Ann Shakespeare

Physical metaphors are portals into union with God

Sat, 28 Sep 2024 22:52:52 GMT

“He will spread his wings over you and keep you secure” (Ps. 91:4, CEV)

I confess that I used to regard physical metaphors in Scripture as ‘lightweight’ for those of us who are pursuing the depths of union with God. They didn’t seem ‘spiritual’ enough. But Oh! How wrong I was!!

Now – by contrast – I see them as powerful keys and beautiful portals into living a life of union. The metaphors give us picture-handles to help us imagine and, progressively, to activate our connectedness with our True Life which is wrapped in Christ.

There are so many examples all throughout the Bible. The ones I mention here happen to be from the Old Testament. They are glorious in their context but they’re even more glorious and effective when we see them through the lens of the completed work of Jesus Christ.

On the Cross, all separation and distance were obliterated. In truth, there is no longer a distinction between ‘physical’ and ‘non-physical’. Our bodies, for example, are not separate from the invisible, quantum field. They are part of it, and on a spectrum. Everything is spirit – but vibrating at different speeds. Our bodies and material objects around us vibrate at a lower frequency – one that we can see, hear and touch in the earth realm. But our essence – ie the very ‘fabric’ of our cells – is still pure Spirit, pure Light.

So, now let’s open our hearts wide and dive into some wonderful verses.

Look at this verse in Genesis – it is utterly wondrous! … “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life” (Gen. 2:7, AMPC).

There is so much here, but to highlight just a couple of points: Humankind is the only part of creation that God did not speak into existence with “Let there be …”.

Instead, God chose to be intimately connected with human beings from the very beginning. This is how the Voice Bible translates that same verse, Genesis 2 v 7: “The Eternal God scooped dirt out of the ground, sculpted it into the shape we call human” (Gen. 2:7, VOICE). In other words, God sculpted us from the essential elements of creation.

And then … God actually breathed His own Breath – His Spirit – into the nostrils of the man. The Hebrew word translated “breathed” conveys the sense of blowing hard. In other words, God passionately wants us to receive – and keep receiving – His Breath of Life! (See note 1 below)

So doesn’t that speak of oneness and union right from the beginning? Yes, the Fall came after that, but nowhere in Scripture does it say that God withdrew His presence or that He broke His union with mankind. It is clear that He banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden … but He never banished them from His holy Presence.

I suggest that it was – and is – the corrupted consciousness of human beings that fosters the lie that we are separated from God. But no more! In these times, in particular, the Lord is calling us back into full awareness that we are in Him and He is in us – and that we can never, ever be separated from that Union of Love. (See note 2 below)

This truth is way beyond our ability to grasp with our minds! That’s where metaphors are such a powerful help. If we take time to ponder them with our sanctified imagination, they can penetrate our hearts in a supernatural way, and bring the truth of Union alive to us.

Here are just a few beautiful examples – each one expressing a glorious truth that has already been fulfilled in us through Jesus:

“I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hand” (Isa 51:16, NLT).

“I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33, AMP).

“I the Lord your God keep hold of your right hand” (Isa. 41:13, AMP)

“He will spread his wings over you and keep you secure” (Ps. 91:4, CEV)

They’re all profound, aren’t they! I’m so thankful to God for the multitude of ways He provides for us to understand and experience His Love and His Union with every single one of us.

*******

(1) I try to pause and remember, as I go about my daily life, that EACH time I breathe, I’m literally breathing in the very Spirit of God. If you happen to do breathwork, then that is a perfect time for us to be consciously aware of Who you and I are breathing in.

(2) “For I am persuaded beyond doubt … that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39, AMPC).

Images courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Ann Shakespeare 28 September 2024

Manifest Life through Union

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 16:58:46 GMT

“In a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third storey and was taken up dead. But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said,“Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him”. (Acts 20:9-10)

This account of the young man who fell from a third-storey window and died, while Paul was preaching, is an astonishing example of Paul’s confident and practical response to apparent disaster.

There’s so much in this story, (possibly) including elements of humour! One translation refers to Paul’s talk as going “on and on”. But the atmosphere shifted abruptly when the young man tumbled out of the window, and “was picked up a corpse” – which, of course, was a terrible tragedy. We can only imagine the traumatic impact it would have had on the believers who had gathered eagerly to listen to Paul’s ground-breaking teaching about Jesus, their Saviour and Life-giver.

As they looked on in horror, Paul made his way downstairs to attend to the young man. Imagine their amazement when they saw Paul quickly restore him to life, and then take care to reassure everyone that there was nothing to worry about.

Then – most likely still open-mouthed in astonishment – the people watched as Paul went back upstairs to eat and to continue fellowship and conversations until the break of dawn.

There is certainly extraordinary drama here, combined with an unusual sense that this potential tragedy was a rather “incidental happening” in the midst of Paul’s journeyings.

But, of course, it’s not “incidental” at all, because everything in the Word of God is intentional. Furthermore, we know that any passage of Scripture can have layers of meaning which gradually unfurl its deeper treasures – often surprising us with fresh revelation long after we had first read a particular verse or passage.

Deeper treasure!

I’d love to explore with you one of the deeper messages of this story. I believe it contains profound insight into manifesting Kingdom Life and making a difference on earth.

The key phrase here is: “Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” (Acts 20:9-10).

It’s notable that Paul is not recorded as saying anything at all over the deceased man’s body. He could have commanded life to return. He could have commanded the man’s damaged organs to be healed and restored. After all, we see Paul’s spiritual wisdom and power massively demonstrated in the healing of a crippled man at Lystra, and in ALL those who were sick on the island of Malta.

On this occasion, though, Paul did not issue one single command. Instead, he did something else … something that I believe is very significant.

We read that Paul “fell on the young man and embraced him”. In other words, by his actions, Paul portrayed not only his love and deep compassion, but also his union with the man. And that is the key.

The thing is, commands imply duality and separation. ie a command is issued from a person to a person or situation. Kingdom Life, by contrast, is about union and oneness. Oneness with each other and with God.

Paul certainly knew and experienced Oneness. His New Testament letters are full of the message of the perfect union with God and with each other that is accomplished for us by Jesus through His completed work. He makes it crystal clear that all separation and division were abolished at the Cross.

So, in embracing the young man, Paul’s actions were silently declaring, “Look! My life is now hidden with Christ in God, and so is your own life! So how can death take the upper hand here?!”

Also, I think it’s quite striking that Paul said to the people around the young man, “his life is in him”. He could have said “he is alive” or “he has come back to life”. But instead, he chose the unusual phrase, “his life is in him”. (Another deep thought for us to ponder!)

Paul was so convinced of what his Lord had accomplished – and the truth that Christ’s Life was vibrating within the young man – that he didn’t linger downstairs to make sure he remained alive and well. He knew that others were attending to escort the man home, so Paul confidently went back upstairs to continue the evening.

So how does this apply to us today?

Today, we read this passage within the context of an increasing awareness of union and oneness throughout the body of Christ. Unity, love and collaboration are becoming the predominant force for change.

We’re learning to manifest the qualities and characteristics of the Kingdom of God – not by command – but by loving and by being consciously aware that we are united with God and with each other.

In this way, we can bring something from heaven – from the invisible, quantum realm – and establish it on earth in our experience, and in the lives of others, by creating a resonant frequency.

Another way of saying that is to think of ourselves as receptive tuning forks, desiring to resonate, or vibrate, in tune with our Father’s heart, and then to express the messages of His heartbeats – His loving will – here on earth.

Only the Lord can do that through us, of course! We’re not called to grit our teeth and try to “tune” ourselves in line with Heaven – for that’s impossible in our own strength!

But as we keep leaning purposefully into the beautiful Spirit of Christ within us (perhaps through the portals of Galatians 2:20 or Colossians 3:3, for example) – His own most glorious and powerful frequency causes our hearts and minds to come increasingly into alignment with Heaven’s melodies.

And so we can pray confidently, with hearts wide open and full of praise, for God’s will to be poured out into the world:

“Our Father in heaven …

Manifest Your will here on earth,

as it is manifest in heaven.” (Matt. 6:9,10, The Voice Bible)

Amen and Amen! We praise you Father!!!

Images courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Ann Shakespeare 31 July 2024

Praying from the heavenly realm

Wed, 22 May 2024 13:40:52 GMT

“God … raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places

in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6)

The first explicit reference to our being positioned in the “heavenly realm” is found in the verse above. However, in John’s Gospel, Jesus Christ Himself also refers to that realm – in all but name – when He urges us to “Abide in Me” and to let His words abide in us:

^“ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me... He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. …. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:4,5&7)

Clearly, He is not asking us to abide in His physical body. Rather, He is speaking here of His spiritual body. It must have been very perplexing for Jesus’s disciples to hear these words because their attention was, understandably, focused mainly on the physical realm.

However, as post-Resurrection and Ascension believers, we are deeply privileged to have access to the profound insights of Ephesians 2:4-6. The Passion Translation expresses these verses especially beautifully and informatively:

“God … united us into the very life of Christ and … raised us up with Christ the exalted One, and we ascended with him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, for we are now co-seated as one with Christ!”

So what does “heavenly realm” mean? Usually, we think of heavenly places as being “up there” – far above planet Earth and the entire cosmos. That is true but it is only partially true, because the “heavenly realm” is actually wherever Christ is – and Christ is absolutely everywhere! … “He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe” (Eph. 4:10, NIV).

Using metaphors and pictures

Praying from being seated in the heavenly realm starts with simple faith in the Word of God, actively trusting that the Spirit of Christ Himself is articulating and praying through us.

To do this, each of us needs to find meaningful metaphors, or pictures, to help us pray in a way that is less “earthbound”. The Holy Spirit will help us to choose metaphors and pictures to aid our prayers, if we ask Him.

In case it helps, a few of the metaphors/pictures that have helped me to pray in the Spirit over the years are:

· To imagine myself dying with Jesus on the Cross, literally slumped at the bottom of the Cross. Then I imagine myself reborn in Him – in His Resurrection – as a cell in His Body, receiving a constant supply of all the nutrients and qualities that Christ has.

· When I take Communion, I pray and lay upon the Lord everything that is not of Him, also bringing names and situations before Him in intercession. Then, as I consume the Body and the Blood, I truly believe that I am receiving His DNA and His Life-Blood into me and into every other cell who is connected to me in the Body of Christ (which means billions of people). I believe, generally, that those people who are closest to our awareness will benefit the most.

· I tell myself that I’m light (and stand there, imagining that I am light, literally) because Jesus said, “You are the light of the world …. Let your light so shine …” (Matt. 5:14&16). In faith, I impart that light (ie God’s power, because light is power) to people for whom I pray, and to specific parts of their bodies if they are sick.

· In my imagination, I see myself going to someone’s house or bedside, laying hands on them and praying for them – performing the physical motions in line with my prayers (that’s not essential, but for me it helps to increase the conviction that the Spirit is at work).

Sanctified imagination

Metaphors and pictures require imagination, of course. Sanctified imagination (also called visualisation) is powerful! (By “sanctified imagination”, I mean submitting our imagination to God and asking and trusting Him to work through our imagination and our thoughts).

I wish I had realised the power of imagination many years ago! I used to dismiss imagination as unreality and as “playing”. How ignorant of me! It was God who gave us imagination in the first place – to be used in a good and powerfully creative way. It is virtually impossible to think of anything without using the imagination. Thinking and imagination cannot be separated. They are a powerful bridge over which to rise from the natural into the spiritual. An important scripture on this theme is: “For as he thinks [imagines] in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).

Many of the instructions given to us in Bible require our imagination, or else they make no sense. For example: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus” (Heb. 12:2) and “Set your mind on things above” (Col. 3:2). If God requires our imagination – which He evidently does – then we can have faith that He will work it in and through us!

All praise be to our God!

“He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,

Like showers that water the earth.” (Ps. 72:6)

Images courtesy of Pixabay.com and Unsplash.com

By Ann Shakespeare 22 May 2024

Be radiant with the brilliance of the Lord!

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 17:05:27 GMT

“The lamp of the body is the eye;

if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body will be light.”

(Matt. 6:22, Darby Translation)

In this Scripture, Jesus calls us to focus on the light and turn away from darkness. In the same chapter He also said, “No one can serve two masters”. We need to make a radical choice between two opposing poles.

What are the two poles? In the New Testament we see that the two poles are actually two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light. It was to rescue fallen humanity from the kingdom of darkness that God became incarnate as Jesus Christ. Through His sacrifice, He Himself absorbed the darkness, which can also be called sin, evil, illusion or ignorance etc – the fruit of separated ego consciousness. The Lord’s purpose was to obliterate ego consciousness and restore human beings to their original state of unity with the Father. In other words, the Lord’s mission was to usher in the Kingdom of God and to be the first fruits of a brand new Christ race.

He has done it! But in order to appropriate what Jesus has done for us, and to start to move out of our old Adamic paradigm, the Lord calls us to focus on a completely new direction …ie “Fix your eyes on Jesus”, “ Set your mind on things above ”, “Seek first the Kingdom of God”.

In other words, keep your eye single and in the Light; not in the darkness where our consciousness is ruled by separation and dividedness.

Keeping the eye single means keeping our consciousness focused on the Truth (singularity) as revealed through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The truth is that we are now crucified with Christ and raised with Him, partaking of the very nature of God in every way.

If we do that, then … our “ whole body will be light ” (Matt. 6:22). It follows that if God is light, then as children of God and one with Him we too will be light. Jesus Himself told us: “ You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14).

But what does it mean to be light, or to be full of light? At one level, it means that Scripture comes alive within us and the things of God start to manifest in our day-to-day lives.

At a deeper level, it literally means that we vibrate at the frequency of light! At this frequency we can understand, scientifically, how the Lord’s declarations that “He is in us, we are in Him and all that the Father has is mine” (summarised) can be experientially true.

At the frequency of light we rise above the laws of the world – the laws of duality, separateness, decay and death – and we experience infinity, omnipresence, everlasting life.

At the frequency of light we can lay down our outer form and pick it up again. We can take any form, as long as we take it in the name of Jesus Christ and in the truth of Oneness. We know only the law of Grace and of Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit cascades and flows out through us to the very ends of the earth.

At the frequency of light we can soar in heavenly places and look down on planet Earth. We can embrace the Earth and call all its people and all creation into the light – “Let there be light!” The lower vibrations cannot resist the frequency of light. They cannot fight it. They cannot see it with their physical eyes or touch it or hear it. It is invisible. But it is omnipresent and vibrating in every atom of being.

Thus it is that we all “live and move and have our being in Him” because He is light and light is everywhere present! And if God is everywhere present, then all the characteristics of God are everywhere present: love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, goodness, self-control, infinity, eternal life, creation, expansion, growth, unity, harmony, wholeness, perfection. Thus it is!

And if this is true of every corner of His creation, then it follows that whatever characteristics are in opposition, such as duality and separateness, fear, hate, disease, decay and death cannot prevail! They are the qualities of darkness and will evaporate as the morning dew as soon as they are exposed to those living with a consciousness of the True Light.

As more and more people rise up and start to radiate this quality of Light, the critical mass of consciousness will, increasingly, infuse the quantum field and then it will truly be seen that: “The darkness was pierced and could not comprehend or diminish this light” (John 1:5, Mirror Bible).

So, when we contemplate the Scriptures: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) and “ You are the light of the world” … let us be bold and believe that this is indeed wonderfully true about us. It is to that end that our Lord and Saviour came – and here below is His loving clarion-call to all of us! …

“Shine! – be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord – for your light has come!” (Isa. 60:1, Amplified Bible).

Images courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Ann Shakespeare 29 April 2024

Yes, God is THAT passionate for you!

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 14:10:20 GMT

“You became Mine” (Ezekiel 16:8)

Have you ever longed to know-that-you-absolutely-know that God loves you with a fiery love? If so, read on! I’d like to share a passage of Scripture that helped break open years of not being fully convinced in my heart.

It’s in Ezekiel chapter 16. The context is God’s passionate love for His people and the extremes to which He went to make her His own, beautiful bride. This, despite their extreme waywardness and their having been “thrown out” into slavery in Babylon, like an abandoned, bloodied, new-born child.

Jump forward some 500 years and we see that Ezekiel’s revelation foreshadowed an even more astounding expression of God’s fervent longing to be fully and intimately united with His people. And – of course – that expression is the incarnation and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Now back to Ezekiel 16:6-14. I’ll express it in my own words here, and I invite you to take time to see yourself in this passage, and receive its heart-exploding message. Its power radiates from the Old Covenant context and leaps across the centuries, speaking even more forcefully to us, now, as New Covenant believers.

So God saw the plight of His people, struggling desperately in their “natal blood” which speaks of our fallen, corrupted nature.

God doesn’t engage in conversation or activity at that stage. He “simply” sends forth a one-word instruction: “LIVE!” And He repeats it a second time: “LIVE!” The frequency on this command is massive beyond description. God is speaking there of True Life – not fallen life which is limited and finite.

His passionate exhortation makes my heart leap into the New Covenant … right into the uncorrupted, unending Life imparted to us through the Blood of Jesus.

After this, God goes on to pour out extravagance upon His people, who, just a few verses earlier, had been described as “abhorrent and loathsome”. This is searingly strong language … but it sure makes a powerful point: that God is unrelentingly committed to every one of His children, no matter what they have done, or are doing at present.

I believe it can also speak to God’s call upon us – as those made in His image in Christ – to love those people and situations which appear abhorrent and loathsome, with the same love with which He loves us. It is that kind of radical, laid-down love that will shift the world’s axis from evil to goodness. It is the shining ones (Isaiah 60) who will change the world.

