Snippet - A King Is Born

Kohlea stretched out on the grass beside his father, wriggling his butt to find a more comfortable spot. The night was warm the stars were bright, the sheep were safely closed up in the fold and his stomach was fill. So he lay back, arms cushioning his head and listened with contentment to Bek the oldest shepherd tell the old tales. Tonight he began with the stories of Daniel, the Prince who was captured as a slave and who by following the true way, with the blessing of the Great Lord and hard work became the Grand Vizier of not one but two empires. He was telling how the Great Lord gave Daniel a vision, the vision, the most important vision, the one which prophesied about the coming of the Hero. The Hero would destroy the Roman overlords and make the Jews a mighty nation again. The Hero would make the Jews the rulers the whole world. Kohlea’s mind drifted away from the story as he imagined the palace he would live in when they ruled the world. Gold and emeralds featured heavily, he’d never seen either but he’d somewhere learned that gold was bright yellow like the sun and emeralds were green like olive leaves and sparkled like water on a sunny day.

Something Bek said grabbed his attention, dragging him back from dreams of fountains and thick carpets. “…Once I was at the temple and heard Simeon and Annus arguing…” Kohlea was astonished, everybody in the kingdom knew those names, but it was not usual to speak of them together. Annus was the High Priest of the Great Lord and much respected and feared by the common people. Simeon was an aged low cast priest who should have retired years ago but by doggedly turning up to the temple every morning at first light he continued to work in his place as doorkeeper to the Court of Dedication. He was much loved by the people and almost every oldest son under the age of 60 could claim to have been held and blessed by him as a babe. Kohlea had been. So had his father. Simeon remembered each one and would greet you by name each time you visited the temple.  Why would Annus stoop to argue with a priest whose existence he barely acknowledged? And what would stir the ire of placid Simeon so much that he would make an issue of it? Deep throated murmurs and exclamations came from all corners of the listening circle of men telling him the other shepherds were wondering the same thing, this was a new story.

“What about?” That was his father, lying beside him, he could feel the grasses bending as his father rolled on to his side to face Bek, interest sparked.

“Annus was telling Ciaphus that the time for the prophecy was almost up, that in 35 years the Hero would appear to destroy the Romans. Simeon heard them and took issue with the interpretation; he said the Hero was going to save us from evil.”

Kohlea frowned wasn’t that the same as the Romans? They were the cause of all evil as far as he could tell. Not that he’d come across much evil or Romans in his 12 years.

“They’re the same thing.” Nald on the other side of the fire was thinking the same as him.

“Simeon didn’t seem to think so, said something about unseen enemies that we were oppressed by…” Beks voice trailed off in uncertainty, then he continued “… something about us breaking a contract with the Great Lord and the Hero coming to pay the forfeit and renew the contract.” The others were listening carefully, “Sounds nothing like what the priests teach,” said his father thoughtfully. “But I always liked Simeon more than Annus, for all he is the high priest…”

The other shepherds signaled assent in murmurs, then Nald asked, “When was this Bek?” The old man riffled his white beard with his fingers, “Must be five years ago.” Kohlea’s father sat up and leaned forward into the circle. “That means the Hero should be destroying the Romans in about 30 years. Assuming he is a man, full grown when he does this, he should be being born any time now.” Kohlea felt a thrill run up his back, he sat up too. Others round the fire were stirring. Bek chuckled, “When’s your next due Tarsh? Maybe you’ll be the father of the Hero.” The others laughed “Tarsh has got so many kids he has an unfair advantage.” Nald made a crude gesture with his hands, Kohlea’s father laughter rumbled full chested across the fold. “Remember hearing a priest read a passage of the scriptures years ago, when I was a boy in Jericho, said the Hero would be born in Bethlehem, so I decided to move here, glory by proximity you know.” Bek looked up, “Your right I remember that prophecy, haven’t heard it in an age, priests always quote the smiting the Romans ones these days.” Nald interrupted “But only when the Romans aren’t around to hear them, when they are they talk peace and love. Hypocrites the lot of them!” he growled. “The hero won’t be one of mine” said Tarsh, redirecting conversation into less contentious lines. “Going to be a son of the royal house, remember your catechisms, ‘Son of David.’ Probably born here because of the Winter Palace, we’ll never see the kid till he pops up full grown to do his heroing with a suit of armor, an army of trained soldiers and a real fancy accent.”  Interested, Kohlea said “Mama’s Da was from the House of David.”

“Kohlea could be the Hero” Nald said the joke evident in his tone, fire light illuminating the teasing smile. Tarsh grinned rubbed his sons head and said “Lily’s father was the youngest son of long line of youngest daughters, the link is tenuous at best, none of mine will be the Hero but I like to think they’ll join his army. Besides there’ll be magic signs portents at the birth of the Hero, so that everybody knows he’s the Hero.”

“What kind of signs?” asked Kohlea

“Stars” suggested Bek

“Comets” guessed Nald

Others put in their suggestions.

Kohlea looked at the stars, one of them seemed to be growing, coming closer, “Something like that?” he asked, jumping up and pointing. The other men followed the direction of his point, the star was bigger now, brighter than the stars around it and coming closer. Bek stood up as if the extra height would give him better insight. “Just like that,” he whispered, the others were standing also. Suddenly as if the star had torn through the sky it jumped in size from a large star to something bigger than the moon, figures of fire could be seen outlined in the stars brightness, which dimmed in comparison and faded into invisibility as the night sky was turned to day by the brightness of the visitation. “Elementals,” the word croaked out of Kohlea’s fear tightened throat and he threw himself full length on the ground hiding his face from the brightness of the beings. Around him he could hear and feel the thud of the other shepherds landing on the springy grass.

