adventure # 12: angels all around

Hello dear friends and fellow adventurers

I've been promising you that I will share my encounters with angels with you - and I am finally delivering. Today's post and video is part 1 in a 3-part series all about angels. The first two posts and videos focus on my personal experiences with angels and the 3rd post and video is an in-depth Biblical study on angels.

So here are my suggestions for how we can immerse ourselves in the topic of angels this week.

Monday

Watch the video. Here it is for your convenience.

Tuesday

Read Chapter 17 of my book. It is here that I detail the intervention that my angels created for me.  

Wednesday

Meditate on the following Scripture and give thanks to God for what it is saying. 

Psalm 91:11-12

“For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” -Psalm 91:11-12

God offers His pure and selfless love through the use of His angels. According to the psalmist, God commands many angels to guard us. God commands those faithful spirits who are nearest to Him, who come from Him and are marked by Him to guard us in all our ways. God’s promise through the psalmist to Jesus applies to us as well.

Thursday

Meditate on this Scripture today and give thanks to God for what it is saying. 

Matthew 18:10

“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my Heavenly Father.” -Matthew 18:10

This is one of the key passages in the Bible regarding guardian angels. There is no doubt that good angels help protect us. They also reveal information and minister to believers in general. The big question for many people is whether each person is assigned a guardian angel. While Scripture nowhere states that an angel is assigned to every individual, we know that we are in the presence of angels, and they are here for good.

Friday

You are surely aware that Jews gather with their family and friends on a Friday evening for Shabbat. Listen to these two versions of a favourite Shabbat song, in which the angels are acknowledged and welcomes. Let me know in the Comments below which version you prefer. 

Saturday

Just go out into Nature and enjoy God's good provision, knowing that angels are all around to guard you and minister to you according to God's perfect will. 

Sunday

Go to church - its the one place you are assured of being in the presence of the Lord's good angels! 

In next Monday's video, I continue my explanation of my angelic encounters..so I do hope you'll keep a lookout for that. Until then..Avante! 

adventure # 11: Jesus knows your birthday

Hello dear friends and fellow adventurers

Today is my birthday and I'm up before dawn to catch a super-early flight to Johannesburg to go and join my husband who is currently ministering up there.  For once, if the weather reports are anything to go by, its cooler in Johannesburg than Cape Town so I'm decked out in a knit dress and boots. Autumn is here and I couldn't be happier. I'm so happy in fact that I'm busy putting together a short video series called Winterise that's designed to help us prep for winter in a way that's fun, chic and meaningful. I'll let you know when its ready for viewing.

I decided to craft this week's adventure around birthdays because not only is today my birthday but birthdays feature quite a lot in my book, Brighter Than The Noonday Sun. I got my first Bible for my 8th birthday because of a suggestion from the Lord; my first real rebellion against God was incited by the prospect of my 10th birthday and I experienced a mind-blowing translocation, coupled with a Heavenly visit, just before my 21st birthday. I'd never really thought very deeply about all those 'birthday' incidents before..but as I prepared for this week's adventure the Lord opened my mind and spirit to comprehend something of what it means that Heaven knows when my birthday is..and Heaven knows when your birthday is too.

It's actually deeply significant and I think this is going to be a fascinating adventure. Here are my suggestions for how we can explore this topic further during the rest of the week.

Monday

Watch the video. Here it is for your convenience. 

Tuesday

Re-read the chapters in my book that relate to birthdays. They are Chapters 7, 8 and Chapter 17. 

Wednesday

When is your birthday? Spend some time today with the Lord contemplating the fact that He knows when your birthday is. Allow Him to speak to you about that. Really allow Him time to minister to you and explain more to you. I would think that journaling would be a helpful method to use to explore this with the Lord. 

Thursday

Below is a very good exposition of the interaction that occurs between Heaven and Earth. Have a read and let me know what you think. Anything there you don't agree with?

interaction between Heaven and Earth

Friday

Enjoy this song and allow it to minister to you. 

Saturday

Spend some time today meditating upon the Scripture below. 

Psalm 139:1-6
Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me. 6 This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it. 

Sunday

Go to church. This is one of the primary places where Heaven and Earth interact. 

Until next time,

Avante!

adventure #10: the Jesus I met pt 3

Hello dear friends and fellow adventurers

This is part 3 of the mini-series I started a couple of weeks back, The Jesus I Met. It's all about Jesus who is The Life. And how fitting that we should consider this as we approach the Easter weekend and remember how The Life died, and then was raised again. And because its the lead-up to Easter, I'm going to be doing something I do every year at this time - and I invite you to join me. I wake up about half an hour earlier than usual for a special time of dedicated devotion to Jesus. In that time, I reflect back on my life and on the great need I had for rescue and I thank the Lord for his sacrifice for me. I also take communion every morning. It's always a deeply meaningful and precious time.

Monday

Enjoy your morning time of reflection, thanksgiving and communion. Watch this week's video. Here it is for your convenience.