Back to our passage and just look at what God does now! He makes weakly, new-born Israel grow and mature. He sees they are still naked – in other words, helpless in their own strength – and oh! How tender is His response: God stretches the edge of His own garment over their nakedness. Such a heart-stirring image of complete, loving protection, honour and Self-giving.

Then, what He does next is utterly staggering! Without condition, without hesitation, God the suitor actually swears an oath of allegiance to His people. That the God of the universe, the Holy One who dwells in flames of scouring purity, should choose to plunge down through the realms to swear an oath and cut covenant with an unfaithful bride … is totally beyond words.

What kind of Love is this?!!

Then … these three words came from the mouth of God. They are the very pinnacle of His desire for us, His people: “You became Mine” .

This is awesome and deeply moving, but the story doesn’t stop there. It can’t stop there! God’s Love roars like the surge of a million oceans. He won’t stop until He sees – made manifest – the exquisite Bride He had called and fashioned before the creation of the world.

It’s very significant that He starts the relationship by washing off the natal blood still clinging to His bride. God doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up before fully pledging His heart to us.

Then it’s as though God collects an enormous, divine basket of gorgeous things … and proceeds to place each one upon His bride. HE did it. All Israel has to do – and all we have to do – is to receive by faith . He clothed Israel with embroidered cloth, fine leather, linen, silk, bracelets, chains, jewels, earrings, gold, silver, fine flour, honey, oil … and placed a beautiful crown upon their heads.

What?!! … and none of these things are essential to life! Rather, they are extravagant, illogical (outside the logic of Love, that is), and very, very costly.

That is our God!!

In verses 13-14, we can imagine God dancing for absolute joy over His redeemed people. He proclaimed that they were “exceedingly beautiful and … prospered into royal estate.” He made it so clear that He – God alone – was the creator of their beauty; He wants us to know that, and declared that their beauty was made “perfect through My majesty and splendor which I had put upon you.”

This extraordinary passage powerfully foreshadows all that Jesus Christ undertakes and provides for us through His sacrifice on the cross. And that, of course, is infinitely more costly – and really beyond words.

The passage also makes clear that God chooses to relate to us through the eyes of Beauty – right from the get-go! He sees far beyond our limited earthly timeline, and gazes at the glorious transformation that He Himself has already poured into us. In the quantum realm, we are already absolutely radiant with His Glory and Light.

His eyes and His heart are laser-focused upon our true, eternal nature in Christ. Oh! Let’s agree with our Father, declare and call forth His radiant Beauty that is already vibrating within every cell of our being!

How glorious is our King!!!

Images purchased under license from ChristianPhotoshops.com

By Ann Shakespeare 27 March 2024

Which Jesus do you focus on the most?

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 23:20:06 GMT

“God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him

in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).

Someone asked this question recently and it shook me to the core – in a good way!

I think it’s a brilliant question to ask ourselves if we desire to deepen and develop our relationship with God.

Our foundation is that not only are we made in the image of God but we are also remade (Eph. 2:10) in Christ Jesus. Amazing! There’s no getting away from the fact that God has sculpted us – so to speak – to reflect the very image of Jesus Christ.

The question is then: Which image of Jesus do you look to the most? Which Jesus do you set your heart and your mind on?

Is it the One who walked on the earth? Is it the One who existed before the world began and in whom you are created? Is it the One who is multi-dimensional and who sits at the right hand of the Father – together with you? Is it the One who is timeless and infinite, who reconciled all things to the Father by making peace through the blood of His Cross?

These may be challenging questions, but the very process of asking ourselves and pondering them can be a revelatory and hope-filled meditation. It can open us up to encountering the heart of Jesus in ways that we may not have known before.

Asking these questions helps us to expand our understanding of who Jesus Christ is and – by definition – our understanding of who we are in Him.

In all of these realms (or expressions) of Jesus mentioned above, Jesus Christ is fully present – living and active – and we are in Him in each one of them, whether we perceive it or not at present. Scripture makes clear that wherever Jesus is, we are, and that we are complete in Him.

However, it is the degree to which we identify with, and focus on, each of these expressions that determines our perception of what Jesus we are made in the image of.

There is often a lot of emotion tied to particular experiences in our lives in relation to Jesus, and these can dictate our ongoing focus and level of consciousness. For myself, and probably for most of us, the dominant emotions spring from our experience of Jesus as Saviour. For example, profound love and gratitude, huge relief, wonder, amazement – and so much more.

These are precious, beautiful and wholly appropriate feelings, of course, and we are thankful beyond words for His saving Grace.

But what if… and here comes a question that has helped me a lot recently: What if these dominant emotions are actually tying my consciousness to the local and finite Jesus who walked on earth?

What if, (albeit unconsciously), I am actually holding myself back from knowing and experiencing the Jesus who is multi-dimensional, timeless and omnipresent? What if I’m unwittingly living in unbelief and effectively saying, “I’m not made in His image to that degree”?!

I’m finding that these questions help me greatly to see where I can choose to move forward in faith with greater freedom and with the exciting prospect of knowing Jesus more and more fully. We can choose very intentionally, in peaceful stillness, to expand our hearts towards Jesus in all the ways in which He manifests Himself; to lovingly identify with Him in each one – by His enabling grace. And this is never to minimise our devotion to Jesus as Saviour – it is “both-and” rather than “either-or”.

In any case, it is always the same Jesus Christ that we seek, of course. We seek ever deeper intimacy with Him – for His glory and His loving purposes, and never for the sake of chasing “experiences”.

In all our seeking to know Him more deeply, we need never fear the unknown and the new. We can rest in the assurance that He longs for intimacy with us infinitely more than we do. And we are assured that we are always completely safe in His loving presence, wherever He leads us.

How we praise Him!!

Related Scriptures:

“God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness” (Gen. 1:26, AMPC).

“For we are God’s [own] handiwork …, recreated in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:10, AMPC).

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4, NKJV).

“God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6, NIV).

“He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6, AMPC).

“the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8, NKJV).

“Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:11, NKJV).

“In him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible …; all things have been created through him and for him” (Col. 1:16, NIV).

“For it pleased the Father that in Him [Jesus] all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:19-20, NKJV).

“For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]” (Col. 2:9-10, AMPC).

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him” (Col. 2:9-10, NKJV).

“You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3, NIV).

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:17-19, NIV).

I would like to acknowledge and thank Nicolás Acuña, whose inspirational talk at a recent conference in Dallas, Texas, forms the basis of this article.

Images courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Ann Shakespeare 15 February 2024

The special insight of the shepherds

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:09:01 GMT

The angel said to the shepherds:

“This very day, in David’s town, a Saviour has been born for you. He is Christ, the Lord.

Let this prove it to you: you will find a baby, wrapped up and lying in a manger”

(Luke 2:11-12, PHILLIPS )

Please accompany me, in your imagination, to sit alongside the shepherds as they watched over their flocks on the night that Jesus came into the world.

For the shepherds, it was a night just like any other night. Perhaps they were taking it in turns to sleep. Or perhaps they were all awake – every eye required to protect the flock from prowling hyenas, jackals and wolves.

But then … suddenly … something astounding happened. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the night sky became ablaze with the splendour of God’s glory. Not surprisingly, they were terrified!

Then they heard the angel speaking to them. Directly to them:

“There is born to you this day in the city of David [Bethlehem] a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

The angel then went on to talk about a sign that the shepherds would recognise:

“This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.” Another translation of the first part of this verse says: “Let this prove it to you: …”

Prove? In what way?

I must have read and heard this Scripture hundreds of times. But it had never occurred to me to ask why the angel explained to the shepherds – so specifically – that seeing a baby wrapped in strips of swaddling cloth, lying in an animal feeding trough, would be proof that they had found the Saviour!

You might already know why. But I didn’t! I must confess that I only discovered the answer fairly recently – and was deeply moved by what I saw.

We know from a prophecy in the book of Micah that the Messiah would come forth from “Bethlehem Ephrathah” which is an agricultural area near Bethlehem.

Micah had also prophesied that the Messiah would come to a place called “migdal eder” which is located within this same agricultural area of Bethlehem Ephrathah. Translated from the Hebrew, “migdal eder” means “tower of the flock” (Micah 4:8).

So, what is a tower of the flock? And how does it relate to the birth of Jesus?

Read on! It is significant that this agricultural area was part of King David’s ancestral lands, and that it was David’s idea to dedicate the area specifically to raise lambs in preparation for Passover sacrifice in the Jerusalem temple. (David had nurtured a heartfelt vision for the temple and this vision was later fulfilled through his son, Solomon.)

This carefully-tended land of David was characterised by an unusually large number of the aforementioned “towers of the flock” – and the ruins are still there to see today.

These towers are tall stone-built watch towers where the shepherds would care for their sheep and which enabled them to watch over their flock from high vantage points.

From the moment the lambs were born, the shepherds would examine each one to see if it was in perfect condition, otherwise it would not be acceptable for sacrifice.

According to rabbinic tradition, the lambs that were found to be perfect, and selected for sacrifice, would be watched closely until the time of the Passover. Then they would be carefully wrapped in strips of cloth to restrain them, and keep them in perfect condition, while they were being transported to Jerusalem.

Some traditions also state that – before the final selection was made – the sacrificial lambs were actually laid down inside stone feeding troughs so that the lambs could be inspected carefully and safely, off the ground.

But, whether or not this latter tradition is true, there is no doubt that the shepherds who heard the angel would immediately have associated the words feeding trough with the raising of lambs for sacrifice.

All this gives amazing insight into the angel’s extraordinary declaration that the shepherds would understand the sign. “Let this prove it to you: you will find a baby, wrapped up and lying in a feeding trough.”

For these were the very same shepherds who were raising and caring for the Passover lambs.

No wonder there seemed to be no hesitation among them. They made haste right away and found Mary and Joseph.

It is hard to imagine, without weeping in worship, the reaction of those shepherds as they drew close to Mary and Joseph and saw an unspeakably awesome sight of overwhelming significance to them:

Lying in one of their feeding troughs, wrapped in familiar strips of cloth, was not one of their own lambs, destined for sacrifice at Passover.

Instead, bending down over the stone trough, the shepherds would have seen a tiny, vulnerable baby … all swaddled in the same strips of cloth they would routinely use for their lambs …

What!! This cannot be the expected Son of YHWH – the indescribably beautiful One who is clothed with honour and majesty!!

But their inner eyes were opened … and they saw the Glorious Truth, even in the midst of this most dreadful scene. They could see! They knew!!

They saw that this tiny baby was indeed their Saviour – Christ the Lord – whom the angel had announced to them in the splendour of God’s glory. This was true! They were not hallucinating! How the shepherds contained themselves is incredibly hard to conceive. I can only imagine that the Holy Spirit gave them supernatural strength to go immediately to spread abroad the good news! And they did!

No wonder they returned “glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them” (Luke 2:20).

Oh! Let’s join with the shepherds to glorify and praise God for all the things He has told us in His Word.

The Baby arrived that night in the physical feeding trough as our own personal and corporate Manna – our true, beloved, imperishable spiritual food. Jesus came in order to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice, to remove all sin and every trace of separation between God and humankind. He came to unite us with Godhead and to wrap us up into His very Self.

We emerge now as totally new creations in Him, as Christ-beings, living and loving in Him from right now … into eternity. Glory!!!

*******

I am delighted to include this beautiful poem by Peter Honniball. He wrote it after reading the article above and has kindly given me permission to reproduce it here:

The Shepherds Remember

By Peter Honniball

The mother did not ask our names so you will never know

Who were the men who were blessed that night when they saw the heavens glow.

Even before the Angel came, we knew we were special men

For from our flock of pure bred sheep, the Paschal lambs were taken.

We were the ones who brought those lambs from the hills by Bethlehem

All the way to be sacrificed by the priests in Jerusalem.

We could not know but now we know that the child we saw in the stall

Would be the holy Lamb of God, the lamb who saves us all.

We are not princes, kings or priests but we saw God's might arrayed

His shining Angel told us that we should not be afraid.

We may be humble but we are proud, the proudest of all men

For God chose us the first to see his son in Bethlehem.

And when we spoke to the mother, she listened and she smiled;

Somehow it seemed she already had foreknowledge of her child.

We walked back to our flocks amazed, never saw the child again

But our lives were utterly transformed the night that we glimpsed heaven.

We told our neighbours, wives and friends but very few believed.

How could it be the light of God had shone upon our fields

But we did hear the angels speak; we did hear their hymn;

Now old, we know that soon we will hear the angels sing in Heaven.

*******

Note: Some of the information in the above article regarding the towers of the flock and migdal eder is drawn from the writings of the well-regarded church historian Eusebius (the bishop of Caesarea in the 4 ^th century).

(The illustration with shepherds is used with permission from Edge Group – Lion Hudson)

Ann Shakespeare 12 December 2023

Let’s look up with delight

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:14:21 GMT

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath” (Isaiah 51:6)

A poem

Looking up to the radiance of the heavens

Sets me free to live

Untethered from the downdraft of earthly paradigm

Yet firmly woven in Oneness

With the entirety of God’s creation

Through bonds of unceasing Love.

Not escaping, not denying

But running in the path of His commands

With delight in my heart

Engaging with the holy frequencies of the universe

that emanate from Yahweh’s Heart

in a ceaseless cascade

Awakening, thrilling and melting hearts that are open

And longing

For true beauty

Fine justice

And untainted Love

Freely available for every precious one.

His promise is if we put our face in the sunlight

He will rise on us

And His sunrise glory will break over us.

We are made whole in Him

And we can open our beings wide, wide

And let the radiance of the divine shine out

To embrace all

And to herald the breaking of the dawn.

Scriptures related to themes in the poem:

“Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight…God rises on you,

his sunrise glory breaks over you” (Isaiah 60:1-2, The Message)

“Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever”

(Daniel 12:3, The Message).

“Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43, NKJV).

^“ that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15, NKJV)

“Your flawless innocence radiates attraction as beacons of light in the midst of a people who have forgotten their true sonship” (Phil. 2:15, Mirror Bible).

“The path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18, NKJV)

Images courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Ann Shakespeare 31 October 2023

The blood covenant - a wondrous gift for us!

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 16:52:27 GMT

“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

(Luke 22:20)

When Jesus shed His blood on the cross, He was making a holy and unbreakable covenant with each one of us. The shedding of blood was God’s ordained means to redeem us by scouring away all traces of sin and separation, and by pouring His Very Life into us.

So the blood has a two-fold purpose: to obliterate sin and death, and to impart the Life of God into every one of His children. The life is in the blood – as we see in the following verse in Leviticus:

The Lord says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement” (Lev. 17:11). Under the Old Covenant, atonement meant forgiveness of sins.

For us today, under the New Covenant, it still means forgiveness of sins but we can also understand it as “at-one-ment” . Meaning that it makes us one with God.

The powerful meaning of the word “covenant” – whose original Hebrew root word conveys cutting (ie the shedding of blood) – has been watered down by the use of the words New and Old “Testaments” instead of “Covenants”. The problem is that the modern understanding of testament has evolved to mean simply “last will and testament”. This weakened meaning does not clearly convey the full significance and impact of the shed blood of Jesus.

Why is it so important to be aware of this, though? Especially now that we’re no longer living under the old sacrificial system for the removal of sins?

It is because an understanding of the gravity of covenant gives us a two-pronged, rock-solid basis for our faith which convinces our minds as well as our hearts: Firstly, it provides our minds with the evidence of an unbreakable foundation for our full acceptance as children of God (because – astoundingly – God has chosen to bind Himself to us through the legal transaction of His covenant on Calvary).

Secondly, it assures us of God’s ongoing desire to engage in deeply intimate, heart-to-heart relationship with us because it was for Love – and Love alone – that Jesus went to the cross: “For God so greatly loved … the world that He even gave up His only begotten Son” (John 3:16, AMPC).

As we’ve just seen, a vital part of Jesus’ sacrifice was to shed His blood on our behalf for the forgiveness of all our sins - which in itself is staggering beyond words. But He also did something else for us on Calvary, which was to bring us into a life of undiluted union with Himself. This is a mind-bending truth and it’s useful to have some metaphors to help it to penetrate our hearts.

So let’s look at a visual depiction of what it means to become one through covenant, as seen in the story of David and Jonathan (the son and heir of King Saul). To a certain extent – although of course not fully – they foreshadowed Jesus’ covenant with His Bride, the Church.

We read in the first book of Samuel: “Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own life. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, even his sword, his bow, and his girdle.” (1 Sam. 18:3-4, AMPC).

[The context is that David had just killed Goliath, the Philistine giant, with a simple sling and a stone. It’s striking to note that he was not trusting in material weapons at all, but wholly upon the truth that he (David) was an Israelite who belonged to God through covenant … and that the Philistines did not. His faith in this covenant identity released the power he needed to overcome Goliath.]

The first thing that Jonathan did, as a sign of his own personal covenant with David, was to take off his robe. By giving it to his friend, he was actually bestowing on David – who was still a shepherd – his own royal position, full authority and power as the son of a king.

In other words, their identities were now completely blended together.

This is what Jesus has done for us. He actually went much further than Jonathan for He clothed Himself with our rags to identify completely with us.

Jesus stripped Himself of everything in order to clothe us with His own garments of salvation and His robes of Righteousness. He now sweeps us up into Himself and imparts to us His very own life, His love, healing, provision and protection. Jesus’ perfect DNA is now vibrating in every cell of our bodies and our bloodstream.

So, continuing with the story of Jonathan and David … After gifting his robe, Jonathan then handed his sword and his weapons to David. He was bestowing all his power to David as well as indicating that he, Jonathan, would henceforth fight every challenge that came against his friend.

