Prophecy and intercession… for kids :)
October 11, 2009
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Tags: 1 Corinthians, apostolic prayers, Bible, children, childrens ministry, Christianity, church, God, intercession, love, meditation, ministry, Philippians, prophecy, Psalms, the Holy Spirit, things I like, university days, worship
I have the privilege of helping with the K-3 age group of my church’s childrens ministry. I like that it’s not babysitting while the adults are in the sermon, but training them in things which can be thought of as things which only adults are capable of. I think that it’s not that the things themselves are beyond the kids’ abilities (eg. prophecy, intercession, worship, meditation), but the way that adults tend to go about them is beyond the kids. I find that it’s all about doing things in a way the kids enjoy and understand.
I thought I’d share some activities I like to do with the kids and have found them effective… if you have any activities that you recommend, I’d love to hear them
Prophecy:
A lot of the littlies in my group can’t read yet, dont fully understand Bible verses or have the ability to explain complex ideas. So our prophecy times look a little different to what adults do. I encourage the kids to ask God what He’s saying about the person we’re prophesying over, and then draw a picture of it. If need be, they can explain it a bit. I have personally gotten a word that spoke to me right where I was at, through a picture that one of the kids drew for me and then explained a little bit.
I think kids have the capacity to be really good at prophecy. They’re not like us, who get an impression and then spend so much time trying to figure out if that’s actually a word from God or not because it would be embarrassing if we got it ‘wrong’. Kids just say it. Sure, there are some obvious made-up ones, and I definitely think we should be holding words up to the light of Scripture, not just saying/accepting anything. But I think there is something to be learnt from the way they just share their impressions. They’re not so afraid of people thinking they’re not ‘good’ at prophecy. They are so excited that God speaks to them, and like getting the opportunity to encourage, strengthen and comfort (1 Cor 14:3). I think that God can do a lot through their simple faith, making them good vessels for Him to use to speak through. I like that I have the privilege in helping to train them up in it. Baby steps now, but I am excited to see where they are 20 years from now. I only started being trained in the prophetic when I was about 16-17ish. But they are growing up expecting and experiencing God encouraging others through them. I love it.
Intercession:
In our prayer room, we pray from the apostolic prayers a lot. They’re prayers that got the Holy Spirit stamp of approval and included in the Word of God. They are pretty awesome prayers. Understandably, these 3-8yo kids don’t understand every concept in a prayer like:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” — Phil 1:9-11
So we go through it doing actions at all the main words… prayer, your love, abound more and more, knowledge, depth of insight and so on and so on. Kids are a bit like me. Doing something on the outside helps me understand it on the inside. I think kids are a bit like that too. And it is great for helping them memorise a verse. And me too! I didn’t have this prayer memorised until I taught them the actions… it’s great. So they then have an apostolic prayer memorised and have a clearer idea of what it means, setting it up as a springboard for their intercession.
*sigh* I was just going to write about drama in lessons but my own tertiary-level study of drama is calling me. Study awaits. Maybe I will write more later? I don’t know, I just felt like sharing some activities that have worked for us.
Yay, children! God likes them a lot. Me too.
“From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” — Psalm 8:2
Faithfully witnessing
October 7, 2009
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Tags: 1 John, abortion, Bible, blogging, church, Ephesians, faithfulness, God, heaven, homosexuality, Jeremiah, Jesus, John, King David, knowing God, life, love, loving God, marketplace ministry, mercy, Micah, ministry, my little heart, prayer, Psalms, Revelation, righteousness, Song of Songs, the prayer room, truth, university days
Something I have been pondering about lately is that Jesus is the faithful witness (Revelation 1:5)… and so He is worthy of having those who will be faithful witnesses of Him.
I want to be one like Antipas… Jesus Himself called this man His faithful witness (Revelation 2:13). That’s huge. THE faithful witness calls a man His faithful witness. I want that to be true of me.
But this is something that I have been finding quite a struggle lately. It feels easier to be faithful in testifying to who Jesus is when I am with those who are seeking to live the same way. Church, prayer room, blog etc. But in my secular workplace and university I fall short so much more often. I am so often in situations when the topic of conversation is “all good people will go to heaven”, “let’s embrace homosexuality”, “what’s so bad about abortion, anyway?” and so on and so on. And I feel truth burning on the inside… mind you, not as much as Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:9) or zeal-for-house-consumed David or Jesus (Psalm 69:9 and John 2:17) … but it’s there and I can feel it, paining me. But not enough for me to say anything.
