INTRODUCTION
It is undeniably clear that we are rapidly reaching the consummation of the ages. We are undoubtedly in the last days.
This is a time in history where we as the church, can and must carry forward the very heartbeat of the Father in whatever small or big way that might be. We all have a part to play, a part that was pre-ordained by God himself before the foundations of this world. The scripts were written, the steps to be walked, ordered and now is the time on God’s heavenly calendar for you and I to step into our roles. Of course, the role to be played is to be exactly who we are, expressing His love through our lives and sharing our stories with a broken world of how the Father has impacted us with His love and grace. Jesus spent three and a half years manifesting the Father. He came with a purpose and part of that purpose was to make the Father known, to bring Him out from the shadows and to declare His love, goodness, grace and favour upon a broken, hurting and worn out generation. Our purpose is no different to that of Jesus. We too must make the Father known and declare what a good Father He is.
We are living in tumultuous times where our world is hurting, broken, angry, confused, tired of systems that don’t work, governments that are corrupt and a religious order that has kept man in the slave market of having to prove his worth, earn acceptance with man and God, perform to a list of rules and regulations, and then made to feel guilty when he fails.
In Matthew 11: 28-30 in the Message translation, Jesus said, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
I love how this verse talks about the “unforced rhythms of grace”, and that is exactly how His grace is – “unforced!” His grace is effortless, easy and light where religion is forced and that is when it becomes a burden and a heavy load because it doesn’t flow peacefully from your heart. It becomes something you feel pressurised to do in order to be right with God, opposed to doing something you really want to do as a result of knowing that you are right with God.
We, as the current generation, are living in a time where we get to share His grace like never before and see a generation sigh a huge sigh of relief like the generation Jesus addressed and embraced at the time when He walked on this earth. I am certain they sighed with huge sighs of relief and joy simultaneously at witnessing the grace and truth He manifested – I can just hear the sighs of relief as I write. Don’t you want to see a generation come into His rest of safety and love, to see them nestle down like a baby bird under the warmth of its mother’s feathery wings and know that they are loved and accepted by a living, loving God where there isn’t a thing on this green earth or in His entire universe that can remove them from His love and for them to know that with no uncertain terms?
The church generation on this earth right now is not the generation of the Pentecostal church – the birth of the church, but you and I are the generation of the end-time church and we are the privileged ones who get to play a part on God’s stage and quite possibly see the greatest harvest ever come into the Kingdom of God. What an awesome thought and this is why the message we convey whether it is in word or deed, needs to be the right message!
For part of our ten years in the Middle East, the Holy Spirit led us to plant, shepherd and lead a church. Looking back now, I would certainly say that it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, scary at times, but exciting, exhilarating and definitely rewarding. I would not trade the experience for anything in the world. I am grateful to Jesus every day of my life for allowing us to be vessels for His love to flow through, to see Jesus touch and bring transformation to so many cultures, tribes and tongues. Thank you Jesus! We were resolved to preach a message that would result in transformed lives and the message that accomplished exactly that, was the message of His love and grace. This is why I know it is the right message – we saw many come to the knowledge of this truth and it was this truth that set them free.
It has been over this past year that the Lord dropped into my heart to start this blog. The blog, I believe, is now my new pulpit! I really had to LOL (laugh out loud) as I am by no means the Facebook, Twitter, social media type of person. My family will tell you that I am one of those technically challenged people, so to do a blog is most certainly out of my comfort zone. However, I know my Father and this is exactly the kind of thing He does – He will encourage us to do things that are beyond our comfort zones, but it is up to us if we are going to step into what He calls us to do. Papa God never forces us, He only encourages and gently drops the things He desires for us into our hearts. It’s up to us to decide what we are going to do with the call. Whether we step into it or not, I believe His blessing still remains on our lives. Isn’t He an AMAZING GOD! Therefore, I dedicate this blog to the love of my life, Jesus – the author, finisher and perfecter of my faith. The One who has never left me nor forsaken me and has continually taught me to trust Him and never to lean on my own understanding. The One who started a good work in me and will be faithful to complete it. My entire heart’s desire is to bring Him glory through my life. The intention and my prayer in writing this blog is to prayerfully touch the hearts of whoever reads it, showcasing the relentless love of our Father in heaven and to come to the knowledge and wonder of His person. It is my hope that the curse of religion will be broken off lives and many will break forth with new songs of joy which the true freedom we have in knowing Jesus personally and intimately brings. I believe that as you grow in the knowledge of Him, your eyes will start to sparkle with the love of Jesus and the corners of your mouth will turn upwards in a smile of adoration at the mention of His Name.
I also dedicate this blog to the second love of my life, my husband Simon, who always encourages me and reminds me that ALL things are possible with God. I bless you and love you with all of my heart.
For many bloggers it becomes about the “numbers” of how many will follow their blogs, but really it isn’t about the numbers, but rather the number of transformed lives. It is about the quality of what we have in Christ which is so rich, so deep and so transforming. The freedom we experience at a heart level is really inexpressible and it is exactly that which pivots us effortlessly into a deeper, meaningful relationship with Him and empowers us to go beyond anything we ever imagined or thought for our lives.
This blog is about the message, the message of grace and faith, the message of God’s love and goodness. Contrary to the thoughts of many out there in the Body of Christ, I believe that it is this message that will collectively bring multitudes into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, as well as see the return of many prodigals.
Grace is not a new message. Grace is not a teaching that stands on its own, like a teaching on prosperity or a teaching on healing. No, grace is THE teaching because whatever we teach, we teach it through the lens of His grace. His grace is as old as the bible itself and has always been who God is, a God of grace and mercy! Grace is a person and His wonderful name Is JESUS!
Throughout history, I believe that every time someone arose on the scene with a profound revelation of this message of His grace, the enemy strategically managed to minimize it or snuff it out, because he knew it was the very revelation that would bring liberty in Christ upon the church. It was the very thing that would give rise to a church that understood their identity, their authority and hence give rise to purpose and destiny as well as empower the children of God to move beyond their natural human abilities into the supernatural. The enemy is afraid of Grace because he knows how powerful it is and a church without the heart knowledge of Grace will remain weak, beggarly and even dead, just the way Satan likes it. But, no more – I believe we have reached a God-ordained time in church history where this message is for such a time as this. A brave and courageous generation are arising and proclaiming this message with power – PRAISE GOD! I believe it is THE message of the end time church.
Romans 1: 16-17 (KJV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.
Read on: LOVER OR WORKER?
