Spectacular vision

I have always been a little shy of the book of Revelation and will for the most part skip it in favour of what I would call lighter, less heavier reads but I felt challenged by God to work through it this time round. I try not to focus on more than one chapter at a time on any book so that I can allow it to all sink in.

With a heart open and ears ready to hear from God, I began reading chapter 1. What a spectacular vision rises before your eyes when you read the following:

Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded about the chest with a golden band.

Rev 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

I have no words that can beat this spectacular image so I leave you with these words. It all makes perfect sense why there are angels in heaven crying, “Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Holy, Holy, Holy.”

Getting organized

I am currently working through some filing in my new position, something the team simply has not had the time or resources to get done. Most people would get annoyed with being stuck with a filing task but I view it as a unique opportunity to very quickly learn about the scope of the job function and all that it entails. In a highly regulated banking environment having ones ducks in a row is very crucial.

Setting ones affairs in order on a personal level is also really important. Making sure you have you have a written will, looking after your estate management and being in control of your financial affairs are all part of good stewardship.

These are all lessons in life that I have had to learn the hard way as I have made many wrong decisions in the past, so I could never stand in judgement of others who have perhaps taken a wrong turn. The one thing I have learned is that our God is a truly a God of mercy and if we repent then He will always be ready and waiting for us to return to the plan that He has laid down for us to follow.

Pick of storms

The rainy season is now eventually in full swing. Today's weather was probably as close to the way I love things as you can get. It was sunny for most of the day with a brief time of rain but by the time I left the office, the sun was back out again and there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

We don't get to pick the weather, God/nature does that for us. We just have to figure out a way to cope in the midst of them. Be it a hail storm, tornado, tropical cyclone or a raging thunder storm they all have their own unique dangers.

Life is like that too. We don't get to choose what crisis will be thrown at us. Sickness, financial failure, marriage breakups a loss of a family member are all devastating storms of life. There is one thing that both types of storms do have in common though and that is that often they change the course of our lives.

Tornado's destroy homes and so do divorces, but both happen in our world today. How do we rise above these storms and stay strong in God? We need to make sure that we are anchored in our relationship with God. In the same way that homes in tornado zones are built with a strong basement, so too our Christian faith should be anchored by the knowledge that because God loves us and He will always bring about the best outcome for us, even if that outcome is our own passing from this life to the next.

Storms come and go but when the pass, we get up and we rebuild that which was broken. It is in those times that we must never forget Romans 8:28 that all things work together for the good of them that love God and are called according to his purposes.

Press release

This weekend was hectic but I had a short while between appointments to have a quick first glance through the press release that needs to be prepared for the books release, hopefully later this year. Now, I would love to know how many authors have drafted a press release from the back seat of a Hyundai Atos. Trust me, it was funny.

There are so many interesting parts to the publishing process and I am really finding it fun and an interesting learning curve. Hopefully if any future books get released it will help me to prepare for them better.

I wonder what the press release for Jesus birth would have been like? Yes, I know Isaiah, the Angels, the Shepherds and wise men all beat me to it, but how about I give it my own shot?

A boy child, Jesus, was born to Mary and Joseph. This young child's future looks bright. He is to become a friend to the lost and down hearted, a healer of all ailments and diseases, a mentor to His disciples, a friend to many even tax collectors and a provider of food to the multitudes. His destiny will be to wear a crown of thorns made by scoffers and a death more agonising than anyone could imagine. BUT, He is to rise from the dead on the 3^rd day, to defeat Satan in his own territory, to snatch the keys of death, hell and the grave and to set captivity free! He will rule for all eternity, seated at the right hand of the Father and will be crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Go quickly, read about Him in today's bible! Amen!

Night after night

I was busy digging through my old Bible School files this evening, looking for some notes to send to my sister. Looking through those files brought back many wonderful memories of my 3^rd year, but what concerned me as I glanced through them was the realization that in truth we had only skimmed the surface.