“Fear not” and the brilliance seemed to fade a degree, Kohlea risked a look, one of the elementals had stepped forwards, and held out a hand in invitation. There was no way Kohlea was going to take that hand; it would singe his arm off to the elbow. “I come to bring you glad tidings, tonight the Hero, the Son of David is born.”  The elementals voice resonated great joy; deep, rich and dark it tingled up his back bone. “He will save the world from evil and bring healing from on high.”

“Where?” The one word question came from his father.

“You will find him lying in a manger. Wrapped in swaddling clothes” and the elemental band began to recede, brightness diminishing, music wafting behind them as they slowly ascended back the way they had arrived.

Kidlets

My niece and nephew have been entertaining me today. Playing various games, I won Spy Alley (just call me Natasha!) and lost a different game quite spectacularly - as in the absolutely lastest of the last! The name of this game has been mercifully forgotten.

They have shown me how to grass surf - which involves sliding down the hill behind the house on a boogie board and they taught me about 'bolting' which apparently is running even faster than sprinting. Ben desperately wants to participate in this activity with me, I fear he is going to be sadly disappointed!

I have also been subjected to the 'Wisdom of the Young'. Did you know for example that that the night before Christmas Eve is called Christmas Adam, because Adam came before Eve?

Babies and other Girl Stuff

Finally got to visit the new baby nephew today, after lingering cough was explained away to worried parents as 'The Asthma Thing' and not at all infectious, I got to cuddle scrumptious new nephew!! (That is totally true by the way!) He has our family nose (ski jump) and eyes and mouth and chin. But face shape, hair and body type comes from his Mum - which is a very good thing since it means he has not inherited the Righton posterior. Also dark olive skin from his Peruvian blood. (Have you ever wondered why skin colour is described as 'olive'? I mean it's not like people with 'olive' skin have a greenish tinge or anything...) He also has hair on his back! I knew some men have this, but babies?

Very good little boy, hardly cried at all, slept very soundly and contentedly, lolled back, arms stretched out like he owns the world.

I got to be present for his bath, what a circus. First the mother and two grandmothers discussed if there was enough water in the baby bath, then they discussed if it was too hot or too cold, and then who should do actual bathing. All this was done in two languages; English and Spanish. (I have resolved to buy an English/Spanish dictionary tomorrow! I think I should have been getting Carmen (one of my AFCOE room mates) to teach me Spanish words rather than Korean ones.) Once it was determined that there was enough water in the bath (done by adding more water until everybody was satisfied) and that it was the right temperature (done by repeated dipping of multiple elbows into said bath and then further additions of either hot or cold water, depending on opinion of last dipee) and the decision was made of just who was going to be giving said bath, the baby was stripped down to naked and promptly wrapped in a blanket ??? ummmmm, I thought naked was how baths were preformed? But apparently not. First naked baby is wrapped up again, then soap is smeared in head and washed off with wash cloth, then baby is unwrapped again and dipped in water, swished around and had more water drizzled over him and generally marinated something like an overly large steak. I did notice that the soap did not come into the proximity of any of the rest of his body, so it would seem that only the head ever gets dirty. Finally baby was removed from marinade and wrapped up again in large towel, (different one from the first one), making sure the hands were tightly wrapped because apparently they like that. (How can they tell??) I made my escape at this point as I was fairly sure that the process of dressing poor defenceless creature was not going to be any simpler.

If I ever have babies they are going to be seriously deprived, seems to me the kitchen sink would be a wonderful baby bath, (so much easier to empty and water right there on tap - plus you don't have to figure out where to store it...) and all these extra blankets and things just need washing so why bother?? Fill the sink with water, use a thermometer, get the baby naked, dunk it in the water, swish the soap everywhere, wash it's head, play with the water or marinade as desired, take the baby out, pull the plug, dry baby off, dress it. Job done. (Throw in a rubber ducky just for fun - that was about the only thing I could see missing from today's three rings, maybe that's what I can buy him for Christmas.)

Even with the circus, baby Aidan is delicious!!!

Other Girly Stuff for today is clothes.

Mum has said she will buy me some new clothes for Christmas. Something that pleases me muchly, as most of mine are too big - a very nice feeling within limits, but I'm close to reaching those limits. Yesterday we went to Platform. How do you politely tell a shop assistant that you think everything in their shop is hideous? Particularly when she and your mother are determined that you will try on every item in said shop? Eventually they ran out of things for me to try on and we escaped without buying anything. Then we went to Farmers and I got a a couple of nice shirts and a pair of trousers, all for the cost of less than one item at the first shop.

Today I went on my own to Zebrano's in Newmarket. I Love their clothes!!!! However I can't justify spending $400 on one item when I know I'm only going to be wearing it for about 6 months. Last time I spent that much on one thing I wore it about 800 times before it started developing unmendable holes. I seriously felt like I got my money's worth. (I still have it, keep meaning to take a pattern off it and make a new one - however currently it is a box somewhere...) Zebrano's is having a sale in February - not a confirmed rumour, but the assistant said that's when they had their last sale so chances are ... and there is this gorgeous preppy tunic top I'm going to keep my eye on! (Actually I will admit to having a good look at it's construction, fairly simple, I'm going to see if I can draw a pattern and make it. So sale will only be necessary on the off chance that I fail.)