Likewise, Jesus gives us His own armour, power and ability. Not just to work with us to fight off challenges and assaults, but to work and to fight on our behalf as we rest in Him. An essential part of the armour that He gives us is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17) which is His powerful Word. We live in new covenantal authority now, and so we can fully trust God to back us up as we declare His Word.

Jesus gives us everything … because we are in Him and He is in us. We are truly in union with the Creator of the universe! What's more, He longs for us to come into ever-deeper experience of this wondrous truth.

That’s why Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper which is much more than a symbol because, through it, we partake of Christ’s Nature: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16, RSV).

Jesus confirms this very clearly when He says, “My flesh is true and genuine food, and My blood is true and genuine drink” (John 6:55, AMPC).

Oh! How we long to experience more and more of this overwhelming truth in the depths of our beings. Let’s pray together that the eyes of all our hearts be flooded with light, “so that we can know

and understand … how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints - His set-apart ones” (Eph. 1:18, AMPC * ).

Amen and Amen! We praise you, Lord!

* Based on Apostle Paul’s beautiful prayer for the church in Ephesus. (Text in quotation marks has been changed to read “our/us” instead of “your/you”.)

Photo credits:

The main image is a painting by James Tissot entitled "The Last Supper: Judas Dipping his Hand in the Dish". Reproduced with permission from Brooklyn Museum / FreeBibleimages.org

Rainbow image courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Ann Shakespeare 26 September 2023

Cultivating intimacy with Jesus

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 16:30:09 GMT

“Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus”

(Hebrews 12:2, GNT).

God created us for intimacy with Him – to enjoy and experience ongoing union with the Godhead and with each other, as family. An essential part of growing in intimacy is getting to know God through His Word. A good way to gain insight into God’s multifaceted, infinite nature is to prayerfully study the many names of God that we find in Scripture, together with their meanings.

Every truth we discover about God’s names and nature is true about Jesus because He is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Heb. 1:3, NIV).

The Father’s purpose for us is that we become increasingly like Jesus. The process of this transformation in us often involves painful periods for our old-Adam life, which keeps wanting to assert itself in us. But through it all, God keeps a tender watch over us: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength” (1 Cor. 10:13, NRSVA). And when the going gets hard, this is God’s wonderful promise: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).

It is a huge relief to know that we are not expected to achieve this transformation through our own efforts. It can only come about through intimacy – through gazing intentionally and persistently upon Jesus. It is only His Spirit who can bring about this change in us. Just look at the following verse which is most wonderfully encouraging!

“We can all draw close to him [Jesus] with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18, TPT).

The apostle Paul gives us insight into cultivating intimacy with Christ in his letters. He writes, “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb. 12:2, GNT). Paul is not referring to a physical gaze, of course. Rather, he is speaking of an attitude of heart. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, or gazing at Him, means to keep Him in our hearts by thinking of Him. It can be reflecting on His beautiful qualities, or on verses of Scripture. It can be communing with Him through prayer and words of adoration throughout the day. It can be singing and worshipping in different ways.

Elsewhere in his letters, Paul continues the theme, urging us to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1–2).

As we grow to know Him, more and more, the beauty of Christ draws our hearts and enables us to exercise our wills. For it is an act of will to gaze upon Him, and to walk by faith and not by sight. Sometimes, the circumstances in our lives are screaming for us to gaze, instead, at “things on the earth,” and we do need to glance at those, and attend to them, of course. But the grace to deal with difficult circumstances comes from persuading ourselves to look away from our problems and to lean hard into the One who is wisdom and who is the answer.

Whatever may be coming against us, the truth is that Jesus is always intimately present by His Spirit – closer than our very breath. It is simply our individual perception that causes us to use the words “closer” or “far away”. He is always with us and in us.

To our minds, it is incomprehensible that the God of the universe should condescend to desire fellowship and intimacy with us. Apostle Paul realized this dilemma, and he helps us to see that it is by an act of our will that we enter into this fellowship: “consider yourselves . . . alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11, AMPC; brackets in original). The original Greek word translated “consider” is actually an accounting term meaning to “reckon” or “calculate.” Paul knew that we need to exercise our minds to take in this extraordinary truth by faith.

Then, as we keep “reckoning”, God will cause this to come alive in our hearts, if we keep them open to Him. Our minds cannot grasp the truth that Jesus died in order to be united with us for ever – but our spirits can! Our spirits are hardwired to grasp it!

As we gaze at Jesus, in the Scriptures, our minds and hearts will go in the direction of our dominant thoughts and attitudes. In his well-known commentary, Matthew Henry describes our action and attitude of gazing or beholding in this way:

"We must in righteousness . . . by faith behold God’s face and set him always before us, must entertain ourselves from day to day with the contemplation of the beauty of the Lord; and, when we awake every morning, we must be satisfied with his likeness set before us in his word, and with his likeness stamped upon us by his renewing grace."

The concluding quotation comes from a commentary on Psalm 17:15 from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 765.

Photographs courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Ann Shakespeare 31 August 2023

Encounter with God: an invitation for everyone

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 13:24:13 GMT

“You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”

Jeremiah 29:13

What does it mean to encounter God? The word “encounter” means to meet personally. It carries the sense of an individual experience of God and can take many different forms. It can be a physical encounter, a stirring of the heart, a revelation or a picture in the mind, a pricking of the conscience, or a deep sense of reverence—to name but a few examples. For myself, encounters are gentle and, in the past, I think I have probably dismissed many as “just a feeling” or “just my imagination.” But I’m learning to take more heed now.

Have you ever had the experience of reading a passage of Scripture and suddenly seeing it in a new way? A sort of “Oh, I see!” moment? Well, the Word of God is “alive and active” (Heb. 4:12) . . . and in that moment you had an encounter with Jesus, the living Word! The mark of a genuine encounter is that it fosters goodness—the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Encounter with God is an ongoing experience

An encounter with God is not a one-off experience. Each one is an invitation to enter ever more deeply into relationship with the Creator of the universe. In other words, to enter into an ongoing, eternal encounter with the One who loves us with a burning, unending love.

The word “encounter” is a helpful expression to describe our awakening to a very wonderful truth: that in fact there is no longer any distance between us and God. All separation was abolished at the cross. The staggering truth of the Gospel is that we are now united with God. The issue is our conscious awareness of—and sensitivity to—this mind-bending fact.

Whether we “feel” it or not, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has already brought every single one of us into complete union with God. We are already “face-to-face” with Him—He indwells us and occupies the most intimate of relationships with us. Our role is, progressively, to awaken to this truth, and the experiences that we call encounters are all part of the process of awakening.

Let’s look at some scriptural examples of people’s encounters with God—all very different.

The apostle Paul had, perhaps, one of the most dramatic encounters recorded in the New Testament. On the road to Damascus, Paul was blinded by a light from heaven, and he heard the voice of Jesus asking him, “Why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). The result of that experience was massive transformation in Paul’s life. This man, who had zealously persecuted Christians, became their greatest supporter and a fervent devotee of Jesus Christ.

Paul had other dramatic encounters, too, such as when he was “caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words” (2 Cor. 12:4), and when he and Silas were worshipping while in prison, and an earthquake broke open the prison doors and loosed their chains (Acts 16:23–26).

I think it is deeply significant that Paul was not distracted by these and the many other dramatic happenings that he experienced from the Lord. He valued them, certainly, as is evident in his writing and reports, but he didn’t get stuck on them. They were simply springboards to take him deeper and deeper into his one all-consuming passion: the Lord Jesus. His heartfelt cry remained humble and laser-focused right up to his final imprisonment in Rome: “that I may know Him [Jesus Christ]” (Phil. 3:10).

Encounter through Inner Revelation

An example of encounter with God in the gospel accounts includes the remarkable experience of Bartimaeus, who was a blind beggar. This was the man who came face to face with the Son of God and heard the words “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (Mark 10:52). That is remarkable enough, but perhaps it is just as remarkable that even before he stood in front of the Word made flesh, Bartimaeus had—inwardly—already “met” with the Living Word. We know he had received a revelation that Jesus was the Son of David, the promised Messiah, because he cried “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:49). That was the fruit of an inner, invisible, but very real encounter. And it came to someone whom society would have categorized as a most unlikely kind of person to receive favour from God.

Yet another form of encounter appears in the book of Acts when an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26). As Philip journeyed, the Spirit then spoke, guiding him to a chariot carrying a high-ranking eunuch who was returning to Ethiopia. The man was reading verses from Isaiah 53, which he could not understand, and he invited Philip to sit in his chariot and explain them. It was an amazing, God-inspired meeting . . . in the middle of a desert! The eunuch certainly had his own personal encounter with God that day, declaring his conviction that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, and receiving baptism from Philip.

God transcends culture and time, and He speaks to our individual hearts to bring us into an ever-greater awareness of His Person and Presence. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8), and what He does in the life of one human being He can do in your life, and in my life, in ways that speak directly and uniquely to each person.

“We praise Him!!!

Photographs courtesy of Pixabay.com

By Ann Shakespeare 28 June 2023

Praying from our position in heavenly realms

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 15:00:51 GMT

^{“God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6, NIV).}

The first explicit reference to our being positioned in the “heavenly realm” is found in the verse quoted above, from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. However, in John’s Gospel, Jesus Christ Himself also refers to that realm – in all but name – when He urges us to “Abide in Me” and to let His words abide in us (John 15:4-5). Clearly, Jesus is not asking us to abide in His physical body. Rather, He is speaking here of His spiritual body.

[I think it is helpful to note here that the gospel writers refer to the heavenly realm as the Kingdom of Heaven and as the Kingdom of God. In Colossians, it is called “the kingdom realm of his beloved Son.” (Col. 1:13, TPT). In other words, we can also call it the kingdom of the omnipresent Christ.]

In addition, Jesus says that the Kingdom of heaven is within us or among us; and Colossians 1:13 adds that “He has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son.” So we can see that the “heavenly realm” (or realm of the Spirit) is, indeed, everywhere! It is all-pervasive, all-encompassing, and not bound by the limitations of space-time.

We can’t expect all this to make sense to our brain and five senses, because “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). But God has given us the supernatural gift of spiritual insight, as we read here: “We have received …the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12; my italics).

Praying from being seated in the heavenly realm starts with simple faith in the Word of God, actively trusting that Jesus Himself is protecting and guiding us at all times, and praying through us.

We can use Scriptures, such as Revelation Chapters 1, 21 and 22 to activate our God-given imagination, basing our intent and activity firmly on the Word of God. We can listen quietly in the Father’s Presence then start to pray and to declare scriptural truth over ourselves and others, and over different situations and parts of the world. There is no “prescribed” form, though. Our aim is to trust that we will be led by the Spirit according to the Father’s will for our prayers.

Praying and imagining in this way can sometimes feel dry and rather mechanical, especially in the early days. Let’s not be dismayed or tempted to stop, though. The more we use our muscle of faith and practice this way of praying, the more it grows and flows in a beautiful way. As co-workers with God in ushering in His Kingdom on Earth, we believe that He is using and empowering our prayers in ways that exceed our imagination! Persistence is the key. We walk and pray by faith and not by sight.

Underlying it all, we rest in the truth that we are His beloved – unfathomably and infinitely loved – and we lean on Him (Song of Solomon 8:5) – all the way. He never fails us and never lets go of our hand!

All praise be to our wondrous God!

By Ann Shakespeare 28 May 2023

A most glorious invitation

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 12:29:19 GMT

^{We have full freedom and confidence to enter into the Holy of Holies”}

^{(Hebrews 10:19, AMPC)}

^{“We can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus”}

^{(Heb. 19:10, NLT)}

God the Father is extending to you an invitation to step right through the Temple curtain that gives entrance into the holiest place in the universe. That is, into the fulness of His Presence. In Old Testament times, such an invitation would be utterly unthinkable because nothing other than perfection can stand in the Presence of God.

But God’s desire, right from the beginning of creation, was for us to do just that – to stand in His Presence. And not just to stand – which, in itself, is already amazing – but actually to see ourselves fully united with the Creator of the Universe!

God longs for us to exercise our faith and – by an act of our will and sanctified imagination – to remove our old-Adam self as we step through the curtain, and to leave that old self firmly outside. The Father declares that we can now step towards Him with full confidence, because we go forward in our new identity, which was purchased for us by Jesus Himself.

On the Cross, the separating curtain of the Temple was embodied in the flesh of Jesus which He freely offered as the “living way” (Hebrews 10:20), flinging wide for us the entrance into the Holy of Holies.

We hear God inviting us to walk boldly and freely into this most holy place – into the heart of the Father Himself. He desires sweet, unhindered relationship with each one of us. He longs for us to know ourselves to be so blended together with Him that we no longer see ourselves as separate beings.

Jesus opened wide His arms on the Cross in order to open the way to the most intimate of friendships with us. Later, God’s Holy Spirit poured the following words through the apostle Paul, and the way is now wide open for us, personally, to join with Paul in his declaration: “My old identity has been co-crucified with Messiah and no longer lives …. Now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me – we live in union as one!” (Gal. 2:20, TPT).

It is the blood of Jesus that accomplishes this wondrous state for us. And now we are called to believe it; to trust that we are indeed clothed in Christ (Galatians 3:27), and to walk with quiet confidence as a beloved son or daughter of God.

Let’s do it now! Please don’t be like I was, spending inordinate amounts of time trying to clean myself up and do better in order to feel acceptable. I try not to live like that any more! It just doesn’t work and leads only to frustration. That’s not to say we don’t aim to live in the best way we can, but fundamentally, it is only the blood of Jesus that can purify us completely and eternally. It is His Love poured out on our behalf that makes us fully and eternally acceptable – and He longs for us to find complete rest in this truth.

No matter what we may have done, or not done, in our lives, we are washed white as snow by His blood – and God the Father sees us in that way. He does not look at our past. Rather, He embraces us as beloved members of His family, calling us forth into our new identity. He sees us as we truly are now – radiating the Light, the frequency and the sound of Christ within us. The more we ponder this truth, and absorb it into our minds and hearts, the more real it becomes in our personal experience, and the more we see its transformational effects flowing through us, to bless others.

How wondrous is our Saviour. We praise Him!!

By Ann Shakespeare 28 March 2023

We are called to shine

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 13:26:18 GMT

^“ The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it”

(John 1:5, AMP)

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12, NIV). That’s already an amazing promise! But Jesus also said, “You are the light of the world … let your light shine” (Matt. 5:14 &16, NIV).

How do we do that?!

In and of ourselves we cannot do it, of course – it is impossible. But God the Father has done it for us. He has swept us up into His Son and – in the process – He has flooded us with the light of Christ. We may not necessarily see it or feel it, but it is there, radiating within us and flowing out from us.

Light is the essence of our new, born-again nature. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God cut us free from the chains of darkness and lifted us out of our old-Adam life into a completely new realm of existence – into a realm of pure light. Scripture describes the specific outcome of this wondrous occurrence in these words: “He [God] … re-established us in the kingdom of his beloved Son, that is, in the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:13, PHILLIPS).

One of many amazing things about being endowed with the very light of Christ, is that His light is Uncreated Light. This can also be described as Creative Light (as opposed to created light; for example, the light of the sun is created. We know that the sun is an inferior source of light because it is temporary – not eternal. Look at this glorious verse describing the New Jerusalem (which represents the Kingdom of God): “The city has no need for the light of sun or moon, for the splendour of God fills it with light and its radiance is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23, PHILLIPS).

The radiance of Christ Himself indwells us and therefore we are hugely privileged to host and to release into the world the same the quality of light that He carries. It is awesome to meditate upon the following description of Jesus while, at the same time recalling His Presence within us and all around us: “He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine]” (Heb. 1:3, AMPC; brackets in original).

These are glorious and holy images to take into our prayers and meditations – in a very practical way. We can close our eyes, with focus and intention, and see Jesus out-raying His radiance into every cell of our bodies, bringing healing and new strength. We can see His Light bathing the different areas of our brains – our frontal lobes, our amygdala, our brain stem, and so forth, sanctifying and bringing peace to our memories, our nervous system and our thinking processes.

Then we, in turn, can impart that same Uncreated Light to people, circumstances and areas of the world that are so very much in need of the Light and Life of Christ. As we raise our hands into the atmosphere, in faith, or lay them physically upon someone, we can give thanks to God for the amazing privilege of being equipped to be a co-worker with Him, and to radiate His Light and His Life out into His beloved creation.

By Ann Shakespeare 28 February 2023

Outrageous, counter-cultural Love

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 23:35:16 GMT

“When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

This picture of the prodigal son’s father made a big impact on me, so I’d like to share it with you, too. It opened up messages in the well-known parable that I hadn’t even thought about before, especially when I saw them from the perspective of the Jewish culture of the time. (The picture appears full-length below).

Jesus told this parable (recorded in Luke 15:11-32) chiefly to illustrate the extremely counter-cultural, self-emptying love that God has for every single one of us. It shows how God offers us outrageous grace, as He also does, of course – most supremely – upon the cross. I think parts of the story would indeed be considered outrageous in most cultures, but especially so within the Middle Eastern society of Jesus’ day. Those who were physically present with Jesus at the time would have been shocked to the core by the details He shared about the life of one landowner father and his two sons.

Jesus began the story by explaining that the younger of the two sons went to his father and said, “Father, give me my share of the property that will come to me” (Luke 11:12, PHILLIPS). That sort of request was, and still is, utterly taboo while the parent is still alive. In making it, the son was effectively saying, “Father, please die so I can get my inheritance straight away.” In the face of such a dreadful request, the cultural norm would have required the father to cast his son out of the family and to cut him off from any future inheritance. Instead, however, the father did something which would have horrified his neighbours and community: he actually agreed to the request and – in total vulnerability – gave away his entire estate, dividing it between his two sons.

