Rugby - Baby food and public transport

< 27th April 2007 | Index | 8th May 2007 >

We talked for a while about a variety of things. One topic was houses, homes, and our parents. Chris said that he'd like to live in his father's house in Cirencester, but the house had to be sold and it wasn't possible to keep it. But that is according to the world - in Heavenly terms we do get to live in our Father's House! We have everything we need, what a privilege and joy, there's no need for any kind of 'prosperity gospel'.

If we are looking for Life we will find it in humbleness. The world doesn't value humility, instead it celebrates success and strength and money. But there is no life in those things, they are empty, hollow. Life is in humility.

Jody explained that we are like babies. Sometimes our Father wants us in the high chair so he can spoon feed us. But we need to grow beyond that, to grow up and thrive on solid, adult food.

We also talked about the Church and some of the problems that so many face, even in the very place where they should be comfortable and happy surrounded by people who love them. And although there are indeed places of peace in the Church, there are also places of turmoil. It seems that the simplicity of life together (the simplicity of loving, humble relationships) is sometimes replaced by complex and contentious matters of structure, leadership, and tradition.

One theme which appears to be a common thread in our recent meetings is our walk with God, the path we walk with Him and the direction in which He leads us. This direction is inevitably heavenward, a journey which He has trodden already, and one in which He walks closely with us, experiencing the potholes, cracks and unexpected events along the way. Rachael's analogy of the bus/bus driver and the journey ahead brought a funny memory to mind of one of many early journey's in London Jody experienced back in the '80's.

It seemed London bus drivers followed their own timetable and often their own logic. Jody jumped on a bus, (not sure if one is able to spring onto the back of a moving bus anymore!) intending to go from Victoria to Euston and then home to Watford. Instead of being driven to the destination advertised on the front of the bus she was taken completely in the opposite direction, along with 15 other passengers, to a little side street on the other side of the Thames. At the journey's end, the exiting busdriver, his shift now over, slung his bag over his shoulder, explained that the underground could be found around the corner, and briskly disappeared into the smoggy London sunset. To this day one could only speculate on the driver's intention and/or feelings towards his present passengers or even those of his employer. Was this common practice then?

Bus drivers let you down, even when the journey is within their control. Father on the other hand, gets us to where we are going, as long as we are prepared to let Him. Sometimes that route doesn't always appear to be as straight forward as we would expect! I believe we laughed at His sense of humour regarding that image. How often do we allow ourselves to be led in the wrong direction, sometimes unknowingly...However we still manage to get back on track despite the time 'seemingly' wasted or the path by human observation 'ridiculous'.

If all London Transport drivers decided to take whatever route they fancied on any given day, what a total shambles the city would be in. It stands to reason then, that the routes mapped out between points A and B are usually followed, passengers can get off at their desired destination and the city functions pretty well. Every now and then a 'rogue' london transport employee may just make a day in your life a little more interesting.

< 27th April 2007 | Index | 8th May 2007 >

Rugby - Tunnel and cloud

< 7th March 2007 | Index | 17th April 2007 >

It's been about nine months since we last wrote notes on a meeting. Somehow it hasn't seemed important although we've been meeting regularly throughout and there have been some great and useful times.

Tonight there were just two of us, or three if we count the Messiah (and of course we should count him!)

Chris shared the address of a website that had been mentioned to him in an email from the USA. It's the Christian Fellowship Network based in Merseyside with the purpose of helping to link individual and independent groups together. It's striking that the site is a personal effort and does not represent any organisation.

Chris went on to share a vision of a tunnel mouth in the side of a hill. There was a plaque above the opening, though the words on the plaque were not readable. Rachael thought it might be like the Ben Cruachan tunnel, cut into a mountainside in Scotland to give access to the generating plant in a hydroelectric scheme. The centre of the mountain is a place of power, stored power, and the tunnel gives access to this place of power.

Rachael saw a pear tree with a piece of fruit hanging from it, almost ready to pick. The Lord said, 'This fruit is not going to wither or fall, when it's ready it's going to be used to nourish my people'. She also saw a carpet of cloud like a walkway. And Father spoke and said, 'Don't be afraid to walk on the clouds. You might expect to fall through, but don't be afraid because I will hold you up there'. He also said, 'Nobody can stop me having my way. This is the path I'm giving you, walk with me. Neither can anybody slow me down, my will is the most powerful thing. I choose the moment.

At the end of the meeting Chris said, 'Something's brewing, isn't it. And it's not a pot of tea.' This seemed at the same time quite significant but also very amusing! Access is being provided to the very place of power, perhaps by a tunnel into the heart of the mountain, or perhaps on the clouds where we will need his support along the way. But it's just different ways of looking at the same revelation. We have free access to the throneroom, and it's a great privilege.

< 7th March 2007 | Index | 17th April 2007 >

Rugby - Door and gorilla

< 16th September 2006 | Index | 17th January 2007 >

Only brief notes were taken this week.

We read Revelation 3:7-13. It is Yahshua who opens and closes the door, it's his place and his responsibility to do this. Sometimes there seem to be stumbling blocks in our way but we are to 'hold onto what [we] have' and be overcomers.