Tomorrow is for Christmas shopping and shoes - have to find an everyday pair, seeing as I threw the last pair away before I left the US. Keep in mind how much I hate shoe shopping and send up a prayer for me!

HomeComing

Today was my first Sabbath back in New Zealand, and I spent it curled up with a good book, (I don't know how long it is since I did that), and a flu. Curses on people who fly when they are not well and spread their germs through the aeroplanes air-conditioning.

Has been so lovely to see my family again. My nephew and niece have grown up so much in just one year. They both started drawing my portrait, multiple attempts required - Aunty Treena as a pineapple, an apple, an olive, a tooth ... I think that they recognise their current lack of life drawing skills, and are trying to compensate with abstract concepts. Slightly more alarming was Aunty Treena with her family of apples/olives/teeth/... including husband and about 100 children! I suspect a conspiracy. Had barely been home 3 hours before every member of my immediate family started commenting. Say's Brother; "I've got this friend I should introduce you too, names Ivan ...", Sister; "One of my friends has this brother, he's really intelligent ..." (as far as  know it is a different friend), Stepfather never mentioned a potential son-in-law, just told me I should apply for a job at the childcare centre two doors down from their house, because then I "could get practice for when [I] have [my] own children ..." Mum never mentioned men or children, but did whisk me off to the hairdresser within two hours of being off the plane, an attention I am exceedingly grateful for, but also somewhat suspicious of, given rest of families preoccupations.

My Sister-in-law also did not mention men, but that is because she was a.) hugely uncomfortable because she is pregnant and overdue and b.) having to translate everything that was said into Spanish so that her Mother could understand  and be part of the conversation - so she didn't have time for extra inanities! The baby was born last night. (See it obeyed me when I said it had to wait until I got home.)Worst thing is I can't go see him till every vestige of the aeroplane germs are gone - I am so NOT going to be responsible for giving him his first flu at less than 24 hours old.

Things I have loved about being home:

It has been great to reclaim my some of my independence, been driving a lot - with no ill effects from minuscule amount of driving on American roads - except for the small habit of turning on the wind-wipers when I really want the blinkers - and vice versa ... and a problem with distinguishing my right from my left.

Also love being able to choose what I want to eat for meals instead of having to eat what was put in front of me. Have not even had to look at oatmeal since I left Weimar :-D Still having avocado and tomato on toast for breakfast; which for my non-Weimar friends, was my solution to the never ending porridge/oatmeal they tried to feed us - I started bringing my own food to the cafe. Now however I don't have to worry about people trying to steal the avocado from me - or to be more precise trying to guilt me into handing it over voluntarily ... 

On the other hand I had forgotten how muggy and humid Auckland can be, probably because last Christmas I came home from Oz where the temperatures were 39-42 C (100-110 F) with 80-90% humidity everyday, so Auckland temps and humidity were a welcome relief. This time I coming directly from winter ... 

And I have yet to see my stars - been cloudy ever since I got home, there is a reason we're called 'The Land Of The Long White Cloud.'

Probably should mention the success of the year; I lost 71 pounds while I was in America, 55 at Black Hills and 16 at Weimar. That is about 32 kg's, but the pounds sound soooo much better that I may just think in pounds for the rest of my life. Still have a long way to go, but I will get there!!!!!!! Technically my year is not up until the 17th of Jan which is when I arrived at Black Hills (or was it the 18th - that first couple of days is a jet-lagged blur) regardless I'm going to keep counting until 17th Jan 2011, going to try for another 9 pounds and make it an even 80 pounds for the year. Also going to go to the doctor and get some blood work done, will be interesting to see the differences. I already know that my blood pressure is a very respectable 117/74 down from 162/130 at it's absolute worst.

Final lovely thing about coming home is that my adorable little cat Cinnamon decided to make the most of the time she has me for and to not waste any of it by snubbing me. She has been following me around like a little puppy, curling up next to me whenever I sit down and generally being the cutest cuddliest sweetest kitty imaginable.

(P.S. In case your worried my American friends, I do miss you, and if at all possible I will come back to visit you all one day - In the meantime there is Facebook and Skype.)

Re-Baptism Testimony

Jesus is my Saviour, my God, my Comforter, Provider and Divine Stalker. I did not find Jesus; I had no interest in finding Him. He pursued me;

Persistently, through the wilderness years when I wanted nothing to do with Him.

Gently, through the stumbling years when I was groping around wondering if He was really out there and if He really cared.

Firmly, through the rebellious years when I knew He was waiting but I wanted things to be my way.

Lovingly, through the hesitant years when I allowed my fear to overcome the surrender I desired.

And finally, He has taught me that I can’t live without Him.

I can’t say there was a particular instant when I was converted, there was a day when I gave my heart and life into His keeping, but it was the result of a long and gentle process.

Most recently He has shown me how to get off the rollercoaster and stop having the ‘up and down experience’ that leaves me frustrated. He has taught me to give my problems to Him and ‘rest’ in the knowledge that He can and will solve them, and He has demonstrated this willing ability time and again.

It is because of His care, persistence, firmness and love that I am rededicating my life to Him.

"Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow ..."

Currently I am at Sacramento Airport using the free WiFi while I wait for my flight, 3 hours to go, so this can be a nice long chatty type post, nothing else I have to be doing! Especially since I just found free electricity too.