The younger son sold his part of the estate and ended up squandering his fortune in a distant country and he fell upon extremely hard times. Then Scripture says, “He came to himself” (Luke 11:17) and he began to think about his father’s many hired servants who had plenty to eat, while he himself was labouring in a Gentile field looking after pigs, and starving. He worked out a survival plan: He would go back home and say to his father that he had sinned and was no longer worthy to be called a son. Then he planned to say, “Please take me on as one of your hired men” (Luke 11:19, PHILLIPS).

There’s no clear indication that the younger son actually repented, at that point, for what he had done. The words used of his actions are “come” and “go” but the word “repent” doesn’t feature at all in Jesus’ account. It seems as though the younger son – although deeply ashamed and humiliated – was still thinking in terms of being able to fix his problems himself and earn enough money to survive by working as his father’s servant.

There’s so much to reflect on here. One thing that strikes me is that while true sonship requires full surrender of self with the attitude, “I of myself can do nothing”, the opposite of true, surrendered sonship – pride – is very different. Pride feels more comfortable with servanthood, even though the servant role may appear humble and even humiliating. The thing is that servanthood can exhibit by-the-book obedience that ticks all the “appearance” boxes while the heart remains self-centred and unsurrendered. I find that very convicting! it makes me search my own heart and it flags up areas that I’m still trying to control in my own strength!

(NB. There is of course a sacred and beautiful form of servanthood which flows from sonship, in willing devotion to Jesus.)

Whatever was going on his son’s heart, it’s vital to notice that the father wasn’t waiting to assess his son for signs of repentance or indeed change of any kind. No, as soon as he caught a glimpse of his boy, he raced out of the house in whatever-it-takes haste to lavish his love upon his son. His love was absolutely unconditional. Jesus said: “When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

So the father left the privacy of his house and ran out in full view of the community which would have known the shame inflicted on the family and would most likely totally reject the younger son. It’s important to bear in mind, too, that the son was in a terrible state, having been reduced to looking after pigs which are disgusting to Jewish sensitivities.

The risk of dishonour in front of his community did not stop the father from ignoring the shame involved in all of this. In addition, the fact that he actually broke into a run to reach his son would have shocked his neighbours all the more. In that culture, it was humiliating to move publicly in anything other than a calm and dignified manner, and it was considered shameful to have to pull up his tunic and expose his bare legs in order to run. But he did it anyway. The only thing that mattered was to reach his beloved son.

The father willingly took upon himself the full weight of shame that should have fallen on his son. By his actions, he declared to his family and to his community that this young man was more than welcome back home – as a fully restored, honoured and deeply loved son.

The whole parable radiates God’s passionate, all-out, redemptive love. Love that transcends all human cultures, laws and traditions. Love that crashes through every barrier of sin, failure, confusion, betrayal and pain. Love that can redeem and transform every seemingly impossible situation in our lives. Absolutely nothing can hold back the ocean tide of the Father’s relentless love!

By Ann Shakespeare 28 January 2023

I'd like to credit this picture but have been unable to find any information about it. If you're able to shed light, please drop me a note - I would be very grateful!

You are God’s dwelling place

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 18:26:09 GMT

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God

and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

This is an immensely glorious truth. And, if you are like me, you find it hugely challenging, too. It’s way beyond the grasp of the human mind, but these words that the apostle Paul first spoke to the church in Corinth come to us by entering our minds, then they filter down (so to speak) into our spirits.

The Bible confirms that, even though our natural minds cannot receive spiritual truths, God Himself makes them known to us supernaturally. In fact, He has already done so: “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:10; my italics).

So, in faith, we can ponder and draw on the amazing implications of our being the places where God chooses to make His home. Here are just a few thoughts that have been coming to me.

The first is the profound reassurance that God is always present, within you and me: “For He [God] Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). However unworthy I may feel at times, and however much I may mess up, the fact is that the Holy Spirit is always there, closer to me than my breath.

The Holy Spirit is our unfailing comforter and the One who leads us into all truth, reminding us of the things that Jesus has said to us [Footnote 1]. He is also our friend who wants to have relationship with us. I confess that, in the past, while I would commune personally with the Father and with Jesus, I wrongly perceived the Holy Spirit as an emotionally distant part of the Godhead who was, nevertheless, very practical in helping and empowering us in different ways. Then it dawned on me that I was the emotionally distant one!

I came to see that the Holy Spirit desires much more than the one-way relationship that I had effectively been imposing upon Him. On the contrary, He desires to have intimate and ongoing fellowship with each of us [2]. Since then, I’ve been learning to dialogue with the Holy Spirit, and to contemplate His presence within me, and within us all, with increasing awe and wonder.

Since the Holy Spirit is within us, His qualities such as wisdom and revelation [3], counsel and might [4] are within our reach, through our trust in Him. His fruit [5] is also within us and available to put into practice in our daily lives. And because the fruit of the Spirit is within us, we have a supply of love that can never run dry; we can dig deep and find joy in the midst of pain, and experience peace even when we’re surrounded by turmoil.

This fruit all comes by faith, though – not by human effort. If I grit my teeth and try to show genuine kindness in the face of insult, for example, it won’t work. It’s only by leaning into the Spirit and consciously trusting Him to flow through me that the true fruit of kindness bubbles to the surface. It does take practice, though! As we consciously occupy the seat of our true identity in Christ, we can find grace to move in the opposite spirit to how the enemy would want to propel us. That is the power of the cross working in our lives! Sometimes, though, it’s really hard because our old-Adam nature wants to demonstrate the opposite, especially in difficult situations.

The important thing is not to give up but to keep at it! Above all, to know that the Holy Spirit is always with us and for us. And that the supreme power of the cross and Jesus’s shed blood is always working on our behalf. With Him, we cannot fail our heavenly calling: “Thanks be to God who leads us, wherever we are, on his own triumphant way and makes our knowledge of him spread throughout the world like a lovely perfume!” (2 Cor. 2:14, PHILLIPS ).

By Ann Shakespeare 26 October 2022

Footnotes:

[1] John 14:26 and 16:13.

[2] 2 Corinthians 13:14.

[3] Ephesians 1:17

[4] Isaiah 11:1-2

[5] “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

How Jesus describes His own feelings

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 17:14:24 GMT

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

(Matthew 11:28)

What words would spring to mind if someone asked you how Jesus described His feelings?

It is amazing to me that if you read all four gospel narratives from beginning to end, you will only ever find two adjectives that Jesus used to describe His heart attitude. They are: “gentle” and “lowly”.

These two words appear in the context of Jesus promising to give rest to all who are burdened. He said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

It is more than striking that Jesus chose those two particular adjectives from among the dozens, if not hundreds, of others that would also accurately describe aspects of His nature.

Wouldn’t His unlimited power come high up on the list? For He is Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts or armies, reigning with power over everything, both earthly and spiritual.

Yes, He could well have said “powerful”, reassuring us that all power and authority has been given to Him.

He could also have said “wise and knowledgeable” comforting us with the fact that He knows everything and will work “all things according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11).

He could have said “honest” or “truthful” or “pure” or “fair” or “strong” on our behalf – and so forth – but He said none of these things.

Instead, the words He actually chose to describe His heart are disarmingly humble: “gentle” and “lowly” (or “meek”). And it’s beautiful that He added “in heart” to assure us that this is how He feels – that it’s not just about a decision of His will; it is very much to do with the heart-felt emotions of Jesus.

It is this quality of His heart that calls us into deep, intimate relationship with Him, isn’t it? It makes Almighty God accessible and utterly inviting, even though He is supremely majestic and altogether “other”. He is awesome in power, glory and holiness. But He is also supremely approachable and reassuring of His tender, yearning love for all people – without exception.

The paradox of being Son and God and also Son of Man is perfectly balanced in Jesus. His profound humility blends seamlessly with robust confidence in His identity. He does not hold back from affirming that He is indeed God. He says “I am He” to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:26) and He reassures His disciples with the same words just before His crucifixion (John 13:19).

In the gospel of John, Jesus uses seven vivid metaphors – seven “I Am” declarations – to describe some of His sacred roles. (Please see the footnote for all seven of these declarations with their Scripture references.)

These resounding “I Am” declarations all describe aspects of who Jesus is. They illustrate key roles regarding His relationship with us, His people, and are given to us in the Bible as awesome and unfailing foundations for our faith and life in Christ.

They are not designed specifically to convey His emotions or feelings – but the more we get to know Jesus through these aspects of His Being, the more we see His overwhelming love, mercy and compassion for us.

However – without trying to split hairs here – I believe it is possible to know about the identity of Jesus as Son of God and Son of Man in our minds without drawing close to Him in intimate relationship. And it was for that intimacy of relationship with us that He died - to sweep us into union with God and into the secure embrace of inseparable fellowship.

Hence, I believe, His choice of the words “gentle” and “lowly”, because they encourage us to believe that we can actually respond to His invitation and to join our little lives with the Life of the creator of 100 billion galaxies! It is astounding – but absolutely true. And in order to remove any hint of doubt from us, Jesus says, in the preceding verse: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28; my italics).

It is the only place in Scripture where He utters this specific invitation. Significantly, the only other occasion when He uses the words “come to me” was when His disciples were trying to prevent parents from bringing their children to Jesus for Him to lay His hands on them and to pray. He said: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14).

So let’s be as the little children and boldly go to Him! His arms are always open to receive us with tenderness and meekness, in whatever situation we find ourselves. His heart says: “Come to Me.”

How beautiful He is!

By Ann Shakespeare 22 August 2022

Footnote:

The seven “I am” declarations of Jesus:

I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35)

I am the Light of the World (John 8:12)

I am the Door (John 10:9)

I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)

I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)

I am the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)

I am the Vine (John 15:1)

Photo credits:

The main image is reproduced courtesy of picturesofjesus.com.

The image within the text is a painting by James Tissot entitled "The Good Shepherd". Public domain.

“One thing ….”

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 21:47:35 GMT

"One thing I have desired of the Lord"

(Psalm 27:4)

David wrote:

“One thing I have desired of the Lord,

That will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord

All the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord,

And to enquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4).

This verse conveys an atmosphere of peaceful and undisturbed focus but – amazingly – it comes right in the middle of a period of extreme tumult and danger in David’s life.

On reading the entire psalm, which is steeped in conflict with threats of cruelty and violence, we might be tempted to say to David: “Are you sure about your priorities, David? Look! You are running to save your life, pursued by Saul and the most powerful army in the land! Don’t you think that your “One thing” should be about survival just now? Shouldn’t your focus be on praying for supernatural strength and protection from the Lord of hosts?

David did not react in that way, though. Not at all – because he had learnt the secret to overcoming every situation in his life, however terrifying it may have appeared to be. He knew that the secret to overcoming every danger and every sorrow was to pursue, adore, cling to, and then to remain in, the presence of God.

It is striking that David uses the words “temple” and “house of the Lord” even though the temple in Jerusalem – which David himself had envisioned to serve as God’s dwelling place on earth – did not yet physically exist. Nevertheless, for him, these words already conveyed the very presence of God. For David, they were much more than metaphor – they expressed a profound truth that could actually be experienced “in the land of the living” (see verse 13).

The remarkable thing is that David was living under the Old Covenant when God’s people’s experience of the presence, or the Spirit, of God was strictly limited to particular places and occasions. It was not freely accessible in the way that the Holy Spirit is today, under the New Covenant (or New Testament).

So, if David could boldly declare his desire for God’s presence – above everything else – then how much more does this bold desire speak to the hearts of present-day believers!

The situation is totally different now, because Jesus abolished every hint of separation between God and humankind on the cross and He ushered in a completely new life of union and oneness with God. Through His sacrifice and ascension, Jesus magnificently opened the way for the Holy Spirit to descend to earth and to fill believers with His radiant presence.

It is wondrous to consider that, now, those who believe in Jesus actually become temples of the Holy Spirit. We have the unspeakable privilege of hosting the very presence of the Lord – constantly and without limit: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).

I think that, sometimes, we can become so familiar with hearing these words in our minds that we don’t ponder their awesome significance long enough for them to set our hearts on fire.

David’s number one desire was to seek and to dwell in the presence of the Lord all the days of his life and to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. Imagine what it would have meant for him to somehow leap across into New Testament days, and to discover that he himself was hosting the very presence of the one he longed for and loved so passionately.

Contemplating David’s single-eyed longing awakens us to see how gloriously privileged we are! At any moment of the day or night, whatever we may be doing or thinking, we can know that we are carriers of the most precious Life in the entire universe – the Life of God.

And David’s psalm reminds us that our prayerful awareness of God’s abiding presence in us, and our adoration of His beauty, is the secret to living the life that Jesus Christ purchased for us by laying down His own life for each one of us.

David concludes his psalm with this wonderfully encouraging exhortation. Here it is in the Amplified Bible, Classic version:

^“ Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord” (Ps. 27:14, AMPC).

By Ann Shakespeare 13 July 2022

Photograph courtesy of Pixabay.

The Lord’s Supper – a sample meditation

Sat, 28 May 2022 17:14:28 GMT

"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him”

(John 6:56)

The Lord’s Supper* can sometimes be such a familiar event that its very familiarity can sometimes obscure or lessen its awesome majesty.

That God Himself, whom “even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain” (1 Kings 8:27) should encase Himself in flesh and offer Himself as a sacrifice for us is utterly mind-exploding.

In Jesus Christ, God sacrificed Himself to set us free from our sins and our sinful nature. In doing this, He opened the way to offer us His very own Life. In other words, He gives each of us the opportunity to become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) through faith in what Jesus has done for us.

Jesus invites each of us to “partake” – ie to accept His invitation to receive His Life into our own bodies. The words He spoke to His disciples in the upper room, before His arrest and crucifixion, were intimate and personal. And He extends these same words to every one of us who would receive Him:

“Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Matt. 26:26-28).

This is, of course, a profound mystery, and I wonder how we can engage with it in our own prayer lives?

In response to this question, I would like to offer just a few ideas for bringing the Lord’s Supper freshly alive in our own prayers, and in our intercessions for other people and situations.

I imagine that there are an infinite number of ways to pray and meditate upon the Lord’s Supper. This is just one small, personal approach which I am sharing with you because my prayer partners have told me that they find it helpful. I hope that it may be helpful to you, too, and perhaps a springboard for your own thoughts and prayers.

A sample meditation on the Lord’s Supper

Using my God-given imagination, grounded in Scriptural truth, I begin by recalling that – because of Calvary – we have all been crucified with Christ and raised to new life in Him. We’re now members of His body and united all together in one Spirit.

I go slowly, and see the bread and the wine (or juice) in front of me as being saturated with the Presence of Christ – because Scriptures indicate that Christ is omnipresent (see Eph. 4:10, Col. 2:9-10, Ps. 139:7).

He is the substance of all things. Therefore, I ponder the truth that He is the Real Substance of the bread and the wine that I am about to consume. I pray and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of my heart and to ignite this profound truth within me.

In faith, I ask Him to quicken the bread and the wine for it to enter my body as the Real Body of Christ – as His DNA, His Righteousness and His perfect Life that has overcome separation, disease, decay and so forth (taking time to meditate on that as I consume it).

As I drink the wine – the blood of Christ – I pray and declare that, as it flows into my/our veins, it will dissolve and purify everything that is not of God; and that it will impart the fruit of the Spirit into every atom of our beings. For particular needs, for ourselves and others, I believe it is effective to visualise the blood of Christ coursing through specific, named areas of our bodies and brains, bringing healing and restoration.

Throughout this process, I envisage my own body as a "cell" which is united with every other cell in the entire body of Christ, all connected one to the other. So when I consume the bread and wine, I believe that the Life of Christ is pouring out and blessing every single cell (person or situation) in His entire Body.

I give all my/our hurts, wounds, failures and confusions, and everything that is not God’s will for us, to Jesus. Then … and this is the most wonderful part! … I receive His Life, His Strength, His Love, His Peace, His Comfort, His Overcoming, His Joy into the little cell called “me”.

And I believe that this Divine Life is flowing out from me into every cell in all our bodies, unhindered, and powerfully restoring. No one – but no one – is left out. Everyone is enfolded in the loving embrace of Jesus in this time of prayer.

I’m sure I’m just one of many believers doing this quietly, and we all join together in the Spirit. We need each other! Thank you, Lord, for so lovingly uniting us all together in this way.

By Ann Shakespeare 28 May 2022

*Also known as Holy Communion, Eucharist, Mass, and the Blessed Sacrament, among other terms.

Photo credits:

The main image is a painting by James Tissot entitled "The Last Supper: Judas Dipping his Hand in the Dish". Reproduced with permission from Brooklyn Museum / FreeBibleimages.org

Grapes on the vine photograph is from Pixabay.

How God sees you

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 19:18:25 GMT

"He will rejoice over you with singing”

(Zephaniah 3:17)

Have you ever explored this question: “How does God see me?”

If you have, then you may know that the answers are pretty astounding! And you are blessed! I personally wish that I had dived deeply into that question a lot earlier than I did.

The problem was that, largely unconsciously, over far too many years, I had been believing only certain parts of Scripture while effectively dismissing others. Not great!

On the positive side, I had been living wholeheartedly in verses that refer to our salvation, and our death, resurrection and new life in Christ. And that is vitally important, of course.

However … I had been skipping over – or “reading without seeing” – a whole category of Scriptures that refer to God’s passionate love for each one of us, individually. And they are also extremely important for our Christian walk.

So I had effectively been shutting out the more personal and intimate aspects of the Father’s love, and therefore stopping them from flowing into my life.

Looking back, I can see now that the underlying obstacle was my own pride. Humility lets love in; pride blocks it.

The problem was that I lacked a heartfelt conviction (rather than just a mental assent) that God fervently loved me, personally, and that He delighted in ongoing fellowship with me – irrespective of my “performance” or “success” or behaviour or history.