So how much time did we spend in classes learning about God and His word? Well my 1^st and 2^nd year I did back to back but 3^rd year a few years later, but the days and hours? 3 lectures per night (roughly 45 minutes each), 5 nights per week, 4 normal school terms per year, for 3 years! Yikes, that sure was a huge amount of time studying God's word night after night.

Why do I raise all this though? Bragging? No, never! I say all this because a wise lecturer once told us that the more you learn about God the more you realize how little you know. That means that even if we were able to spend every waking moment learning about God and studying Him, we still would never know everything there is to know about our awesome God!

Maybe you are asking then why should we even bother trying? Well what I've learned over the years is that God is in every waking moment. Every experience I have and feel is part of my life with God, so in truth I know all that I need to know for this very moment.

Oh temptation

Oh my, how I longed to bunk work today! My book draft has come in from the publisher and there is so much work to be done with that. The little devil on my shoulder said, "call in sick and spend the day at home and do the work". My conscience just could not do it though as the right thing to do is to book a days leave.

It really isn't easy to do the right thing all the time and that is why temptation is one of the Devil's most powerful tools! The Devil's other favourite tool is discouragement! When you put discouragement and temptation together the result is often explosive!

It is our nature to justify our actions when temptation comes, but James 1:12 tells us what the right thing is to do: “Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him.”

Living a life of integrity can be really difficult at times but God promises us that there will be rewards to our faithfulness and honesty if we choose to focus on Him and walk the path that he has asked us to walk.

Bed weather

We have had an unusually dry and dusty start to Spring this year and it has been really hard to try and keep all the smaller flowers alive, so I was hugely grateful when it started raining on Saturday night and it has continued raining on and off through to today with a few added hail storms as well. 

The cool weather just made for perfect bed weather and I spent all day Sunday in bed with my laptop catching up on some necessary work, only getting up in the evening to have a shower and rush to Church.  This meant I did not get my usual Sunday cooking done and my punishment for my laziness meant I had to catch up with cooking on Monday tonight.  Unfortunately the bad weather prevented me from posting this blog yesterday.

I drove home yesterday evening with thoughts crossing my mind about how I ever managed to live a productive life in the past.  The pace in the city has really changed dramatically over the past 10 years and travel to and from work now eats up great chunks of the day.  I also wondered if Jesus ever felt like life was to hectic?  Despite our drastic differences in lifestyle I think He did.  I think that is why we read about Him often taking time out to retreat to quiet areas for prayer and meditation. 

That being said I find myself thinking that maybe I am just too harsh on myself and that enjoying the slower days in bed are a gift and I should enjoy them guilt free.  Maybe you've been in the same boat, chastising yourself for just taking things at your own pace at times.   Well I want to encourage you not too, God certainly doesn't.  He knows our need for a change of pace and welcomes every day as it comes. 

So relax, enjoy the rain and feel the strength that comes from each new day!

Pyramids at Giza

Of all the ancient wonders, only the Pyramids at Giza remain, they are the oldest of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World and the only ones that were not completely destroyed by man or nature. I am most certain of this, that God in His wisdom allowed them to stand for they are testament to the great escape of the nation of Israel from Egypt, being led out by Moses. They are thus a subject I find hugely fascinating.

The largest of the pyramids was built for Pharaoh Khufu and it is believed that its original height would have been 146.5 metres but currently stand at 138.8 metres due to erosion and the removal of the outer layers reused to build other structures. One of the most interesting facts are that the corners were built to astounding precision to be aligned with the four cardinal compass points. This precision is astounding considering that the pyramids were built around 2500 BC.

Another astounding discovery were the two shafts built in the North and South walls of the King's chamber that run all the way to the outer walls and were believed to be shafts used for the King's spirit to ascend to the heaven's.

Every nation and every King will bow before the Cross of Jesus and these Pharaoh's too will stand before Jesus at the great judgement. The testament of the Pyramids of Giza is not in their great construction but in the power of our Great God to deliver all spirits from slavery!

