out generation of men and to challenge them to engage in the noble purpose for which we were created.  We want to motivate and inspire men by echoing the call of Christ to be willing to give up everything for Him - no matter the cost.  For we do not want to miss out on a noble mission and legacy that will echo throughout eternity!

I have taken that rallying call - WHATEVER THE COST! - and that is my motto for this season of my life.  The cost of discipleship has already been painful – but I WILL NOT STOP NOW.

Pray for me that God will allow the lion to roar out of me – empowered by THE lion – the Lion of the Tribe of Judah – the LORD JESUS CHRIST!  Pray that WHATEVER THE COST I will continue along to full manhood – full maturity … creation groans in anticipation of the revealing of the [mature] sons of God!

19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. (Romans 8:19)

HEAR THIS LION ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(PS – My friend Archie wants to learn more about Barbados, so I’ll endeavour to put a little tidbit about our culture in each post or do a weekly post about Barbados.  I’ll just say here – Americans have Martin Luther King Day … Barbadians have a day honouring our first Prime Minister, Errol Walton Barrow on his birthday January 21st.  He was the Premier of Barbados who led our country into independence from Britain on November 30th, 1966. Ok, I won’t lengthen this post anymore! Tune in next time!)

Personal Devotions: Sobering Word January 15, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, devotional, links, personal, pondering.
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37“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  (Matt 27:37-39)

Sobering words.   Anyone who loves father or mother…. son or daughter… more than God is not worthy of him. How easy is it to love other things more than God?  To what do I owe my allegiance?  Anyone who does not take cross and follow Christ is not worthy of him. What does that mean?  How do I take up my cross?  Do I want to take up my cross to follow him?

I have decided to follow Jesus.  Behind my failures and successes, behind every time I mess up, behind any time I share a wonderful powerful testimony of God’s glory – there lies a heart that is sold out for God.

But yet – being sold out for God still means little if I don’t choose to be a disciple.  NO MATTER THE COST.

On Sunday I am sure I heard in my heart – I think I was coming out of a dream – the term ‘Band of Brothers.”  I had no reference point for the term, so I just left it alone, let it simmer in its own juices, as it were.

A couple of days ago, I found myself surfing and found this website - the Band of Brothers Ministry.  One of their tenets is to covenant among the men of the Body of Christ – a band of brothers – to intentionally be more like Jesus, a disciple.   The covenant on their About page is as follows:

I will surrender my all to God – no matter the cost – so that I can become more like Jesus Christ – my brother and King.  I will seek out a band of brothers, for whose lives and legacies I will fight, so that together we can fulfill our mission to know, love and glorify God our Father.

This covenant has resonated with me.  I WILL SURRENDER MY ALL to GOD – NO MATTER THE COST.

This is my prayer.


Personal Devotions – Subduing the Lion! January 2, 2010

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, devotional, personal, prophetic.
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Genesis 4:6-7

6 “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? 7 You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

The image of sin crouching at the door in this Scripture made me think of 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  Sin like a wild untamed animal sounds like a good metaphor;  you cannot tame sin, but you have to subdue it.  Interesting.  If I expand to 1 Pet 5:8 – 10 it brings more out of this related passage:

8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

The action words there are important – Resist and Subdue. Speaks to violently overcoming the sin, like taking a wild animal like a lion and subduing it, being made its master.

And look – there is a promise of restoration once you have suffered a little while!

Lord help me to subdue sin in my life.  I need to be its master, not letting it overcome and subdue ME, which has been happening a lot recently.  I pray for your restoration, as I have been suffering more than a little while (in my humble opinion!) ;)  Thank you for opening your word to me! In Jesus’ name. AMEN