From my many conversations and interactions with others over the years, I have discovered that this is a common problem for many Christians. That's why I decided to publish this article.

When I began to see the problem in my own spiritual life, I launched out on a search through the Bible for expressions of God’s specific, personal love for me, and for each one of us. I also did a study on this theme with a trusted friend, and that was a very helpful and supportive process for both of us.

Below are just a few of the Scriptures we collected and wrote down. If you would like to, I encourage you to find time step away from life’s busyness for a bit, and ponder some of these beautiful truths:

“The Lord your God in your midst … will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph. 3:17)

“He delivered me because He delighted in me” (Ps. 18:19).

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings” (Ps. 36:7, NRSV).

“the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Ps. 147:11, NRSV)

“as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isa. 62:5).

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jer. 31:3).

“His banner over me is love [waving overhead to protect and comfort me]” (Song of Solomon 2:4, AMP).

“You have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes” (Song of Solomon 4:9).

“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me” (Song of Solomon 7:10).

“Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death” (Song of Solomon 8:6).

These are utterly wondrous Scriptures, aren’t they! It is powerful to personalise these, pray them back to God, and talk with Him about them. Even meditating upon just one or two verses, on a regular basis, can lead to a profound and life-changing experience. I found that doing this has made a significant and lasting difference in my own heart.

I love this phrase: “True humility is to agree with what God says about me.”

As our hearts come increasingly into agreement with what God says about us in the Scriptures, we open ourselves – more and more – to receive and experience the blessings that He has already provided for us.

In this way, we can live increasingly in everything that God intends for our life, so that our lives are not only more fulfilled, but they can become testimonies of hope to everyone around us.

By Ann Shakespeare 20 April 2022

All Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise specified.

You have been handpicked by God

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 20:28:36 GMT

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you.”

John 15:16

A devotional

You were included in God’s plan for His creation long before the universe was formed. There you were, nestling within the mind and heart of God, while He fashioned the stars, the galaxies and planet Earth. Before He named and called the very first star into existence, He had already called and named you.

Yes, He looked through time and set His gaze of Love upon you – just as you are now.

God chose you and loves you with a passion so intense that it impelled Him to undergo the cross in order to embrace you back into Himself. You have been divinely grafted into the Tree of Life – into Jesus Christ Himself – and nothing can separate you now.

It is profoundly healing to know that God foresaw everything about us, even before we were born, and yet he still chose us to be His very own. Whatever choices we may have made in life, He never stops loving us. His great desire is for you and me to be with Him for ever and ever.

In fact, He handpicked you to be a special member of His family. A very special one, because there is no one who can fill the place that He prepared uniquely for you.

God desires for you to recognise His voice and enjoy an ongoing relationship with Him. To experience Him as the true friend who sticks closer than a brother. The friend who is always for you and who will never abandon you.

He is also the majestic King who chose you to bear the fruit that only He can grow through you, as you lean into Him and trust Him.

He is utterly faithful. You can be fully at peace, unshakable in the tender grip of His presence.

In the presence of the One who declares: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you.”

May these amazing words of Jesus bring fresh revelation to our hearts as we reflect on them. May they invigorate every cell in our minds and bodies so that we overflow with His Love and His Light.

A prayer in response

Lord, it is astonishing to me that you chose me, even when you could foresee the rebellion and the repeated failures in my life. I can see now that your Love is the most powerful force in the universe. Its immeasurable intensity redeems and transforms even the worst of situations.

Thank you that you see me exactly as you created me to be. The fire of your Love draws me ever closer to you, performing that which I could never do for myself. It beckons me upwards into a fuller expression of the life you have given me in Jesus.

Teach me to rest in you, moment by moment, and to believe in your unfailing promises.

By your grace, I will keep looking to you, and trusting you. For you have chosen me!

Amen.

Additional Scriptures which illuminate the theme: Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139; Ephesians 1:4-6; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Colossians 3:12; Revelation 17:14.

By Ann Shakespeare 10 March 2022

Article 4_ABUNDANT LIFE series

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 23:45:36 GMT

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

In the previous article (3) of this series, I mentioned that my mentor, Neville Jayaweera, and I shared the same conviction that Jesus abolished death from the earth.

During our 40 years of teacher-pupil relationship, we saw some striking instances of regeneration of the body and of death being defied.

I would like to share a few of them with you here. There was a progression over time, based on our growing awareness – through meditating upon on Scriptures – of what belongs to us all in Christ, here-and-now,

Neville encountered the Spirit of Jesus Christ when he was 40. Up until then, he had managed a high-powered and very intensive career, with scarcely a day off during the week, let alone holidays. This had taken a toll on his health, and parts of his body, especially his neck, were stricken with painful arthritis.

When I met him (when he was 50), he had resigned from his career and followed God’s call for him to work in a Christian charity, which I later joined. We used our office lunch breaks to share our mutual desire to know God ever more deeply, and we immersed ourselves in prayer and meditation upon the Word of God.

We were both particularly struck by the fact that the New Testament is full of scriptures that describe what Jesus Christ has done for us, and what we have already inherited in our new life in Christ. Scriptures such as:

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2);

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3);

“If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom 8:11), and

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

In addition to pondering those verses, and others, in order to go deeper into God, we also used them in intercession. Over some years, we increasingly saw their healing effects on others.

I don’t think we were particularly focused on our own physical health, but I do remember Neville saying that his arthritis had completely disappeared. I also recall him telling me that, after a routine medical check-up (in his 50s or 60s – I can’t recall exactly!), his GP had announced that Neville possessed the heart and the constitution of a man in his 20s, and that he was “a net asset to the National Health Service”!

We both chuckled heartily over the humour, but also realised that something supernatural was happening!

I was also healed of various ailments in a most extraordinary way. That just happened slowly and imperceptibly as I drank in God’s Word.

One particular healing came about 30 years after I had first met Neville. I had become used to having very debilitating lung infections. As a child, I had suffered acute illness and scarring on my lung, apparently, and had been told that that would always be a “weak area”.

Wow, how powerful is the human mind! And how powerful are our words! It took me years to realise in my heart - and not just in my mind - that, as new creations in Christ, God has given us the gift of power in our thoughts and words … for good or for bad. We are given the freedom and authority to choose.

The thing is, by default and ignorance, I was actually choosing the bad regarding my lungs. Each winter, I just accepted the arrival of acute bronchitis or pneumonia and the need to be laid low for the best part of a month.

It was Neville who “woke me up” and helped me to apply the truths that we had learnt from Scripture. It took me a good while, though! In 2017, I had my last set of antibiotics, and praise God I have not had any hint of lung infection since then.

By saying this, I don’t want to imply that it is “as simple as that” to deal with all illnesses. I minister in Healing Rooms in my local area, and am very sensitive to people’s suffering.

But, whatever the situation, God is always present, His living Word is alive and active, and there is always hope – never condemnation.

Anyway, let’s get back to Neville, for his life is a wonderful testimony in itself. He almost died and came back from the brink of death on several occasions. They were all most unusual circumstances, each one having a supernatural element. (I will save those for a book I’m writing, rather than sharing them just at the moment. I’ll let you know about the book in due course!)

For Neville, it was as though – through each of these near-death experiences – he was gaining more than a glimpse into the truth that, in Christ, physical death has been defeated. He declared that truth right up until the time he did eventually die. And the fact is that he had seen something that could not be denied.

Even in his final year on earth (2020), when he was 89, Neville exploded with humanly impossible periods of vigour, combined with a depth of faith and prophetic vision that point the way to new realities as yet unseen – but to be seen on earth.

How we praise You, Lord!!!

By Ann Shakespeare 29 November 2021

Article 3_ABUNDANT LIFE series

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 23:24:14 GMT

“We have been co-resurrected with him

so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life” (Rom. 6:4, TPT).

This is the third of a series of articles I’m writing on the biblical revelation that Jesus provided complete salvation for those who would receive Him and believe in Him, including the abolition of death from the earth. And that a time will come when believers will experience this truth and walk in it.

This seems outrageous and impossible because it completely defies the logic of this world. It hits right up against the massive wall of our individual experience and of our culture.

So why do I continue to write about it?

It is not because I have escaped the consequences of death myself, and am burying my head in the sand. On the contrary, I have experienced multiple bereavements and more pain than I could ever have imagined. And I feel deeply for others, too.

The reason I continue to write is because I cannot ignore the extraordinary and persistent urging to meditate on, and proclaim, the truth that Jesus has set us free from physical death and decay, as well as from spiritual death.

This urging has been going on for some years, and I’ve become convinced that it is from God, because it does not come from my natural inclinations!

My late, godly mentor, Neville Jayaweera, also had the same conviction, and together we saw some striking instances of regeneration of the body and death being defied, again and again.

Before sharing some of those (in my next article, number 4), I need to add that I don’t believe Jesus defeated death so that we can just continue living in our present bodily form forever. However, if we look at it from the viewpoint of our union with Jesus in His resurrection, we receive more meaningful insight. It’s to do with our transformation or transfiguration into the likeness of Christ.

[By the way, did you know that the word “transformed” in Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” – is translated from the same Greek root word that was translated “transfigured”, in relation to Jesus, in Matthew 17:2?]

When Jesus rose from the dead, He had a body with which to move around the earth, but it was a spiritual body. It was no longer mortal. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus had overcome death and finitude. He appeared and disappeared in front of His disciples. He was no longer constrained by space and time. But, as a new creation being (“the firstborn among many brethren” – Rom. 8:29), He was still able to function on earth and share fellowship, and eat and drink with His disciples. (See Luke 24:30-32).

We are among the brethren who were born after Him. With that in mind, let’s look at this scripture:

“Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life” (Rom. 6:4, TPT).

If we truly believe that we died with Jesus when He died, and rose with Him – and in Him – then do we not share the same properties as Jesus after His resurrection?

Furthermore, there is another profound verse that challenges us to consider what our true, new-creation nature now embraces:

“If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Rom. 8:11).

This scripture makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is operating in our earthly bodies, imparting the Life-Substance of God into us. We can spend years pondering and unpacking the depths of this one scripture!

And something that has been striking me more and more, as I ponder it, is this question: Is it possible for the cells of our bodies to remain “mortal” (ie under entropy and decay) if they are receiving a supply of the Holy Spirit?

That does not seem logical, at all. Because the law of the Spirit of Life is an infinitely greater power than our finite bodily cells. Our cells surely are obliged to bow to the Greater Power flowing into them, and obliged to come into line with It.

Oh what a wonderful obligation!

And this completely ties in with the truth expressed in Romans 8:2. The Message version of the Bible conveys it beautifully:

“A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.”

I know all this seems “outside the box” because we don’t yet fully see and experience these truths in day-to-day life.

But if, as you read these words, you feel a tug at your heart – even a little tug – then I encourage you to take these scriptures in prayer to the Lord and ask Him for revelation on them.

As we pray the Truth of God, and come into agreement with other like-minded believers, together we are creating a bandwidth, so to speak – or a spiritual momentum – which will progressively draw the Unseen into the seen.

Even if we don’t see the complete fruit of it in our own lifetimes, we are nevertheless helping to prepare the ground for future believers to be able to step more easily into all that Christ has purchased for us.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:9-10). [bold italics mine].

Alleluia!!!

By Ann Shakespeare 29 November 2021

Article 1_ABUNDANT LIFE series

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 18:35:04 GMT

Jesus said: “I came so they can have real and eternal life,

more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

(John 10:10, MSG)

I’d like to write about a subject that has been stirring in my heart for some years now, with ever-increasing passion and vigour.

It is a wondrous subject that cascades and overflows with the love of God, but it is deeply challenging to the human mind!

So, here, right at the start of what will be a series of articles on this website, I bow before the Lord and pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation to teach and enlighten us.

The apostle Paul reminds us that “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14).

And Paul goes on to say: “’Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit” (2. Cor. 9-10).

It is striking that this is spoken in the past tense – “God has revealed them to us …” – and therefore it not just referring to something still to come.

The subject I would like to write about is that Scripture reveals that Jesus abolished death from the earth. And that a time will come on earth when believers will experience this truth and walk in it.

This has always been in the Bible – in the same way that the truth of justification by faith was always in the Bible. But it was only in the era of Martin Luther that people began to awaken to it, and then allow it to make a huge difference to the life and effectiveness of the Church.

The abolition of death from the earth is one of the utterly wondrous consequences of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

When Jesus went to the cross, he took upon Himself, and destroyed, everything that was the opposite of God’s loving will for humanity – ie our separation from God, our death (spiritual and physical), the process of decay, our sinful nature and our sins.

Hitherto, the Church has taken death in this context to refer exclusively to spiritual death. But I believe there is a growing momentum among believers across the world who are seeing something else … who are seeing the radiant message of Life rising from Scriptures that have been straight-jacketed in death by us for centuries!

At the outset, I want to stress that I am very sensitive to readers’ own situations regarding death and loss, and I never, ever seek to minimise the harrowing pain of death and loss. I myself have suffered the trauma of bereavement and tragedy on several occasions, and it is piercing beyond words.

It’s also important to add that there should never be any condemnation or fear. Even if we all die a natural death, we are always enwrapped in the love of God, without any hint of separation or failure. Look at this most beautiful passage from Romans: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come … shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39).

I feel compelled to write on the subject of overcoming physical death, though, because throughout all the decades, and despite the trauma and pain, Something has been resounding deep within me, gently and lovingly painting a very different canvas: one of wonder and inexplicable Joy.

One verse, in particular, has been gripping my heart and mind with wonder and joy for many years. It is: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2).

I have seen, and experienced, the power of this verse with regards to healing, and would love to go deeper still into its less-visited depths.

There are layers and layers of meaning in the Word of God, aren’t there? We can choose to keep penetrating down through the strata of Divine Gold, discovering precious vein after precious vein. Finding endless, inexhaustible Treasure.

We can choose to plunge ever more deeply into the truth of our union with God – into ever closer intimacy with Him. Because experiencing union with God is our heart’s goal. Union is our ultimate, heavenly fulfilment – and not immortal life per se. Immortality is one of the glorious fruits of that union.

I hope you’ll stay with me over the next series of articles, as I start to explore Romans 8:2 together with some of the many other Scriptures that speak of the abundant, immortal Life that Jesus has purchased for us all.

I believe that He passionately desires for us to enter into the depths and heights of His Word in a way we might never have done before!

Father, we trust Your Holy Spirit to lead us lovingly into the whole truth, according to Your promise in John 16:13. And we praise You, Lord!!

By Ann Shakespeare 13 October 2021

Article 2_ABUNDANT LIFE series

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 18:34:49 GMT

“Our Savior Jesus Christ … has abolished death and brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel.” (2 Tim. 1:10)

This article came pouring through my fingers in 2016. It came spontaneously – unplanned – and I can honestly say it was not my idea! Gently and in humility, I share it with you here – together with its original title:

Jesus Christ abolished death. Let us take Him at His Word!

How is it that we take death so unquestioningly in our stride? How is it that death is considered unavoidable, even for the believer?

The thing is, death is utterly vile. It is most certainly not of God, and God Himself made a way for us to overcome it. Therefore, we should fight against it with all our might! Why? Because the Word of God makes it supremely clear that Jesus Christ came to set us free from death! He came to give us life and life in abundance! It is time that we, as believers, rose up to stand firmly upon what we believe and to trust the Word of our God. We live by faith, not by sight. Augustine of Hippo wrote almost 2,000 years ago: “Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.”

The Word of God is activated by our prayerful attention and by our faith. Without these, the Word of God simply languishes on the pages of the Bible, ineffective and inactive. This has been demonstrated again and again by believers over the centuries. Martin Luther, for example, ignited the spiritual life of millions of Christians when he declared that the Bible offered us justification by faith; faith instead of good works or the purchase of indulgences.

God our Father does not force His Word upon us; rather, He invites us – He urges us – to receive it and to believe it.

Let us, then, give our prayerful attention to the clear and unambiguous references to the fact that Jesus Christ came to abolish sin and death by becoming sin for us, and by dying our death for us – in order that we may receive His very Life – His eternal Life – in exchange.

First, it is vital to reflect on the mighty significance of SALVATION. In order to rescue the human race from our desperate, hellish state, God chose to limit Himself to one modest, human form. This is our Holy, Holy God, the maker and sustainer of the tiny little sparrow as well as of two trillion galaxies. The observable Universe measures 13.8 billion light-years in all directions. What this means is that at the very edge of what we can see, is the light that left that region 13.8 billion years ago.

This wondrous God took flesh on Earth as the Lord Jesus Christ. Such was His immeasurable love for us that His entire life on earth was devoted to living, teaching, suffering and dying for the sole purpose of setting us free from the hellish cycle of sin, disease, depression, hate, paranoia, decay, disease and death within which we were inexorably trapped.

The mission of Jesus Christ is perhaps most succinctly and simply expressed in this verse in John 10:10: “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

Without going any further, we can logically ask ourselves, “Does life in abundance include death?” No! A thousand times no!! We are blaspheming God to even entertain the thought that death played any part in His purpose for us!

During His 33 years on Earth, Jesus took upon Himself every single sin, disease, sickness, heaviness, lack and limitation that is known to humankind. By the time He had reached Calvary, Jesus was so utterly scourged and wounded by all that He had absorbed in order to set us free (millennia of sin, war, hate, killing, disease .. the list is endless) that the Word of God says that “His appearance was so disfigured that He did not look like a man, and His form did not resemble a human being” (Isa. 52:14). This is our God! Neither was He wearing a discrete loin cloth as you see the pictures. No, He was utterly stripped of everything … EVERYTHING – including His own humanity … for our sakes.

