Man of Steel

"The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions" (1 Thessalonians 1 verse 5)
 

It makes me think of the latest Superman movie: Man of Steel and it just gives so much more weight to it. Jesus was fully man, but also fully God. If ever there was a man with the strongest convictions it was him - the REAL Man of Steel.

 

Oh Holy Spirit... put steel in my convictions too!

Colossians 1 - strength...

"As you learn more and more how God works,

you will learn how to do your work.

We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul -

not the grim strength of gritting your teeth

BUT THE GLORY-STRENGTH GOD GIVES.

It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy,

thanking the Father who makes us strong enough

to take part in everything bright and beautiful he has for us."

 

"...everything got started IN HIM and finds it's PURPOSE in him"

 

"NOT ONLY THAT

but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe -

people and things

animals and atoms,

get properly fixed and fit together

in vibrant harmonies..."

 

 

{Oh how beautiful and comforting to know!

People

Things

Animals (I love this);
and even Atoms

 

Properly fixed and not just in harmony, but VIBRANT harmony!}

Philippians - lines from Paul's happiest letter...

2: "Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God.
That energy is God's energy -
an energy deep within you."

 

3: "I'm off running and I'm not turning back."

 

4: "...shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
Before you know it,
a sense of God's wholeness -
everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down.

 

"I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am"

The Secret Plan of God

PURPOSE: Extracts from Ephesians 1 and 3...

 

"It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.

Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up,

he had his eye on us,

had designs on us for glorious living,

part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

 

I ask God...

to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally,

your eyes focused and clear,

so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do,

grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers,

oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

 

When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way,

I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians.

God saw to it that I was equipped,

but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities

 

God can do anything, you know—

far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!

He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us,

his Spirit deeply and gently within us."

 

 

Job 26

"By His power He stills sea storms

by His wisdom He tames sea monsters

with one breath He clears the sky,

with one finger He crushes the sea serpent.

And this is only the beginning, 

a mere whisper of His rule.

Whatever would we do if He really raised His voice! "

The Word

“I am The Word who spoke no word, with a 1’000 angels waiting for my call!”

(Theocracy, one of my favourite songs…)

Of all the ways You have been described, this one is by far my favourite. It is their perspective that lends depth to the greatest act of love. I guess it is because I would give my own life for the ones I love.

I cannot even imagine what Our Father or the angels must have gone through during your time to and on the cross. If someone had to hurt a loved one of mine I would be there throwing punches and bringing down a whole lot of ass-kicking.

And You knew. You know that if You had to utter one single word the angels would have come and brought with them a fight that would have altered our existence as we know it. Having to watch you die in that way must have killed them as well…

Your silence was one of the greatest selfless acts ever.

The Western Time Traveller

This was the very first DREAM that felt like more than a dream to me…

I remember reading a few days earlier that a person cannot remember the beginning of a dream. It always starts somewhere “midstream”. You find yourself somewhere with no recollection of how you got there. But this “dream” had a very significant start: -

A man was sitting in a car driving in outer space and his car was speaking to him: reading out the reminders he programmed earlier on. The car paused for a while and said: “remember it’s “so and so’s” birthday today. (I can’t remember the name)… The man looked visibly distraught and at that moment I realised that it was HIS birthday. But why would he program the car to remember his own birthday?

And then it unfolds…

He had killed himself 9 year ago… he wanted to kill off his bad self and become a better person. And his birthday was his way of never forgetting where he was coming from and who he was. Remembering his past and what is driving him to be this better person.

At that point in time the theme song from the show started and it tells you his story. How he killed himself and travelled back in time and now finds himself in the Wild West, helping all people, being a good sheriff… I remember at the time I was thinking: wow, I wish I could do what he did…

And then the chorus hit me:  “but if he only knew… if he only realised that Jesus had already died for his sins. He was forgiven and perfectly accepted by God the way he was 9 years ago. He was always perfectly loved… all of this was in vain….

When I woke up I could still sing the song… it was lingering and catchy; and it hit home.

Every Day

[Chorus] Every day a little stronger

Pushing up against a wall of fear

Learning my path was not to end here

You have spoken and Your calling is clear…

 

[Verse 1] Day-by-day you lead us with Your gentle Hand

Into a future shaped to glorify

Although my body’s but a handful o’ sand

Your armour renders me unshakable.