The title above is a quote lifted from Shakespeare, originally spoken by Juliet who is a complete airhead, however it accurately describes how I am feeling right now.

On the one hand I am excited to be going home, to see my family who I haven't seen in almost a year, and to meet my new little nephew. (Kathy, has he been born yet????) And, to catch up with my lovely lovely friends and find out what has happened in every-bodies lives since I have been gone. And just to breath NZ air and feel like I am back in my place!

On the other hand I have made so many dear friends in America who I will miss greatly. All the People at BHHEC who are my American Home and Family and my 2 great room mates, fantastic classmates, and the Staff at AFCOE who have enriched my life so greatly and weasled themselves into my heart - I will miss you all!!

I still haven't figured out if it is best to be the person leaving or the person staying - if you stay then you only lose one person, but life goes on in the same monotonous routine so the fact that that person is gone leaves a noticeable hole. If you go then you lose everyone - but the next adventure begins which distracts you from the feeling of 'missingness'!

In this case I think being the person staying would suck the most because everybody is leaving, and there is only you and the monotonous routine left ...

Things I am looking forward to about being at Home:

• Family and Friends
• Seeing My stars! The Southern Cross, Orion standing on his head - he actually looks a little odd the right way up ;-) I am looking forward to seeing the Milky Way - the stars are so dim in the US, I miss them.
• Summer! 
• Feijoa's 
• Cinnamon - my Cat! (Praying that she will forgive me immediately for deserting her for so long and decide not to give me the silent treatment!)
• Mum's new house - I get to explore.
• Driving on the left hand side of the road - and not risking getting run over every time I have to cross a road.
• Hopefully getting left and right sorted out in my head again. Being in America has totally screwed my sense of left and right ... and yes before anyone says anything I will admit that it was pretty shaky to begin with!
• Christmas!

Things I will miss from America:

• Friends!!!!!!!!!!!! I could go on and list you all but between South Dakota and California it would take a long time ... 
• Wild flowers - America has so many wild flowers compared to NZ - given that we don't really have any, except dandelions and daisies in the lawn. I don't think I have seen a single daisy since I've been here - weird. I'll post a Facebook Album of wild flower pictures - just don't judge my photography skills they totally depend on my point and shoot camera, I'd much rather paint the flowers than photograph them - but then of course by the time I've finished with that, they won't actually be recognisable...
• Persimmon orchards - I've never seen more than one persimmon tree in the same place before, to see row upon row of trees of ripe persimmons has been fascinating.
• Lays Limon chips.
• Chipmunks!!!!!!!!!!!!! (but I miss them already, had a whole family outside my room in South Dakota, none in California.)
• Wild life - seeing deer wandering around the campus's of both Weimar and BHHEC, chipmunks, squirrels, bison, turkeys - flocks of them flying in SD and more wandering around peoples front lawns in California, and that was in the city, and so many more different species that I had only read about in books before. But I won't miss skunks!! (Never actually saw one of them, just smelled them!)
• Surprises - In NZ I am comfortable, I know and am known. In America I am always bumping into surprises, whether it is a word that means something different to what it means for me or different ways of doing things or a host of little things that cause me to see life in new ways - don't always like them but they are always interesting!!!!
• Being Unique, LOL. At home I get to blend into the crowd, here the moment I open my mouth I'm marked out as different.
• The Amazing Spiritual food we have been feed daily at AFCOE! I am really really going to miss this! But I know that it's time for me to be sent out to do what I've been training for in the last four and a half months and I know that as long as I keep up my personal devotions and maintain that connection with God, He will continue to provide my Spiritual nourishment!!!! And that is most important because I don't want to lose what I have gained here.

I will do a whole separate post about the AFCOE experience, here I will just say that it has been amazing, and has changed my life forever!!

Well I'm going to finish this post up, post the testimonial from my re-baptism, have a brief nap while there is no one around - airport is quiet, we seem to be between flights or something - and then I will write the promised AFCOE experience blog.

Tata  for now.

Sermon: Dry Bones and a Mighty Army

Introduction: 

On March 29, 1974, three farmers were drilling holes in the hopes of finding water when they came upon some ancient terracotta pottery shards. It didn't take long for news of this discovery to spread and by July a Chinese archaeological team began excavating the site.

What these farmers had discovered one of the greatest archaeological finds of the twentieth century, the 2200-year-old remains of a life-sized, terracotta army which had been buried with Qin Shihuangdi, the man who had united the varied provinces of China and thus became the very first emperor of China (221-210 BCE).

Even before Qin Shihuangdi unified China, he began building his own mausoleum, nearly as soon as he came to power in 247 BCE at age 13. It is believed that it took 700,000 workers to build what became Qin Shihuangdi's necropolis and that when it was finished, he had all 700,000 workers buried alive within it to keep its intricacies a secret. The terracotta army was found just outside of this tomb complex, near modern-day Xi'an in the Shaanxi province.

The terracotta army consists of over 8,000 soldiers of varying ranks. Each one is life-sized and unique. The details in the faces and hairstyles as well as clothing and arm positioning make no two terracotta soldiers alike. When placed, each soldier carried a weapon; however either time or tomb robbers have removed these. Each soldier had also been painted but as each one is unearthed by archaeologists, the remaining paint unfortunately crumbles off the figures. All the soldiers have been placed facing east, standing in battle formations. (http://history1900s.about.com/od/1970s/qt/terracottaarmy.htm)

In the Bible we find the story of another great army that is discovered, like the terracotta army of Qin Shihuangdi this army is found in disarray and is reformed and revived and set on its feet in battle formation, but unlike Qin Shihuangdi’s army of clay, this army is living and vital. And, while both armies face the east this army is not waiting to fight it is waiting to welcome their Lord who is coming from the east.