His final acts on the Cross were to utter words of love and forgiveness … and to “taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). In addition to everything else, as the final declaration of freedom for God’s children, Jesus took our death(s) upon Himself. The Word, furthermore, declares that Jesus destroyed the one “who holds the power of death--that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).

Aargh! I am seeing that to entertain death – and even suggest that God causes it or condones it – is to throw Jesus’ act of Salvation back into His holy face?!! Oh! Forgive me, Lord! Let us fall to our knees and worship our Almighty Saviour for what He has done – for the COMPLETE freedom and glorious new Life He has lavished upon us!

Note that I have not even begun to refer to what the Word reveals about our identity in Christ! What Jesus has done on Calvary is more than enough to convict and convince us that death has no part in the plan of a holy, perfect and loving God.

Notwithstanding, let us look briefly at the astounding truth of our identity in Christ, as seen in these verses:

Galatians 2:20 and Romans both 6:8-9 declare that we have already died with Christ. So we are saved from the need to die again.

Colossians 3:3 says, “You died and your life is hid with Christ in God”. So, again, how can we die a second time?!

Ephesians 2:6 states that God “made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.

Colossians 1:13 gives us the glorious truth that God has delivered us from the power of darkness [where death reigns] and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love [where there is no death].

Finally, the following verse in 2 Timothy makes it so very clear that Jesus abolished death, and I believe it is significant that the verse uses the two words – both “life” and “immortality”. Here it is in the Amplified Classic version: “our Savior Christ Jesus, Who annulled death and made it of no effect and brought life and immortality (immunity from eternal death) to light through the Gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). Wow!

Praise be to our wondrous God and Saviour!

By Ann Shakespeare 13 October 2021

One of my best-loved books

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 15:25:14 GMT

^{“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.}

^{And in all your getting, get understanding.”}

^{(Proverbs 4:7)}

One of my best-loved books, apart from the Bible, is a little publication called “Principles of Spirit Growth” by Miles J Stanford. It may not be the most exciting title on the shelf, but the contents themselves are rich, reliable, faith-building, and wonderfully practical!

The copy on my desk is so well-used that the spine is torn and ragged, and I have to scoop up the pages in order to keep it intact. I did buy a new version … but I still much prefer the original, falling-apart, faithful companion that has steadied my heart on many a wobbly occasion through the decades!

The little book is one of the fruits of Miles’ “deep heart-hunger for spiritual growth” (his own words). From the age of 27, this hunger led him to study the Bible for eight to ten hours daily. Originally from Illinois, he worked overseas for some years and then felt led to settle quietly in a room in New York to continue pouring over God’s Word.

He also studied the writings of numerous authors and included their insights, along with his own, in a series of letters on aspects of Christian living which he mailed regularly to a number of interested friends. During that time, he said that “body and soul were kept together – barely – by manning a restaurant dishwasher.”

In the years that followed, Miles was soon able to move on from his dishwasher job, and found that his letters were developing into a vibrant teaching-by-correspondence ministry. He complemented this by teaching in churches and in home-based meetings, together with his wife, Cornelia, who shared his passion to help other believers to develop spiritually.

Eventually, all his letters were collected and published together in the book “The Complete Green Letters”, which has been translated into over a dozen languages. The little book I mentioned in my first paragraph (“Principles of Spirit Growth”) now forms “Part One” of this larger publication.

The common theme in all of Miles’ letters is “Not I, but Christ”, and our identification with Christ in His death, resurrection and ascension.

Speaking of the Christian life, Miles said: “Our part is not production, but reception of our life in Christ. This entails Bible-based fact finding; explicit faith in Him and His purpose for us in Christ; and patient trust while He takes us through the necessary processing involved.”

There are many of his writings that I could mention, but may I share an excerpt that is lying open on my desk just now, and which I find very helpful and practical. In the excerpt, he quotes from JW Sanderson, Jr, and also from William R Newell’s book “Romans, Verse by Verse”, which Miles described as “the anchor book of them all in the growth realm”.

It appears under the subtitle “Acceptance” :

“God’s basis must be our basis for acceptance. There is none other. We are “accepted in the Beloved.” … Thank God, He has accepted us in His Son, and upon this fact we must rest our faith. As in justification, our acceptance is by Grace alone. In his classic, “Romans, Verse by Verse”, William R. Newell presents some penetrating thoughts regarding this grace:

… “Grace, once bestowed, is not withdrawn: for God knew all the human exigencies beforehand: His action was independent of them, not dependent upon them.”

“To believe, and to consent to be loved while unworthy, is the great secret.”

“To refuse to make ‘resolutions’ and ‘vows’; for that is to trust in the flesh.”

“To expect to be blessed, though realizing more and more lack of worth.”

“To rely on God’s chastening (child training) hand as a mark of His kindness.”

“To ‘hope to be better’ (hence acceptable) is to fail to see yourself in Christ only.”

“To be disappointed with yourself is to have believed in yourself.”

“To be discouraged is unbelief – as to God’s purpose and plan of blessing for you.”

“To be proud, is to be blind! For we have no standing before God, in ourselves.”

“The lack of Divine blessing, therefore, comes from unbelief, and not from failure of devotion.”

“To preach devotion first, and blessing second, is to reverse God’s order, and preach law, not grace.”

… “Have we been afraid to really believe God? … To promise a man the certainty of his destiny may seem, on the human level, like playing with fire; but this leaves God out of the picture. Those who have the deepest appreciation of grace do not continue in sin. Moreover, fear produces the obedience of slaves; love engenders the obedience of sons.” – J.W. Sanderson, Jr.

“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (1 Cor. 14:8). Until the Christian is absolutely and scripturally sure of his standing, he is not going to do much standing. “Stand therefore” (Eph. 6:14a).

“Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work (2 Thess. 2:16,17).”

This excerpt is taken from pages 19, 20 and 21 of the original booklet “Principles of Spiritual Growth” by Miles Stanford. Back to the Bible Publications, 1974.

By Ann Shakespeare 17 August 2021

When who we really are feels overwhelming!

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 14:47:35 GMT

^{“If anyone is enfolded into Christ, he [or she] has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.”}

^{(2 Cor. 5:17, TPT).}

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by what the Bible says about you, as a believer?

I do … constantly! … if I try to take it in with my human mind … instead of letting go and trusting the Holy Spirit to teach me.

It is utterly amazing to get up in the morning and know that God, the Mighty Creator of the universe, abides with us – personally – 24 hours a day, and will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).

It is equally amazing to go one step further and reflect that “you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

Then to go a step further still and try to absorb that “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” (1 Cor. 6:19).

Not to mention trying to comprehend the fact that: “whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in the Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). Meaning more than entwined - but actually in perfect union with God!

It is all totally brain-melting, isn’t it?

And really, it is just as well that all this melts our brains!

Because, in any case, our brains are patterned by our old-Adam nature and absolutely need to be melted and re-moulded, if we are to discover our potential and who we really are.

The Bible urges to: “let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good” (Rom. 12:2 PHILLIPS).

This happens progressively as we lean into Jesus and learn about our New Life by reading and seeking to absorb in our hearts the Scriptures that describe our New Nature.

Oh Holy Spirit, I pray that you would teach us what it means to be “new creations” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17)! Please teach us what it looks like to have God pour out His divine life into us, making us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Those truths right there are so beyond-beyond our human grasp that it’s tempting to think we cannot even begin to “go there” in any meaningful way.

Well, the good news is that we cannot – but that there is One who can, and, most importantly, One who passionately desires to do so for us and in us. That One is our teacher, the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus said, “will draw on my truth and will show it to you” (John 16:15, PHILLIPS), will teach us all things (John 14:26) and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

So as we read and ponder the wondrous Scriptures that describe our New Nature, we can fully trust the Holy Spirit to make them alive in our hearts and lives, and to re-mould our minds in the process.

To encourage us along the way, there is a wonderful, Spirit-inspired prayer in Ephesians which helps greatly in the process of re-moulding.

It is one of the apostle Paul’s prayers for believers in the Diana-cult-dominated city of Ephesus who were facing constant persecution for the name of Christ. In the circumstances, it would have been very understandable if Paul’s prayer for them had been, “Lord! Please protect my brothers and sisters in Ephesus from danger and pain!”

But Paul’s prayer for them was nothing like that.

For Paul knew there was an infinitely greater prayer that he could utter for them. That is, that they would come to know, at the heart level, that Christ was constantly indwelling and active within them, in all His fulness and power.

Here below is Paul’s prayer. It is a powerful prayer for all believers. We can personalise it for ourselves, and we can also use it as a beautiful means of intercession for others:

"[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,

"By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

"And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe"(Eph. 1:17-19, AMPC).

In this prayer, Paul’s phrase “the hope to which He has called you” is referring to Christ within us (“Christ in you, the hope of glory” - Col. 1:27). The implications of that truth are, of course, limitless!

Similarly, Paul’s mention of God’s “glorious inheritance in the saints” also refers to Christ’s life in us, because Christ’s Spirit is the glorious inheritance that God places within believers.

In short, Paul was telling the Ephesian church – and all believers! – that within us we already have all that we need to fulfil and equip us for everything, every day of our lives.

Paul knew – from his own experience – that the more our inner eyes are enlightened to realise this truth, the more real and practical it will become in own our day-to-day experience.

I usually pray this prayer daily for myself and others; and often multiple times a day, especially if I’m stuck on an unhelpful rabbit trail in my old-Adam intellect!

And I can testify – together with others with whom I pray – that it does make a difference! It does cause Truth to become increasingly alive in our hearts and in our being-renewed minds.

We praise you, Lord!

By Ann Shakespeare 17 August 2021

Flourish like a palm tree

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 23:32:04 GMT

^“ The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree”

(Ps. 92:12).

What does it mean that the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree? I’ve been delving into that question recently, and was struck by what I found.

I’m rather a newbie when it comes to palm trees, and you may well already know all about them. Nevertheless, I’d love to share a few of the discoveries that have inspired me.

First off, I learnt that whenever the Bible speaks of the palm tree it is speaking of the date palm.

And that reminded me straight away of a remarkable event that happened in 2005 in Israel. A dry seed was discovered in a clay jar in the ancient fortress of Masada. Radiocarbon dating revealed that the seed was over 2,000 years old, and that it had come from a Judean date palm that could well have been growing in the forests between Galilee and the Dead Sea when Jesus was on earth.

Judean date palms once formed thick forests all along the Jordan River. However, the forests were destroyed by the Romans, and the Judean date palm became extinct more than 1,000 years ago.

Remarkably, that seed from the clay jar in Masada – and other, similar seeds that were discovered later in the Qumran Caves – have actually germinated and are now thriving saplings!

This is nothing less than astounding at the physical level, but it also serves as a powerful metaphor for another kind of seed: the Word of God. The truth is that no matter how old, or hidden, a Scripture is, or how long it has lain unattended and neglected, as soon as a man, woman or child awakens and starts to attend to it in their heart … it springs to life!

I love that metaphor!

Now let’s turn to look at some of the characteristics of the date palm and see how they may apply to the righteous – ie to those who trust in Christ.

One of the main characteristics is that the date palm grows best in a hot, dry desert or wilderness. This kind of climate forces the date palm’s root system to go down very deeply indeed, in order to find a constant supply of water.

It is easy to see the analogy for our own lives: when we find ourselves in dry or difficult circumstances, and when God alone is our hope, this can cause our root system to go deeply into God, into His Word and into prayer. It is there – in that very situation – that we may tap into fresh depths of the life-giving waters of the Spirit of God, and find that we can “draw water from the wells of salvation” ever more deeply and constantly. (Isa. 12:3).

In addition to finding a continuous water supply, the fact that the date palm’s root system grows so deeply in the ground means that the palm tree can withstand immensely strong winds and storms, while remaining healthy and upright. It is not surprising that the palm tree is also associated with victory in the Bible (see Rev. 7:9).

Another feature of the date palm is that it can take several years for the tree to become mature enough to bear fruit.

For us, that is where faith comes in – to believe that God is working, even if nothing seems to be happening. If we are trusting God and drinking in His Word, we can know that our roots are growing ever deeper and stronger, and that eventually the fruit will appear. Scripture gives us this assurance: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

Finally, the date palm tree is beautifully made! And God sees you and me as His precious children – wonderfully made by Him. A truth that is expressed supremely in Psalm 139:

^“ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it.

“You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!

“How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!” (Ps. 139: 13-18, TLB).

Thank you and praise you, Lord! Amen.

By Ann Shakespeare 29 June 2021

The burning heart of John the Baptist

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 23:10:29 GMT

“Make straight in the desert a highway for our God”

(Isaiah 40:3).”

John the Baptist draws me like a magnet! The more I think of him and of his magnificent life, the more stirred I am – in heart as well as in Spirit.

Here is a reflection which has been bursting upon my inward eye lately:

It is easy, I think, to forget that John the Baptist was an ordinary person – just like you and me. Extraordinary things happened to him, but he himself was “ordinary” in the sense that he had a vulnerable physical body, a mind that questioned, and a heart that pounded with feelings.

John’s burning passion from the very beginning of his life was for His Lord. He exulted in His Saviour before either of them were born!

When John’s mother (Elizabeth) received a visit from Mary when they were both pregnant, Elizabeth exclaimed to Mary: “As soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy” (Luke 1:44).

Years later, John was the first one to call Jesus the “Lamb of God”. He declared: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

Jesus, the Lamb of God, was his ardent focus. An essential part of that focus was to urge people to prepare for the coming of their Saviour. He called them to be baptised with water as a sign of repentance and a turning away from sin. John was calling for purity in all people – from the grassroots right up to Herod.

And that cost him dearly. It was John’s open denunciation of Herod’s blatant lack of purity – ie, his marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias – that caused John to be arrested and imprisoned.

So John, whose pulpit had been the unlimited wilderness, suddenly found himself trapped within the walls of a prison. The fervent voice of the man whose life-purpose was to proclaim the coming of the Lord, preach repentance, and baptise the multitudes who flocked to see and hear him … was silenced.

Seemingly stripped of every element of his all-consuming calling, John began to wonder if he had got it all wrong. Perhaps he had misheard God’s voice? Horrors! What if he had baptised the wrong man!

Can you imagine the agony and utter confusion in his heart? When I ponder this deeply, I feel so acutely for John that I want to fly back in time and jump into his prison cell – with words of comfort and reassurance!

But general words of reassurance were not what John needed – not even from Jesus Himself (as we will soon see). Words of general reassurance may be comforting, perhaps, for a short while, but the feeling of comfort would wear off, eventually. That is, unless those same words have been founded upon solid, lasting Truth.

Meanwhile, at a distance from the prison, and out on the streets of Nain city, Jesus had just been raising a widow’s son from the dead. Then John’s disciples came into view. They had set out to find Him, armed with a most poignant question: “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” (Luke 7:20).

It appears that Jesus did not answer John’s disciples verbally, at first, but He certainly spoke volumes to them by performing miracles before their very eyes: “In that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight” (Luke 7:21, KJV).

Having done that, Jesus then went on to give the following verbal response to John’s disciples: “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Luke 7:22).

What Jesus did was to communicate to John, by performing miracles in the presence of John’s disciples, and by echoing words from the prophet Isaiah, that He – Jesus – was indeed the Coming One. (It is clear from Scriptures that John was familiar with the prophecies of Isaiah.)

In this way, Jesus sent a powerful confirmation that He was fulfilling these prophetic words of Isaiah 35:5: “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped”, as well as Isaiah 61:1 “the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor.”

It is striking that Jesus did also speak most wonderfully affirming words about John (see Luke 7:24-28) – but He waited until after John’s disciples had departed before declaring those more general words to the multitudes.

I believe that was because Jesus wanted to direct John’s focus like a laser beam upon the solid and lasting Truth of the Word of God – the unfailing Rock. That was the unshakeable source of comfort and reassurance that Jesus sent back to John’s prison cell.

The Bible does not record John’s response to Jesus’ message, but I think we can assume that the Lord provided John with all the assurance he needed to finish his personal race with clear purpose and courage. He never withdrew his criticism of Herod’s unlawful marriage, and we know he died the death of a martyr.

I find this passage deeply moving and also very encouraging for us, as believers. When fears and doubts assail us, and when circumstances seem impossible, we too can find our reassurance, our comfort and our confidence in the Word of God. We can rest our hope fully upon the living Word, Jesus, who never leaves us nor forsakes us; whose promise is to guide us, protect us and lead us into all truth if we will put our hand in His and trust in Him.

By Ann Shakespeare 29 June 2021

Jesus gives unfailing, and perhaps initially surprising, assurance

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 22:15:13 GMT

“For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does.”

(Psalm 33:4, NLT)

There are two striking occasions in the New Testament when human logic might cry out: “Amazing! We have seen more than enough to be convinced! We believe!”

But God knows our hearts. He knows that even if we see and hear amazing things … we need much more than the evidence of our physical senses to keep our faith strong and unwavering. We need the solid bedrock of biblical truth.

The first occasion I’m thinking of is Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance to two of His disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus. When Jesus approached, they did not know who He was because “their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16, NRSV). Jesus started talking with them and He commented that they were looking sad.

At that point, if I had been there, I would probably have blurted out to Jesus, “Oh! If You show them the wounds on Your hands and Your feet they will definitely know it’s You! Then they will understand everything!”

Well, if Jesus had done that, the disciples probably would have understood, and their sadness would have turned into overwhelming joy. But their joy – and the accompanying, rekindled faith – would have been based solely on what they had seen in that intense but nevertheless temporary moment.

Jesus certainly wanted to reassure His two disciples, but He did not respond to their sadness with words or actions that would provide only limited comfort. Instead, He said to them: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25).

No tender response there, then! No, but in fact it was the most loving and reassuring response of all. The thing is that Jesus longed for them to know the truth, because knowing the truth is the only source of enduring freedom and of lasting joy. (See John 8:31-32).

