Garden Route Film Studios

As I was anticipating making what I thought was a vital manoeuvre the other day, the Holy Spirit prompted me to do otherwise with this inspired phrase: “Do the labor in prayer before the leap of dare.” I know this sounds trite, but it made great sense to me and I share it today because there is a huge necessity to saturate our lives in vital and heart-felt prayer before we make virtually any moves in any direction. I have seen scores of books on prayer and have not read very many, not because they are not of value, but because nothing moves the heart of God like baring our souls before Him, pleading for His mercy, humbling ourselves before the throne of God consecutively and inviting the Lord to make us more like Him through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Intercession and supplication are always part of this as well but our hearts need to be in the right place first.

I was raised in an intercessory kind of church, and I have seen what happens when we discipline our lives to let God transform us so that we in turn can be catalysts of His mercy in our generation. A rich and rewarding chorus is and has become so meaningful to me in recent times, and I share it now asking the Holy Spirit to ignite your heart in a dynamic, refreshing and catalytic manner: “Show me Your ways that I may walk with You; Show me Your ways I put my hope in You. The cry of my heart is to love You more, to live with the touch of Your hand. Stronger each day, show me Your ways.” Make application of this in your inner being every time you go out each day.

As I was anticipating making a vital manoeuvre the other day, the Holy Spirit prompted me to do otherwise with this inspired phrase: “Do the labor in prayer before the leap of dare.” I know this sounds trite, but it made great sense to me and I share it today because there is a huge necessity to saturate our lives in vital and heart-felt prayer before we make virtually any moves in any direction. I have seen scores of books on prayer and have not read very many, not because they are not of value, but because nothing moves the heart of God like baring our souls before Him, pleading for His mercy, humbling ourselves before the throne of God consecutively and inviting the Lord to make us more like Him through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Intercession and supplication are always part of this as well but our hearts need to be in the right place first.

I was raised in an intercessory kind of church, and I have seen what happens when we discipline our lives to let God transform us so that we in turn can be catalysts of His mercy in our generation. A rich and rewarding chorus is and has become so meaningful to me in recent times, and I share it now asking the Holy Spirit to ignite your heart in a dynamic, refreshing and catalytic manner: “Show me Your ways that I may walk with You; Show me Your ways I put my hope in You. The cry of my heart is to love You more, to live with the touch of Your hand. Stronger each day, show me Your ways.” Make application of this in your inner being every time you go out each day.

As we humbly ask the Lord to strengthen our hearts, another song written below, by the beloved James Nicholson will rise in prayer as a sweet smelling sacrifice before the Lord Jesus as well.

Lord Jesus, I Long to be Perfectly Whole

1 Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole, I want Thee forever to live in my soul; Break down every idol, cast out every foe; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Refrain: Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow; Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
2 Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain, Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain; To get this blest cleansing I all things forego; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
3 Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies, And help me to make a complete sacrifice; I give up myself and whatever I know; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
4 Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat; I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet; By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
5 Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait; Come now, and within me a new heart create; To those who have sought Thee Thou never saidst, No; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

As we humbly ask the Lord to strengthen our hearts, another song written below, by the beloved James Nicholson will rise in prayer as a sweet smelling sacrifice before the Lord Jesus as well.

Lord Jesus, I Long to be Perfectly Whole

1 Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole, I want Thee forever to live in my soul; Break down every idol, cast out every foe; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Refrain: Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow; Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
2 Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain, Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain; To get this blest cleansing I all things forego; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
3 Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies, And help me to make a complete sacrifice; I give up myself and whatever I know; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
4 Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat; I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet; By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
5 Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait; Come now, and within me a new heart create; To those who have sought Thee Thou never saidst, No; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

As we humbly ask the Lord to strengthen our hearts, another song written below the beloved James Nicholson will rise in prayer as a sweet smelling sacrifice before the Lord Jesus as well.
Lord Jesus, I Long to be Perfectly Whole
1 Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole, I want Thee forever to live in my soul; Break down every idol, cast out every foe; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Refrain: Whiter than snow; yes, whiter than snow; Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
2 Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain, Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain; To get this blest cleansing I all things forego; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
3 Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies, And help me to make a complete sacrifice; I give up myself and whatever I know; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
4 Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat; I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet; By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
5 Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait; Come now, and within me a new heart create; To those who have sought Thee Thou never saidst, No; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Unusual clouds with some interesting sunscapes form our observation foccus this morning. Be very blessed.