We find the story in Ezekiel chapter 37:1-14

In this passagae Ezekiel is commanded three times to prophecy

And we will see there are three main points that we can take from the story;

1. Prophecy – reformation and revival come as a result of hearing and acting on God’s Word
2. Prophesy Again – we are commanded to prophesy/preach the word of the Lord to the people who are ‘dead’
3. Prophecy Reformation and Revival – then Jesus will bring the reformed and revived church into the promised land/Heaven

The term prophecy comes from the Hebrew word nâbâ' (naw-baw') which means ... to prophesy, that is, speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse)

And this is what Ezekiel did – he spoke the words of the Lord.

Eze 37:1  The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

Eze 37:2  And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

Eze 37:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

Main Point 1: 

Prophecy – reformation and revival come as a result of hearing and acting on God’s Word

In Ezekiel chapter 37 verses 4 - 8 we see the pattern for reformation and revival revealed

Eze 37:4  Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

Eze 37:5  Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

Eze 37:6  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Eze 37:7  So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

Eze 37:8  And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above ...

The pattern that is revealed has three parts

1. Thus saith the Lord - prophecy to the bones, tell the bones what God is going to do
2. The command is obeyed
3. God does what He has said - flesh and sinew and skin grow

These verses demonstrate reformation; dry bones reconnecting, growing flesh, sinew and skin.

But there is a problem, because verse 8 finishes by telling us that ...

Eze 37:8  ... but there was no breath in them.

Like the terracotta army these bones are merely the forms of men, there is no life or power in them. Unlike the archaeologists who can only restore each clay soldier to a resemblance of their former glory, God can take these dead bodies and fill them with life, His life, and power and bring them to a resemblance of Him, their king.

The Archaeologists do the best they can with mortar, paint and lots of little brushes, God works quite differently.

God’s solution to this problem is to tell Ezekiel to prophecy again.

Eze 37:9  Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

Eze 37:10  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Here we see the same pattern revealed

1. Thus saith the Lord - prophecy to the wind, tell the wind what God is going to do
2. The command is obeyed
3. God does what He has said - the bones became alive

These verses demonstrate revival; and the bones formerly known as very dry became a great army.

But there is a problem, the first prophecy that God gave Ezekiel in chapter 37 verse 6 ends with ‘... and ye shall know that I am the LORD’ this portion of the prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled

God solves this problem by telling Ezekiel to prophesy again

Eze 37:11  Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

Eze 37:12  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

Eze 37:13  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

Eze 37:14  And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

Notice there is now a new portion to the prophecy, God promises that as well as ‘knowing that He is the Lord’ He will “place you in your own land”

But there is a problem, this time the command is not obeyed, Ezekiel does not prophesy, he does not give God’s message to the whole house of Israel. The pattern is not completed.

Main Point 2: 

Prophesy Again - We are commanded to prophesy/preach the word of the Lord to the people who are ‘dead’

God’s solution comes in Revelation 10 verse 11, where the angel gives John a message that is directed to the Advent people who have just recovered from the great disappointment, from eating the book that was sweet in the mouth and bitter in the belly.

The message God sends them is “Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”

How do we know that this message to John is linked to Ezekiel’s vision?

Consider

In Ezekiel’s vision he saw a great army that has been reformed, and revived, given the breath of life, God has told him that this great army – these bones – is the whole house of Israel.

The Advent people (spiritual Israel) who John’s message is directed to, have just recovered from the great disappointment, the ‘bitter in the belly’ experience – like the people in Ezekiel’s vision they cry out, “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts” Eze 37:11

Then they rediscover and begin to obey the great truths of God’s Word; the State of the dead, the Sanctuary and the Sabbath. Flesh, sinew and skin grow on the body of the church.

And God breathes life into them in the form of the Spirit of Prophecy and they become a great army.

So the question must be asked; What is the church supposed to prophecy if they are to obey the command in Revelation 10:11?

They are to prophecy the last message, the third message, which was given to Ezekiel...

The church is to complete the pattern that God established in the first two prophecies in Ezekiel’s vision;

1. Thus saith the Lord – prophesy to the Whole House of Israel
2. The command is obeyed – obey God’s command, and then wait while
3. God does what He has said

And the message they are to give is the flip side of the third angel’s message. The third Angels message is a warning to the wicked against receiving the mark of the beast, Ezekiel’s third message is a promise to the saints who patiently keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Eze 37:12  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

Eze 37:13  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

Eze 37:14  And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD

They are to prophecy reformation and revival to those who have come out of Babylon.

The Chinese Emperor had designated a task to his terracotta soldiers, they were to fight the Emperor’s battles in the neither world, and allow him to conquer it in the same way that he conquered the warring states of China. 

God has given his army a task too; we are commanded to prophesy/preach the word of the Lord to the people who are ‘dead’

Main Point 3: 

Prophecy Reformation and Revival - Jesus will bring the reformed and revived church into the promised land/Heaven

The army of Qin Shihuangdi never had a hope of performing the task assigned to it, God’s army does, because He is in charge of revitalising it and causing it to do His bidding, something the Chinese Emperor never had the power to do with his army. 