Jesus then went on to give the disciples a most wonderful Bible study! … “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). Wow, the Living Word was teaching them the written Word. Glorious!

It is remarkable that the disciples did not recognise Jesus until later that night, when He broke bread with them at table. The Lord had waited until He had poured the truths of Scripture into them before He finally enabled them to recognise Him. It was as though He wanted their hearts and minds to be undistracted and laser-focused upon the Word of God before allowing their physical senses back onto the playing field.

On a completely different occasion, the apostle Peter also conveyed a powerful message about the need to trust in the Word of God rather than upon the evidence of our five senses – however dramatic that evidence may be. And his own experience was certainly as dramatic and awe-inspiring as they come!

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter saw and heard a combination of heavenly events which far surpassed any previous human experience. In front of Peter’s very eyes, the face of Jesus shone like the sun, His clothes became as white as light and He was talking with Moses and Elijah. Then, just when you think that nothing could transcend that wondrous moment … Peter’s ears actually heard the voice of the Father speaking from a bright cloud about Jesus. (See the full account in Matthew 17:1-9).

It is virtually impossible to imagine a more overwhelming and faith-confirming experience.

And yet … Peter does not allow his readers to focus solely on the visible and the audible glory. He takes meticulous care to point out that this experience proves the truth and reality of the gospel which was foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament. Nor does Peter stop there for he goes on to emphasise that the Word of God expressed through these prophets is “something completely reliable ” (2 Pet. 1:19, NIV [my italics]).

These two instances in the New Testament give us faith-igniting insight into just how fervently God wants us to place our trust in His written Word. He wants us to know and to experience that He is our sure and unfailing foundation, and that we can have complete confidence to walk by faith and not by sight.

How beautiful is our Saviour!

Jesus said: “Blessed and happy and to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believed and adhered to and trusted and relied on Me” (John 20:29, AMPC).

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps. 119:105)

By Ann Shakespeare 6 April 2021

Stepping in and staying in the flow of the Holy Spirit

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 19:03:56 GMT

“But I say, walk and live habitually in the Holy Spirit,

responsive to … and guided by the Spirit”

(Galatians 5:16, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition )

Recently, an image came to mind of a river that was flowing calmly and evenly through the countryside. The banks all along the river were, by contrast, very uneven and covered with obstacles such as jagged stones and protruding tree roots.

I sensed the Lord saying: “Here, you can choose to move forward in two ways. You can either stick to the riverbank, walking close to the river but often needing to look away to deal with obstacles. Alternatively, you can choose to step into the river, allowing yourself to be caught up in the current and swim along in its flow, peacefully and with focus.”

I knew the Lord was speaking to my heart about the need to let go and to trust Him more fully – instead of clinging to the riverbank (my self-effort) and encountering unnecessary obstacles along the way.

His words may possibly be speaking to you, too.

Metaphors relating to water and rivers – symbolizing the life of God or the Holy Spirit – are used very vividly in the Bible. I hope it will be helpful and faith-building to look briefly at just three examples from both the New and Old Testaments:

In the gospel of John, Jesus uses the metaphor of “rivers of living water” in a very striking way to describe the supernatural relationship He offers to anyone who would go to Him and drink from Him. He carefully chose to use this metaphor during the Feast of Tabernacles which traditionally included a ceremony based around the vital importance of water. So the following words of Jesus would have been especially meaningful for those listening to Him at the time:

The apostle John describes the scene: “Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, ‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, from his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.’ … He was speaking here of the Spirit” (John 7:38-39, AMPC).

Jesus is saying (at least) two things here. First, He offers an open invitation to anyone who desires, to go to Him and drink. It is a beautiful invitation to receive Him and, in this way, to partake of the very life of God.

Secondly, Jesus promises that whoever does go to Him to drink, and who then chooses to cleave to Him and trust in Him, will themselves – in turn – be so wonderfully filled that those same rivers of living water (ie the Holy Spirit) will pour out from within their very own beings.

Turning to the Old Testament, the metaphor of river water is expressed vividly by the prophet Ezekiel. In one of his divine visions, Ezekiel saw a river flowing directly from the temple of God – and this speaks of the flow of the life of God.

The whole of Ezekiel chapter 47 is a powerful metaphor. Part of this chapter describes the rapid increase in the river’s depth to such a degree that Ezekiel could no longer touch the river bottom and would have to let go and swim. It represents a call to go deeper and deeper into relationship with God; a call to trust Him even when we are way out of our depth and when there is nothing solid, in the natural, upon which to rely.

A wonderful characteristic of the river observed by Ezekiel was that “everything will live wherever the river flows” (Ezek. 47:9). Meaning that everything will live wherever the life of God flows.

This is a powerful promise, especially for us as new covenant believers in Christ. For we know that “all the promises of God in Him [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20). So we can bring this promise from Ezekiel right up to the present day and apply it in faith, trusting that the life of God is not only flowing within us but that it is also pouring out from us to bless others.

Returning to the New Testament, in supreme conclusion, the apostle John describes his own glorious vision of “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1). An utterly wondrous vision of the Kingdom of God.

Then John goes on to recall the same, fervent invitation that we heard from Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles – to come and freely drink of Him.

John writes: “Let everyone come who is thirsty [who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened]; and whoever [earnestly] desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate, and drink the water of Life without cost” (Rev. 22:17, AMPC).

Responding to this amazing invitation cannot be a one-off decision. Rather, it is an ongoing, moment-by-moment choice that we are called to make.

And we do need to be vigilant.

I am very aware that I can be moving in the flow of the Holy Spirit at one moment, and the next minute find myself tripping over stones on the riverbank – that’s when I’ve looked away from the Lord and fallen back on self-effort.

But – thanks be to God! – we can rely on the loving guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit to remind us when we are tending to veer towards the riverbank. It is deeply reassuring, too, to know that the Lord Himself is constantly calling us and encouraging us to cleave to Him, drink from Him and to allow His rivers of living water to flow out from within us; to share together with Him in pouring out His love into the world.

We praise Him!

By Ann Shakespeare 27 February 2021

God can dissolve offence – even when we cannot

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 23:30:58 GMT

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

Isn’t this one of the most challenging verses in the Bible? Well, I must confess that I find it to be so!

It is one thing to decide to forgive someone and to pray blessing upon them regularly, and find practical ways of doing good to them. But it is another thing altogether to discover that when I think of the person or the circumstance in question – perhaps months or even years later – I still feel twinges of pain or resentment in my heart. I don’t want it to be there … but I don’t know how to get rid of it!

It is possible and, I think, quite common, to believe that we have truly forgiven someone and yet not fully realise that our heart is still captive to pain. That can be an unconscious block which can hinder the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives and cause problems.

So what is the solution?

Well, I’d like to share what has helped me in this area – in the hope that it is of help to someone else, too.

I imagine that most of us have experienced deep hurt and injustice at some point in our lives; in particular, where the person or people concerned is/are not prepared to reconcile, and who perhaps even continue with an unhelpful attitude.

In this situation, it is important to remember that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil …” (Eph. 6:12).

So I try not to take persecution and negativity personally – but that’s not always easy, is it?!

First of all, then, I ask God to show me where I myself need to repent and also to ask the other person(s) for forgiveness, when needed.

After that, what has helped me the most in dealing with situations that keep “stinging” my heart when I think of them – despite my having tried fervently to forgive and to bless – is to come before God and say, “Lord, I cannot do this!! I cannot change my heart and truly love this person and sincerely desire the very best for them. So by Your grace I come to You and trust You to change my heart and wash away every hint of offence, including any hidden negative bits that may be lingering – ready to be revived on another occasion unless they are dealt with now!”

Then I turn to God’s Word and remember the Lord’s wonderful declaration in Jeremiah: “I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it” (Jer. 1:12 AMPC). Alleluia! It increases faith to take some specific scriptures into my heart, to pray them, and trust God to work them deep inside me.

For example, I personalise Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:9-10, “I pray that your [my] love may abound still more and more …. that you [I myself] may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ”.

Another, very relevant prayer of Paul that we can personalise is: “Now may the Lord direct your hearts [my heart] into the love of God and into the patience of Christ” (2 Thess. 3:5).

How strengthening it is to realise that God is infinitely more desirous to answer these prayers than we are to pray them!

The change may not happen immediately. But my testimony is that the change will come – and that we will be joyfully surprised that our hearts do indeed melt with the supernatural love of God – if we don’t give up. The enemy of our souls may often try to dredge up a painful memory again, but we can deal with that temptation by standing firm upon the truth of the unfailing Word of God.

The wonderful thing about praying prayers that are included in the Bible is that we can be absolutely certain that they are in line with the will of God, and that He will answer them. (Also, we can easily change the pronouns and turn the scriptures into intercession for others.)

I would like to conclude with another scriptural prayer which highlights that it is God Himself who sanctifies us (meaning, makes us holy and pure). We cannot sanctify our hearts – or any other part of us – by our own efforts. We need our Saviour to do that.

I love the fact that God makes it so clear in this scripture that He will indeed do the necessary work within us: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; … He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5:23-24).

Oh how wonderful IS HE!!

By Ann Shakespeare 21 January 2021

The wonder of being the temple of the Holy Spirit

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 23:23:17 GMT

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you …?”

(1 Corinthians 6:19)

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you …?” (1 Cor. 6:19)

Isn’t this one of the most extraordinary questions in the entire Bible?!

Another way of phrasing it would be to ask:

Do you not know that you are sleeping, waking and living in the constant, never -withdrawing, closer-than-breathing Presence of the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe?

Wow! Do you know that? Do I know it? Deep in my heart and not just in my mind?

It is one thing to read this verse and to give mental assent. Quite another to believe it in our hearts and to trust the Holy Spirit to work this truth – and the fruit of the Spirit that flows from it – into our lives.

An important thing to remember is that it has nothing whatsoever to do with our feelings. Oh, the scourge of the feeling trap! That was the trap I had fallen into for several years after my conversion to Jesus Christ: “How can this broken, so-often-failing human being dare to call herself the temple of a pure and righteous God?!” That was my reasoning – but it was deeply flawed.

If we go by our feelings, we will remain trapped in our “old Adam” nature, the nature that was crucified with Jesus on Calvary (see Rom. 6:6). We have a new nature now – the very nature of Christ – and we are completely new creations in Him (see 2 Cor. 5:17).

This new nature is invisible at first, though, and we have to learn practical ways in which to focus on that which is invisible (yet real) and to walk “by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

The solution is to find out what the Word of God says about us, then to keep pondering it and to ask the Holy Spirit to work it into our day-to-day lives. We cannot do that of ourselves – it is the Holy Spirit who works this transformation within us. He breathes and moves through the Word of God to reveal the Christ-nature to us and through us.

For this very purpose, it is wondrous to know that God has given us the “fellowship” (or companionship) of the Holy Spirit (see 2 Cor. 13:14). Companionship involves talking with the Spirit within us and trusting Him to be our Helper and Teacher, as promised in John 14:26. Let us thank Him often that He is faithful to guide us into all truth and to reveal the things of Christ to us (John 16:13-14).

The Holy Spirit within us is also called the Spirit of Christ – Christ in us (see Col. 1:27). We have His holy Presence abiding constantly within us. But if this is to become real in our experience, we need to respond actively in prayer and in meditation upon verses of Scripture. It is a relationship, and, like all relationships, it needs to be nurtured in order to flourish. Otherwise, it remains stagnant and it can seem as though it does not exist at all.

Our minds, bodies and circumstances can often scream out to us that surely we cannot be described as the temple of the Holy Spirit. But most certainly we can because that is exactly what God says about us in His Word. We are called to believe it – whatever our circumstances may look like or feel like.

It inspires and helps me very much to reflect on how Mary, the mother of Jesus, responded to the extremely difficult circumstances she faced in her pregnancy and after giving birth. She was bearing God Himself within her, so we can say that she was indeed the temple of the Holy Spirit. Yet did it look (outwardly) as though she was?

No, not at all!

Mary, who was carrying the Creator and Saviour of the world within her womb, was treated as an outcast in her society and culture. Furthermore, she found herself giving birth to the Son of God in dirty, stinking and very unhygienic conditions. Soon after that, Mary and Joseph had to flee for safety to Egypt, to protect the life of baby Jesus.

In all this, it would have been very logical for Mary to cry, “Surely, none of this can be of God!!” But, even in the midst of such hellish circumstances, she knew that God was taking care of their lives and was in control, despite appearances. Her confidence was not affected by her outer circumstances, nor by what she may have been feeling.

Instead, her confidence rested upon the message that God had given her through the Angel Gabriel; that she would bring forth a Son who “will be great and, and will be called the Son of the Highest … and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31-33).

Mary’s reply was: “Let it be to me according to your word”. She fully trusted this Word from God and she also pondered the things of God in her heart (Luke 2:19). That is, she kept them in mind and meditated upon them.

May we, too, trust in what our heavenly Father says about us and to us, and – like Mary – ponder His words in our hearts. May we ask the Holy Spirit to cause the Christ-nature to grow within us – more and more – and to overflow from us as Love, Life and Light into this world.

By Ann Shakespeare 21 December 2020

Knowing God intimately

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 14:13:53 GMT

“May grace and perfect peace cascade over you

as you live in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

(2 Peter 1:2, TPT)

What a wonderful prayer (above) from the heart of the apostle Peter. It is a vivid and powerful expression of God’s desire for every believer – that we come to know Him so deeply and intimately that our lives are literally flooded with His grace and perfect peace.

It is worth mentioning here that the word “knowledge” can sometimes convey a sense of aloofness. For example, we can know a lot about God – but still not really know Him personally, in the way that Peter is meaning.

Therefore, it is really helpful to note that the Greek word that is translated “knowledge”, in this instance, is “ginosko” which speaks of intimacy – the exact opposite of aloofness. Instead of knowing about God, it means coming to know God through first-hand acquaintance and personal experience. It speaks of a very intimate, one-to-one relationship.

Our verse indicates that God is calling us to “live in” – to abide in – that intimate relationship with Him. Jesus Himself expressed this same calling in these words: “You must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine.” (John 15:4, TPT)

Well, this is a staggering invitation and calling! But how do we respond to it, in practical terms? How do we live our lives intimately joined to the God of the Universe?

We start by seeing what God the Father has done in order to bring us into intimacy with Himself. That is, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has removed the barriers to relationship, has forgiven us all our sins and brought us into union – or oneness – with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

This is what happened to us when Jesus went to the cross on our behalf:

“My old identity has been co-crucified with Messiah and no longer lives; for the nails of his cross crucified me with him. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me – we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, and dispenses his life into mine!” (Gal. 2:20, TPT).

This is way beyond human comprehension, and we are not called to understand it fully with our human minds – that is impossible. But we are called to make an active response to what God has already fully provided for us. Yes, we are called to “join” ourselves to Him, in faith: “the one who joins himself [or herself] to the Lord is mingled into one spirit with him” (1 Cor. 6:17, TPT).

Then, as we keep believing and responding by drawing close to God, the Spirit Himself will gradually reveal to our hearts that which cannot be comprehended by intellect.

God is so utterly humble and patient! It is striking indeed that the Lord waits for us to join ourselves to Him – even though the “joining” has already been carried out by God. The thing is, though, that unless we believe in this joining together with God in intimate relationship – and unless we seek and pursue it – it will have very little effect on our lives.

It is important to hold on to the truth that God longs for us to come into intimacy with Him much more than we can desire it! So that helps to lift from our shoulders any possible sense of needing to “labour” to pursue the relationship.

It does require intention and activity, though – as any developing relationship does. Intimacy with God grows naturally as we spend time in prayer, talking with and listening to our Father. It grows as we meditate upon the Word of God, and especially on some of the many scriptures that speak of our relationship with Christ. For example: Gal. 2:20, John 1:12-13, John 15:15, Col. 2:9-10, Col. 3:1-3, 1 Cor. 6:19 and the Song of Solomon – to mention just a few (and there are very many more! These can be researched through Biblehub.com and other, freely available online resources.)

Intimacy with God also grows as we share and express His Love in many different ways with other people. He wants the fruit of our union with Him to spill out of us to bring transformation and healing wherever it flows. And, as that happens, our own relationship with Christ is strengthened, often without our even being aware of it at the time.

May I conclude with the wonderful, faith-igniting verse that Peter wrote immediately after 2 Peter 1:2. Here it is from the Amplified Bible, which conveys the intimacy of relationship and the incalculable blessings – the “all things”! – which God imparts to us as we grow ever closer to Him in our hearts and prayers, and in our practical lives:

“His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence”

(2 Peter 1:3, AMPC).

by Ann Shakespeare Nov 19, 2020

*******

Desire for eternal life is God’s gift to us

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 19:46:09 GMT

“He has … set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

The life of Neville Jayaweera, my long-time mentor, is a beautiful testimony to the truth that God does indeed set eternity in the human heart. Neville’s own heart began aching for eternity from a very young age.

Below, I would like to share a short reflection that I wrote a while ago about Neville’s early life and his eventual encounter with Jesus Christ. It is personal to Neville, of course, but I think it also illustrates – vividly – three insights into the nature of God, and His relentless, ever-patient love, which can apply to any one of us, in whatever situation or context we may find ourselves.

I will expand on those insights briefly, at the end of this little cameo:

The call of God in a tender, young heart

“Neville told me that, as a young boy, instead of playing with his friends after school, he felt drawn to go for walks along the peaceful, palm-fringed beaches near his home on the outskirts of Colombo in Sri Lanka (called Ceylon at that time, in the 1930s/40s).

He walked along in awe, looking out over the majesty of the vast ocean with its thunderous waves – and his heart would swell with an inexpressible longing.

