Hello and Happy New Year to you all! I trust that you have entered 2010 with great expectations of what the Lord will do this year. I also trust that you have had the traditional round of new year's resolutions to keep you busy?

All of us from the GFA office gathered at the Thrasher house to pray-in our new year.

We started off by a having a meal and then watching a film together, before going into a time of worship and seeking the Lord. Brian gave a teaching on love, and a lot of it really hit home with me. I see my tendency to put "love" on a shelf, to anaylse it and work out how it works, but then to fail to put it into action. I also see that I find it much easier for me to pray for the salvation of an entire nation, rather for just one person in that nation. It is so much easier to pray for the generic, faceless "multitudes" rather than the personal and human individual. It's funny how I can I hear a teaching and realise something about myself, and then say "wow... all this time I had been missing something... how did I not see it, it's so clear... how on earth did I get here?" I would have carried on blind had the Lord not revealed it to me, and I pray that he continues to show me such blindspots and that he would give me the courage to overcome them!


As the clock swayed from one year into the next we prayed for the Lord to help us re-surrender ourselves as we commenced the new year.



As I saw things within me which I was uncomfortable letting go of I felt that I was better understanding the meaning of surrender; in that true surrender is inevitably costly, and requires faith.


Finally we spent some time writing on a board the things we wanted to give thanks to the Lord for - we needed a big board! We brought up personal things and things pertaining to the ministry. It really is encouraging to look back at just bask in the sunlight of the Lord's goodness, and it really is fitting to give Him praise and thanks for all that He has done. Some of the funds donated through our office in 2009 helped to provide:-

491 fully supported missionaries
880 places in Bridge of Hope centres
65,000 New Testaments supplied
408 missionaries with a bicycle
20 church buildings in Asia
137 missionaries with winter clothing
637 pairs of chickens
344 pairs of rabbits
20 cows
6 water buffalos
740 blankets
48 sewing machines
27 rickshaws

We pray that the giving of these gifts would enable lost people in Asia to learn about Christ's love for them. We give thanks for how the Lord has allowed to serve Him this past year, and look forward to seeing what He will do this coming year.

Mark 9:24; Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

Tiffany Rozek was talking to me the other day about “anchor verses”, verses you return to in times of difficulty, doubt and spiritual warfare (which you often find rolled into one!). I thought about what mine were and I returned to this verse in Mark chapter 9, which has been a comfort to me since I began walking with the Lord.

In this scene Jesus returns down from the mountain after glowing with Moses and Elijah, to find his disciples at odds with the scribes (again) and it turns out they were unable to cast out a mute spirit. The father of the unfortunate boy asks Jesus to help them, and Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." [Mark 9:23]. The challenge is simple; do you believe? I personally am a doubting Thomas, I have very little faith and often question myself, my calling, and even my salvation. I know that all I need is the faith of a mustard seed, but what if I have even messed that up? This cry from the boys father is something that I feel like I need to cry almost every day; "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Lord I doubt, Lord I am faithless, Lord I can't see past my circumstances.

What was the answer in this case? The father asked Jesus to heal his son, Jesus said “if you can believe”, the father said “well I do and I don't, please help me with this”, what was Jesus' response? He healed his son! He did as the father asked Him to! He met the father where he was in his faith, and hearkened unto his desperate prayer. He did not forsake him for his weak faith. Neither does the Lord forsake us for our weakness, even in this. He understands our humanity, for He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust. [Psalms 103:14].

The end is nigh!

Hi all!

Work has asked for an exact date for my departure! I asked my manager for a night to pray before giving this as I still don't have my 60 prayer soldiers, or anywhere near the £1,200 a month I am aiming for, and I am still a bit sketchy about where I'll be staying! The Lord knows :-)

I want to leave plenty of time after I have left work for leaving preparations, hand-overs, and getting rid of unneeded junk. I aim to take the train and be fairly mobile once in York, so I want to travel as light as possible.

All I have on my mind is clothes, toothbrush, bible, laptop. I'll be leaving the car 'cos it costs to run, I doubt I'll need the guitar straight away, the printer is fragile and bulky, I never listen to those CDs anyway, and I haven't touched those books for ages. I'll be praying about what to give to who, and what to throw away! Mum will have the printer and speakers back. What am I going to do with all that stuff in the loft??

Had the second part of the root canal yesterday. There wasn't supposed to be a third but my dentist doesn't want to fill it up yet in case it's still a little infected. The third part will be Mon 23rd Feb so I guess I won't be leaving before then! In this x-ray you can see the thin test strip of filling material, when it was up my tooth and protruding out it felt like I had a paper clip stuck in my tooth!

Just want to share what I saw in my quiet time a few days ago:-

Ezekiel 33:11 "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"

I read that and thought, who are the wicked?

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God..."

John 3:18 "...but he that believeth not
is condemned already..."

