The wind blows (KN)

I'm sitting here this morning in the conservatory, the sun is shining, but I'm insulated from the weather outside. I can't feel the wind here; but I can still sense its effects.

The plants in the garden are waving gently to and fro. The big chestnut trees are fidgeting, rustling their leaves all the while. Even the shadows inside the conservatory are moving. The wind is not inside, but its indirect effects are.

And if I listen carefully I can hear the breeze as it gathers and whisks around the house.

Isn't the Holy Spirit just like this? I can't see him or touch him, yet he sees and touches me - constantly. He makes himself known to me, he reaches into my life and into my heart. Like the wind in the garden I know he's there because I can see the effects in my life.

Yahshua, thank you for leaving your Spirit with us, thank you for living with your people. Thank you that we have a Comforter and a Guide, that we are never alone. Thank you that, like the plants in the garden, we are always being moved by your invisible presence. Unseen but so, so real, and so welcome.

Comments copied from the original Chris Jefferies' Blog.
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Comment from: Barry [Member] http://koinonia.org.il/blogs/b2e/blogs/index.php?blog=2

Chris,

Thanks for sharing the beautiful thoughts about the Holy Spirit.

I'm curious - why you use prefer to use the form of Christ's name Yahshua.

I had history with a communal group in the 70's and we were pretty adamant about only using the terms Yahweh & Yahshua.

Blessings my bro,

Barry

02/10/04 @ 14:55

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Comment from: Chris [Member]

Hi Barry,

Thanks for the question, I'm glad you asked.

I like to use the Almighty's name, 'Yahweh', because it was given to Moses and it just seems odd to replace it with 'LORD', even if our Bibles do use capital letters. Since he told us his name, I feel he'd like us to use it.

And I use 'Yahshua' because it's the Aramaic form of 'Jesus', the name he would have used himself. If I had a French friend called 'Pierre' I wouldn't call him 'Peter' or 'Pete', but 'Pierre'. It just seems natural and more friendly.

But I'm happy to use 'the LORD' and 'Jesus' instead if it makes people more comfortable.

Bless you Barry,

Chris

02/10/04 @ 15:52

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Comment from: Steph [Member] http://www.es-creative.com

"And if I listen carefully...."

What a thought!

How true, Chris Jeffries, how true.

If we but listen, the Spirit will send his song on the wind, overflow and melt our hearts with all depth and riches that are truly OURS in Him. From the gentle fragrance of summer turning to Fall or the fragile wisp of a dove-colored cloud streaking throught the sky at dusk, all is ours to breathe in and enjoy, if we but abide in Him, and listen.

May we have the reputation of John, the Beloved, who rested on the breast of Jesus, his friend and Lord.

STephanie

03/10/04 @ 09:07

Meetings in Eaton Ford (KN)

Every three weeks or so we meet to praise and worship our Creator and King, to enjoy being with one another in his presence, and to listen carefully to whatever he chooses to show us.

These have been truly wonderful times. We're not making any attempt to expand because we feel (so far at least) that he wants to work in our lives first. But we welcome anyone who would like to join us, whether for just a single meeting, or more regularly.

If you live near St Neots in the UK and would like to meet with us, visit our web page and get in touch.

Eaton Ford - Touch and seasons

< 11th May 2004 | Index | 14th October 2004 >

Tonight we began by chatting and sharing a coffee. And then we settled down to see what our Father would say to us, and we were not disappointed!

At first we considered Daniel, Val had been reading the book of Daniel and had been impressed by his obedience. We were shown that Father's touch is very gentle. Like Daniel we're called to obedience in the face of whatever happens to us in the world, but the Almighty's touch is a gentle touch on the shoulder. His touch is for reassurance and support, he's always there for us, like Daniel we depend upon him.

Val had brought a notelet, the sort you might use to write a short message to a close friend. She showed us the picture in the corner of the notelet - a father bear and a little bear. The simple, child-like image said it all - there was the same gentle, reassuring touch that we'd just been thinking about!

Rachael said, 'When you wobble you need his hand on your shoulder'. How true! Just a few days earlier I'd been through a time when I very much needed his loving, steadying hand on my shoulder, and the same word, 'wobbly' had been mentioned then too! He knows all the things that affect us and is always there to help and guide. Thank you Father, thank you so much.

Rachael also shared an experience she'd had recently. In her nursing job she'd been walking along a basement corridor to visit an elderly lady who was very ill. In fact, this lady died just a few days later. As she walked, Rachael became aware that the corridor had vanished and instead she was walking on a mossy carpet between beautiful plants and flowers.

The seasons seemed to be rolled into one, and time was speeded up so she could see the flowers opening and the fruit ripening. It was a beautiful and peaceful place. Rachael became aware that this was the way the corridor would have been if had been left the way it was supposed to be, the way the Creator had made it.

