Why are you crying? What are you looking for?

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" John 20:15

It is the amazing, remarkable ability of a woman to hang on for change. The Syro-Phoneican woman chased after Jesus until her daughter was loosed, she didn't mind the bread was not hers, she would take the crumbs. The woman with the issue of blood pressed on to touch the hem of his garment. Anna stayed in the temple until she saw Jesus. Whoever you are, don't give up, change is coming.

According to John's account in Chapter 20, Mary is first to arrive at the tomb, saw the stone removed and went to tell Peter and John,who came, saw and went home! The Bible tells us that Mary remained at the tomb weeping. Why? I wonder why Mary stood there. Peter and John were part of the 3, the chosen ones closest to Jesus, they were with him in Gethsemane, they were with Him on the mount of transfiguration and yet they went home, maybe their logical minds wanted to ponder on the facts that had been set before them but not Mary, she looked with her heart, He is not here and yet I must see Him, I can't let go of Him yet, I must wait.

I see her in my mind's eye, tears streaming down her face, I imagine what her thoughts are, could it be the very first time she met Jesus, could it be how Jesus had filled every void in her life that she had spent most of her years looking for. And then a man shows up and asks her two important questions!

First, why are you crying? We need to be able to define in words what our needs are, like an onion, we must peel the surface layers of our signs and symptoms and get to the real cracks that lie beneath. What is the hurt? What is the pain you carry? Why am I addicted to things and people that numb the pain, I must look beyond the tears to know the source. In more recent times, I have cried for unfulfilled dreams and desires, unmet needs and expectations and yet Mary was crying because she couldn't find her Lord. Lord, teach me to realise that all I need is you because you own the Master key that keeps every other thing that concerns me in order. Mary didn't realise that although it looked like the love of her life was gone, He wasn't, where she had to go to Him to be with Him, now He was with Her and in Her, she wasn't going to see him physically but He would always be with her. Halleluyah!

Secondly, who is it you are looking for? I'm reminded of a song by U2, 'and I still haven't found what I'm looking for'. Are we looking for a what or a who? Am I looking for a job or a Provider, am I looking for a partner or someone to love me, am I looking for security or freedom, what am I looking for. Nothing on the above list is bad but sometimes it pays to clarify what exactly we are looking for, for how else shall we recognise it when we see it. We should all be looking for Jesus.

Sometimes we look for religion, religion says the tomb is empty, relationship asks "but where is Jesus" and I'm going to wait until I see Him. Easter begins with an empty tomb but more importantly what we celebrate is a Resurrected Christ. So, why are you crying and who is it you are looking for?

Selah!

Compliments of the season to you all. Jesus is enough reason to celebrate! Remember to be a blessing at this time. Thank you so much for taking time to read my musings and for your encouraging comments. I trust that the New Year comes with even greater things in store than we can think or imagine. God bless you.

Xxxxxx

Believer

Giants die!!

No matter how big the giants we are facing are, this is a reminder that giants indeed do die. Goliath's boast is for a while eventually we shall have the victory! It doesn't matter if your weapons don't seem like they can do the trick. Speak the word of God and throw that stone when God say so!



Giants do die,
the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Giants, they die,
just walk around the Jericho wall.

Now we come in Your name
and we stand on Your word,
what is loosed in the heavens,
will be loosed on earth.

Now we come in Your name
and we stand on Your word,
what is loosed in the heavens,
will be loosed on earth;
let God arise, giant, die.


Your praise will bring down strong holds.
When you pray, you will see miracles.
Just pray when things seem impossible
and the King of Glory will show His glory;
let God arise, giant, die.

When you praise,
When you praise,
When you praise,
they gotta come down.

When you worship,
When you worship,
When you worship,
they gotta come down.

When you shout,
just shout.
When you shout,
they gotta come down.

They gotta come down.
Let God arise, giant die.

Thank you Pastor Lawrence.

The Wilderness Chronicles: Day 9

Thanksgiving from the wilderness

My God you are very great. I praise and magnify you, my heart and soul praise you. My spirit and flesh praise you because you are not only a Mighty God but you are a good God. I thank you because you are a God of your Word, you spoke the word and it worked, works and continues to work wonders in my life. I praise you because you have made me fearfully and wonderfully, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet I can say it's all good.

I didn't come into this place a happy camper, even yesterday I burst into tears when you gave me a new command but Lord I still thank you that as silly as I can be sometimes you still love me, I can't fall away from your love, I can't earn it by what I do but you love me. Thank you for that reassurance that there is a love that is available for me ALL the time in spite of me.

