What Are You Anointed For...The Next Lap Of The Race.

When Paul was ministering in Corinth he faced much opposition.  In Acts 18:6 Paul declared...‘from now on I will go to the gentiles’.  This is because Paul was anointed as an Apostle to the gentiles.  It wasn’t an excuse because of his frustration.  But at this point GOD WAS FLINGING THE DOORS WIDE OPEN TO ANYONE WHO WOULD LISTEN.

At this point the gospel entered TURKEY. This was a place of importance to us all as the early churches addressed in the book of Revelations were here. We need to pay attention here!

Paul came to Ephesus and we have a very relevant story and lesson for us all.  In Acts 19:13-17 we read that itinerant Jewish exorcists saw an opportunity.  However they were clearly not able to deal with this.  There is a very interesting point to be gleaned here.

WORK WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU AT THIS TIME.

Only the blood of Jesus is able to deliver.  We have nothing apart from His grace and mercy.  Cry out for His mercy.  Allow anything in your life at the moment to break you that the life of Jesus can flow out.

THE ENEMY DELIGHTS TO MAKE US BITTER at this time... COME IN THE OPPOSITE SPIRIT

Look for ease and LIGHTNESS in the things of God.  He that calls you wants to give you an adventure.  Yet we have an enemy whose nature is to destroy.  STAND FIRM at this time.

Ask God about your life....what is it meant to be like... what does He intend.  You can guarantee that the answer will be LIFE TO THE FULL.

Daniel Chuter

What are you LED BY?

We are all motivated and guided through life by something. People want to believe that they are being different and unique but at the end of the day we are all subject to our human nature. Our human nature can tend to be SELFISH. This is why we need a Saviour. To SAVE US FROM OURSELVES.

In the years after the WW2, to look at our study on art and creativity and society this century, many were still influenced by a desire to study the nature of the individual and his expression of particular emotions. “Automatism’ was a style that influenced many painters, particularly Jackson Pollock. This was to let go of the will and be led, often by wrong influences, to produce random form and pattern.  This is significant in our study of the context of society at the time. To use this as an example it brings to mind a larger subject of interest.

To discover what people are led by one can look at the fruit it produces. In art of this time it led to problems within the lives of these painters and society. Problems such as a general despair and fear.

The fruit of the flesh is listed in Galatians. It might be useful to look at the FRUIT that your life is displaying at the moment. Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted to prove that He wanted nothing but His Fathers will.

THE NATURE OF THE SPIRIT IS SELFLESS... THE FLESH IS SELFISH. We have been conditioned to believe that if we look deeply inward we will discover answers to our condition... the only ANSWER IS, A NEW HEART.

Now is not the time to got caught up in looking inward. The healing that we need is in being SELFLESS. Being selfless is only possible through the Spirit of God.

TEST THE SPIRITS AT THE MOMENT; but most importantly LOOK AT THE FRUIT.

Beware Of Self

Sometimes we are in a place where it is just too hard to get ourselves ’up and out’. This is understandable in view of some of the awful things that some folks go through. Sometimes we are just left in a state of shock at some of the things that happen. It just isn’t fair. It’s ok to voice this to God... He understands.
Surely if God is saying that He is with us then why do some things happen. It just doesn’t seem right.  Why do good things happen to people who don’t deserve it but bad things continue to happen to good people. We must have done something wrong. Are there curses working against us. Are there things that make us unacceptable. Sometimes, very often, there is NO REASON. But maybe if we dug a bit deeper...

DON’T DIG WHERE THERE IS NOTHING TO FIND. The enemy will keep you busy all day and too confused and tired to go forward.

It is sometimes helpful to look inward and indeed we are encouraged to. But TURNING is good when we admit to a problem.

When God spoke to Elijah it was deep in the darkness of His cave. He spoke to Him and said... WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE... Do you think that was because god didn’t know where he was.  Surely it’s the same as what happened to Adam and Eve. THEY HID because they had done what God had said not to do. What has God said to do that you still need to do.

IF GOD IS SAYING GO FORWARD IT’S FOR A REASON.

Let Us Move On

It is interesting studying the relationship of art and society over history because there are things that we can apply in our approach to today. After ww2 society was quite inward looking.  Painting was still dominated by the work of the EXPRESSIONISTS such as Kandinsky, Van Gogh and Edvard Munch.  These focused on the study of the individuals emotion and freedom to express. This is fine but it not only became self indulgent but was rooted and many ideas which were not God's values. Here is an interesting point that while we are in a state of inner pain if we are not seeking healing from the right place then we are open to lots of wrong approaches. I think this is true of today. We, as christians, sometimes need to face the REAL ROOTS of why we are not really healed and focus more on our need for a God of comfort and SELF.

The bible talks, in Hebrews, of having become DULL OF HEARING. We must be careful not to become cynical. Sometimes we wander from meeting to meeting in search of healing and inwardly become HARDENED. We might think that we have heard the same thing over and over and there is no more. This is a terrible lie. We must MOVE ON.

In the days of Jeremiah the people claimed to be ok and were oblivious to their real state. God seemed to be saying... they were not healed. Society under the modernists was outwardly proud of new technology and science but there was an inner despair. Two world wars and a bigger threat in the COLD WAR, had proved that there was NO PEACE.

IF GOD IS SAYING MOVE ON THERE IS A REASON AND IT IS FOR OUR OWN GOOD AND SAFETY.

Daniel Chuter