CAMPING ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER JORDAN

You see, it's all about “Finding your Purpose and Running with Passion”!!
(Another article that I will publish, when I feel more comfortable to share the details pertaining to my own life).
BUT: In general, we all need and will, if we walk with God, find our ultimate purpose. I just think for some of us, we want to know ALL the details. For instance the how’s, when’s, with whom’s before we actually embark on the journey of letting God be boss over this “purposed”-life He has planned for us.

Well, what I have discovered, is it takes courage. Courage, because when you have even the vaguest idea what God has planned for you, you find yourself in the Joshua & Caleb situation. When you go out to investigate and search out this “new territory” that you are supposed to “take over”, you see GIANTS, RAPIDS and many other scary obstacles to overcome before you can actually HAVE the promise.
(Well…let’s be realistic…I don’t know if being a good mix of Choleric/Melancholic has got anything to do with it, and if the Sanguines and Phlegmatics out there would have jumped in with life-jackets and all…but just putting my big-toe in and being overwhelmed by giants and rapids had me on anti-depressants and pitching a fairly permanent place of hibernation – if that is possible – in the dessert, but close enough for me to see the banks of the river).

I kind of figured this one out, this far: It takes some time getting closer to our Maker, Father and Friend before there is any revelation on why He actually created you. Now, in most cases, I don’t know of anybody that really wants to gets closer to God, JUST so that they can find out what His purpose was with them…NO. Our motives generally are one of a love-affair. (…folks let me just get it straight from the start…NOT the kind of love affair we see mostly happening here on earth…where we associate “love-affairs” with adultery and something happening sinfully behind closed doors). So, back to the love affair with Jesus, we really want to get to know Him intimately, because He knew and loved us first. And that’s how it goes…we get to know Him as friend. It becomes a much closer and intimate relationship than “Maker” or just…God. Up to this point, for me, all was still fine.

But there comes a time…a level of maturity, when (I’m guessing…) God says: “Well, we know each other long and well enough now, it’s time for a few swimming lessons. You know all those wonderful, great plans that I told you about…those things you wanna go out and do so badly for me….Ya…huh???....Well, here’s your chance…go out and get it!!!!....see that river…..you gotta cross it!!!”
But…but…what Lord….?????Uhhmmmm…..I thought we where in this ‘together’???.....
And God says:( I’m only guessing…) “ Well, I’ve given you the ability, desire and reason to do it, Go out and get it!!!”

So, how I understand this purpose-driven-thing….YOU got the job, YOU got the ‘mandate’, YOU sort it out!!!!!
Listen here folks….just remember the Isrealites wandered for 40YEARS!!!! In a desert that only takes 11 days to cross, before they would have found the river Jordan. Do you really think they where THAT relieved to see the river with all it’s rapids, depth, danger and uncertainty and NO-one to the rescue!!!???...come on!!! I think plenty of them saw it and went…NO-WAY!!!!
No wonder most of them “played-dead” to the fact that they had to get over it by going THROUGH it!!! Come on now….most people don’t like the uncertainty of water.

In conclusion: I guess I have become fearful of the journey to the Promised Land. The Promise Land is to be taken by force and I seem to have found a tidy spot at the banks of the river Jordan, where I can sometimes vaguely spot the fruit on the trees, in the Promised Land. My view of those fruit, are sadly blurred by the giants in front. Only the fact that I KNOW THAT I KNOW….God loves me so much, keeps me from condemnation and guilt, which fortunately does not keep me from talking to Him, as it used to.

GOMER HAS BEEN LURED BACK

It has been a while since I took any special notice of my blog-site. Sorry! I deleted all the other posts. I'm not that super-spiritual anymore.
I feel a bit like Gomer, because it has been more than just my blog that I have been ignoring for more than two years now.
For those of you who need reminding of who Gomer was: She was a prostitute(in Bible times they where called harlets - sounds much more acceptable than prostitute) in the time of the Old Testament Prophets. God told Hosea to go and find her, and marry her. (Jeez!!! She's SO lucky! I can't even get an un-godly man to marry me!!) Hosea, being a prophet and a very Godly man, did it out of obedience to God. After some time she squandered off to her old lifestyle of prostitution again. A second time, God told Hosea to go and fetch her. Well…you can go ahead and read all about it in book of Hosea.

