Healing Testimony (26/01/12)

So... it's been a while since I've updated this, however this one is a great one from a few weeks ago. So quite often I'm involved with the prayer ministry team at my church, and a few weeks ago, a girl approached me and asked me to pray for her knee. Basically, she often feels knee around her knee, and she was having a final MRI scan before deciding whether she would need an operation or not. So me and my pastor's lovely wife prayed for this knee and she went away. It was only a few days ago that I bumped into her again. I asked her about her knee and she told that since that day, her pain went away, and she had her MRI scan and no longer needed an operation! God is so incredible!

Healing Testimonies (30/10/11)

So this has been a very exciting month for all of us. This actually happened a few weeks but I just haven't had time to write this up! I was at my local church, and doing the usual stuff, and I just suddenly get the feeling that we should pray for people with sore right shoulders and bad ankles. I decided to tell my friend, who told my awesome pastor Neil at the end, and he asked people to come forward. Three people came forward!


The first woman had crutches and bad ankles, but also had a sore right shoulder! So we prayed with her and her pain mostly went away, which was amazing! Another woman had a sore ankles and I think she got partially healed too! A third woman had a tight shoulder, and after praying, her shoulder immediately loosened up! How incredible!


So I guess this is the start of something new that we're all excited about! I'm just so honoured to see some of the healings! If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below!

Glory and Joy

"I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh will also dwell securely...You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever."
(Psalm 16:8-9, 11)
"When the Lord is before him (David) and at his right hand, his "glory rejoices." The word translated as "rejoice" also means "tremble." This makes me think of a tuning fork that vibrates when its note is sounded. When God is before us, when we are close to Him, we resonate with the same sound that is God. We rejoice in His presence, for in His "presence is fullness of joy." Our glory rejoices - the substance that we share with God is expressed in the intimacy and exchange of being with Him as Father and children, and that expression is joy."
Paul Manwaring, What on Earth is Glory? (P.62)


I started reading What on Earth is Glory? a couple of days ago and then this morning I came to this passage and I was just so overwhelmed and amazed by it that I just wanted to share it. The idea that in the presence of our Daddygod we just can't help but rejoice and tremble in His presence is just incredible. 


When you think about all the brokenness, hurt and betrayal in this world that we are exposed to on a daily basis and then you contrast that with this Father that when you're with Him just envelops you in Love and Joy it just takes my breath away. 


David writes that he has "set the Lord continually before me," from that he is able to say with complete confidence that "he will not be shaken," when we have God set right before us we have no reason to ever doubt, worry, or fear again, whatever the world can throw us our God is Bigger, Stronger and He will never, ever, ever leave us. His overwhelming, all-consuming love for us means that He will always be there. When we have this mindset we are then free from the constraints of this world, we are free to rejoice in our Father, to rest in His presence and be daily overwhelmed by His joy. 


I love the image that Paul Manwaring gives of us, as tuning forks, so that when we can feel the presence of God we can't help but be filled with His joy. This makes me ask the question, how can I be more tuned into His presence? How can I fine-tune myself so that I can have more of this joy and feel more of His presence? 

Breaking the Chains

I was listening a live version of "Break Every Chain" by United Pursuit Band, and I was just moved by the presence of God in this song. But what blew me away at the end was this short prayer right at the end of the song. I decided to transcribe it because I thought it was just an incredible prayer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mohyR5xowFw

"Lord... I just praise you tonight because, Father, it's... it's like a yes or no. Whether that we can see our lives, whether we can see a freedom, Lord. A lightness, a brightness. And Lord, for any here that just don't recognise that there is light, and there is dark. And there is pain and there is suffering, there is depression and there is fear and there is... hopelessness, but there is goodness, there is truth, and there is life and there is joy: abundant and free. God, help us see that's you, that the light is you... that you're interested... you're interested in breaking us free... that you're interested in seeing your light come, right here and right now. That's what you're about Jesus, and help us be about the same thing. Help us be about the same thing. We wanna rise up with you God, we wanna be about the things you're about. We wanna be about life."