We were give a picture of a gorilla in a cage, pacing backwards and forwards in his confined space which was about six feet by four feet. The cage was then removed, but the gorilla carried on pacing the same small area although he was now free to go and roam much more widely. We are sometimes like the gorilla; even when the door has been opened we still behave as if we are confined.

< 16th September 2006 | Index | 17th January 2007 >

Rugby - Hill and pathway

< 21st June 2006 | Index | 25th July 2006 >

This was another wonderful evening together as Father opened up his heart to us again.

Valerie shared a picture of a green hill with a stream of clear water at the bottom. She understood that we could be there in perfect peace and could drink the cool, refreshing water. And when we asked her what was on top of the hill she told us, 'Just a light'. Later, Val read Psalm 23, and Valerie read out Psalm 27 which also seemed completely relevant.


Chris said that we are walking along a pathway with him, and because we are there with him we are completely safe on the journey. We don't need to worry about where we will be going next, and we don't need to be anxious about what lies ahead, we just need to take the next step. One step, than another one, and then later another one as he shows us the way forward.

Val became aware of a large hand, then she noticed that the hand was wearing a glove, and finally realised that the Lord is like a policeman directing the traffic with his hands. She explained that without his guidance there would be accidents and injuries and damage, but that because he is in charge everything works together smoothly. One line of traffic has to wait, another line can move forward, then they swap over. It's efficient and it's safe because he guides us as he knows best.

There was also the thought of buds opening up into beautiful flowers. It's a process.

But perhaps the best thing this evening was that he told us through Rachael that when we meet together he is not divided amongst us and made less, but in fact he is magnified so that we each receive more of him, not less! We are so, so blessed by being together in a meeting. He was speaking the truth when he said, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am amongst them' (Matt 18:20).

< 21st June 2006 | Index | 25th July 2006 >

Rugby - House and garden

< 7th June 2006 | Index | 21st June 2006 >

We talked for a while about houses, partly because the roof next door is still being built and we could see it through the window. Chris wondered what sort of house is implied by the Greek word translated 'mansion' in the New testament (Jn 14:2 - in my Father's house are many mansions). To us it sounds like a rather grand home, almost a small palace, but it seems it might just be a word for a room within a house.

Rachael immediately said, 'Funny you should mention that...' She explained that she'd had a dream in the last few days in which she was inside a dilapidated house. Some of the tiles were missing from the roof and the window frames were rotten. She said to Father, 'Shall I repair this house and make it usable again?' But he said to her, 'No. This is man's house and it has to fall down before things can move forward. Look! Where the tiles are missing you can see the blue sky - and that is mine.'

Chris thought that the dream referred to the Church, which men and women keep trying to build but which may get in the way of what the Almighty is trying to do.

John explained that for him it spoke of an individual's life, that we can indeed construct it by our own efforts, but that what we really need is for him to make our lives the way he wants them to be.

Something else that came out in conversation was that a house in good condition prevents us from sensing the natural world outside, but once we stop repairing the house it begins to deteriorate, slowly at first but then faster and faster as the weather gets inside. Once tiles are missing from the roof the rain brings down ceilings and the timbers start to decay, and in just a few years the house can go from essentially usable to a complete ruin. We were not created to live in houses, we were created to live in the Garden and walk with Yahweh. He wants to bring down the shelters we have made and restore to us that simple, trusting life with him in the Garden.

< 7th June 2006 | Index | 21st June 2006 >

Rugby - Slaves and children

< 23rd May 2006 | Index | 7th June 2006 >

We talked about adopting children, and the Spirit showed us that we are adopted children, but this is not our natural state. However, because we are adopted we inherit from our adoptive parent (Father) instead of from our natural parents. This is a total replacement of everything we once had, we inherit the heavenly possessions, not the earthly ones!

'Going' to church can become nothing more than a habit, we adapt to the style and regularity in the same way people adapt to their spouse. We learn to fit, to accept one another's foibles, needs, and limitations. Church is a social thing, yet it is really much more than a social thing. We need to begin to live in the knowledge that Father will take church life and do the unexpected, the miraculous. It's not just about meeting, it's about Him dealing with us, pouring out real life, and light, and living water.

We make mistakes in life, we all make them! But we can learn from them.

Val sent an e-mail about Jesus praying for us. This is such an amazing thought! We can pray for ourselves, we can pray for one another, but Jesus himself is praying for us! We are his people, he cares about us, he knows what we need, he knows and understands the Father's plans for our lives.

Rachael told us that when she was driving to work, she pulled up at traffic lights and the car next to her was playing some loud music. As it drove away she caught a few words, 'God knows'. It was not a spiritual song, but those words certainly spoke to her. He knows all about us, his love makes us feel full, complete, joyful, peaceful, everything we could ever need is available in him.

Gal 4:1-11 - We do that, we go back to the old, familiar ways. We inherit everything but then become a slave to the old ways. These are traps, we all fall into them all the time. We can learn by listening and taking the words to heart, or like the Prodigal Son we can learn by trying our own way, finding it painful or disppointing, and then coming back to Father for a comforting welcome. Like the Prodigal we are no longer slaves, but sons! HalleluYah!

< 23rd May 2006 | Index | 7th June 2006 >