I pray it over myself so often. I want His Word, that which is truth that stands eternal, burning on the inside of me. I want to be one like Jeremiah, who has His Word like a fire in his bones (Jeremiah 20:9). I want to be one who speaks the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). I want to be a faithful witness for the One who is THE faithful witness (Revelation 1:5). I want to not only speak of Him, but live testifying of Him in everything I do. To speak worthy, not worthless words (Jeremiah 15:19). That means not only saying what I should, but also not saying what I shouldn’t say. I want this to be true of me: “I do not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I speak of Your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal Your love and Your truth from the great assembly.” (Psalm 40:10)
I want to teach His Word. It’s been on my heart for a couple of years now… I want to be a teacher of His Word. But I don’t have to wait to be trained for that until I head off to a Bible college. It’s taking the opportunities I have today to speak truth. And filling myself with truth… long and loving meditation on the Word. Prayer… and not just coming full of words, but waiting and listening to what He has to say. I want God to teach God to me. And for Him to cultivate great love in my heart for Him. My heart was made to burn. I don’t want to settle for anything less. I want to speak not from a head full of information, but from a heart overflowing with love for the One who shows me what love is (Psalm 45:1, 1 John 3:16).
Right now I mess up a lot. I still have a lot of fear and pride to have grown out of me… but I take heart… because He is SO kind and faithful and patient. Delighting in showing me mercy (Micah 7:18). He wants me to be a faithful witness even more than I want to be. He sees my heart that is willing. Willing to grow, willing to be changed, taught, corrected and used. And He can use that. He’s only ever had weak and broken people to work with, so why not me? He’s not overwhelmed by my weakness, but by my love (Song of Songs 4:9).
… He is so kind.
That’s the conclusion I can’t get away from these days. He is so kind.
Pray with me…
September 4, 2009
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Tags: God's love, intercession, Jesus, joy, life, loneliness, my little heart, prayer, Psalms, restoration
If you get to know me you will find that I am of the tender hearted variety, especially when people are lonely. Maybe because I once found loneliness so crippling… at met Jesus in the midst of it. At any rate, seeing lonely people pains me, and so drives me to prayer. I know He is able to meet them in the place of loneliness and brokeness and bring joy and restoration… I know because He did it in my life.
A high school teacher was telling me about a student in year 8 who is shunned by all the other kids. The other day he was left physically trembling as kids yelled at him. Also, he is a student from overseas who isn’t so good with English.
He must feel so alone.
And I know there are so many kids in his same situation… but my heart has been so burdened for him ever since I heard about him. I have been praying lots since… and while praying today I had the thought of making a quick mention of him on my blog… so if you happen to be reading this, I hope you can send up a quick prayer for him. I know that he is from a Christian family, so I am guessing he already has some idea of who God is.
God knows and cares about this boy and He is so willing and able to bring joy and restoration. So I hope someone out there reading this will join with me in prayer, agreeing with God’s heart for this one who is so dear to Him!
‘”Because he loves Me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him. I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call upon Me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.”‘ Psalm 91:14-15
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
Voyeurism vs. Psalm 27:4
September 2, 2009
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Tags: art, beauty, Cory Asbury, Ephesians, eschatology, God, Isaiah, Jesus, John, judgment, loving God, Matthew, my little heart, peace, performance art, Psalms, righteousness, the cross, the Holy Spirit, university days, voyeurism
For one of my university classes I had to watch a ‘performance art’ piece which involved someone being beaten to death. I was not the only student who couldn’t bear to watch. Afterwards we had to discuss the piece. During the discussion, one of the lecturers made a comment that we like to watch things like that (and I’m like, ummm speak for yourself…) because humans are all voyeuristic… she described it as how we are all made to gaze on something.
… and I thought to myself…
“How right you are… and yet wrong.”
Psalm 27:4 is a verse very dear to my heart. “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.” Yes, we are made to gaze… on true beauty. How often we settle for letting ourselves be fascinated by lesser things, at the expense of gazing on true beauty.