Ezekiel gives us clues as to how God achieves this reformation and revival in the first prophecy

Eze 37:5  ...I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live

And in the second prophecy

Eze 37:9  ... Prophesy unto the wind ... say to the wind ... breathe upon these slain, that they may live

And in the third prophecy

Eze 37:14  And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live ...

Job’s young friend Elihu agreed that the Spirit and breath of God brought life when he said

Job 33:4  The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

So ‘How does the Spirit of God bring about reformation and revival in our lives?’

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that life comes from the Spirit because the Spirit brings Christ to our view

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We are changed by beholding, by seeing Christ. John agrees with this when he says in

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

And then he continues with an instruction

1Jn 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Now the question must be asked ‘How does one Purify Self?’

John answers this question in John 6:63 when he says

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

So we know that purifying self is nothing that we ourselves can do, rather it is something that God does in us through His Spirit using His Word.

And God  shows us the same thing in Ezekiel’s vision, chapter 37 verse 4

Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

This leads us to ask ‘What Are the Words Of Life?’

Paul answers this question in 2 Timothy 3:16 

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

And Peter gives more explicit instruction in 2Pe 1:3-4 when he says

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

From Peter we see that through knowledge of Jesus, through claiming the great and precious promises in the Holy Word of God, we become ‘partakers of the divine nature’, we are remade in Christ’s image, we are reformed and revived and we grow together to become that mighty army that God is waiting for so that He can end the great controversy and take us all back to heaven

When claiming promises we are making mini prophecies and we follow the same pattern we have already found in Ezekiel;

1. We find our appropriate ‘Thus saith the Lord’ e.g. Eze 37:12  Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel
2. We obey the command/condition implicit in the promise, ‘Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.' We go and tell others of the same reforming and reviving grace that we have found in God’s exceeding great and precious promises, and
3.  We wait trustingly for to God do what He has said, He will take us to Heaven and in the meantime, while we carry out His instructions and prophecy to the world we are changed into the image of Christ.

Conclusion: 

God tells us that the through claiming the ‘exceeding great and precious promises’ in the word we can escape ‘the corruption that is in the world through lust.’

We can overcome sin and purify ourselves just as Jesus is pure, then He makes us another promise, one that mirrors and expands the third prophecy to the bones in Ezekiel 

He promises in Revelation 21:7 that

‘... He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.’

One day I expect to look up into the sky and see from the east, a cloud of angels coming with my Jesus; my Saviour and my King, coming to collect me, to take me to be forever with Him. I imagine I won’t be able to take my eyes off Him, but I know that if I did glance around I would see that mighty army, that Ezekiel prophesied about, rising with me to greet our Lord in the air.

One day I plan to hear Jesus tell me that He is my God and I am His daughter.

To make sure that I am a part of this group I am committing my life to ‘prophesying again’ to spreading the word about Gods great and mighty promises and claiming them for myself also, so that He can change me into His image.

If you will commit to doing the same and joining me in the clouds where we will say together ‘Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him...’ then raise your hand...

I'm Not Dead!

As stated in the title "I'm Not Dead!" to clarify let me add "I wasn't hit by a truck." Now obviously all of you who are reading this can make the same statement. :-) However I am extra thankful to be making this statement because yesterday I almost was. I think it is highly important that we pray for each other, for our safety and salvation. And, I'm very grateful to all the people who have been praying for me!!!!!

Yesterday Rebecca and I were walking to the place where we were meeting our ride and by coincidence they pulled up to the lights just as I arrived at the cross signal, I tossed a brief glance to the right, there were no cars coming so I went to run over to them, just as a huge truck whizzed past my nose from the left. (Note to Self: In America look left before crossing the road!) If I'd been half a second earlier or the truck half a second later I would now be a flat and greasy spot on the road. Praise God for His protections.

Now this is where it gets interesting, when we had safely climbed into the car Dallena told us that as they were driving to meet us she had a sudden impression of me lying dead on the road. She took that to mean that Rebecca and I were in danger and she prayed a quick prayer for our protection. By the time she had said this they were slowing to a stop at the lights, and could see Rebecca and I walking on the footpath and the truck coming from the opposite direction. So she and Wing got to see the whole almost squashing incident in semi-slow motion. When we climbed into the car they both looked a bit pale and big eyed.

I am exceedingly thankful for my Guardian Angel today!!! And I suggest that we seriously take the time to pray for each other everyday. Also make sure your right with God because you never know when your time is over and then it is too late. I want to see all my lovely friends in heaven (I also intend to see you many more times before I get to heaven too!) so I'll be praying for you.

Sloppy Joes

Today we had Sloppy Joes for potluck at church. Turns out that Sloppy Joes are another one of those American things that leave me bewildered...




Let me explain;
First, a Sloppy Joes is a sweet tomato sauce (that actually bears little resemblance to a tomato in flavour - kind of chutney flavoured I thought) that has mince, or a fake mince equivalent, mixed into it in a ratio that distinctly favours the sauce - hence the description of sloppy. (I have no idea where Joe comes from!)

Second, they then slop a big spoonful of this mixture onto the bottom half of a burger bun, place the rest of the bun on top and you are then expected to eat the messy thing with all the innards falling sloppily onto your plate, chin, shirt, the floor, etc ...

... but, I didn't eat it in the proscribed way, I openned the bun back up, scrapped half the mixture onto the top of the bun and then ate in the manner of a tidy open sandwich.

To be honest if there had been any other option I would have eaten that instead, well maybe not oatmeal, but anything else except oatmeal would have been a pleasant alternative!

