Category: God

Spiritual Benefits

~ alisonfenning ~ Leave a comment

 

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The heavenly realms are all around us all of the time.“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ Ephesians 1:3. It is the realm where the spiritual activity of God’s Kingdom and the kingdom of darkness happen. The term “blessing” means we have God’s approval placed on our lives when we come into relationship with him. We do this by accepting the work that Jesus did through his death and resurrection and then devoting our lives to his leadership.

God then sees us through the lens and person of Jesus, as we have become what the scripture calls “in Christ” and then spiritual blessings are ours to live in the good of. Spiritual blessing means “God speaks well of us”. When this reality sank into my mind and heart, the course of my life and thinking lifted. There is no accusation from God, but only good things are said about me in the heavens.

The benefits of engaging with Jesus : Ephesians 1:1 -14

1. We are made co heirs with Jesus. God has appointed him an heir to all things in heaven and earth. “Holy and blameless” is how God now knows us and this salvation was a plan, even before sin came into the human race.

2. Accepted through Christ and in Christ, we have favour and grace through Jesus. Elsewhere Paul speaks about “putting on Christ.” God sees Christ’s holiness when he looks at us. In Colossians, it speaks of Christ being the image of the Father and we are the image of Christ when we are in him. So the Father sees the reflection of himself, Holy, blameless, his glory, this is the work of the blood of Jesus poured out for us. It changes our lives. Our position shifts from sinner to righteous. This makes sense as to why we can come before the throne of grace according to Hebrews and when Jesus speaks of asking and it will be given to you. When we realize how God sees us, then faith comes alive on the inside and burns, as we can be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world.

3. Praying the price. In Christ, we are no longer slaves but we are free, as the Israelites were led out of slavery, so we have been too. The behaviors, addictions, history that bound us, no longer have the ability to keep us chained. It is true to be said that we often don’t realize it, so we stay bound in Egypt and do not head for the desert – but the power of the curse has been lifted. The enemy has let you go, but you choose to stay. We must pursue to understand our freedom and walk it out as revelation comes.

4. Belonging – our identity becomes changed we are no longer orphans as we are marked with the Holy Spirit and have an eternal home. We go from being insecure to secure confident people with a purpose to make this message of love known to the world.

I have only touched on a few gems there are more and as we research, think and pray, God will bring fresh revelation so that we may know the full joy of all we have through because of Jesus.

Desert training

~ alisonfenning ~ Leave a comment

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The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert Matthew 4:1-11. We can find ourselves thrown into what feels like a desert place. We become hungry for God. Yearning to hear from him and yet can’t seem to find him. We can feel disconnected when we try and engage in worship and our prayer life becomes an act of discipline rather than a flow of communication from desire. In the desert we not sure how we got here or how to be during it. We certainly can’t figure out when it will end.

Psalm 23 refers to “walking through the valley of the shadow of death” and the desert can feel and look likes the shadow of spiritual death. Interesting how Jesus handled the desert. He spoke the word of God when the temptation came from the voice of the devil he came to offer an immediate way out and encourage Jesus to follow him rather than the voice of God the father. But Jesus stood firm and spoke scripture to deal with the temptation. What ever takes us to the desert it could be a situation, pressure or the leading of the Holy Spirit it doesn’t matter. What matters is how we navigate it and what our response will be.

God is always looking for our response and to see how we will act under pressure. We probably always act well on the stage of our life but when we are behind the closed doors and the desert experience is strong how will we respond then?

We learn from the book of Job that our character is tested and formed at the same in the desert. Job lost everything except his own life and yet still he had a faithful response and would not slander God or blame him when his so called friends came to offer him a way out. Both Jesus and Job remained faithful and trusted in God despite what they felt like.

I wonder if we can reframe the desert turning it into a training camp where our motives are purified and character is put to the test as if we were being prepared for greatness. Rather than spending ours complaining to God or to those around us we can use the desert wisely and enter training.

 

What a night

~ alisonfenning ~ 2 Comments

here i am

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Today is Christmas Eve the day when we can stop and think about the reason for Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ. Nineteen years ago I walked into a Church on Christmas Eve and gave my life fully to Christ. I invited him to come live with me as I travel through life.

Jesus Christ came into the world as the saviour of the world. He is known as the light of the world and brings everlasting life to those who choose to embrace him. Today I have been able to stop and stand still to look at the amazing gift of God to us. This gift being God himself coming to dwell on the earth in the form of mankind known to us as Jesus Christ.

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As I stood in a Church this afternoon and lit a candle, prayed a prayer to dedicate my life afresh to Jesus I was reminded of being connected to the amazing story of Christmas and the person who invoked it. Christmas is where the sacred world of God meets the human world of us and I am so pleased that am able to know God and He knows me all because of the birth of Christ.

Christmas time is our opportunity to say hello to Christ.

 

A prayer for Christmas

Heavenly Father

As I stand and look for you this night. Bring love and hope into my heart.

Bring peace and comfort into my soul as I sit and remember your gift of Jesus.

I place my life into your hands and trust your ways and direction each day.

Bring joy and love into every bone in my body, a joy that overcomes all pain and fear.

May that Joy spill out to others.

May your Love flow through me to be a blessing.

Thank you Heavenly Father for Jesus the light of world that lightens up my heart.

 

 

Transformation

~ alisonfenning ~ 2 Comments

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Every day we have the opportunity to change. Changing our mindsets and attitudes eventually changes the state of our hearts and leads to transformation. Many of us like the idea of change but can’t seem to pull it off. I have worked alongside men and women seeking change for ten years and indeed have had my own battles with wanting transformation of the heart; it is not an easy quest.

