Wednesday 20 January 2016

Restore Bahrain! Claim your inheritance now Bahrain! Discover your ancient identity!

We all want peace don't we? 

I think we all want to prosper and live in a nice house in a good neighbourhood where our children can grow up without the threat of drugs and violent crime.

We want to see our families and friends grow old without the onset of killer diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.

Here in Bahrain we want to see the nation unite.  We want to see an end to the political instability, an end to the violence, an end to the armoured cars and constant police presence, an end to the burning tyres that pollute our lungs, an end to the molotovs thrown in anger and hatred.

We want to see this nation restored.  Bahrain was once a land watered by natural springs of sweet water.  

There will be a day when the ground will break open and fresh water will flow from the ground once more, underground rivers will burst through the surface of the desert and life will spring up where there was nothing living.  This will be living water, the water of life and "whoever drinks this water will never thirst."  Jesus says in John 4:14;

"The water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."



Bahrain is also known as Dilmun in ancient history, and has been cited by some historians as one of the possible locations for the original garden of Eden.   
The following words come from one of the world's oldest poems that was first written down some 4,000 years ago in the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur near the Euphrates, using cuneiform wedge script on a clay tablet.

"Dilmun is holy, the land of Dilmun is pure. 
In Dilmun no cry the raven utters, 
Nor does the bird of ill-omen foretell calamity. 
The lion kills not, nor does the ravening wolf 
Snatch away the defenseless lamb. 
Unknown is the wild dog who tears the kid. 
The dove does not conceal its head. 
No one here says, ''My eyes are sick,'' 
No one here says, ''My head is sick,'' 
No one here says, ''I am an old woman,'' 
No one here says, ''I am an old man.'' 
The maiden walks here in innocence. 
No lustrations need to be poured. 
The somber death priest walks not here, 
By Dilmun's walls he has no cause for lamentations.


As you can see the poem describes the situation at the dawn of time in a sacred island paradise called Dilmun, a place closely resembling the Garden of Eden, where death and sickness did not exist and sweet waters flowed.

Whether or not Bahrain was the location of the Garden of Eden is irrelevant but it's a nice thought!  That Bahrain was previously part of the Dilmun empire is an historical fact and I  lay claim to the description above for this country, that we will be without sickness, with no cause for lamentations and that we will once again walk in purity and freedom in a holy land.

Just as other cities and nations are being restored and revived throughout the world we claim it for this region, for Bahrain, for Saudi, for the entire Middle East.

One of the most prominent examples of a city changed by a move of God seems to be Kampala in Uganda; a country whose economy was predicted to collapse by the year 2000 because 33.3 percent of the population had AIDS.  The World Health Organisation surmised that the inevitability of the situation would be that the country would soon be occupied only by widows and orphans.

So what did the people of Kampala do?  They turned to God.  They prayed and sought God's will for their land, for their people, for their nation.  I will attempt to summarise briefly what happened so please forgive me for any inaccuracies as I am not an historian or expert on the region.

The first major shift was caused by God challenging the people to pray for those in government and speak blessings over them instead of cursing them for the corruption and incompetence that was rife throughout the city and indeed the country.

Proverbs 11:11 says "Through the Blessing of the righteous the City is exalted"

On transformourworld.org it describes how this change in mindset impacted positively on the government and paved the way for changes.


A door was opened to spend time blessings the muslim mayor of Kampala City, who had just returned from a pilgrimage in Mecca.
The mayor raised his hands in worship as he exclaimed praise to the Lord for sending a helping hand in the midst of the severe criticism he was facing from the public. "Thank you for praying for me, " he said, " now I know that you are the true people of God, if you will invite me, I will come to your church!
Fastforward to 2011, and God has miraculously opened a door. A new statute was passed putting Kampala directly under the authority of the Central Government. This paved the way for the appointment of a born-again christian as Executive Director of the city. Within four months of her appointment she recovered over US$ 20 million of cash hidden in secret accounts. Brand new construction equipment  was also recovered and for the first time order was returned to the streets of Kampala as illegal street vendors were band. We are praising God for the release of resources and the transformation happening in the City as a result of speaking Blessings to the City. 
From the day I first read this I have started to pray blessings over the government and ruling family of Bahrain and Saudi and over the religious leaders in this region.  I am trusting in God that He will move in this place.  That as we work together with Him to breathe life into these nations, we shall see revival, we shall see a land flooded with joy, peace and love as it was created to be.  

We ask God not just to change the atmosphere but to transform the landscape and restore Bahrain to its original Dilmun beauty, a land where sweet water springs flowed in desert places and there was no fear of sickness or death, just peace and joy and love.

Amen

Monday 4 January 2016

A Leap of Faith!

Recently I have come across this quote by Kriss Vallotton several times:

"If you were 10x bolder what would you do with your life? If your answer is any different then what you are doing then you have reduced your life to embrace your fear."

