A word from Yahshua

Sometimes the Lord speaks to his people very directly, in fact he does this often though we may not hear unless we are listening expectantly. Nonetheless, when we do listen he often speaks, and usually it takes the form of encouragement or guidance.

During a meeting on 23rd October Dot shared something he'd said to her back in the summer. These encouraging words are about trusting him and following him even when we don't know where he might lead us. But we know that he loves us and his plans for us are always the best.

Word - Clouds & Sky

The clouds are rolling by, some seem faster than others, some seem brighter than others, some are really dark but there.... see it?... there.... over there...Yes ....it’s a clearing..... a peep of blue... the sky poking through...... see it?

Yes I know it all seems bleak, unsure, unsettling... you don’t know the way....you’re not sure what’s happening.....but I know....I know the way for I am the way.....I will take you by the hand and lead you if you let me.....I will take you by the way that is right...but you need to take hold of my hand and let me lead even if it looks bad, the wrong way.... that you don’t understand what’s happening.... RELAX...I’m Ya Dad...

I won’t let you get lost....I know the way... I love you and want to lead you into all that I have for you...There’s Sooooo much..... the world cannot hold it all....my store house is bulging with things I have for you....come take my hand and let me lead you into all that I have for you....I can’t wait...I’m Soooo excited....All these gifts I have for you....all this stuff I want for you.....My heart is bursting with joy and love and expectancy....will you come?....

Will you take my hand and let me lead you?....wherever?....whenever?.... whatever?....however?.....My hand is outstretched towards you.......waiting....waiting for your response...........

Written while at the New Frontiers camp at Shuttleworth, 2009. Thanks to Dot for permission to use her text. Copyright © Dot Lundie, 2009.

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The prodigal's older brother

A couple of days ago I added a message to a thread on the Koinonia Life Discussion Forum. After writing what I had to say (two short paragraphs) I found the Holy Spirit prompting me to continue.

Perhaps you'd like to see it too.

This is what he gave me...

Q - How should we live our lives if we really, really want to honour [the Almighty]? What does he want from us? He rescued us and brought us into the light for a reason. What is that reason? In other words, what does he lack that he wants from us? Does he lack anything? If he already has everything, what can we add?

A - Remember, this is my personal answer. Yours will be different, though all are valid because they are specific to where we are on our particular journey with the Lord.

For me, then, I'd have to say that he wants me to love him with everything that is in me. I think that is basically all he wants, if I do that one thing all the rest will follow day by day. It's not that he lacks anything, just that he loves me like the Father of the prodigal loved his son.

I am so like the prodigal son! The son didn't go home because he loved his father, he went home because he knew he wouldn't starve or die of exposure as his father's worker. He went home because he knew his father was a good person who cared about those under him. He knew that in his father's domain he'd be safe. And he expected nothing more than that.

He left home because he wanted to do things his own way, he wanted to be independent (he sinned). He came home again because he realised how much better that would be (he was convicted and changed his direction). But then he got a big surprise.

When he came close to home (not even there yet) his father came out to meet him and threw his arms around him and kissed him. And a feast was ordered, and new clothes, and a gold ring, and sandals, and a joyful reception as 'my son who was lost and is now found'. Does that sound familiar? It should!

I went to the Father for safety and rescue from death, but I found absolute love and favour as his son. Totally undeserved and totally unexpected.

And now I'm discovering what all prodigal sons and daughters discover. My Father has more for me than mere rescue. His own heart is leaping for joy at my arriving - even before I get to the door. He came out to meet me with a huge beaming grin, a giant hug, and a clean cloak of the finest fabric. He's forgotten the foolish misdeeds of my independent heart, the past is of no interest to him, the only thing he seems to care about is that I am here again - home.

I am not a servant, I am a son! How many believers labour all their lives under the impression they are only paid servants? The thinking goes, 'If I work hard evangelising, preaching, teaching kids, reading the Bible every day, praying regularly and fervently, growing the church, never resting - then I will be rewarded'. But Papa says, 'You are my son, what you have is not earned but inherited. I want your love first: your obedience will follow not because I pay you wages but because you love me.'

He loves me, he always did and (like Wendy Francisco's dog) he is glad I'm back.

If I want to really honour him I will love him back with all of my heart, not just when it suits me but also when it goes against what I want or would naturally choose. I need to stay so close that I hear his voice minute by minute saying, 'This is the way, walk in it'.

And have you ever thought that Jesus is like the older brother? Does that come as a shock? Why would I even say that?

Look at it like this. Jesus is our older brother, he is the firstborn - right? But he didn't behave like the older brother in the story, did he? Instead, he travelled to the country far away from his home, he searched until he found the muddy field where the herd of pigs were eating and discovered his younger brother who was ready to eat pig food because he was starving.