 

[Verse 2] So we can fight this fight, already won

Side-by-side with guidance from Your Son

Your Spirit in us lights the truthful way

And in this vict’ry we proclaim…

 

 [Chorus] Every day a little stronger

Pushing up against a wall of fear

Learning my path was not to end here

You have spoken and Your calling is clear…

 

[Bridge] For doubt like whirlwinds tries to cloud my mind

But we don’t need to see to fight this fight

I close my eyes and see Your Glorious Light

You’re all around me and I realise…

 

[Chorus] Every day a little stronger

Pushing up against a wall of fear

Learning my path was not to end here

You have spoken and Your calling is clear…

The Mirror

On my way back from class one Monday evening I was praying to God and stubbornly told Him that I NEEDED Him to lead the way. I was NOT going to move until He tells me to! I needed to know His Will…

 

I looked up and in my mind’s eye I could see Him standing in front of me, holding up a mirror. I started jumping frantically to try and get around the mirror so that I could get to Him! At least He was there again but just out of reach! I couldn’t get over the mirror!

 

Out of sheer exhaustion I stopped and looked up – seeing myself in the mirror…

 

At the time I thought that He was trying to tell me that I had to rely on myself. That I had to trust myself and follow my heart.

 

It was only months later… when I was listening to another sermon that I realised that during this image God was telling me that He was already within me. I didn’t have to rely on myself. I could rely on His Spirit, within me.

A Shooting Star

The first time I really remember God’s unequivocated presence was driving home from a weekend visit at my mom’s. I was crying in the car: partly because I didn’t want to go back to work (I was still working at the dreadful Nazi camp) and I asked God to help me, but I also realised that I was so sinful that I didn’t have any grounds to stand on, or ask for His help. There was no way that I deserved it and I told Him how sorry I was.

I was still wrapped up in my thoughts when I saw the most incredibly bright shooting star right across the full length of my front window. And with that, in the moment, I felt the words “you’re forgiven”. If the tears before weren’t enough, I started sobbing again, but this time out of relief and the most sincere amount of gratitude… To this day I sometimes wish for another shooting star… just a sign from Him… (although sometimes I can hear Him say not to focus on the past. His signs are still with me every day... just in different forms)

The Waiting Room

This isn’t right. This was not how it was supposed to happen…

I just died.

I was a great distance away from earth, and yet I was still very much aware of everything that was going on down here. A severe sense of disappointment and sadness came over me as I watched my family and loved ones still on earth. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. I still wanted to be with them. I wasn’t supposed to go so quickly. I can tell you that I was murdered. Probably shot or stabbed, but I can’t remember by whom or why. All I remember is that I put up a fight. The body I left behind probably doesn’t look very good right about now.

As I turn to my left I saw a room (for the sheer lack of a better word)…. It was more of an open piece of land the size of a very normal room. And as I stepped over the wooden threshold into this room I could feel the cool earth beneath my feet. It was like stepping into another zone. Although I still had all of my memories; and I could remember exactly what happened during my time here on earth, there was at this very instant no more emotions. I didn’t feel sad anymore. I didn’t feel disappointment, nor did I feel a longing to go back or see anybody. It’s like the room was void of any connection with earth. I only brought with me my memories of a life lived on earth.

As I stepped forward a man was talking to a bunch of people sitting in what looked like a jury bench, although the wood that it was made of was still very raw. It wasn’t varnished and it still looked very natural…very….earthy…

The man turned around and I recognized him. Jesus! What a moment! Looking back I should have ran! I should have made an entrance or at the very least bowed or something… but He just smiled and walked away. The moment was so unceremonious. No blinding angels singing, no bright light or unbelievably white clothes. Just a man with dark shoulder-length hair and a face that you won't notice at first if you were to meet Him in a crowd. Although once you've seen Him, He would draw you in and captivate every part of you in a way that you can't describe. And as He walked passed I could sense the moment: you’re here now…

That was as much of the contact I had with the Son of Earth’s Creator. Why didn’t I ask Him all those gazillion questions I’ve always had? Why didn’t I just run into His arms? He was so close. So…approachable… but it didn’t matter anymore. None of those questions mattered. Earth’s issues weren’t issues in here. In fact, there were no issues in here.

I walked over to the bench of people and sat down on the cool earth. Lizl was there with me. I turned and spoke to her: “It’s interesting to me how modern they are all dressed. I would have expected more of an old fashioned attire. Almost like an outfit that Noah would wear.” Without it being said, I just knew that these people never made it to earth. I assumed that they were all stillborn babies or victims of abortions.

“Excuse me...” I turned to the people sitting on the benches. One of the ladies, dressed in a very neat maroon outfit was looking at me. I noticed the string of pearls around her neck and then she asked me: “What do you mean with those words: modern and old fashioned?”