It's easy for me to meet a really nice person who is really moral, kind to others, works hard and is really humble..., and think, now this person can't possibly deserve to go to hell, can they? Or to imagine those living in the Third World who have led hard lives, living in poverty, in slums, going without food, water, clothing, shelter, education, medicine..., and think, now they can't possibly deserve to go to hell, can they? What could they have done? The Bible says that all have sinned, all have been brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin, our default position is condemned, we start off as wicked enemies of God. However (such a wonderful word!) God has no pleasure in the death, even of the wicked! He desires that they turn to Him, and this is how He achieves that:-

Ezekiel 33:7-8 "So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand."

A watchman. Someone who knows the about the judgement to come, surrounded by and responsible for people who are not aware of it and who will perish unless the watchman warns them to repent. That's me. If you are born again that's you too. It's also the 16,500 missionaries that Gospel For Asia has sent out into the harvest fields, but time is running short, the labourers are few, much of the harvest is going to waste. Pray the Lord of the harvest that He would send labourers into the harvest, and pray that He would send you too! Pray for the lost, pray for your families, pray for your friends, pray for your enemies, pray for your work mates who you see everyday. And pray like their lives depended on it!

Just one last and rather random thing. I was reading this chapter round about the time I was recording video of myself singing praise songs and uploading them onto YouTube, with the intention of directing Christians to read my blog.

It was taking more time than I had at first thought, yet yielded little result, and I questioned whether I was doing it for God and His purposes or just my own vanity and entertainment. It was then that I got to this verse in my reading:-

Ezekiel 33:32 "And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not."

I was so surprised! It seemed like God had inspired that verse all those millennia ago with me this very day in my bedroom in mind. Which I guess, when I think about it, is exactly the case!

Thanks again for reading!

JP

Sharing My Secret Place

I read Ezekiel 24 this morning in my quiet time and this section really struck me, and I want to share it with you guys:-

Ezekiel 24:15-18; Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, “Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.” So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

The Lord tells Ezekiel that He is going to take away that which he holds most dear – his wife. He also commands him not to mourn or bear any signs of grief, and Ezekiel does as he is commanded.

I remembered that in “Christ's Call” KP Yohannan mentions a missionary who leaves his job, takes his wife and children and moves into the disease and poverty stricken slums to live and witness there. I remembered thinking that maybe by the grace of God I might be able to bring myself to do that one day, to completely disregard my own life for the sake of the Gospel. Just maybe. One day. But my wife and children?? I seriously doubt it! Yet these verses show a man who accepted even the loss of his most beloved for the fulfilment of God's sovereign purposes, which are greater even than mortal life and death. Nothing was dearer to him than obedience to the Lord.

In this case the purpose is given in verse 24:-

Ezekiel 24:24; “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”

...what happened to Ezekiel was to be a sign to the house of Israel, a message, that they would know that it was the Lord God at work. We too are meant to be signs, messengers, and our greatest goal should be that people come to know the Lord God, the Lord Jesus who loved us and gave His life for us... and for them.

I personally believe that Ezekiel's wife would have been an Old Testament believer, and that today they are with the Lord, fellowshipping in His glory! And I believe that Ezekiel knew and trusted that this would be the case. I am sealed with the holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of my inheritance and one day I also will be with the Lord in glory. Could there possibly be too great a price for me to take someone there with me?

Luke 18:28-30; Then Peter said, “Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.” And he said unto them, “Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”

When thou saidst "Seek ye my face"... Psalms 27:8

I had been listening to Gospel For Asia's core value teachings and something that KP said really convicted me. He said every member of staff must be consistently in the word, have a systematic method of reading through the Bible, NOT just reading now and then when tempted or sinning, reading lots one day and none the next, no! They must have a STEADY devotional life. I shamefully have to admit that I am falling short in this area, and KP affirms that without this consistency with the Lord no staff member will make it.

I went with Dave Jones to visit a good friend of his called Karl, a wonderful brother in the Lord who is unable to get about much. I had never met the man but we had a great time of fellowship, friendship, and food! I had neglected to bring my Bible :-O so Karl offered me one – a King James wide margin study Bible. It was beautiful – and it was a spare! He offered it to me, on the condition that I would actually use it as it was meant to be used. He didn't want me to take it if I didn't think I would. This was interesting, the Lord and I both know that I hate responsibility and making commitments, I much prefer when someone gives me something regardless of whether or not I will get around to using it, so that there is no pressure. This wasn't like that. I could almost perceive the Lord asking me if I wanted to take this Bible devotion stuff seriously, instead of doing it “when I had time” or “when I felt like it”.

I said yes! So far the Lord has enabled me to beat my body into subjection and get up around 7am (I need a lot of sleep ok?!?) to have some regular quiet time. I am in Ezekiel which is really tripping me out, though I think I found the Lord in chapter 9! Please pray that the Lord has His hand heavy upon me to seek His face early every morning. I cannot build unless the foundation is set. Thanks guys!

...my heart said unto thee "Thy face LORD will I seek" Psalm 27:8