Hanging gardens of Babylon

Being a lover of gardening myself, I had hoped that the story of the hanging gardens of Babylon would have brought with it great romantic notions. Strangely though it is precisely the romantic nature of the tale that leaves one asking questions.

Although the legendary hanging gardens were declared an Ancient Wonder, their location has never been definitely established. They were traditionally believed to be built in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, but more recent writings and discoveries are leading to the belief that they were actually built in Nineveh by the Assyrian king Sennacherib.

In either tale though the gardens were believed to have been built for a Queen pinning for the beauties of her home land. I believe that today there is another Queen longing for her homeland. The bride of Christ labours as we long to be taken to our spiritual garden of rest. Our garden being heaven, the home of our eternal soul.

Oh Lord, hear the cry of your bride!

Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis, also known as the Temple of Diana was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. It was located in Ephesus and was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401. The first destruction was by flood, the second by arsen and the third is an interesting tale.

It is this third temple that we read about in Acts 19:35 and don't worry if you hadn't really taken note of it before, neither had I. The 2^nd century apocryphal book, the Acts of John (not included in the bible) recounts how John prayed publicly in the Temple of Artemis, exorcising its demons and “of a sudden, the altar of Artemis split in many pieces and half the temple fell down,” instantly converting the Ephesians who wept, prayed and took flight.

We should raise a shout of praise that in the presence of God no demonic altars can stand! As Christians we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and once we are born again we need only concern ourselves with one destruction, that of our earthly body. Unlike rebuilding a temple with brick and mortar, our Spirit lives eternally and will never require any 'building work' again.

We can give praise and glory to God that our temple is eternal and everlasting and that the Church of Christ will have dominion over all the earth!

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Oh my soul, but does this discovery have me excited! The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure, about 13 meters tall, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias in circa 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia and erected in the Temple of Zeus. It is believed to have been made from elaborate materials such as ivory, gold, cedarwood, ebony and precious stones.

It is believed that the statue stood for just over 800 years. Again the exact details of the destruction of the statue are unknown but tradition has it that the statue was dismantled and carried off to Constantinople somewhere around 425 to 475 AD where it was either destroyed by a great fire of the Lauseion or destroyed with the temple when it burned down. Is this mere coinsidance that this time period coinsides with the time it is believed Constantinople served as the head quarters for Christianity for over a 1000 years (330 to 1453 AD). I think not!

Twice now we have seen great statues reverancing false gods that were declared great Wonders of the Ancient World being destroyed within 800 years while Constantinople stood as a Christian stronghold for over 1000 years.

This time the message, to me at, least seems clear! Satan's kingdom will NEVER out live the dominion of Christ and as the destruction of the statue of Zeus was deemed to be by fire one way or another, Satan's destruction too will come by great fire as declared in the book of Revelation! History does repeat itself and once again Christianity will rule of evil!

In case you are wondering why this discovery has me so excited, it is because going to that great city Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, is one of my great life dreams and one that I hope to fulfill!

Tomb of Mausolus

What precisely lead to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus being declared an ancient wonder baffles me, but it is believed that the construction was so beautiful and unique that it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 353 BC Mausolus died, leaving Artemisia (his wife and sister) to rule alone. As a tribute to him, she decided to build him a tomb so famous that Mausolus's name is now the known name for all stately tombs, in the word mausoleum.

The fact that these two were related and married speaks to the depravity of this ancient lifestyle. How the mausoleum came to be destroyed is unknown, but it was again believed to be the result of an earthquake.

Have we not see this pattern in scripture before? I think we have. Moses returns from the Mt Sinai to find his people worshipping a golden calf! These actions so enraged God that He caused a great earthquake to swallow up many of the Israelites.

I ask myself why in today's world, human beings can commit atrocities that make us sick to the stomach? I think it is simply because we do not remember that our God is a God of justice and righteousness! If there is anything we should take from this tale is that we must always consider the consequences of our actions and behaviour.

Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes in the third century BC.  It was constructed to celebrate Rhode’s victory over the ruler of Cyprus.  Strangely this statue, which stood over 30 meters tall, was also destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC.  After its destruction, Ptolemy III offered to pay for the reconstruction of the statue, but the Oracle of Delphi made the Rhodians afraid that they had offended Helios, and they declined to rebuild it. 

How strange, or should I not be surprised?  It seems the devil uses the same tactics as the Oracle resorted to.  We build great structures in our lives, our plans for the future; our homes, children, education and even marriage become great monuments of success.  Destruction comes, from the devil of course, and just when we feel we are ready to rebuild our lives the devil comes and puts fear in our heart and we draw back from chasing our dreams. 

It is said that the remains of the Colossus lay visible for all to see for over 800 years and even in its broken state travellers would marvel and be impressed.  Do we not do that too?  Instead of dealing with and eliminating the reminders of failure, be they divorce, financial collapse, a child off the rails, or other glaring disaster, we leave the reminders lying about and commiserate over and over. 

God says, I have created a new thing, a new day, a new plan, a new path, a new life for you to grab on to but you have to let go!  We cannot take our past failures into our future and expect to have better results than before.  Whatever your monument of collapse and disaster is today, deal with it! 

We are new creations in Christ with great future blessings lying ahead of us, so seize the day!

Lighthouse

I was thinking recently about the ancient 7 wonders of the world. I remember that we had a book about them when I was a child but have never looked really researched them again since then. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built in the third century BC and was one of the tallest man-made structures on earth for many centuries. It was badly damaged by three earthquakes between 956 and 1323 and most remnants of the structure have now been lost.

Lighthouse's are built to warn ships at sea that they are approaching land but they can also act as a guide to sailors attempting to make their way back home in a raging storm. That makes me think of the church and our role as the body of Christ.

Our role as the church today is to act as a moral compass for our world, yet sadly it seems that in some churches the fire in their light has been extinguished. Right from wrong seems to be such a blur. However if we are part of a church that is alive and active then our light will be bright and we will be able to fulfill our role as a guide for those who have lost their way. I believe there are many people searching for hope, love and salvation and if we will simply fulfill our commission we will be able to direct people to Christ.

What is the condition of your lighthouse? Are you burning bright or have you been damaged by spiritual earthquakes? My prayer for you today is that your spirit will be revived and that God will restore the fire that once burnt so bright within you.

Cut right – what’s in a symbol

Notice: tonight’s message is a cautionary one

On Friday evenings I often enjoy doing a little window shopping.  A store caught my eye this time but I was at first hesitant to go inside because from the window I could see quite a few items cut in satanic symbols.  Curiosity got the better of me though and I went inside.

What I found inside was thousands of cut semi-precious stones just in their natural glory.  There were even some cut in the symbol of the cross, but right next to some of them were satanic ankh’s and other symbols.  I was clearly aware of the difference in my emotions when looking at either.

The sad thing is for the most part, young people today are blissfully unaware of the powers of darkness that rage in our world and they would buy these symbols simply as pieces of jewellery without any awareness of where they come from or what they mean, thereby placing themselves under the power these images wield. 

Parents….. Please, please talk to your children about the power of symbols and what they mean.  Do not let your child wear anything without them fully understanding the consequences of coming under the influence of these items.

My prayer tonight is that God will give all parents out there wisdom in raising their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord and that includes educating them about being aware of satanic symbols. 

85,000 words

Fantastic News!

I have been asked several times whether or not I would ever be writing a book. Well the good news is that the answer to that question is an emphatic, Yes! When I started writing in November 2010 I did so with the vision in mind to take the daily blogs and convert them into a devotional book.

Now 380 pages, nearly 85,000 words and a year and a half of work later, the book is nearing completion and I am so excited! For those of you who have been following the blog, the great news is that the book has a lot more detail and almost all the blogs were updated and the content expanded. I am hoping to release the book before Christmas.