Anyone can praise you when you part the Red Sea, when you slay the giant, when you give the victory but Lord I thank you that I can still praise you in the wilderness, where sometimes I don't even know my right from my left, when I don't know if I'm going forward or backward where you ask me to stand still, I can say you are God and you are good not because I'm strong but because even in my weakness you are my strength. In the wilderness you have been my strength, in the wilderness you have been my song, I have learnt what it means to be held in the arms of Jesus an embrace that no human's even comes close to.

I thank you for the lessons in the wilderness, where every grain of sand contains a message, where the arid conditions reminds me of my thirst for you, the heat of the day reminds me you are my cooling cloud, the lonely cold nights remind me that you are a pillar of fire, Lord I thank you that every single thing the enemy meant for evil in my life you turned it around for my good. Thank you Lord for the wilderness because it shows I am loved, called and chosen.

Thank you Lord, thank you. I used to sing that ten thousand tongues were not enough to praise you but I have one tongue and I use it to scream a big halleluyah to your name. Thank you Lord. Thank you Father. I give you praise not only for what you've done or are doing but because a beautiful future and hope still lies ahead. Thank you. I love you.

The Wilderness Chronicles; Day 8

Loved, Called, Chosen

For God so LOVED THE WORLD that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, NIV)

For MANY are CALLED, but FEW are CHOSEN(Matthew 22:14, NLT)

Some ask, why the wilderness? Others ask, why me? Why must I be different? Why must the way that I take go via the Dolorosa, why must I be separated and go through all I have or all I am going through?, why am I going through it alone? Why can't I explain to my nearest and dearest, why must I place my achievements and trophies before the old rugged cross? Why the wilderness?

I believe one of the answers is because you are loved, because you responded to the call and because you made a choice! I'm a very good example of someone who asks Why me? if I got a pound for everytime I asked God or my mum that question, I would be a millionaire by now! God loves everyone, we do not have to be saved for him to love us, the Father loved both the prodigal son and the 'righteous' one, He loved him when he was at home, he loved him when he rebelled, he loved him till he came home. God loves the world. He hates the sin but loves the sinner because we were made in the image of God.

However, the world does not love Him back and although He calls out an invitation to all, some acknowledge the call and become His children, for AS MANY as received Him and believed Him He gave power to become His children (John 1:12). Some interpret the second verse quoted above to mean that God has chosen those who can be His children so not everyone can be saved. I choose to differ, if we consider Matthew 22 from the beginning, we see that the King extends his invitation to all but some heed the call and some don't. If you're reading this today, please heed the call Jesus is making, this is not a call to a church or ministry but to a family, God's family. We are called because we accept the call but for most the story ends there. We are content to join the 'Christian club' we do our Christian bit and God does His bit. But, amongst the called, there are some who make the choice to live out His purpose for their life.

For indeed God has given each and every one an assignment for the furthering of His kingdom, the harvest is plenty but the labourers are few. God sees our hearts, He knows that Peter can lead the 11 while Judas is in it for the money. Why was it Peter that denied Christ, why not the others? Even the devil knew that Peter had made a choice to follow Jesus and that he was not satisfied with business as usual. he knew that when the Holy Ghost fell on Peter, the establishment of the church was a done deal because Peter was one of those who went all the way! In these last days, God is on the look out for serious believers, not unbelievers, not church attendees but those who want more than a form of godliness and those who acknowledge the power of God. The Word confirms that the 3 groups do not contain the same number of people, the world is larger than the many that are called, the many that are called are more than the few who are chosen so do not worry if you seem like a freak or if no one is going the direction you are going, not many take the path of the chosen.

The hearts and desires of the chosen makes them candidates for the wilderness, they have been chosen for the great army the Lord is assembling to wage war against the enemy. That's why the last time I went on my Why me single, God asked me, why not you? Why not you Believer? Why not you, who do you want me to send? I'm rejoicing in the wilderness because I believe there is a generation and a chosen lot that is rising that will speak the word and hear the Word speak back. I believe that there are chosen ones who will speak and cancer will have to disappear, ALL diseases will be healed and even the dead will be raised to life. Before Jesus performed a single miracle, He spent 40 days in the wilderness, led there by the Holy Spirit. So my dear, rephrase your question, why not you? You are loved, you have heeded the call and have made a choice, don't fall back, don't quit. God will use you where you are but the wilderness will prepare you for the next level. So don't stop, keep moving! Amen.