An Awesome Afternoon

I have been meaning to put up my thoughts on American doors, houses and things American in general for a long time, especially since we have been out knocking on doors quite a lot recently, looking for people who would like to have Bible Studies. Today however is not the day I am going to expose those thoughts. Instead I am going to tell you about my afternoon.

We (Rebecca – my outreach partner, and I) had an awesome day today, we went out knocking on doors and inviting people to come to a series of Bible Prophecy meetings that is starting on Friday night. At first it was really slow, lots of people not home or not interested, but we had prayed for quick rejections so that we didn’t waste time on people who weren't interested. It was also harder than previous because we had decided not to leave the advertising cards on the doors – unless we felt impressed to - because we had found out in the first house we went to that the cards had arrived in the mail that day and we wanted to conserve the cards so that we had enough left for Thursday. So we weren't feeling as if we were achieving anything when we knocked on house after house with nobody in them. But we kept on, praying between the houses and refusing to be discouraged.

The block we were on turned out to be the block where a man we had met earlier (he had ordered one of the free Cosmic Conflict DVD's) lived. He wasn’t home so we left a card on his door – we have decided to pray that he is convicted that he needs to be witnessing for God and that he comes to AFCOE. At the house right next door to him we met Maria, she wants to come to the meetings and filled in an advance registration card, we need to pray for her health as she has a cold starting.

Around the corner and on the other side of the road we met Nick, we didn’t even get to start our spiel he saw the card in my hand and said “Oh I got that in the mail, it’s the only bit of mail I didn’t throw away.” He also filled in the advance registration card and is totally planning on coming. Rebecca and I decided to also pray that he comes to AFCOE next year.

Then we went to revisit some people we had met previously to invite them to the meetings. The first three people we visited weren’t home then as we were about to head to the next house Rebecca said “we should visit the Man-Who-Goes-To-The-Rocklin-Church-Because-He-Likes-The-Music” (We found out today that his name is David.) We had a great chat, he is totally planning on coming to the meetings. 

After David we briefly visited Jan, who I met with Tammy. She was on the phone so we were very very brief, just gave her the card and invited her. We are praying that she will come to the meetings.

  

Then we went down to visit the ‘Mormon-Girl-Who-Is-Not-Living-Like-A-Mormon’ she also said she would come to the meetings. When we walked onto her street it reminded me that we had had a really good conversation with a lady who lived a few houses down the road so we figured out which was her house and knocked on her door and invited her, she was excited and took enough cards to give one to everybody in her Bible study group! She is planning on coming to the meetings!

Then we went to visit Michelle one of our people we are doing Bible Studies with, she was in the middle of a Halloween Party so we made it quick, but she seemed interested. From her we went to her next door neighbour the ‘Talkative-Lady-Who-Is-Interested-In-Health’, we invited her to the meetings and I had brought a book on natural remedies for children with me which I had planned to give to one of the people who wasn't home, so we gave it to this lady instead. (I am trying to get rid of stuff so I don’t have so much stuff to ship home.) She just about cried and we had a great conversation and she hugged us both when we left and she is totally planning on coming to the meetings too.

I have been feeling that we should be more pushy about trying to get people to sign up for Bible Studies but I just can’t do it. Today it showed me that the way we have been working was ok, everybody we went back to visit was very happy to see us and happy to have a second chat, and almost all of them said they will come to the meetings.

Now we just have to keep praying that nothing stops them from coming to the meetings, and that I recognise them all when I see them.

You may have noticed the interesting names we give people, it's because we don't always remember or find out their real name - plus the descriptions help me remember their stories.

Assurance

Psalm 95:1
O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

I was reading this passage in my devotional today and I was thinking about all the different metaphors Jesus uses for Himself, when I put some of them together I get the following picture:

Me standing in the cleft of the rock (Jesus is the rock), wearing the armour of light;

• the helmet of salvation - Jesus provides my salvation, 
• the breastplate of righteousness - Jesus is my righteousness,
• the belt of truth - Jesus is the truth,
• the shoes of preparedness to preach the gospel - the good news about Jesus,
• the shield of faith - faith that Jesus will keep His word, according to the great and mighty promises recorded in the Bible,
• and the sword of the spirit - the Bible, the Word of God and revelation of Jesus.

We are only given two tasks, (everything else is the how):
       1.  to proclaim God's goodness to us.
       2.  to stand firm, to resist and overcome temptation.

So with our feet planted firmly on the rock, our sure foundation we declare the wonders of God's mercy, forgiveness, love and redemptive, transformative powers. And when the winds come and the water rises and temptation tries to sweep us away we stand firm in the knowledge that God will not allow is to be snatched from His hand (John 10:28,29), that He will use His rod and His staff (Ps 23:4) to keep us in His way. (John 14:6)

The Devil Flees ...

James 4:7-8a (KJV) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

I have always thought that the reason the devil flees in this passage is because as we submit and draw closer to God and God draws closer to us, that the devil flees from the presence of God, that he can’t bear to be where God is.

Recently however I have been thinking about stories where God/Jesus and the devil were in the same place and the devil did not flee. E.g in the wilderness where the devil tempted Jesus for 40 days, on the cross where the devil crucified Jesus, when Moses was resurrected the devil stayed and argued over the body, the devil is shown in heaven with God in the first few chapters of Job.

So questions:

1. Is it possible for the devil and God to both be actively working in someone’s life at the same time?
2. Why does the devil flee when we resist him?

