『Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson』のカバーアート

Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson

Drawing closer to God with Wendy Robinson

著者： Wendy Robinson
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 Welcome to Drawing Closer To God with Wendy Robinson. Join Wendy each week as she shares her insights into drawing closer to God and living life to the full despite the tough challenges you might be facing. To find out more please visit drawingclosertogod.org2024 キリスト教 スピリチュアリティ 聖職・福音主義
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  • EP114 Speaking faith and life

    EP114 Speaking faith and life
    2024/03/06
    When did you last do an audit of the words you speak? Are you speaking “faith and life” or “fear and death”? Late last year we were facing another challenging medical situation with our daughter, Victoria. I found myself going down that path of fear. I was spending time with God, a lot actually due to a broken wrist slowing me down! In these times I was primarily looking for reassurance and comfort. I was not speaking faith into Victoria’s situation. Something changed in the Be Still moment But then something changed. During one of those quiet times with God, I was sitting on a seat in the park, asking Him for a word for our family for this year, 2024. Yes, another Be Still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10) moment. He drew my attention to an image that was directly in front of me - two rectangular sandstone blocks, with a narrow gap in between. Beyond the gap, the grass ran down to the wide open expanse of the lake. As I looked at this image, God gave me these words, “I am the Way Maker.” Don’t we all love the Way Maker song "Way maker Miracle worker Promise keeper Light in the darkness My God That is who you are" What a powerful declaration of Who God is. God's Word speaks life God gave me three scriptures to go with the image: “This is what the LORD says - he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,” Isaiah 43:16 NIV “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19 NIV “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 NIV Three life-giving scriptures, asking of us, Do we have the faith to believe that God made a way through the sea? Do we trust that He is making a way in the wasteland? Do we have the courage to keep walking on the narrow road that leads to life? God in His graciousness had given me a way to speak faith and life into Victoria’s situation. God encourages each one A bit more on this story about the way maker word …. At the beginning of each year when I get a word for our family, I make an A4 poster, laminate it and give a copy to each family member, so they can have it ready on hand for encouragement throughout the year. I'm under no illusion as to what has happened to these posters in the past - I've seen them peeking out from under a pile of papers on desks! But this year was different - perhaps because it had the photo of the sandstone blocks and the way through. This year some chose to put the poster on the wall above their desks, some on the wall near their beds. But all put it in a visible, easily accessible place. I need that extra bit of encouragement so I have two posters - one near my desk, and one near my side of the bed! The Way Maker makes a way Since the beginning of January, there have been at least 8 significant crossroads for people in our family, and each time, we have called on this word from God, declaring, “God you are the way maker, we are trusting that you will make a way through this - Your will be done, in Jesus Name.” God knew that each person in our family was going to need to speak ‘faith and life’ into situations this year, and that each would need His encouragement to do so. God always knows! In each circumstance God has clearly made a way, showing us that He is sovereign, powerful, gracious and kind. Often too in these situations, it has felt like God has been asking us these questions, Do you trust Me in this situation? Do you have the patience to wait? Will you humble yourself and acknowledge that I am Lord of All? Oh God so wants us to mature! Maturing in our faith James speaks to us about this maturing process, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 NIV I’m not always a fan of the maturing process, even though it always yields good fruit - I just have to remind myself of that. Joyce Meyer says, “The Bible talks about purification, sanctification, sacrifice and suffering. These are not popular words; nevertheless, if we are to be Christlike in character, we must sometimes go through difficult circumstances to learn His ways. I struggled with this process for a long time, but I finally realised that God was not going to do things my way. He placed people and situations in my life that caused me to want to quit this whole process, and He did not want an argument from me. He only wanted to hear, “Yes, Lord. Your will be done.”" The Everyday Life Bible, Joyce Meyer, Page 2060 It is only the beginning of March, so it is going to be very interesting to...
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    14 分
  • EP113 Not enough time. I need help.