JULIA & JULIE
It was partly this movie, Julia & Julie that got me wanting to blog again. Not going to tell you the whole story of the movie, but basically Julie starts a daily blog, in the form of a journal of her French cooking experiences on a daily basis for a year. I thought…that sounds like a good idea, and I like journaling. But what will I journal about?? I can’t also do the French cooking-thing, then I’d be too much of a copy-cat, besides…who would I cook for and the poor grocery budget…..
Well, it got me thinking.

You would think that my very own already-made blog would be the obvious place to start! Not for me, NO! As far as I was concerned, I was done with this God-thing in my life. (I know this needs some explaining, for those of you actually reading this….but you would have to keep coming back here for more posts. I doubt that you would get the full story in sequenced-story-telling manner, but with some patience and regularly visiting my site, you might start to understand what really has been happening…and not happening for the past two and a half years and what it took to break the silence)

SO….NO it was not initially going to be THIS blog that I wanted to write on, BUT…who of you know….I mean really KNOW…that the good work that God starts in you, HE and only HE will bring to maturity, fruition and completion. I guess that’s the way the story goes. You know…some statements can be said as a matter-of-fact or because it’s the right cliché to use and some statements you can only use when you’ve really LIVED-it!!!!! I really LIVED-OUT this cliché-ish statement for the past 31 months. I know what it feels like now, to FEEL, in my running from God, how His presence, purpose and love followed me like a mantle, permanently attached and yet apart, as I was trying to squirm away…Yes, like Gomar…back to what felt more familiar, more comfortable, less vulnerable.

Hey!...and after all Gods Presence has never left me. I just loved His Presence at one stage of my life. Now I feel slightly cautious and scared of it. You never know what He might do, if you allow Him to?

So that's how I decided that 'Lost In His Presence' was going te be OK for me.

IT IS FINISHED!
I was these very words “It is finished” that has been stirring my ‘insides’ for months now. These are the words that Jesus spoke on the cross, before He died.

“TETELESTAI”
It literally means: Redemptions has been made forever! The price has been paid in full!!!
My granny gave me two old magazines to read, that she often does if there is articles in that she thinks I could benefit from. I am going to highlight 3 parts to an article which I believe to have triggered a new season with the Father for me.

Ladybirds:
This lady, who wrote the article on her walk with God, has a ‘thing’ for lady-birds, ever since she was a little girl. As she grew older and her relationship with the Father matured, she would regularly encounter the presence of lady-birds in strange places. Even some rarely found ones, in hotel rooms when she travels.

I guess I was ready for the Father to minister His presence to me at the point of reading this. I started to desire His presence in such a ‘physical’ manifest way. I’m convinced now that WE (all people) are living in the times of God manifesting His Presence and Glory in a more ‘real’ and physical manner to us. This was the first pointer that I endeared.

Paid in Full:
Then the second point that was highlighted to me was “He has paid the price”!! Whatever I am afraid of, holding on to, worried or am not able to overcome….He has already paid the price, IN FULL!!! Once again a confirmation of His voice that came to me even in the wilderness.

Trees:
And finally, the last point that jumped off the pages of this article was Trees.
Yes, Trees. For months now I have been wanting to paint trees. I have a passion for our trees. They are our heritage. They provide us with oxygen and tell us the stories of history. (I’ve been pondering and making an effort to do the ‘going-green-thing’), and here off the pages of the book she quotes the words from the Psalms to be like a tree that has been planted by Living Waters that bears fruit, each in it’s own season whilst the leaves bring healing.

Those few pointers have been stirring my inside. I guess the time of opening my heart to God ministering His grace to me has come.
Selah