We wait for the seasons to come round because we are trapped in time, but our Father experiences things as they truly are. In fact, everything does happen in season, yet all the seasons come together just as they did along the mossy pathway.

In Rachael's vision there was a soft and gentle dew on the ground, and this reminded us of the manna which was all that the children of Israel needed. It provided all their sustenance and was always there in sufficient amounts.

We also thought about the fig tree that Yahshua cursed in Mark 11. Like Israel, this tree had failed to bear fruit for him. Now its chance to do so was over. But under the new covenant, which includes not only the Jews but also the Gentile peoples, there are no seasonal rules. We are to bear fruit at all seasons!

This in turn reminded us of the verse in Habakkuk 3 about the fig tree.

'Although the fig tree doesn't flower And there are no grapes on the vines, Although the olives fail to crop And the fields produce nothing to eat, Though there are no sheep in the pen And no cattle in the stalls, Yet I'll rejoice in Yahweh, And in my Almighty Saviour.'

'Yahweh Elohim is my strength; He makes my feet like deer's feet, He enables me to go up to the highest places.'

He makes it all possible for us, doesn't he! He has made us able to leap and balance like deer, and we are able to walk on his holy mountain, in his glorious presence. HalleluYah!

< 11th May 2004 | Index | 14th October 2004 >

Eaton Ford - Love and deadness

< 16th April 2004 | Index | 22nd September 2004 >

This evening was amazing, we felt we received such a revelation of Father's heart; but it was difficult to hold it clearly in our minds afterwards because the vision was so large and all-encompassing. Truth is sometimes like that, isn't it! Val wasn't able to be with us tonight, yet we felt she was included in everything we heard from the Spirit.

Right at the start while we were still chatting over coffee, Rachael explained that she'd had an image of two sieves in her mind for the past few weeks. First there was a sifter full of flour, and the fine flour was passing through, later she saw another, larger sieve with water pouring through and gold collected in it. She didn't understand what these images meant and had been puzzling over them.

And then, in the quietness as we listened, the Holy Spirit started to speak.

We received a word, 'My love is deeper than the deepest sea, wider than the universe - my love is everywhere. There's always a spark of light to hold onto'. And it occurred to us that we just don't value love enough. Love brought the universe into existence. Love welcomed back the prodigal son. Love let him go in the first place!

He spoke to us again, 'You are free! Free to run and jump in the sunshine. Don't be afraid; you are free.'

We were shown that we are being sifted, and the meaning of the two sieves suddenly became clear to us. When flour is sifted it is what passes through that is useful and the clogged lumps are thrown away. But when water passes through it is the gold that is retained and is valuable. Either way, the process separates what is pure and good from what is worthless, and that's what is happening in our lives. Either way, he is separating what will be thrown away from what is pure and holy.

Meanwhile we have a choice. We can cling to what is good and pure or we can cling to the impure and worthless in our lives, but we can't have both. And it seemed that we are to be washed in his glory and that because of the purity of his gold collected in us we may then reflect his glory - and someone else might notice the reflection and see him in us! But we must let go of the worthless stuff and cling to the pure during the sieving process.

Some people will tell us we should fear him, the Almighty who tears down strongholds, but we don't. He is our Father, when we see him we cry out, 'Abba, Daddy', he loves us and we're free! The only thing that can take away our freedom is fear; but perfect love (his love) casts out fear. Oh, thank you, Father!

The Holy Spirit gave us another word.'Father is walking in the garden and you are like the birds, hopping and flying in the branches. You give him pleasure just as the birds in your garden give you pleasure.' But if they weren't so afraid of us, how much more pleasure the birds would bring by feeding from our hands and hopping around our feet. He wants us to realise that if we are not afraid in his presence, if we are free, we bring him the greatest pleasure.

And then he said something extraordinary, unsettling, and deeply significant. 'Don't be afraid for I will build up my church and I will cast death out from it. The church is the last place where death will be found, but it will be cast out.'

Thinking about this strange, enigmatic word, we felt that death being cast out is really much the same thing as life being poured in. Just the other side of the coin, perhaps? And we remembered Ezekiel 37 again and the valley of dry bones. Ezekiel had to prophecy that the breath would enter into the dead, and of course it did - and they came alive - a vast army (Ez 37:9-10). As with Israel in Ezekiel's day, so it is for the church in our day. We have been such dried-up bones. In the church today he's opening our graves and bringing us up from them. Verse 14 reads, 'I'll plant my Spirit within you and you'll come alive, and I'll bring you to live in your own land. And then you'll understand that I, Yahweh, have spoken, and that I've done it.'

And indeed, death is still in the church even though as individuals we have been born again and become sons and joint heirs with Yahshua. In the church are so many dead ideas, dead traditions, dead teachings, dead ways of thinking! Are we being called to prophesy that the Spirit will enter into the church (that 'dead army') and stir her up into abundant life? I think perhaps we are!