    EP113 Not enough time. I need help.
    2024/02/27
    Have you ever said to yourself, “There is not enough time to do all this.”? I have and it's normally followed up with a huge sigh of exasperation! Then the Holy Spirit reminds me of something I heard a few years ago, “God will always give you enough time for what He wants you to do.” Press pause! Does that mean I am doing things that God doesn’t want me to do? Does that mean I am doing things differently from how He wants me to do them? Sounds like it is time to check in with God and find out. Getting direction from God Let's look at those questions again, firstly "Am I doing things that God doesn't want me to do?" Or it could be asked this way, "Am I going in the direction God has for me?" In Psalms, we read, “The steps of the God-pursuing ones follow firmly in the footsteps of the Lord, and God delights in every step they take to follow him.” (Psalm 37:23 TPT). So when we have those thoughts of "There is not enough time" perhaps it is a good idea to pause and check in with God on the direction we are taking. Oh! there is again, that "Be Still and know that I am God" attitude. Maybe a prayer like, "God, am I doing what you want me to do? Am I following the path you have for me? Please show me if I have gone off track and am doing things that are outside your will for my life." Jesus is a wonderful example of only doing what His Father, God, our Heavenly Father, told him to do. In the Gospel of John we read that Jesus said, "I do what my father tells me to do. I do that so that the people of this world can know that I love my father.” (John 14:31 PEV) An aside: Jesus had complete clarity about why He was being obedient to His Father, "so that people of this world can know that I love my father." The Passion Translation says it this way, "I am doing exactly what the Father destined for me to accomplish, so that the world will discover how much I love my Father." (John 14:31 TPT) So a question for us - "Do we have that level of clarity about the motives of our actions?" Right direction, but not sure on the "how" Perhaps the answer is "Yes," we have clarity on our motives. We are confident we're being obedient to God and going in the direction He is leading us. However, we are still feeling overwhelmed with all that has to be done, "There is not enough time to do all this!" So then we need to look at the "how" and ask the question, "Am I doing things God's way?" We have the direction, but we need more of God's wisdom on how to take each step. In the book of Proverbs we read, "A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life]. But the LORD directs his steps and establishes them." (Proverbs 16:9 AMP). We know there are often many ways to get to the end goal, but not all are efficient, and not all are the ways God wants it done. We need to remind ourselves that God’s ways are higher, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV) God's ways are higher - always - not just sometimes. God knows the bigger picture. God has the bigger picture We don’t even know what will happen later today, or tomorrow, or next year. Receiving a ‘surprise’ medical report or receiving an unexpected promotion at work, reminds us of that. James 4:13-15 tells us, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15 NIV) And so it is with the plans we make, we might have some ideas on the outcomes, but we don’t know for sure. But God knows. Ask God for wisdom So getting back to the question, "Am I doing things God's way?" James also tells us we can ask for God's wisdom and He will give it to us, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault; and it will be given to you." (James 1:5 NIV) We need to ask God for His wisdom on the "how." Recently my days have been very full, and I have been asking God each morning to order the tasks I have on the list. I knew my plan wouldn't be the best for me or my family, but I had confidence in God, that He has the bigger picture and He would fit it all together perfectly. And He has - leaving me very surprised at the end of the day with what had been achieved. Thank you God - your ways are astronomically higher than mine! God's plan vs AI Interestingly, last week I was talking to someone about the busy-ness of the week. During the conversation I asked her if the...
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    12 分
  • EP112 Providing the full protection

    EP112 Providing the full protection
    2024/02/13
    Saturday morning was damp and humid, perfect mosquito conditions. Sometimes walking in this place can feel like mosquito feeding time! However, this morning I realised no mosquito had come near me. My thoughts moved to the insect repellent I had put on before walking. I have two types of repellent I use, a spray from one brand, and a roll-on from a different brand. Today I applied the roll-on and it was definitely providing the full protection and I was grateful. God's protection Oh, my brain suddenly started going off, thinking about all the parallels between putting on the protection against mosquitos and putting on the protection God gives us to keep us safe from the enemy in the spiritual battles we face each day. Ephesians 6 is one of the chapters in the Bible where the Apostle Paul gives us some very clear directions about putting on the armour of God. He says, “Put on God’s whole armour [the armour of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11 AMPC Is the protection effective? The armour that God supplies is the best! No questions there.  But with the mosquito repellent, from my revelation on Saturday, I know that there are different levels of protection. I wonder if it is the application method (ie roll-on vs spray) or the repellent content that makes the difference? or both? Perhaps I might have to do a test on that! But in the interim, I will make sure that I am prepared and have the roll-on repellent with me for future walks.  Protection preparation So that brings up another question, how prepared are we when it comes to protection on our spiritual walk? How many times have you heard someone say "we are in a spiritual battle"? What does that mean to you? The Apostle Paul explains about the spiritual battle, “For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly [supernatural) sphere.” Ephesians 6:12 AMPC The spiritual battle is real Just as mosquitos and the impact of their bite is very real, so are the spiritual enemies of God. This week someone shared with me about a dream they had where a demon came into their room and said “I am real”. This person’s response was to go to God’s word and seek after the truth. The truth in God's word is one of the pieces of armour God has given us - “the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17).  We need to know about the spiritual armour we have access to and be daily putting it on.  Joyce Meyer says, “It is important for us to see that we cannot fight darkness with darkness. I believe the best way to resist and overcome our powerful spiritual enemy is not by venting our anger and frustration in some fleshly manner. Rather, we need to put on our spiritual armour as described in Ephesians 6:13-17 and yield ourselves to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit within us as we pray (see Ephesians 6:18).” The Everyday Bible - Joyce Meyer, p1945 Gaps in the protection lead to distraction Sometimes I am in a hurry to get going on my walk. I forget to apply the repellent to my neck. When I have my hair up the back of my neck can be vulnerable to mosquito bites. I can hear them buzzing around my neck and I spend my walk continually shooing and slapping them away. They become a distraction, impacting on the purpose of my walk, which often is to have conversations with God - talking and lots of listening. And so too it can be for us if we are not putting on the full armour of God daily. Each part of God’s armour has its purpose. We don’t want any chinks in the armour where the enemy can come in and distract us. The Message Bible says,  “Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way prayer is essential for ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.” Ephesians 6:13-18 The Message We are called to pray for one another, as each one of us is in this spiritual battle - some days it is just more evident than others. The Passion Translation says, “Pray passionately in the Spirit, as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray the blessings of God upon all his believers.” Ephesians 6:18 The Passion Translation. The indispensable weapon A final word about God...
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    10 分

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