It suddenly dawned on me that these people had no concept of earth or what things are like down there. She seemed curiously fascinated by the idea of these different concepts and Lizl and I started to explain to them that on earth people were being classed in different groups on the basis of their social-economic status. That clothing has changed so many times over the years that you could distinguish a timeline by the clothes people wore.

The lady was intrigued! Although all the judgment and classification that went hand-in-hand with being classed on earth was not one of humanity’s best moments, she was drinking up everything we said, as if we spoke about a mystical land far away were dreams could come true. I realized that she (that all of these people sitting here) felt cheated out of life. They were all destined to be on earth too… but something happened…

And although they had the privilege of speaking face-to-face with Jesus from time to time, they still wished that they too – had been here on earth. Even if it was just for a few years…

True to the word a waiting room is nothing more than a place where you wait. Sometimes it’s filled with anxiety, fear or anticipation. But not this room. This room was free from all earthly emotions. It was not a doctor’s waiting room where you sat with sweaty palms, waiting to hear the results of your tests or a chair outside of the Principal’s office where you had to give account of the day’s fight in the lunch room.

Lizl and I went on and told them about Jesus’ time on earth. How He surprised everybody by coming down as a commoner when everybody was expecting a rich King whose mere birth would be announced by huge celebration and a royal decree. We went on to describe His life on earth, how He reached people, changed people and performed miracles.

This room was filled with so much calmness. No sense of a pressing need or deadlines. No hunger, no cold and no need for additional, unnatural light. It was early evening. The sun was about to set. It was the end of another day.

 ….and, like in the movies, the camera zoomed out of the scene and everything was exactly how it was supposed to be….

The excitement…

To each his own and with each one of us You communicate in a different way, creating a different feeling, a vibe unique to our souls to such a degree that it creates goose bumps that ripples right through to our flesh.

 

To me that vibe is excitement.

 

You get me all excited when I see a group perform a song to You in all their unique glory. A group of individuals that have found the gift You have placed within them and ran with it. The beauty of what You created is magnificently exciting!

The excitement I feel when I see a woman, complete in who she is – with a nose ring that draws attention to the fleshly beauty that You created.

The excitement I feel when I think about the future You have created for me. The potential it holds and that I myself can run with it.

The excitement and amazement that boggles my mind when I think of how perfectly in sync and to the last detail you plan meetings. “Chance meetings” where two people start a life-long journey in front of you.

 

And this excitement is perfect.

 

I know, because it takes away my appetite, it makes me feel beautiful, it gets me to a point where I can’t sit still and I just want to sing and dance and write…and be!

 

I know Your peace surpasses all understanding, but above all, Your excitement fills my whole soul with such vibrations that I can FEEL Your breathe within me! And I can see You smile and laugh out loud when You share a moment like this with one of your children. It's when they share in an emotion so intense that it comes close to the archetypical emotion that You Yourself created and experience.

 

"Go"

Oh, what a privilege!

What a blessing to be able to stand before you and sing... there is absolutely no greater joy on the earth! Thank you God! Thank you for giving me this huge privilege! For allowing me to come before You...especially in a time during which the waters of life are raging in a storm around me.

Never before have I felt so complete in a moment. It was a heart’s desire fulfilled beyond what I could ever have expected. And somehow it feels like I’ve only touched the dream. I pray that this was the start, the “go” that I have been waiting for....

Recklessly hopeful -

– because Your persistent whisper is that of a calling that is so passionately pressed unto my soul, so forcefully strong, so deeply planted and irrefutable pressing that it hurts! But it fuels my faith…

…a seeking singer…

 

A dreaming soldier with a hesitant smile.

Psalm 126 verse 5 & 6

"Those who cry as they plant crops will SING at harvest time..."

 

"So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing."

 

I thank you God for allowing these trails to pass our way, because I have asked You for strength. I have begged You to allow Your warrior to stand up in times when she stares fear right in the face.

Day-by-day, hour-by-hour I grasp Your authority within me more and more.

This worshipping warrior is giving an resounding "Amen!" to Your calling upon her life...there will be singing...

 

"...I wanna look right at You, I wanna sing right to You...!"

My deepest desire

…sprung from my greatest love. And we’re off... although it’s been a humbling start.

I am next to You – but somehow we are not running. I figured that we would have hit the ground running. I guess everybody figures that. Instead we are quietly enjoying the moment. Taking each step, stopping and smiling.

