Murre birds @ Yaquina lighthouse, Oregon

Originally uploaded by bhojman

On a recent trip to the US my friends in Oregon took me down to the coast. It was a great day! We visited the Yaquina lighthouse, climbed the stairs to the light at the top, and after panting our hearts out enjoyed the views all around.
On the rocks in front of the the lighthouse the Murre birds were nesting. There were so many of them! There was hardly space for more… high density living! They come each year to nest and the rest of the time they are at sea.
A pretty incredible sight!
How does this relate to healing prayer? Not obviously you may think. However, God knows every single one of these densely packed birds. Not one of them falls into the sea but that God doesn’t know about it (Matthew 10:29). These may seem insignificant to us in the great scheme of things, but to God they are significant and precious.
If that’s the case then in God’s eyes, we too are significant, no one is insignificant! Ahh, that we would really get it.

“…I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16 NKJV

Just because you don’t recognise the path you’re on doesn’t mean that God’s not leading you. So get to know God – He’ll be there for you. He’ll be there when everybody and everything else has failed you. He’ll be there for you in the dark places.

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

My very dear friend Paulette Hopple died on Thursday morning. It was sudden, yet not unexpected. For 20 years she’d had a death sentence over her because of a rare form of scleroderma which had attacked her lungs. Through much prayer God gave her more strength, vim and vigour than most of us without any disease. She was someone who never did anything by halves… it was always full on.
I’ve always been impressed with her keen interest in people, and no matter who they were she wanted to know them, was concerned for them and wanted to encourage them in whatever way she could. I remember on a visit with her earlier this year in Mae Sai. She would always speak with the beggars who’d come across from Burma; she wanted to know who they were, what language they spoke and what were the circumstances of their life that had brought them to begging. Invariably she would give them some money or pay for a good meal for them. I found this care about people to be quite overwhelming.
She had been serving God in Asia. While on a 6 week trip for language data collection and a literacy workshop she experienced increasing difficulty with breathlessness at the slightest exertion. She knew it was bad but did not stop until completing the literacy workshop in which training was given to speakers of the ethnic language with whom she worked. These folk were being trained to be literacy teachers for their own people in their own language. After this her breathing become more laboured and she ended up in hospital. Her heart was unable to oxygenate her blood and gave out just after midnight December 18.
I miss her, and will continue to do. She was a good friend to me. We’ve been friends since being in grad school together in the mid 70’s, so it’s been a long blessing.
All her friends and colleagues around the world are in shock, and feeling deeply the effects of sudden loss. Though it seems as if her life was cut short, it wasn’t. It was God’s time for her. It might not suit us, or make sense to us, but it was definitely God’s time.
This mornming I was reading John 14:1-3 and was impacted afresh by Jesus’ words when he said: “I am going to prepare a place for you … When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” Jesus had finished preparing Paulette’s place and came to get her! Wow! And, I’m sure she was ready to go and knew it was time.
When will our places be ready? Will we be ready to go with Jesus when comes to get us? I pray we will. I pray I will.
Bless you all!

Sign – Drive On Left

Originally uploaded by bhojman

I recently had the chance to drive around the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. Overall it was a very wonderful experience.
Everywhere I went I found these signs reminding people that in Australia we drive on the left. I gather that overseas visitors have had trouble staying on the correct side of the road.. !
As I’ve thought more about it I’ve been struck by the message that comes through. There is a right side of the road and a wrong side. Travelling on the wrong side will result in disaster. The right side will make it possible to arrive safely at our destination.
The same is true for life’s road. Jesus Christ is the right way, travelling along the road with him is going to get us to our destination. Travelling on the wrong side of life will result in disaster.
It bears thinking about!

Tree blossom

Originally uploaded by bhojman

In Spring the trees blossom with a cascade of colours and smells. It’s a delightful time! And especially as everywhere you look there are the signs of new life, and with it new hope.
No matter how dark the path we tread or how deep the river we cross, we will get to another place. What we find when we arrive does depend somewhat on us and the choices we make. I can choose to wallow in a ‘slough of despond’ or I can choose to look for whatever may provide encouragement and hope.
These particular blossoms only last a day or two… yet they have a beautiful fragrance and are attractive to the birds who come and feed on the nectar. They gave me joy just to see them and to see the birds enjoying them.

Mike Evans from Wholeness Ministries has written an article on stress which I would like to include here as part of the stress series. I hope you find it helpful.