Here's where I need your help. If the daily devotionals have been a blessing to you, please could I ask you to assist me with promoting the blog to your friends and family and asking them to subscribe. I will be using the existing channels to do most of my advertising.

People can subscribe in any of the following ways:

• Go directly to the following site: http://GrowingWithGodbyRonwyn.blogspot.com – This website has an email subscription box, so you can enter your email address there.
• Like the Facebook page: GrowingwithGod by Ronwyn
• Follow me on Twitter: @GWGRonwyn
• Email the work 'subscribe' to: GWG.Ronwyn@gmail.com
• Find me on the Faithwriters website: www.faithwriters.com

My goal is to grow the current readership before the launch of the book. Thank you again to all of you who have been following my writing over the last few years!

I give honour and praise to God for His strength and wisdom throughout this process.

It's good, it's quick and it's yummy

I definitely don't consider myself to be the best chef in the world but I get by, so it does always surprise me when my colleagues comment on how yummy my lunch smells. I have to confess that I have a secret, I have help. I'm truly grateful that our good friends at Knorr and Royco have my life so easy with their fantastic spice and sauce packets.

What I love most about the ones I get is that they have a shopping list on the front so I don't even have to guess what groceries to buy. It is all sorted for me and all I have to do is throw it in a pan and let it cook. That certainly helps to ensure that there is no wastage.

The bible is our great recipe book of life and it tells us what ingredients we have to put together to live successful lives. For example:

• Children honour your parents and you will live a long life
• Husbands love your wives and honour them as weaker vessels and you will have a strong marriage
• Honour God with your finances and you will have prosperity
• Give and it shall be given, good measure, pressed down, running over

I could keep going, but I think you can smell where this recipe is headed. If you've been struggling to put together the recipe of life, turn to your bible and I'm sure you'll get all the help you need.

Fighting monkey's

There are times in life when any soul feels sad, but under normal circumstances one can shake those emotions fairly quickly. Depression is a different monkey all together. Depression hooks onto whatever negative emotions you might be feeling, like anger, pain or loss and drags you down the well until all you see is darkness.

I have written several times before about my own trials with depression and I'll admit that this last week has been particularly difficult. Last night as I wept before God feeling that final decent to the bottom of the pit, I felt the Holy Spirit saying to me, “you need to fight this one on your own this time.” It is not that God was leaving me to my mess but rather that I needed to awaken the soldier in me and fight for my right to freedom.

At that moment strength arose and the Word of God rose within me. As I spoke God's word and claimed God's promises over my life, my strength was renewed. I would love to say that today was a walk in the park, it wasn't but it certainly was better. Then this evening in the silence of the night those monkey's came tugging at me again. This time I chose a different weapon. I have a few DVD's that I have purchased and hang on to because they speak to me about the strength of the inward spirit and renew my mind with a will to go one once more.

I truly hope that bearing my soul tonight in vulnerability to all will help somebody! If you are in the bucket right now and you feel yourself being lowered into a pit of darkness, reach for the walls and dig your nails in. Look up! See the light of God, speak the word and start climbing! I pray God's peace and strength be with you!

Munchies

My catnip patch is coming along quite nicely, much to the delight of my little fur balls. The energy the got from today's dose had them playing up a storm. It was actually so refreshing to see their eyes light up at every opportunity for some play or a bit of love.

This was a particular blessing for me as I had begun to wonder if middle aged cats were ever going to be as much fun as their younger kitten selves. I certainly won't have to worry about that any more, well at least as long as I keep growing their favourite herb, which fresh smells delicious and actually makes me want to try some, Lol! Wonder what effect it would have on humans?

Oh boy, so how does kitty munchies compare to something in our spiritual lives.....? Sorry Nope it doesn't. I just needed a laugh! I've had a bad headache all day so getting down to business is just not going to happen today.

God loves you and that's all you need to know!