 Answers must be supported by scripture!!!!!

Clothes and Other Girly Stuff

Note: This post has been a couple of days in the growing, please put any inconsistencies down to that.

I've been meaning to put these up for a while - pictures of the skirts I made to come to AFCOE and of the tops I bought. So today instead of reading and summarising a chapter from the book Evangelism, I took pics of the aforementioned clothes - which side tracked me into trying on everything in my wardrobe .... So after that venture which was rather fun and enlightening (I really should get rid of a few things but I'm enjoying the bagginess...) I finally got back to finish this blog entry!

Some of you may remember my anguished cries of "but, I haven't worn a skirt in ten years!" when I was accepted to AFCOE and realised it would mean some major wardrobe changes. This necessitated a couple of shopping trips with Heather, (thanks :-D) and after trying on about a million skirts I came to the conclusion that I must be differently shaped than most american women - more bum, less waist! The only things that came close to fitting looked decidedly matronly. So it was decided (by me) that I was going to make some skirts. Now I must say that I did honestly consider colours - truly! Only I pragmatically determined that black goes with all the tops I have (since all my pants are black too) and so I would make three black skirts.

Here they are:

1. This little number is very plain; long, black, kind of boring but very comfortable. Has the redeeming feature of a kick-pleat at the back.

The kick-pleat.

2. This skirt is not at all boring. Technically I think the material was supposed to be used for cushion covers. A light taffata type fabric that has lots of little beads sewn in a geometric arrangement giving it the puckered look. Very uncomfortable if sitting on a hard surface, so I try to know what I will be doing for the day before I wear it. So far it has been reserved for Sabbath - the pews at church have cushions.

Has been sewn to be reversible and I left the edges of the seam bare so that they will fray (I did stay stitch about a cm in from the edge so the seam is not in danger.) Also left the hem as the salvage because I like the look it gives.

One side of the fabric - notice all the little balls? Those are the beads that have been wrapped in the fabric and then sewn around to make the puckered effect. (Not by me.) They are quite hard.

The other side of the fabric has a nice soft puckered effect.

3. This skirt has not been worn much yet - it is rather warm to wear. Probably because it is technically from the drapery section of the fabric shop - but I loved the pattern woven into it. I made this one also as a simple straight skirt, instead of hemming it (too bulky to fold) I sewed a ribbon around the raw edge at the bottom which gives a lovely effect. and also put a small split on the right hand side. Just so it was a bit different in style from the other two.

The pattern ...

 with a side split and a ribbon for a hem ...

This is the first top I bought ... I like Blue!

The second top, it has a curious pleated texture which falls very nicely when it is worn - doesn't look so good on the hanger.

This top they gave us when we arrived at AFCOE - it is a lovely royal blue colour which doesn't show well in the picture, and that is its only redeeming feature. I've worn it twice and have decided that the only way it will be worn again is if I have nothing else left clean in my wardrobe!!













Other girly stuff ....

I brought some more hair dye yesterday to cover the large amount of whites that are beginning to appear.... Here is the box - so Mum can see the pic and be assured I'm not going too dark - yes I know you like me blonde ... but I like me brunette! Plus I HATE re-growth and this is close enough to my real colour that I don't get a line as it grows out - well except for the whites ...










What else ... Shoes...

I faced up to one of my fears and went shoe shopping. Brought two pairs after visiting about 10 shoe shops (Did I mention I HATE shoe shopping?) One in a nice pair of court style shoes with a heel - Yes I said heel, about an inch high - don't all die of shock ... lol. And then it suddenly struck me that since I'm not teaching chemistry any more and there is no risk of spilling corrosives on my feet, I can get shoes that don't reach to the ankles, so I got a cute pair of Mary-Janes. Only problem with that is now I have tan lines on my feet ... no I will NOT post pics!

Shopping in California ...

Got to a shopping mall last week - wandered around and didn't buy anything except lunch - Thai, the noodles were sweet! Disgusting!!! Who makes Thai with sweet noodles?? Americans apparently...

Anyway I did get trapped by one of those secret mineral cleanser people - I thought I had successfully avoided making eye contact as I hurried past only to discover that they are now working in teams, one distracts you into not looking in their direction while another one plants their-self directly in front of you, then you have to either walk over the top of them or stop, or if you have the dexterity of a ballerina you might still manage to get away - I don't. Before I could stutter "I'm not interested" in a commanding/surprised tone she had wiped out a pot of something and was rubbing it into my arm, telling me that the crud appearing was my dead skin cells, trying the scare tactics. I waited till she had finished cleaning my arm then announced in my best teacher voice that "I won't be buying anything, thank you" and made my escape with one arm now crud free and the other still cruddy, bearing testimony to the products effectiveness. I would just like to say that it is a big con because within about an hour both arms looked and felt exactly the same again!

This shopping mall was almost completely inhabited by clothes shops, shoe shops, and random junk gift shops. There was one chocolate shop which I virtuously avoided! Not a single actually interesting shop - no bookshops, craft shops or science toy shops, couldn't find anywhere to get a manicure either - not that I was planning to, just was surprised that there were none. Even hair dressers were in short supply. I did however find a Pumpkin Patch! (For my American friends - if your still friends after my prior noodle comment... Pumpkin Patch is a children's clothes brand from NZ, which I spent a lot of money in a few years ago when my lovely niece and nephew were a little younger.)

I think that is all the girly stuff I have to tell ... except, I did discover cherry flavoured prunes, I don't like them.