The Father & The Child part 4

The Father spoke:

And what do you know of My heart?
I know that Your heart is the only worthy destination.
How have you learned this truth?
By walking daily with You.
How are your companions, Joy and Sorrow?
Now that I have a better understanding of Your heart, I realise that Sorrow keeps me dependent upon You and Joy enables me to stay on the journey.
You have learned well, My child. So you wish to continue the journey?
Oh, Father, I only pray that I remain faithful and obedient. I want no other journey – I seek no other Joy.
You will find Joy in loving and serving others.
It is hard for me to love and serve. How can I do it with Joy?
By taking My yoke and learning of Me.
As long as I am yoked to You, Father, I know I can do anything.
Hold My hand tightly, My child. For this part of the journey, you must receive My rest and learn to live for all that is eternal.
Why must I hold Your hand tightly?
Because I am ready to place you as a labourer in My harvest, and I do not want you to be so busy in your service that you loosen your grip or let go.
And how do I labour in Your harvest?
By bringing Me glory.

Commissioned!

This morning our team to Thailand was commissioned.
It was wonderfully significant as we stood together surrounded by friends, family, (my husband James) the Missions Committee and numerous people, people I didn’t even know, and they prayed for us, real, earnest, in-touch-with-God prayers. I FELT COMMISSIONED!

I had been sorry that my regular faith family had not had the opportunity to commission me, it didn’t seem right.

Yet it didn’t seem right to not be part of our 2005 Thailand team on my last Sunday in Christchurch for a while. So I went to the team’s Church. (It was the third time James and I had been there this week as we had also attended 2 funerals there.)

The music and singing was great, worship to be embraced by, and then we were commissioned. This was followed by preaching that will be a special memory in dry places at night in Thailand ~ and the enemy of my soul will make sure I have those! Finally communion, thank you God that we happened to be there for communion, Yes! we were thoroughly commissioned.

So what is it to be commissioned?

In my ignorance I thought it meant something like ‘sent out.’ Like saying, “Hello Father God, here is a group of people we have set aside to train and prepare and now we ask that you will accompany them to Thailand to use as You chose and bring them safely back forever changed people!”

I looked it up on my computer Thesaurus: It means ‘tailor made’ ‘made to order’ or ‘custom built.’ Really???? Am I a custom built temporary missionary? Am I tailor made for this work? Have I been made to order? Who ordered me? God did? Like, this all sounds far bigger that I dreamed of! I am an empty vessel. A sinner saved by grace. An often times failure striving to be real and perfected but I don’t feel ‘tailor made’ ‘made to order’ or ‘custom built.’

So then I went to the Concise Oxford Dictionary. (I know what you are thinking, why did I not do this exercise last year or even last week and you are right of course!)

So the C.O.D. says things like ‘warrant conferring authority,' ' as in a warship manned, armed and ready for use, in working order’ ah huh, now you’re talking! Entrusting a person to perform a duty, authority to act as an agent!

I get it and yes, I agree with this, I get it,
Ø I am in working order having prepared as much as I can for several months now
Ø I am entrusted by all those who have financially invested in me to perform a duty
Ø With the blood of Jesus cleansing me and the Holy Spirit empowering me I have authority in His Name to speak and pray believing I am called
Ø Actually through those who have invested in my life in other ways God has now made me to order, custom made me for the work, I am tailor made by His love and the love of those who care about what I do.
Today I have been commissioned, on Saturday I am going to Thailand. Thank you to the two churches that have been involved long term in my commissioning!

The Father & the Child Part 3

The child spoke:

Father, the journey is harder than I thought it would be. I am weary
When My Son traveled here, He became weary also.
Why is it so?
Because My kingdom is not yet established.
Am I nearing the destination?
You have come far, but there are still many roads to travel.
Will these roads be any easier?
The closer you come to My heart, the more intensely you will experience My love and understand My ways. You will become more concerned about what is eternal and less about the difficulty of the journey.
Sorrow still walks with me.
She travels with you by My design. She is a carefully chosen tool in My hand to accomplish My will for you.
Sorrow has become more of a friend. I no longer fear her presence. But Joy never leaves me! She has settled deep within me. Will she always accompany me?
She will never leave you as long as you keep your hand in Mine and let Me lead you to My heart.
Then she will be with me forever – for I have no other desire than to know Your heart.

The Father & The Child part 2

The Father spoke:

Are you ready, My child?
Yes, but I have nothing to bring except myself.
You are all I need.
Surely I must bring something; I do not feel prepared to travel.
Do not concern yourself with preparations. Your journey has already begun.
But I am fearful.
There is no need to fear; I will always be with you.
Will you give me what I need?
I will provide for you.
What will you provide?
All that is essential for your journey.
And what is essential?
I will show you along the way. For now, you have what is necessary:
the desire to draw close to My heart.

Sad things happen to good people.

Goodbye Matthew, you were such a fine young man!

The Father & The Child

Not many of us are writing right now, may you journey well anyway!

The Father spoke:

Come, child, let us journey together.
Where shall we go, Father?
To a distant land, another kingdom.
So the journey will be long?
Yes, we must travel every day.
When will we reach our destination?
At the end of your days.
And who will accompany us?
Joy and Sorrow.
Must Sorrow travel with us?
Yes, she is necessary to keep you close to Me.
But I want only Joy.
It is only with Sorrow that you will know true Joy.
What must I bring?
A willing heart to follow Me.
What shall I do on the journey?
There is only one thing that you must do – stay close to Me.
Let nothing distract you.
Always keep your eyes on Me.
And what will I see?
You will see My glory.
And what will I know?
You will know My heart.

The Father stretched out His hand.
The child, knowing the great love her Father had for her,
Placed her hand in His and began her journey.

So help me God!

I am thinking of David Lange, Rosa Parks and Rod Donald. It makes me think of Nuclear Free New Zealand, human rights and clean GREEN New Zealand.

One is from my generation, one from the previous and one from the next.

There is special courage in putting your reputation on the line and risking being made a fool of. If the debate had not gone his way David Lange would have looked an international fool instead he looked brilliant on our behalf; making us look quite bright too.

Rod Donald, (has he really gone!) battled through years of protests and gained our respect if not for his beliefs then for his tenacity, his staying power. We use the same hairdresser him and I; he waited once while I was being trimmed he was very pleasant.

Rosa Parks, her day in history, 1 December 1955 becoming “the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” How could she do it, to remain seated against everyones expectations? That awful moment immediately before conflict when one knows that in 5 seconds the feelings around will be ugly, yet preferring to make a stand, such courage changed a nations attitudes.

Hebrews 11 is full of such heroes. Noah made a stand when he built a huge boat on dry land though it had never rained, Moses did too when he ‘chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while, regarding the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt’ ~ where he was called an Egyptian Prince. (V25 & 26)

During the war the Japanese required their prisoners to bow to the rising sun. Imagine morning on the parade ground. In a moment thousands of men will bow to the ground and YOU, the Christian, may decide that you bow your knee to only one God. Others bow you remain standing! You know you will be so obvious, no hiding. Your execution may not be swift but it will be inevitable!

I want the kind of courage that, against all circumstances, chooses to do the right thing.
Not tolerating injustice or hidden pleasure, not trying to be something I am not no matter what the pressure is to conform; not trying to look important or superior.

I want to be the person God planned me to be so help me God!