As a theatre student at a secular university, I am often confronted with how men love darkness (John 3:19). Gazing on someone being beaten to death is apparently art. I shudder at what the world calls beauty. Someone in the discussion made a comment that art like this is good because it helps society move forward and shows where it is going. If that’s the case, I am concerned about what society is moving forward into, and that the world is celebrating it. I can see a little bit of what Jesus spoke about when referring to the signs of His second coming… such as the deception of many and the increase of wickedness (Matthew 24:11-12). And this is only a taste of what is yet to come.
I want Jesus to come back and establish His everlasting goverment of peace (Isaiah 9:7). To establish His throne of justice and righteousness (Psalm 89:14). I want the beautiful and glorious One (Isaiah 4:2) who loves righteousness and hates wickedness (Psalm 45:7) to return and bring everything into perfect alignment with Him. The earth needs a righteous judge (Psalm 9:8).
I want Jesus to return. And until that day… even now I want to seek to fix my gaze on true beauty (Psalm 27:4). That He would He truly be the first in my heart. I was made to gaze on true beauty. And He has made a way for me to draw near… so I don’t want to settle for anything less.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
– Ephesians 2:13-18
I love Him. He is true beauty… worthy of my full adoration.
Aaand this is a song I like. And it is related thematically
Adopted in… hang on. What??
June 21, 2009
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Tags: 1 Chronicles, 1 John, adoption, beauty, Bible, Bible study, Deuteronomy, Genesis, God, holiness, Isaiah, Jesus, John, love, Matthew, Old Testament, Romans, sin, the cross
Something I have been pondering as of late is that God gave His only begotten Son to adopt whoever would believe in Him in as sons and daughters (John 3:16). What a high value has been placed on us! Yes, God has many sons and daughters now… us. But only one begotten.
I never really understood the concept of begotten… but I had it explained to me by some quote that went along the lines of:
Horses begat horses, sheep begat sheep, God begot God.
(NB: I am sorry if you know who that quote was by and what it’s really meant to say and you’re offended by my mutilation of it. But I couldn’t remember the who or exact wording… comment it if you know
)
But the point of all of that is… Jesus was God’s begotten Son. God of God, Light of Light (I think that one is from the Apostle’s Creed… ugh, I don’t know my quotes… but I’m trying to get my head around Bible verses first, other peoples quotes are a little lower down on the priority list…). Begotten, not made.
But us, the created image-bearers (Genesis 1:26), chose sin. Separating us from the God who is beautiful in His holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29). In order for us to draw near to Him, as children to a Father, our punishment had to be borne by someone. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). So He had His only begotten Son bear the punishment… the punishment that brought us peace with God (Isaiah 53:5)… that we could be adopted into the family of God… to be co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)… children of our Heavenly Father (Matthew 6:26).
Now, I do know that a few times in the Old Testament God is referred to as a Father… but not many. The first reference of God as Father I can remember is in Isaiah (Isaiah 63:16, to be exact). But it may have been referred to in Deuteronomy as well. I can’t remember… argh I will have to dig out my study notes and get back to you… comment me now if you know… I want to know!! At any rate, there was some concept of God being a Father to us back in the BC days… but as far as I can gather, it was at the cross that we were truly and ‘legally’ (well, by God’s law) adopted into the family of God.
And that does my head in. I echo John’s cry…
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!“
– 1 John 3:1
I will bless the Lord at all times
June 12, 2009
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Tags: bitterness, faithfulness, fire of God, God, Jeremiah, Jesus, Job, John, joy, knowing God, life, loving God, my little heart, pain, poverty of spirit, praise, Psalms
The story of Job is pretty familiar.
- his 500 yoke of oxen are carried off by Sabeans (Job 1:3, 14)
- his 500 donkeys are also carried off by Sabeans (Job 1:3, 14)
- his large number of servant are put to death by Sabean and Chaldean swords, and some are incinerated by fire that fell from the sky (Job 1:3, 15)
- his 7 000 sheep are incinerated by fire that fell from the sky (Job 1 :3, 16)
- his 3 000 camels are carried off by three Chaldean raiding parties (Job 1:3,17)
- his seven sons and three daughters die when a house collapses on them (Job 1:2, 18-19)
- he was afflicted with painful sores all over his body (Job 2:7)
“In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”
– Job 1:22
We are pretty hard on his wife for telling him to “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) I had always thought she was just a complainer and a bad influence on him. But the other night I realised that this all affected her too. If Job’s children died, that means that her children died. If Job’s wealth was taken away, hers was too. Maybe she didn’t break out into sores, but her husband did. Maybe she even thought it was all his fault. Maybe in her distress she decided that Job must’ve done something wrong, since God struck down their family and afflicted Job with sores. I can imagine her… “this is ALL your fault, foolish husband!!”