This is where embracing Jesus Christ as a person and his way can lead us onto the path of transformation. Jesus walked the path of right living and so he knows how to do it therefore having an active relationship with him can direct us as we seek change.

Transformational change is a process and not a quick fix miracle cure. We often want the quick fix but we would miss the lessons on the way. The disciples who lived with Jesus went through a three year challenged to change process. Daily Jesus challenged them on attitudes and mindsets by modelling a different way to think and live. Working to renew our mind means working to a daily recovery action plan. This helps to set us free from old habits, attitudes and mindsets that are infiltrating our hearts and prayer is the icing on the cake.

By now you maybe asking where do I begin with designing a daily recovery plan. A great place is to become aware of what areas you would like to be changed. This can be done through prayerfully asking Jesus. Over the years I have asked Jesus to pin point areas where I need to soften in my heart to be more like him in my ways. If we notice what we dislike in others then realise we are probably acting the same. Then we have an area that could be transformed.

inspiration-again-1383695Daily taking one day at a time begin to practice living from a different platform. The teachings of Jesus and the New Testament form foundation for that platform. So get digging to see how Jesus dealt with life and do that. Ask questions of the Bible looking for the how to do mindset / attitude as you head out on the process.

Lasting transformation of the heart comes through Gods divine ability working on the inside and our engagement with that process in a practical way. Lets hot up our personal prayer life and watch our transformation begin.

Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

~ alisonfenning ~ Leave a comment

ImageCorrie Ten Boom during her years of ministry wrote and spoke about forgiveness. If you listen to some of her sermons she is all about intimacy with God and forgiveness demonstrating that the two go together. Whilst reading one of her books “He Sets the Captives Free” I noticed she refers to visiting an African prisoner who was struggling to forgive. Her advice was to “forgive people otherwise we won’t be forgiven”, a difficult phrase to say and receive but one that Jesus taught.

Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

Maybe the largest challenge we face as we go through our lifespan is to forgive ourselves when we mess up either in thoughts, words or actions. We will mess up most days if we are honest with ourselves but don’t despair as the prognosis for us is good!

Thanks to Jesus we have access to the love of God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If we hold onto sadness over our failings we are heading into self-resentment, bitterness and landing up on the step of self-hatred that can cause all sorts of issues. The Bible requires us to ” love others as we love ourselves” found in Matthew 12:30-31   if we do not consider this truth we will find it impossible to love others as we can only give what we have received. We are often happy to hear Gods kindness towards us but then beat ourselves up every day therefore failing to act out the truth.

Now love is an action and an attitude so we may need to renew our minds regarding self-image, thereby beginning to honor or respect the temple (oneself) where the Spirit of God lives. Loving oneself is a requirement as our bodies, mind and soul are the temple where the Holy Spirit lives. Therefore we should not despise the place where God dwells through the Holy Spirit as we have mercy toward others we must also allow Gods mercy to touch oneself.

To function in extending forgiveness toward self we must first get rid of any illusion in our minds that anyone of us is perfect, news flash there is no such person apart from Jesus who was or is perfect and sinless. So we must stop striving for that false goal and stop trying to fix ourselves, it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives who transforms us so we need more intimacy with God through prayer and stillness not false unachievable goals in our lives.

The prayer that is below is the prayer that Corrie Ten Boom prayed with the African man that you may want to say and reflect on towards yourself.

” Thank you Jesus, that you have brought into my heart Gods love through the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Father, that your love in me is stronger than my hatred.'”

Corrie Ten Boom 

By praying and reflecting on those words myself I realised I have the ability and desire to forgive others and myself as its Gods work in my heart and His love is a gift given to me by God Himself. Therefore I must forgive myself as I forgive others, that’s mercy in action.

STOP IT!

~ alisonfenning ~ Leave a comment

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Just wondering today who you maybe trying to please? Are you really living the life you have designed or are you living by the standards and expectations of others. Living from the foundation of other people’s expectations can prevent you ever living the dream you may hold in your heart.

From my perspective of being in the ministry people are always trying to put their own agendas and expectations on me and when I can’t live up to them this leads to disappointment on their part and a sense of failure on mine. So the best option is not to entertain others expectations but live by vision that given by God.

There are three boundaries that we will need to implement if we are to stop living through others expectations.

1. Gain the vision of God for your life. Position yourself with the mindset that God has a plan for me and I need to find out what that is. Listening prayer will is a means of God communicating and tuning into your hearts true longings. He will get the vision to you that is His responsibility. Positioning comes through prayer.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

1Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2. Stop allowing everyone to put his or her agenda/ expectation on you.Jesus recommends that we “Come unto me, all of you who labor and are forced to bear burdens, and I shall give you rest” Matthew11: 28. He also claimed that he would place on us His burden that is light and easy. So we can identify the difference between living through Gods vision and others expectations.

3. Get some self-respect, if we can’t respect ourselves no one else will. We must be really good at saying NO more often, as we do so we will learn the valuable lesson that people will still like us. Jesus has asked us to “love others as we love ourselves” Matthew22: 29. We will only be able to respect and love others when we learn to appreciate ourselves more.

So God is calling us to STOP living everyone else’s life and discern your own calling then walk it out. Have the courage to follow Gods plan and you will notice a lighter step in your walk. Make some changes in your mind and follow your God given dream.