When we are sifted by him, all this deadness is removed and only what is good and pure will be kept. And when all in the church have been fully sifted, death really will have been cast out from her!

So what he told us at the start of the meeting holds true! 'My love is deeper than the deepest sea, wider than the universe - my love is everywhere. There's always a spark of light to hold onto'. Praise him!

Afterwards, Rachael wrote...

I believe what we have is real and genuine and from Him, and that puts us in a vulnerable position and makes us a target for evil to interfere. When I think about His message properly then I am not afraid, because I remember that He is woven into our being. But maybe there was also a warning at our meeting, to be vigilent, to be aware, to maintain the ultimate goal in our minds of 'His will be done' not ours.

< 16th April 2004 | Index | 22nd September 2004 >

Eaton Ford - In the King's presence

< 31st March 2004 | Index | 11th May 2004 >

We are so richly blessed, Father leads us and guides us; we don't need to worry about anything - ever. Yahshua would always have known whether to follow this course or that one, he had no doubts because he had no 'baggage'. If we sometimes struggle to know what we should do it's because we carry with us a great deal that isn't necessary (ideas, habits, expectations, and so forth).

Val and Rachael both received visions at more or less the same moment this evening, and they were so complementary and reinforcing that there was no room to doubt. Both these pictures just had to be right!

Val saw an autumn leaf in the wind and explained that we are like that. We are completely free to go where the wind takes us. The Holy Spirit moves us where he wants us to be.

And Rachael saw a bird in the air, not working hard to stay aloft but carried effortlessly on a thermal of rising air.

It occurred to me that although Yahshua is the King of Kings, he's not like the modern British royal family. He's more like a king of times gone by, living amongst his family and friends in a very relaxed and ordinary way. And when a foreign ambassador called to meet such a king he would have been taken into the king's everyday life. If his little child had wanted to ask his father for something, the king would have had time for that and then continued his business with the ambassador.

Val shared yet another picture, this time of flames dancing freely and playfully in a fireplace. Just as we can sit in front of a fire and enjoy the play of the flames and the warmth from the fire, so our Father sits at his ease and is entertained as we dance in freedom before him. He enjoys his children, we warm his heart by our freedom.

He wants us to know that he's very, very close to us. Rachael shared that his presence is woven into the fabric of our being. What a wonderful thought! If he is woven into us like that, then of course we are all woven together into one piece, held together by his strong threads. He holds us all together in love. This seems to be related to the idea that we are all parts of one body with the Messiah as the head. But in this new form, the idea seemed fresh and very powerful, we are indeed one.

So this evening he showed us that although our baggage gets in the way, we're free now, very much his children, and bringing him pleasure in our freedom. He is very, very close to us, in fact completely interwoven into us and holding us together in love.

It's so good to be reminded of these things! And there is such life and freedom in what he showed us this evening. Truly, if the Son sets us free we are free indeed!

< 31st March 2004 | Index | 11th May 2004 >

Eaton Ford - Learning like a child

< 11th March 2004 | Index | 16th April 2004 >

The Holy Spirit showed us many things this evening, Father opened his loving heart to us and reminded us not to be anxious about anything. He said, 'Come to me like a child'. And how necessary that is!

He wants us to come in trust, expecting to receive love and comfort and his care, open and innocent like a child, bringing nothing, just accepting.


Val told us how she had helped a young child to learn to swim, he trusted her and had a simple faith in her ability and willingness not to let him sink. He was enthusiastic and looked forward to the next swim. What is faith if not putting ourselves in the path of danger without fear or worry because we know he will support us? Not recklessly, but aware that he's always there for us, always with us.

We were also shown that each of us is like a child being given a ride on Dad's bike. We don't need to worry where we're going because we're riding with him, he knows the way and he's steering.There are all kinds of bumps and potholes in the road but if we're on his bike we'll miss them all (he's a truly skillful rider). And riding with him is never tiring or exhausting because he does all the pedalling.

Val had a vivid picture of riding on the bike, down a hill and splashing through water at the bottom, throwing out great gushes of water on either side. How exhilarating, what fun! And we should have fun with our Father!

Romans 12:2 tells us, 'Don't be moulded into this world's pattern any more, but be completely changed by your mind being renewed'. The world's way is to want a great deal for ourselves and to feel we're in control of our own destiny. But that's an empty illusion.

Father instead wants us to have a new way of thinking. We are not to expect anything of each other; for he expects nothing of us! If he did, what hope would we have? Expecting something of my brothers and sisters just ties them down and restricts them; to release them I must expect nothing. If I can't love them as they are without requiring any change, then do I truly love them or do I love myself?

This was such an encouraging, uplifting evening. By the end of it I felt I'd been reminded of much and had my eyes opened to some new truths as well. HalleluYah! Thank you, Father.

< 11th March 2004 | Index | 16th April 2004 >