Just this Sunday You told me that perfect is not what you want me to be. And although You have taken my hand, setting a different pace – I know, we will never, ever stop.

2 Corinthians 1 verse 20 - 22

"Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In Him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By His Spirit He has stamped us with His eternal pledge - a sure beginning of what He is destined to complete."

 

Jacob, Moses, David…

It was easy looking back and reading about your lives; but in the reality of the moment, I knew it was different…

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough” – suffice to say that the size of my dreams has me in goosebumps, literally.

But the intensity of this passion and the desperate longing to fulfil this is stronger than any fear – pulling me forward so strongly that my shaking knees causes me to stumble – but I won’t stop.

Romans 5 verse 5

"…now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us"

Romans 15 v 6

"Then we'll be a choir - not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!"

"...There is so much to your life I can literally hear singing from you. Your whole life is a song you will sing. It will change lives..." (the words given to me by a fellow warrior in Your presence...)

 

 

In New Song Jake Hamilton sings "Your vision will come to pass and it will come soon..." Every one of us an active part in this masterpiece with a burning desire in our souls and a readiness that only You can contain...

Psalms 102 and 103

"... because the time has now come to be kind to her; the right time has come."

 

"...you who are His angels, praise the Lord.

You are the mighty warriors who do what He says...

You are His armies....you are His servants who do what He wants."

I hear the lion's roar

"The earth is Your footstool, the heavens Your tabernacle,

righteousness, justice - are laid as foundations of Your throne -

I hear You calling me home.

 

Disciples are dreamers, lovers are givers

You are a Father who's sending His children out to war

I hear the lion's roar.

 

I hear war drums in the distance - send me now!

Here I am Lord, send me!

 

Send me out

 

I can hear Him calling

Who will go for me?"
(Jake Hamilton)

Isaiah 6

…“Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
His bright glory fills the whole earth…

…Look. This coal has touched your lips.
Gone your guilt,
your sins wiped out.”
And then I heard the voice of the Master:
“Whom shall I send?
Who will go for us?”
I spoke up,
“I’ll go.
Send me!”

3 Years

“…they will run and not grow weary…”

Wow. I realised with such intensity that these 3 years have been a preparation school beyond all others. Of course, my whole Life You have been preparing me for Your purpose, but as I cried in front of you last night, I realised that these 3 years were very specific and laden with reason. And it’s coming to an end – I’m nearing the starting line…

Psalm 57 v 7-8

I'm ready, God, so ready,
ready from head to toe,
Ready to sing, ready to raise a tune:
"Wake up, soul!
Wake up, harp! wake up, lute!
Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!"

Angelic Army

Adorned in Your beauty. The unseen supernatural world that is a part of our own. A supernatural world that is so spiritually important to our survival, as this world is important to our survival in the flesh. And when You allow: these two worlds meet…

I love your Army, Lord. I am passionately aware of the fight. I never considered myself a part of it, but I now know that for this fight: we need to join forces. This is a war on both battlefields.

And how intensely amazing is Your fight! You allow for Your dancers with feet of readiness to lead and sing our way into the battle which has already been won. You allow us to be covered in an armour of passion and splendour : Your yolk is as light as the sword of Spirit we carry – harnessed within the truth. With righteousness protecting our hearts and faith covering us, we march, sing, dance, fight, run, laugh, cry, LIVE for Your victory, as salvation is on our minds…

Highest expectancy

I know that patience is a virtue – but when it’s waiting on the fulfilment of Your words, Your dreams – how does one remain patient? I’ve been on my marks, I got set when You told me to and I’m waiting for Your go…

This dream is the highest expectancy – the ultimate desires within my soul.

The purpose is You.

 

Indescribable

You are Untamable.

The same passion and fury that burns within my soul

Is in tenfold burning from Your Throne.

You are the very core of my intensity.

Your heartbeat gets fuelled by his hands,

With every beat You can be felt –

So pure.

So beautiful –

You are amazing God…

Proof Of Life

Maybe I’m dreaming the impossible dream, but my Life is proof that miracles do happen. You have told me that the words carved within my soul and inked upon my body are purposefully real.

The beating of my heart is from an acoustic drum that sets the pace to Your calling. A dancing warrior that leads the fight in song. This is war. And You so are Beautifully Almighty.

Finally Ready

How awesome to start off with a “happily ever after”… True, this story expands in both directions and as with this life; there is a beginning and an end.

One day I will be able to sit down and write the beginning. But for now, the future is calling: a soft, persistent whisper beckoning a soul to fulfil its desires….