And our older brother not only paid the price for our sin, but he also came and found us and said, 'Come on home, you have wasted your share of the inheritance but half of Dad's infinite supply is still an infinite supply. I will share my portion of everything with you. Come on home, Dad is pacing up and down waiting for us. His heart will leap with joy when he sees you. Leave the pigs, come on home. You are not only forgiven, you are also loved and missed. Come home.

Jesus is the older brother, but with compassion and the same love as the Father. And that's the difference that he wants us to understand. The older brother in the story had no grace, but our older brother IS grace!

So what can I do to honour Papa and my Older Brother? Nothing. Except for one little thing - love Dad with everything that is in me, and love those around me like I love myself. Isn't that what Yahshua said to do? Isn't that exactly what he himself does? He loves his Dad and he loves us. So follow his example. That's all - no paid work! Just love.

Grace and peace to all, from the Father and the Son!

Chris

PS - So why did Jesus describe the older brother the way he did? I think there are several reasons, including the usual interpretations that are given about the superior way we sometimes treat others, including the way the Jews often viewed the Gentiles 2000 years ago, and the way the church often views Judaism today. Father, forgive us! But perhaps he also wants us to see that he doesn't treat us the way we are used to being treated. Perhaps he's saying, 'Hey, that's an ordinary, worldly brother. But I'm not like that brother'.

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We don't need no more trouble

I'm reposting this You Tube video which I first saw on Kent Burgess's Faithfully Dangerous blog.

It's a lovely, laid-back piece of music from 'Playing for Change' with artists from all over the globe. It has a gentle but insistent theme. Everywhere is war. Some dying, some crying. We don't need no more trouble. What we need is love. Beautiful!

While we're on the subject of peace, for some extraordinary stories of reconciliation at work, read Julia Fisher's book 'Israel: the Mystery of Peace'.

And finally, back to the music. If you haven't already heard it, here it is...

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Testing Google Wave

I had an invitation from Google to join their Wave preview, and very nice it is too. I invited the limited number of friends I'm allowed and started waving with them, and we did a lot of the instant messaging things that I imagine most people will begin with.

But then I wondered how Wave would work in 'email' mode. The text that follows is copied straight from the Google Wave interface and pasted here. It explains some interesting thoughts that came to me as I wrote my first extended item in Wave.

Note: The 'wave address' in the footer won't work with Wave. It's just represented as an email address. I have no idea how Google will arrange mail to wave connections. But I'm confident that Google has already thought this through, at least in principle.

Using Wave like email - 9:25 am

Hi everyone,

This is my first attempt at using Wave in an email-like fashion. So far we've done quite a bit of instant-message-style waving, but I have a sense that the email approach will feel very different.

Thinking about it all while making the morning cuppa for me and Donna I could see that 'email' would be different (some of my best ideas pop into my head in embryo form at the kitchen sink or weeding the garden or emptying the cat's litter tray).

For one thing it answers a question we'd already pondered. Why have Google given us @googlewave.com addresses, why not use @gmail? Well, I think the answer may simply be that if Wave did have IMAP, SMTP and POP extensions, the new addresses would allow outsiders to email us and the mail would appear in our inboxes as a blip (albeit a large one like the one I'm typing now). And we could send a long blip to a non-Wave address and have it delivered via the SMTP extension. This makes a lot of sense to me. I hope they enable it quite soon, it would make it possible for a user to move entirely from email to Wave.

What other thoughts occur to you guys about the email 'mode'. I think the entire approach of wave is very clever, that a single system can be used in so many different ways. A real breakthrough. And it is probably going to be one of those disruptive innovations that we'll all take for granted in the end. A real brainwave on Google's part to make it both open and extensible and to offer their own client and server code free to everyone to run on their own hardware as well.

One other observation. When I created this wave I just closed the box that lets you select contacts for the wave. So I'm alone in this blip as I type it. When it's finished I'll drag in the contacts I want to send it to. That makes it feel even more email-like.

And I used the first blip as the title with this large, second one as the body. It works well like this.

What do you guys think?

Chris

PS - For fun I cut and pasted my email footer below. Then I added my wave address and made my mail address into a link. It seems so 'normal' like that. And anyone could add a wave address to a real email footer so wavers could click it. Excellent.

PPS - I just found a typo and fixed it - and then added this PPS. You can't do THAT in email!

'Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.' - Winston Churchill (http://quote.scilla.org.uk)

Chris Jefferies (St Neots, UK)
Wave: chris.jefferies@googlewave.com
E-mail: chris@scilla.org.uk
Web: http://chris.scilla.org.uk/

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Electric car - Better Place video

The company that just might get electric vehicles on the road in a major way, 'Better Place', has released a video showing the system in action.



With Israel, Denmark, and Australia rolling out the scheme, and with both Nissan and Renault on board to manufacture the cars, it seems this idea may well be starting to get some traction - (pun intended :-)

See also my earlier blog entry about this system and the guy behind it, Shai Agassi.

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