Who among us has not experienced stress? Stress at home, in school, on the job, even in church. Perhaps most especially in church.

DEFINITION— Stress: anxiety, nervousness, pressure, depression, sleeplessness. It is uncomfortable, not fun. It manifests itself in the flesh.

I. WHAT CAUSES STRESS.

Stress is a result of conflict in finances, family and job.
False expectations( self-imposed and “others” imposed).
Trust: lack of trust in regards to God, self and others.
Comparisons: envy, jealousy, pride.
Fear, perception of risk in any area of your life.
Wounds or hurts: a result of those things which are done to us by another person or some experience we have been exposed to in the past. These hurts affect us in the present in the form of bad memories, and weak or wounded emotions. This in turn leads us into various forms of sin, depression, a sense of worthlessness and inferiority, unreasoning fears and anxieties as well as psychosomatic illness, etc.

II. WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE STRESS?

FIRST! Realize that our battle is a battle fought in the spiritual realm. Ultimately all that causes stress can be dealt with by knowing and employing some spiritual principles.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

SECOND! Create an environment that will reduce stress.

“Do not worry”- FINANCES,
Matthew 6:25 (NIV) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

“Get rid of…” harmful RELATIONSHIPS
Ephesians 4:31 (NIV) Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

“Wives and Husbands” – FAMILY
Ephesians 5:33 (NIV) However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

“Children and Parents”- FATHERS AND MOTHERS
Ephesians 6:2 (NIV) “Honor your father and mother”–which is the first commandment with a promise”

THIRD! Be willing to accept and deal with the hurts and wounds we’ve all experienced and understand the necessity of giving and receiving forgiveness. Matthew 18:15 (NIV) “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

“Be transformed–renewing of you mind”
Romans 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

“put off the old self and put on Christ”
Ephesians 4:24 (NIV) put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

“Put to death what is earthly in you”
Colossians 3:5 (NIV) Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Just because we are “born again”, our mind, will and emotions are not automatically changed. Transformation is a process where we are dealing with those areas of our life that cause fear, anxiety, depression, etc.

When the Word of God comes and convicts you, how you respond to that can release stress. Submitting to what God wants, will release the stress.

III. WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE HAVE AVAILABLE?
Much of the stress we experience today could be significantly reduced by dealing first of all with the past and then by understanding and accepting who we are in Christ and what that means in terms of practical, everyday living.

Who we are:

Romans 8-Children of God

IJohn 3:1 Children

Eph.2:4-6 Seated with Him

Gal. 1:4 Chosen, Adopted, Sealed

Eph. 2:10 His workmanship

ICor.3:16 A Temple

What we have available.

ICor.1:7 Spiritual Gifts

Eph.6:10 Armor of God

Romans 8:26 Spirit interceding for us.

Romans 8:34 Jesus interceding for us.

2Tim.3:16 Word of God

WE HAVE IDENTITY-POSITION-RELATIONSHIP
We choose the level at which we believe this and live it. That decision will determine the extent of stress in you life and how you deal with that stress.

God wants to help you overcome stress. He has given us the tools to do it. Go and try them out.

Retrieved from: Dr Grant Mullen’s Article Archive
20 October 2007

Stressers
* When control issues at stake – things out of my control => stress
* When have to do something have never done before and don’t know how to do => stress (Tapping into danger of not knowing what/how to do – an old wound?)
* When have too much to do and not enough time to do it => stress

Why have too much to do?

(1) Overcommit?
(2) Unable to say ‘no’?
(3) Tapping into a lie/wound that have to do everything I’m asked to do?
(4) Need for approval which agrees to do too much?
(5) Need for legitimacy or acceptance so take on too much?
(6) Perfectionism ? So believe can and should do it all, etc.

* When find oneself in a position way out of comfort zone => stress
* When find oneself in a position that initially enjoyable but then shifts as added responsibilities come and discover these trigger => stress (- do these tap into old hidden wounds?)

Some of the above inter-relate and there’s probably lots lots more. Looks like a lot of possible sources / possibilities of stress becoming significant in a person’s life.
Result:
– Tiredness, weariness, exhaustion
– Panic attacks
– Depression
– Physical ailment such as arthritis, asthma, allergic reactions, mysterious aches and pains, ulcers, susceptibility to infection, etc.
– Psychosomatic ailments
– Sleeplessness or restless sleep