Tuesday

Enjoy your morning time of reflection, thanksgiving and communion. Now continue with today's suggested activity. I promised you a photo of myself at the age when I was going in and out of Heaven frequently and greatly influenced by the love of God - and here it is!

It's hard to believe that a child that young could have been engaging in serious conversations with the Almighty God! Never underestimate a child. I want you to spend some time today remembering when you were a child, around the age that I am in these photos, that is, 7 or 8 years old. Do you remember having any encounters with God? Or any deep thoughts or feelings about Him? Ask Him to tell you about His memories of you as a child. Share with us.

Wednesday

Enjoy your morning time of thanksgiving, devotion and communion. Perhaps you'd like to incorporate this song into that time. I have no words for this incredible song, performed by one of my favourite Christian musicians and song-writers, Steve Camp. It speaks so eloquently of Jesus being the way and the life..I share it with you in the hopes that it will open your spirit to worship in the same that it does mine.

Thursday

Enjoy your morning time of thanksgiving, devotion and communion. Click on the link below for a exhaustive list of 'life-giving' Scriptures. 

The source of life

Friday

Enjoy your morning time of thanksgiving, devotion and communion. Allow this brilliant spoken word piece to minister to you.

Saturday

"Friday was death, Sunday was hope, but Saturday was that seemingly ignored middle day between them when God occupied a dirty grave in a little garden outside Jerusalem. Saturday is about waiting, about uncertainty, about not knowing what’ll happen. Saturday is ambiguity. It’s about, as one theologian put it, “muddling through” when the future isn’t clear." Continue reading this gritty piece by A J Swoboda by clicking on the link below. 

Awkward Saturday

Sunday 

Go to church and spread the news - Christo Anasti (Christ is Risen) to which you should reply Allythos Anasti! (He is Risen indeed). Yes truly, He is risen. 

Until next time, 

Avante! 

adventure #9: the Jesus I met pt 2

Hello dear friends and fellow adventurers

Its a beautifully cloudy morning as I write. In the past, a blue, sunny sky would have lifted my spirits but here in the Cape, we're praying for rain to fill our dams and end the water crisis, so these days we get happy when we see clouds. Clouds are a sign that rain may follow. What signs do you have at the moment in your life, suggesting to you that something that may follow? Have you received the substance of faith for something that has not yet manifested in the natural? Have you heard a word from God about your future that you haven't yet seen transpire? Even if you are currently in a crisis of health or faith or you're in a dark and lonely and frightening place, I want to remind you of something.

This is not just an annoying platitude or empty words. God really is good and powerful enough to ensure that everything that you go through is worked into your life, like a piece of stray wool in a tapestry, to later form part of a beautiful picture. Take heart and confirm your trust in your God today.

The Jesus I Met

I'm continuing the mini-series I started last week on the Jesus I met. For me its the most significant part of my story and I LOVE to spend time with people describing what Jesus was really like when I met him. He is the most mysterious person in the Universe. There's a sense in which he is so familiar, so like us..and yet, you can never really get a handle on him because just as soon as you do, he presents another side of himself that is mind-blowing and totally 'other'. Do we forget sometimes that although Jesus is a man, he is also God? Enjoy this week's adventure. 

Monday

Watch this week's video. Here it is for your convenience.

Tuesday

Re-read Chapter 24 of my book Brighter Than The Noonday Sun. It was during this encounter that I discovered that truth is a Person. The whole chapter is about truth. Seeing the truth of who I was - a sinner. Seeing the truth of who God was - Jesus. Seeing the truth about my situation. Seeing the truth about forgiveness. The truth is not easy to see and confront..but without it, we are lost. Our whole world is shrouded in deception, pray today that God would grace you with a vision of the truth. 

Wednesday

Is there a truth that you are unwilling to confront? Even if you're afraid to admit to any other person, share this with the Lord today. He wants to be part of every area of your life and he can help you with every area of your life.

Thursday

If you watched the video, you'll remember that I said that one of the reasons why its amazing to spend time with Jesus is because he only speaks truth - and we don't hear that in this world. Truth has a quality that is totally different from anything we hear here on Earth. Today we're going to practice speaking only the truth, well, that is, telling NO lies. Not even tiny little white lies. Good luck! I'd love to hear about your experiences with that. 

Friday

Read John 18: 38. Spend some time connecting with God through this simple, yet profound, song. 

Saturday

I'm not usually a huge fan of John MacArthur (for various reasons I won't go into here) but I believe in giving credit where credit is due..and on this subject, the subject of holding to the truth, he has no equal. I've attached below the link to a talk and article based on one of John MacArthur's books, that I think is an enriching and worthwhile read...so go for it. 

Jesus, King of Truth

Sunday

Go to church. You'll see some shards of light and hear some nuggets of truth. And we all need as much truth as we can get - its in short supply.

Until next time..Avante!