Pressing On

I was walking home in the snow this morning, having dropped the smallest member of the family off at school, my normal habit when doing this is to walk in a straight line across a nearby common to get home ... Which I started to do this morning. This was harder work than normal due to the snow which was deeper where I wanted to go, so I found myself deviating in order to find a path that many had already used ... Thus it was well worn down, flatter and easier to walk on ... Then the challenge came to me 'Is this how I have been called to live my Christian life?' Not following the normal paths and cutting afresh into new areas is always harder work ... But it is worth it - in fact, if we are being obediant to the word of the Lord we will always be following another! It then reminded me of the time in, 1993, when the Lord gave me what I can only describe as a 'prophetic burden' ... which has been foundational in the shaping of my life and ministry since ... Occasionally...

I trust that you are feeling refreshed and ready for all that the Lord has prepared in advance for you to do in 2010! As I was seeking the Lord for a word for 2010 I believe He led me to Isaiah 30:15-18, which says; This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! What struck me most powerfully from my initial reflections on this short passage was the immensity of the promise. We face many huge challenges in the coming year - some we are already aware of, others are yet to be revealed, but we can look forward with confidence as daily we learn to 'return, rest, be quiet and trust' that we might know deliverance, salvation and strength. However, as powerful as the promise is so to the sense of sadness if w...