… I thought this was very interesting.
Same circumstances, two very different responses. And who am I when trouble comes my way? Am I Job, not charging God with wrongdoing and being faithful to Him? Or am I the wife, being made bitter by circumstance. Having my emotional chemistry controlled by circumstance, rather than the person of God.
“I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.”
– Psalm 34:1
This is a wonderful verse to declare when life is wonderful. But also when your little world seems to be collapsing around you and God seems far away… or even the cause of it all… this is a powerful declaration. One I need to declare to my deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9). This is a joyful verse. Yes. But also a cry of determination. I will extol the Lord at all times. Through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). When everything is rosy. I will extol the Lord.
And this requires more than just gritting your teeth and pressing through. We can’t get far in our own strength. He said it Himself, we can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5). I need revelation of God. I need to know who He is and truly believe it. I need to encounter Him and know that what He says about Himself is true… so that when painful circumstances are clouding my eyes, making it hard to see Him around me, I will still have great faith on the inside. There will still be love deeply rooted in me. I need Him.
About arks and foundations.
June 1, 2009
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Tags: 1 John, Bible, books, Christianity, Ephesians, eschatology, God, Haggai, Hebrews, Jesus, John, John Stott, life, love, loving God, Mark, Matthew, my little heart, Noah, reality, Revelation, Romans, Sermon on the Mount, Song of Songs, the prophetic, things I like, truth, university days
I love books!! I am slowly expanding my library… slowly because I am a poor student and can’t afford all the wonderful books I see
but I have a poke around the discount bins in Christian bookshops, and the religion section in secondhand bookstores… and every now and then I come across some gems! For example, the book I am currently reading is AWESOME… and it was 50c from a thrift store. It is called ‘Focus on Christ’ by John Stott and it is rocking my bedtime/waking up/bus riding world.
I was reading a chapter today about building your house on the rock (from the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5-7]). Good stuff. And not just what the book said, but what Jesus said
I was reminded of when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.” This verse terrifies me. How easy I can find it to focus my energy on keeping up a ‘having it all together in God’ facade. But a reputation just isn’t enough. I want reality. To truly have depth in God. Because a mere reputation will not be enough when He is shaking everything that can be shaken (Haggai 2:6). A reputation for loving God will not be enough to keep me steady when loving God could get me killed. And when I stand before Him and give an account of my life (Romans 14:12), I won’t have other people putting in their two cents. Reality will be what matters in that day. The truth that He sees will be what matters (Hebrews 4:13). So I need to cultivate that now. I don’t want to be likened to the church in Sardis: “… you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1) No. I want to be alive from the inside out.
I once had someone pray for me, and while they were I saw a picture of a huge statue that looked just like me. It looked lovely from the front… then the picture wheeled around and I saw that behind it was crumbling away. I have never forgotten that. I don’t want that to be true of me.
All that to say… I think that this inward reality is so essential in the building of our firm foundations. As pointed out in Stott’s book, two houses may look the same on the outside, but their foundation can determine whether one may stand and one may fall. I don’t want to waste my life building a pretty looking house founded on nothing. I want to take the time to establish a good foundation. To build upon the true rock… Jesus. To be one who hears and puts into practice His word. In the parable of the houses, both builders heard the word. But only one chose to put it into practice. Reality matters. Living the word in our everyday lives is essential. That is what counts. And that terrifies me. Oh, that I would not be lulled into complaceny. That I would not be fooled by a false reputation and live maintaining it.