Here is something to think about – “It is not wrong to be strong, but if you are strong and cannot admit that once in a while you can be wrong, you will certainly fall headlong.” I have also learned that some people are so “headstrong” that to admit they have weaknesses is anathema to them. Expressions like “bull-headed” or “pig-headed” come to mind as well. Do you know people like that?

It is no wonder the songwriter, Leila N Morris wrote this hymn so many years ago. Please make this your prayer today as we and I all need this:
1. My stubborn will at last hath yielded; I would be Thine and Thine alone; and this the prayer my lips are bringing; Lord, let in me Thy will be done.
Refrain:
Sweet will of God, still fold me closer til I am wholly lost in Thee; Sweet will of God, still fold me closer, Til I am wholly lost in Thee.
2. I'm tired of sin, footsore and weary; The darksome path hath dreary grown. But now a light has ris'n to cheer me I find in Thee my Star, my Sun.
3. Thy precious will, O conqu'ring Savior doth now embrace and compass me, the storms have ceased, my peace a river; my soul a prisoned bird set free.

Here is something to think about – “It is not wrong to be strong, but if you are strong and cannot admit that once in a while you can be wrong, you will certainly fall headlong.” I have also learned that some people are so “headstrong” that to admit they have weaknesses is anathema to them. Expressions like “bull-headed” or “pig-headed” come to mind as well. Do you know people like that?

It is no wonder the songwriter, Leila N Morris wrote this hymn so many years ago. Please make this your prayer today as we and I all need this:
1. My stubborn will at last hath yielded; I would be Thine and Thine alone; and this the prayer my lips are bringing; Lord, let in me Thy will be done.
Refrain:
Sweet will of God, still fold me closer til I am wholly lost in Thee; Sweet will of God, still fold me closer, Til I am wholly lost in Thee.
2. I'm tired of sin, footsore and weary; The darksome path hath dreary grown. But now a light has ris'n to cheer me I find in Thee my Star, my Sun.
3. Thy precious will, O conqu'ring Savior doth now embrace and compass me, the storms have ceased, my peace a river; my soul a prisoned bird set free.

Today, I want to give a testimony about a massive turn around event in my life several years ago, and what God was negotiating with me through this. I went to see my doctor and had a wonderful report come back, but two weeks later I was in the emergency room after blacking out for 7 hours and it was discovered that my blood pressure had shot up from 120/80 to 210/120. They call this a TIA, which in technical terms is a transient ischaemic attack, ie. a mini-stroke. This all happened while I was sharing with a group of men how they “need to behave” and I was blacked-out without anyone noticing even while I was speaking until someone heard me repeat myself and realized something was wrong. I can assure you, that shakeup has changed my life completely since that day in June 2009.

Staring eternity in the face like that has made my schedule take on new understanding, and established new priorities relating to everything in life. This includes my attitudes to people, food in- take, disciplines including mental, spiritual and physical, friendships, financial matters, relationship with my wife and children. This tsunami of emotions resulting from the TIA had to be brought into subjection to the authority of Christ, and now that God has permitted me to still be here some 15 years later, I can only say that I have learnt to live each day in the light of eternity, and the best is yet-to-come. Praise to the Lord, for His mercies are new every morning.

When you see the beauty here today, ask the Lord to let the beauty of Jesus not just be seen to us but in us as well.