There were many things that challenged me in this prayer. The first big thing being whether I myself can see freedom in my life. What is freedom? Freedom in Christ used to always seem like a big paradox to me, as when I was younger, I believed we were never really free with so many rules to follow. I was wrong. Freedom in Christ, means we are free from that guilt and condemnation, that sometimes we may feel when we sin. I'm not saying that its okay to not care whether you sin or not, rather to let it go completely to God so He can restore you to your identity in Christ. When Jesus died, He took all of our sin, and covered us with grace.

The second thing that challenged me was the contrast of light and dark. So often we can wind up thinking about all the bad things in life like pain, suffering, depression, fear and hopelessness. I know I've experienced many of these things within my life, and I ended up in a cycle focusing on negative without any positive. I can tell you now, that isn't a healthy place to be, regardless whether you have faith or not. Fortunately, I had a few good friends help me pull through, and they helped by reminding about the goodness in life. And if you're in that vicious cycle now, send me a message and I'll be open to chat and to pray for you, because I know there is so much good out there.

The last thing got me is that God is interested in us. Just WOW. It blows my mind every time I think about it. God, who created EVERYTHING, is interested in me. And it's the same for you too. Whether you want to believe it or not, God is interested in you and how you feel! That's just incredible, right?

I want to end with Will Reagan's final line. "We wanna be about life." I want to be about that freedom, that joy, and about that goodness, and to spread it everywhere. What do you want to be about?

Hitting The Wall...

Recently, I was on a plane journey flying from Hong Kong back to Heathrow, and as with most long flights, I couldn't sleep. So I decided to flick through the channels and see what films were on. This one film in particular caught my eye, and so I put it on. It was called Run, Fatboy, Run. At this point in the post, you're probably wondering what this film has to do with title... bear with me...

So for those of you who haven't watched it (you should definitely watch it!), its about a guy who always gives up, but then decides to participate in a marathon... About midway through the film, Simon Pegg's character receives some advice about running from his opponent:

"I'm talking about discipline and perseverance. And all cute little comments aside... there comes a point in every race... it could be the fifth mile, it could be the twenty fifth... but, eventually, you're gonna hit... what runners like to call "the wall." And when you do...you won't be able to breathe or think or even move. All you're gonna wanna do is give up." Whit - Run, Fatboy, Run (Warner Bros. 2007)

After hearing this quote, it kind of provoked me into thinking about God, and actually how similar running is to living a life of faith. You can live for God every day, and it doesn't matter how long you've been a Christian, but at some point, you'll probably hit the wall, and just as above quote mentions "you won't be able to breathe or think or even move. All you wanna do is give up." And a lot of people take the easy way out and give up, but what would happen if they didn't?

Throughout my life, I've hit so many walls, and at times, I literally couldn't move on. Walls can be made up of disappointment, hurt, pain and frustration, just to name a few. It isn't easy, but I would like to encourage you all to carry on because the rewards are just so good. I promise you all that it's worth it.

So, what do you do when you hit the wall? Do you give up, or carry on? I know what I'd do.

Life Shapes: Semi-Circle

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." 

John 15:1-8 (NIV)

The words that really jump out at me about this short passage is "Remain in me, as I also remain in you." At first glance, it may seem a bit cryptic, but after thinking about vines and branches literally, the metaphor is revealed.

As the passage explains, a tree may grow to produce fruit for a season, but in order for the tree to produce more fruit for later seasons, the branches that do not bear fruit must be removed, whilst those that do must be cut back to the vinestock (the main branch or branches where other branches grow off.) This means that when it grows back, the branch will be stronger and be able to support more fruit.

Taking the metaphor away, and placing in our lives means that as we spend with God, we may grow in a particular area (healing, patience etc), which will lead to season of fruitfulness such as seeing healings and miracles. And usually, just as we're getting used to this season of incredible things, it can all just suddenly stop. We can pray for things, and healings don't happen, and impatience can return.

At this point, we will probably start to wonder... "what have I done wrong?" and "God has let me down..." I know in the past I have. However, there is another way to look at it. Instead of thinking of it as a bad thing, think of it as a prompt to spend abide in God. As you begin to rest in God, the cycle starts again, and you will start to grow again.

It is so important to understand this rhythm of life, in order to grow more, and to see an increase in fruit.