I need to be found rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17). Love is what will keep me steady. Love is as strong as death (Song of Songs 8:6). One day I may have to chose loving Him over keeping my life. But I don’t want fear of death to control me then. Would His love be my strength. Love is what will remain. All we are commanded to do is summed up in love (Mark 12:30-31). God is love (1 John 4:8), and He stands eternal… the strongest force in the universe. I want to cultivate love for God and others that will stand steady through the troubles that will come in this life (John 16:33). As in the days of Noah, the flood will come suddenly (Matthew 24:37)… there was no slow buildup of water over the years to encourage Noah along the way. But faithfully, he kept building the ark in a dry land. Apparently it took hundreds of years. I am sure people thought he was ridiculous. Maybe even the people closest to him thought so too. He had the opposite of a good reputation. But at the end of the day, that reputation was irrelevant. He and his family lived because He listened to God and prepared for a day of trouble.
When the flood comes I won’t have time to build my ark/foundation then. So the choices I make today matter. So would I choose every day to keep building on rock and not sand.
More about His faithfulness…
May 25, 2009
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Tags: 2 Thessalonians, blessings, blogging, faithfulness, God, grace, gratefulness, humility, IHOP, Jeremiah, Jesus, John, knowing God, life, loving God, my little heart, patience, Proverbs, Psalms, Revelation, Song of Songs, time management, trust, truth, wisdom
I miss blogging. However, this latest leg of the journey of my life has involved being crazily busy… a wonderful opportunity for me to learn how to wisely manage my time. But there have been casualties along the way… blogging has been one of them
I have missed it. I have missed YOU readers
The standout thing I have been learning is that He is faithful. In a previous post I think I mentioned how before leaving IHOP I had the dream about God promising to reveal Himself to me as Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11)… and He has proceeded to do just that. How? By putting and keeping me in times and places where I encounter my own unbelief, as well my need for Him… it has hurt much. And yet I am beginning to see that this place is the perfect arena for me to encounter His faithfulness. Yet, my response has frequently been so much less than gratefulness… my response is so often a wounded accusation against Him. Or, I have chosen to respond by not responding. Sweeping it all under the rug in the name of ‘getting on with real life’. But He is the Life (John 14:6). He is my life. I have no good apart from Him (Psalm 16:2).
But I am beginning to see His wisdom. And part of me hurts to say that… my deceitful heart has yet to always love the truth (Jeremiah 17:9). Which terrifies me (see 2 Thessalonians 2:10)… and yet not enough!! … but I am getting there… and He will see me through. He will. He is faithful.
And these days I still find myself in more instances where I can’t see His faithfulness. But the way I see things isn’t truth. His Word is (John 17:17). So I want to put my trust in His Word. I have to be found leaning upon my Beloved (Song of Songs 8:5)… because my own understanding is so very weak (Proverbs 3:5). And I don’t always do this. I don’t trust Him perfectly. But that is how I desire to be… and He wants that for me even more than I do. And He is so patient with me until I do get there. Yes, sometimes I doubt His faithfulness. But He is set on convincing me. And I want to be convinced. And He is so patient. Showing His faithfulness over and over again until I get it… and even then He continues to be faithful because that is just who He is.
*happy sigh*
I love grace… not an excuse to mess up, but what keeps us going on the journey towards not messing up. He is so patient. He gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34). Oh, that I would be found humble… ever knowing that I need Him. I do. And I love Him. I do. This is my Beloved, this is my friend (Song of Songs 5:16)… I am blessed
My Beloved, my intercessor and my friend
April 11, 2009
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: 1 Samuel, 2 Timothy, Bible, blogging, Easter, eternity, faith, faithfulness, God, Hebrews, intercession, Isaiah, Job, Lamentations, my little heart, Romans, salvation, sin, the cross, the Holy Spirit, things I like
I want to blog more than I do…
So, it is Easter again… and so in the prayer room we were worship with the Word-ing through Isaiah 53. One thought that struck me as I was singing away was verse 12: “… He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” This got me thinking about Hebrews 7:25: “… He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”
He died to make intercession for us… and now He is alive forever, still making intercession for us. He is so committed. Great is His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23)… even if we are faithless, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).
And I did a little word study of intercession and the like… as always, props to Biblegateway! I thought these verses were interesting:
“If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” 1 Samuel 2:25
“My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God…” Job 16:20
“… the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27
“Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34
He is so committed, and He is so intimately involved in our lives. And I want to believe this more than I do.