Tauranga House of Prayer

So im just over two into this season now and ive spent the past week across in Tauranga. This is a small city close to the beach. Its basically the Wexford of New Zealand. Its the Beach town where everyone comes in the summer. But now that the summers just finished and schools are back and all that its beginning to quieten up a tad. But ive been staying in a YHA campsite in the city, so ive pitched my little tent which has become my home sweet home for the past week. Ive become accustomed to the sleeping on the floor living now so im sure ill feel the benefits of this tight sleep conditions in a couple of years. To be honest beds just dont do it for me anymore its all about the hard surface these days.
Another thing looks like im heading back to the Emerald Isle soon than i thought. I always had a visit home on the cards for 2009, but its was unlikely and more something i wanted than something that was going to happen. But then my sister has gone and decided to get married to Mr Jonny. So Mrs Susan Somerville has given me one of my life ambitions. Its not quite as good as the real thing but my first legit Brother. Now i asked every year for a brother from Santa until i realized what i was asking. But its finally coming true. So im over the moon and looking forward to getting back and welcoming the latest family member and no better man to have one of my fine sisters.
Tomorrow im moving back up to Auckland which im hoping to catch up with some old friends from the Congo. Two Northern Hemisphere summers ago I popped off to the Congo for 8 weeks with my father & some of his friends. I stayed with a New Zealand couple from Wellington called Murray & Joy Stevenson. They have been back in the country for the past couple of weeks catching up with all their churches and friends here. So im going to catch up with them for a day or two which im excited about cause i lived with them for two months and they were two very important months of my life. So cant wait to link up with them tomorrow.
But this week has been interesting. Ive been spending my morning @ the THOP so thats been a great start to the days. Following on from all the revelations from last week and continuing on through the rest of the torah and finishing Deuteronomy today. Well its been much of the same, the daily realization that Jesus is the Lamb of God and really getting what he came to earth for, and why he had to come.
John 16 v 27 - Reading John today and picking up the second half of the story while reading through the story of Moses & the Israelites. But while im dwelling on and really getting into the old Covenant I feel while i want to stay on it and dig deeper to fully grasp it, I feel God bringing me into the New Covenant at the same time. This happened alot during my DTS. Once God i was clicking during Gods revelations he was showing me i was so in awe of what he was saying and then as my hunger for more on the topic he’d then start on a new topic and start showing me something else, and you cant exactly tell tell God to stop and go back, He’s more come on Pete you’ve got that so what ya think of this. But anyway, yeah seeing the whole reason the Father loves us is because we have accepted Jesus and by accepting Jesus God the Father accepts us. Now as the Fear of God was setting in i was beginning to get a bit scared and terrified of God the Father. I was feeling his anger and frustration at the Israelites and seeing myself just as frustrating to him with my continued failures, lack of dedication and weakness so the thought of coming to him or coming close to him was not that appealing as I questioned why he’d want anything todo with me or anyone really. While at the same time my communion times with God the Son, Jesus have been great again ill say taking the time daily to remember Jesus and his sacrifice for us is priceless. Now seeing the whole Intercession side and how Jesus is the way to the father. Not only the Lamb of God and our sacrifice who cleanses us but also the only way to bringing us to the Father as in John 14 v 6.
Now this next one im not sure about but its something going through the brain. Being at the THOP and giving a good period of time every morning to praying and intercession has been a great discipline cause then the rest of the day i can do the things i really enjoy like reading the Word or Communion. But anyway as ive been interceding for lets say stuff theres also been verse’s jumping out about prayer. But its the references about how Jesus keeps talking about how People cant come to Jesus unless the Father enables them, (John 6 v 37 & 44 & 65) or unless the Father draws them or unless the father gives them to Jesus. Now one thing which has really shifted in my mind and what God has really revealed to me on week three of my DTS was the fact that God choose me. Now past blogs explains that one. But these verse’s have got me well excited about prayer and also so excited about the lads moving into Foxrock and with 24/7 prayer being based in their new house. The importance of prayer and how we need to get down on our knees and pray for the lost. But also linking it into our own lives and becoming the prayer. Being the prayer and living as a walking prayer in our communities and not just sitting in our churches or houses and praying but living out the prayers we pray. So thats why i love this quote.

Also a line in Pete Greig’s “The Vision” “To Pray as if everything counts on God and to Live as if everything counted on us”

Praise & Worship

This week has slowly transitioned into more worshipping focused aswell. Now the whole reason I feel God has called me into this season is for me to get closer to him and Worship him and get more intimate with him. So Worship has always been at the back of my mind the first week, thinking that the set up was very similar to the Congo and i wasn’t getting very intimate with God. But 40 days is a long time so i wasn’t too worried and also so much was coming out of my days that i felt whatever direction i was going it was prity good. But this week I felt one day that I was to go for a walk without any books and just to spend the afternoon with him. Now the Ipod came with me just to drain out the noise and all. But as i walked down the path on the sea front its also along a motorway so i found myself Praising God. But all of this was out of the revelations form the week prior. So its like the first week was all about setting the tone and getting into the character of God and then stripping back the whole plan and purpose of Jesus Christ. When this had been stripped down and then opened up to me this has brought me to a place of true appreciation and acknowledgment of Jesus as my Saviour. Its only the beginning and its tough as im on the edge of a motorway and people walking past every now and then and lets be honest my voice ain’t exactly like Bono and who exactly am i singing to aswell. But ah well there loss right and sure those verse’s from last week about not being of this world are fresh too.

Things will never be the same

One day aswell as i was listening to the Song by Dave Crowder Band theres a song called “the Glory of it all” But towards the end of the song its about how “For everything will change, things will never be the same, we will never be the same” Now its not like ive been off the rails my whole life and just found God. Buts its the thought of being captured by a life in the ordinary. Giving away Jesus and letting him go and walking into a life surrounded by business. I cant think of anything worse than not having enough time to spend with Jesus everyday. But my fear is that its easy to say that when im spending all my time with him everyday but what about when the years go on, days get busier, responsibilities get bigger and bigger what about then how will i be then. What will my priorities be then. Will the light slowly faint like so many others today worldwide. What makes me different and how will i stand where so many others have fallen in the past and present. Because my Tattoo Phllippians 3v8 is still ringing all through me. “ Everything else is meaningless when compared with the infinite value of knowing christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have Discarded all things counting them as garbage, so that i could gain Christ and become one with him” and to me falling away or separating myself from Jesus is just terrifying and the thought really got into me and hit a nerve deep.
Well thats it for this week, ill pop some random photos in this one cause i dont want people getting board reading through my thought processing. But as for this week im not sure where ill end up it looks like auckland with Murray & Joy then up north to the Bay of Islands to visit some family friends and then hopefully ill make it to the south island. Ive gotta make it down to Queenstown to get my Christmas present of Susie before she gets wedding planning and has no money left. And then theres a birthday & a Paddys day down there aswell. This will bring me then back up north to start earning some NZ Dollars for the wedding Home & a trip to see my Rosco.