I've always considered myself quite a bold person and have certainly made some bold decisions in my life.  However, looking back I'm not sure if "stupid" would have been a better word for some of my past actions!

So now I feel God is calling me to be bolder.  
What does boldness look like when you are bold because of Jesus?  
Doing dumb stuff that is going to get you sacked, put in jail or deported is not necessarily bold.  

If God calls you to do something big, something dangerous or risky however, it doesn't necessarily mean that you won't be subjected to any of the above.  You only have to look at Paul's life to understand what being truly committed to Christ means.  It could mean jail, physical suffering, it could mean death.

Those are scary things. 

But Paul knew that what he was doing was God's work.  He knew that Jesus was at his side.  He was truly empowered by the Holy Spirit.

In short, he had faith.

He was bold because of his faith.

So in praying about how I am to be bolder and remain in the knowledge that I'm walking exactly the path God has predestined for me I started to think about the strength of my faith.  

It's not just about boldness, it's about faith.  

I was reminded of that wonderful song by Christy Nockels "Waiting here for you" which says:

"If faith can move the mountains, let the mountains move." 

Do we have faith to move mountains?  Do I?

Jesus says in Mark 11:23-24: 
"Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

So this is our faith, it is written in God's word.  Do we believe it?  If it doesn't happen is that because we don't have the faith for it?

Since moving to Bahrain in 2002 I have grown to love my adopted country, the people, the culture, the landscape even.  From a very young age I have had a burning desire to be in this region and when I got the opportunity to come here to work I knew that this was my destiny.  Even before I knew Christ and what God was calling me to.

Since 2002 I have seen changes in the region and particularly in Bahrain which have angered me, saddened me and caused me to question what I was doing here.

However, even in the face of losing my job, my business, my husband and on occasion my sanity, my love for this country has grown to bursting point.  

Bahrain is a country in turmoil with weekly acts of protest and demonstration against the police and the government.  It has become normal for us to divert around burning tyres, molotovs and oil spread across the highway.  We have lost our perception of what is acceptable.  As a country we have lost our peace and our love and our unity.  I say "our" because I consider myself a citizen of this country, this island that when I arrived was called "the land of sunny smiles", this little desert that God can hold in his hand is my home.  As members of this community we are responsible for the environment we live in.  If we don't like what's happening then we have to do something.  We have to be bold.  And that doesn't mean entering into political discussions about who is right and wrong, it means standing for what we believe in.  Standing for Love, Peace, Joy.  

Regions are transformed not by political debates but by prayer, by a move of God.  

We want peace, we want to turn the hearts of this nation to the Father, we want to see multitudes saved........

What are we doing about it?  Yes I'm sure we are praying from the comfort of our homes but God is calling us out of our comfort zones.  To change the atmosphere in the village we have to pray God's presence into that village, surely it's much harder to do that from a distance.  Yes people can get healed through long distance prayer but the number of people who have received divine healing when someone prays for them and lays on hands is significantly higher I'm sure you will agree. 

You may think as I do, but will God really use me?  We know He can use us, but will He?  

It only takes one person to make the first move.  Maybe its you, or me.... It's not just pastors and those in high positions that are called by God, we all are.  God can use anyone.  Just as He used the Samaritan woman in John 4:7-26 to transform the city of Sychar in Samaria.  When she shared her newfound faith with others in the city "many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony" (John 4:39)
   
I talked earlier about some of my past actions being "stupid" rather than bold.  I was not walking with God during those times and there is always a question of motive if God is not at the heart of your boldness.  

If God has called you to be bold you need the faith for it.  So is it a question of boldness or faith?  Or do the two go hand in hand.

The words "leap of faith" come to mind.  We need to take that step, that leap, out of our comfort zones and into our destiny.  Perhaps we do not have enough faith but that does not mean we can't step out in faith, the leap that will plunge us into a deeper faith, a total reliance on our Father to be with us in all things.



Will we let God empower us to save nations? Are we prepared to risk everything for His sake?

Are we prepared to die?  Not just die to yourself but actually lay down your life for Him.  It's not just a metaphor.  

Jesus says in Luke 14:26
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple."

I never understood this until now.  

Are we willing to show Him that nothing else matters more than to follow Him and do what He has commanded us to do.  To follow Him no matter what, to the ends of the earth if necessary.

How much do you want it?  How much do you want revival?  How much do you want to be the person God created you to be?

If we become 10x bolder I think God will increase our faith proportionately.

My prayer for this is quite simple:

You are the Lord, my God, my Father in Heaven, creator of all things, I love you and I will do whatever it takes.  Give me the boldness to step out in faith and to worship you in spirit and truth and bring your Kingdom to this nation through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Anoint me Father that I may radiate your Glory and bring your Love, Peace and Joy to this nation.  More Lord, bring it on!!  

In Jesus Mighty and precious Name,

Amen