Neville was brought up in a Sinhala-speaking, Buddhist family but his parents chose to send him to an English-language Christian school because of the quality of education there. Neville was always respectful, but he had no interest in Christianity; his focus was, naturally, on the teachings and traditions of his Buddhist upbringing.

Nevertheless, a part of his school duty was to learn English hymns. Neville has a lovely sense of humour, and he says he puzzled over the relevance of singing “In the bleak midwinter” with its verse “snow had fallen, snow on snow” … when he and his classmates were mopping their brows in the intense tropical heat of Ceylon!!

One particular hymn, however, worked its way deeply into his mind and heart. It is the hymn “Abide with Me”. He would find himself softly singing its verses during his beach walks in the early evenings, gazing up at the vast, star-filled firmament. Tears would pour down his cheeks, but he did not know why.

Back at home, his mother would pull her youngest son protectively into her long skirts and stroke his head, uttering words of love and reassurance. She knew that something special was going on, even though she could not understand what it was. Her unconditional love sustained Neville during those early, aching years, and – looking back – he saw clearly that she had been a wonderful instrument of God’s grace.

It was his mother, too, who had encouraged him during even earlier years at school, when he repeatedly came out second from bottom in the class exams. Neville recalls: “My teacher came home one evening, when I was only six years old, to tell Mummy about me, that I was no good in class and would not be promoted unless Mummy taught me how to add and subtract.”

Throughout it all, his mother kept encouraging and believing in Neville … and things began to change. In fact, the changes were so marked that, over the following decades, he went on to become a presidential advisor, director-general of what is now the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, and ambassador to four Scandinavian countries.

However, none of these achievements filled the poignant longing that had remained deep within him since his boyhood. In his early 40s, He began to seek God earnestly, through disciplined prayer and meditation on Buddhist and Hindu scriptures, but he could not find the lasting peace for which he yearned …

… until one day, in his 43rd year, during a time of intense seeking, Neville received a profound spiritual experience which utterly transformed his heart, his values and ultimately his entire way of life. The experience was all the more extraordinary because he had not specifically been seeking Jesus Christ. Great was his amazement and wonder and overflowing praise that Jesus was indeed the Peace and the Eternal Truth he had been longing for.

Ever since then, Neville’s life has been totally dedicated to following Jesus Christ and to proving God’s Word to be true. Life after his 43rd year was not at all easy, but has been characterised by overflowing peace, joy and loving-kindness, and Neville says he would not have chosen any other way. The following decades were full of adventures, challenges, very deep pain, joys unspeakable, and an ever-deepening awareness of the sustaining, transforming Presence of Christ through meditation on His Word and obedience to His leading.

Neville and I worked closely together as teacher and pupil for many years, and, when he became less mobile in his 80s, he asked me if I would find a very good recording of a particular hymn and post it to him.

Yes! The hymn he had asked for was indeed “Abide with Me”. ♫ ♫ ♫

From this little cameo, the three insights that I hope will encourage us, and others, in our own lives and situations are these:

1) That God is always present with us, waiting patiently for us through all our ups and downs, successes and failures. The Bible expresses it this way: “ …you always have God’s presence. For hasn’t he promised you, “I will never leave you alone, never! And I will not loosen my grip on your life!” (Heb. 13:5, TPT).

2) That if we seek God earnestly, we will find Him: “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:23, NKJV) and “seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7, NKJV).

3) That the things of the world, however elevated and “successful”, can never fully satisfy the human heart. Neville likens his former, high-profile life in the world to a squirrel whirring away furiously inside his cage, unaware that it was in fact going nowhere, until in midlife he was awakened to the futility of his exertions. He describes himself as similar, metaphorically, to the beggar who was healed of his blindness by Jesus of Nazareth and who ran through town, proclaiming with overwhelming joy: “I was blind, but now I see!” (John 9:25, NIV).

*******

by Ann Shakespeare Oct 20, 2020

What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ?

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 23:10:08 GMT

“We are ambassadors for Christ”

(2 Corinthians 5:20)

“We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20) is a truly astonishing verse, isn’t it?!

Trying to absorb even a small portion of what this means fills me with awe at the trust that God places in us. He chose us for such a time as this!

The Greek word translated ‘ambassador’ (presbeúō) means to act as a representative. In the context of our verse above, it means someone who is trusted and authorised to speak and act on God’s behalf and to represent His Kingdom, which is our true ‘home country’.

This is utterly staggering! And profoundly challenging. But every challenge and instruction in the Bible comes wrapped with an abundance of grace to fulfil it. God would never ask us to be or do anything that He will not fully equip us to accomplish.

I must confess that I have read this verse countless times and yet have never really reflected on the depth of its meaning. Recently, however, it has been leaping off the page as if the Lord is saying: “Look! This applies to you! It applies to all believers who trust in Me!”

To get a picture of our authority and position as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, it helps to look briefly at the role of a ‘natural’ ambassador, because the parallels are very similar.

So the British Ambassador to Thailand – just for example – always remains a citizen of the UK and follows UK laws above the laws of Thailand. While living in Thailand, he receives his day-to-day instructions from the UK and has authority to promote and implement his home country’s values and perspectives. All his financial, legal and emergency needs are met by the UK and he lives in Thailand under the UK’s constant protection and authority. (So we could say that he is ‘in Thailand’ but not at all ‘of it’).

Likewise, as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, our true source of supply and protection always come from there. Our Real Home provides for every need we could possibly encounter: “my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). God is our constant protection and our enabler: “I’ll keep carrying you! I am your Maker and your Caregiver. I will carry you and be your Saviour” (Isa 46:4, TPT).

The main responsibility of all ambassadors is to accurately represent and promote their home country’s goals and values. This is our greatest challenge as representatives of the Kingdom of God!

We cannot do this of ourselves, of course. However, the scripture immediately following the declaration that we are “ambassadors for Christ” explains – amazingly – what God has already done to equip and authorise us to be His ambassadors. It says: “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

God is so desirous that we should be fully united with Him and walk in His righteousness – ie in His very nature – that in Jesus Christ He actually became sin, in order to liberate us from our sinful nature. In exchange, He enables us “to share in God’s essential nature” (2 Peter 1:4, PHILLIPS). To share in His nature! Yes! Actually to live and breathe and walk in the holy and glorious quality of life of the Godhead!

That makes me gasp in awe. And we know that all this is way beyond our own strength and comprehension, but that we can fully trust in the work of Christ within us, leaning hard upon Him at every step of the way: “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Unfailingly, He is our wisdom (1 Cor. 1:30) and He will lead us and enable us, step by step.

This world’s ambassadors are assured that they are fully protected and empowered by their own home country. However, for this to work out in practice, they need to learn what the privileges are that they possess. Then they need to appropriate them by actively applying these privileges in their daily lives. Otherwise, by default, they come under the influence of the rules and values of their temporary host country!

And this is all the more true for us as believers! So we are called to keep alive in our hearts that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20) and that we must “ live in this world as strangers and ‘temporary residents’” (1 Peter 2:11, PHILLIPS).

At the same time, we must know the authority that we have in Christ to show and to share the love and truth of God wherever we are on earth.

Since God declares us to be His ambassadors, He surely equips us to live this highly honoured role. We also need to do our part, though, and to remind our hearts and minds of the amazing privileges and authority that are ours – right now – in our new identity in Christ. (Some of the passages that tell us what is freely available to us include: John chapters 14-17, Ephesians chapters 1-2 and Colossians chapters 1-3.)

We are God’s ambassadors at all times and places. We do not necessarily need to travel physically to be His ambassador because we represent Him wherever we are. In our day-to-day walk, it often happens that our provision may not be apparent until the actual need arises. But whatever the situation we face, we can rest in our Father’s loving assurance:

“My grace is always more than enough for you” (2 Cor. 12:9, TPT).

By Ann Shakespeare 30 August 2020

The love of the Lamb at the centre of God’s throne

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 23:10:11 GMT

“The Lamb … is in the centre of the throne”

(Revelation 7:17)

What comes to the forefront of our minds when we think of the throne room of heaven with the Lord God Almighty and Jesus, the King?

Psalm 96:6 declares that “Splendour and majesty are before Him; strength and glory are in His sanctuary.”

The prophet Isaiah saw the Lord “sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple” (Isa 6:1). [The length of the train of the Lord’s robe indicates immeasurable power].

Revelation chapters 4 and 5 describe an emerald-like rainbow around the throne, the emanation of lightenings and thunderings, a sea of glass, and the voices of thousands and thousands of angels raised in worship.

In Revelation chapter 1, the disciple John fainted at the awesome sight of the Risen Lord Jesus with “eyes like a flame of fire”, “His voice as the sound of many waters” and “His countenance … like the sun shining in its strength.”

Jesus Himself said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End … who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

John describes Jesus as “the ruler over the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5), “King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16), “Lord God Almighty” (Rev. 15:3) and “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5).

All these verses above depict God’s throne as a place that is filled with unspeakable power, immensity, majesty and glory.

Surely, then, this is supremely where Jesus Christ would take His place as the reigning Lion. Wouldn’t He? For the lion is the symbol of sovereign power and authority, of undisputed dominance and consummate kingship.

Well, that would be according to the world’s values. However, the values of the Kingdom of God are completely different; indeed, they are the polar opposite. So, instead of the Lion, it is striking that at the very heart of the mighty throne of God is the Lamb:

“The Lamb … is in the centre of the throne” (Rev. 7:17).

I am probably stating the obvious, as you read this reflection. But I wanted to share it because recently this truth has penetrated my heart more deeply than ever before!

The verse in Revelation 7:17 speaks of the vast and immeasurable value that God places upon every single man, woman and child, because the sacrificial Lamb at the centre of God’s throne is there solely for our benefit and blessing. So, in a way, we can say that we are there, with the Lamb, at the centre of the throne. In other words, we are at the very centre of God’s heart. That is how much He loves each one of us!

This truth is echoed in the very last prayer uttered by Jesus just before He was arrested in Gethsemane (as recorded in John’s Gospel). In John chapter 17, Jesus asked His Father that all believers be united, as one, with the Father and the Son (“I in them, and You [Father] in Me” (John 17:23).

Jesus also prayed that the world would know that the Father loves all believers with the same love with which the Father loved Him (John 17:26). That is a truly astounding request! And we can rest assured that Jesus’ prayers are always answered.

In other words, Jesus was asking His Father that every single believer would know that they/we are continuously indwelt, bathed in and surrounded by the very same quality and intensity of love with which the Father loves His Son.

What an unspeakable wonder!

This article began with a view of the splendour, majesty and power of God’s throne. How amazing it is to see so clearly, though, that it all flows from the meekness and sacrificial love of the Lamb at the centre of the throne.

My prayer is for the grace to follow this lamb-like nature of Jesus (our example -1 Pet. 2:21), who was meek, who took no offence nor sought to justify Himself in the face of gross insult and deep injustice; who “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, … He humbled Himself” (Phil. 2:7-8).

That is the pathway of Love – the Love that flows constantly from the throne of God to us and in us and also through us, out into the world which needs this Love so very much.

Speaking of Love, what better words to conclude this reflection than the inspired prayer of the apostle Paul:

“I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:14,17-19)

By Ann Shakespeare 30 July 2020

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” – The deeper meaning

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 22:08:34 GMT

This article is by the late Neville Jayaweera, my faithful and godly spiritual mentor for almost four decades. More of Neville’s writings, and his autobiography, are freely available to read on his website : htt p://www.from-the-unreal-to-the-real.com

By Neville Jayaweera

As I sat in meditation this morning, I was filled with the Spirit and He unfolded to me a vision of the deeper meaning of Jesus’ statement in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life”.

The Holy Spirit said that it should really read as: “I AM (is) the Way, I AM (is) the Truth and I AM (is) the Life”.

Imagine if an angel came down from heaven and gave you a block of clay of the sweetest fragrance and told you, “Here, take this. Whatever your need is, you can convert this into the answer”. That block of sweet-smelling clay is the great I AM.

If I AM is the Way, the Truth and the Life, it can only mean ONENESS. It can only mean that, in fact, there is only One Way, One Truth, One Life.

Let us explore these three great I AMs. They constitute the Gospels in capsule form.

I AM (is) the WAY – the one Way, the only Way. The Way is not simply Jesus Christ the person, but all that He achieved for us through His Death and Resurrection (D&R). It is not sufficient merely to say, “I accept Jesus as my personal saviour”. There must be a clear understanding of what that means, and it means much more than merely accepting His teachings. The teachings of the other great religious teachers are as good and as lofty and as impractical (!) as those of Jesus Christ.

What Jesus Christ has that other religious teachers do not have is the D&R, which alone can make His teachings practical, and make the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule useful guides to living. Otherwise they remain unattainable to the first Adam.

It is the D&R that defines the essential Jesus Christ. There must therefore be a deep understanding of His D&R. All theological doctrines, all rituals, all Bible-based fundamentalism, all our so-called piety and righteousness and all evangelistic endeavours at winning souls for Christ, which sidestep, or minimise, or ritualise the awesome meaning and grandeur of the D&R, are loud-sounding cymbals signifying nothing. The D&R is the way. The Only Way.

Every other way (whether Judaism, the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, mysticism or science) are the robbers of the parable, trying to climb in over the fence of the sheep pen.

I AM (is) the TRUTH, the one Truth, the only Truth. There aren’t several billion different truths (population of the world) but One Truth. Here, Truth does not mean just the truth about God and Spirit but the truth about every person, about every relationship, about every problem, about every activity, about every situation, about everything in heaven, on earth and under the earth.

The truth about all these things, about every person, every thing, every activity and every relationship, and about every nation and every society, is lodged in God’s mind. They constitute the DNA of creation. However, this DNA, these truths, cannot be accessed except through the D&R. Accessing the One Truth is possible only through the D&R and therefore having a correct understanding of the D&R is again the key.

At the D&R, multiplicity was annihilated and we were all reconciled into the One Body. Therefore, after the D&R there is no longer a separated “you” and a “me” but I AM is in all, through all and is All in all. The apostle Paul expresses it this way: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6).

We live and move and have our being in Christ. Hence the metaphor of seeing ourselves as cells in the body of Christ. Criticism, judgement and condemnation have no place after the D&R, because Christ is in all and through all. Now, HE is the ONLY Truth.

I AM (is) the LIFE – the only Life. After the D&R, since the Risen Lord fills all things, and is in all, through all and is All in all, there cannot be any other life, and there is only the one Life – the Life of the Risen Lord. The claims that are constantly coming to us of “separated-from-God” lives called Dick, Tom, Harry, Jane, Jill and Mary are a denial of the D&R. They are Satan’s trick to lure us back under his influence.

What does this one Life consist of? This one Life takes an infinity of different forms which are all characterised by:

(a) The same Spirit who raised Christ Jesus from the dead. This Spirit contains God’s perfect programme for every person. It is the Holy Spirit and in Him all things are constituted. The task of the Holy Spirit is to replicate the Risen Christ in each one of us, the One Christ manifesting in an infinity of forms.

(b) The same Mind that was in Christ Jesus. Paul commands, “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5) but that mind will never come to us unless we have a deeper understanding of the D&R. That is why some of us still labour under the mind of the first Adam, manifesting ego, aggression, an argumentative nature, defensiveness, anger, etc. When the same mind that was in Christ Jesus comes upon us we should manifest love, gentleness, kindness, forgiveness, humility, selflessness, joy and peace, regardless of the circumstances.

(c) The one Body and Blood of Christ Jesus. The Lord did not forget that in order that His DNA may take form as the new creation, it needed a body. The body of the first Adam, which the believer was carrying around with him, like a corpse strapped to his back (Paul’s own metaphor), had to be discarded and replaced by the Lord's own Life. Paul says that only the Christ can do that for us. That was why the Lord left us His own Body and Blood. “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you shall not have life”, the Lord said. Therefore, out of love for us He also said, “This is my body. Take, eat! This is my blood. Drink ye all of it.” That is the basis of the Eucharist.

There are certain characteristics of the Body and Blood of the risen Lord which the body and blood of Adam never had. The Lord’s Body and Blood had been through the world, had absorbed all of the sins of the human race and had overcome them, even unto overcoming death. That was why the Lord said, “Fear not. I have overcome the world”.

Therefore, this Body of the risen Christ is not subject to corruption and is not subject to disease, decay and death. In other words, the Lord has left for us His own Body and Blood as a vehicle – the only vehicle capable of delivering eternal life, the abundant life, the overcoming life, the resurrected life and the victorious life.

That is why Paul refers to those who have accepted the Lord and are genuinely born again as the Temple of God and as the Temple of the Holy Spirit. God/Holy Spirit will not adopt as His temple any being who still claims links to the old Adam, whether in mind or body. It is logically and spiritually impossible.

Every form shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord. Christ is the substance, the fragrant lump of clay with which I started this meditation, but He is not any of the forms into which the clay is moulded. The Christ manifested on earth as Jesus of Nazareth (as form) but He was before Abraham (as substance). HE was before all things (as substance) and all things were made in Him (as form). The Christ is the limitless I AM (substance) waiting to take over the form that is you, but only if you will agree to have your ego, your earthly identity, nailed to the cross along with Him.

There is but One Way, One Truth, One Life, One Spirit, One Mind and One Body, and the great I AM is that Way, that Truth, that Life, that Spirit, that Mind and that Body. There is none other.

*******

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” – The deeper meaning

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 15:56:00 GMT

The post I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” – The deeper meaning appeared first on Ann Shakespeare .

Our true identity is “In Christ”

Sat, 30 May 2020 16:13:38 GMT

It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Cor. 1:30)

Being “in Christ Jesus” is a breathtaking position and experience bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon those who have laid hold of the deeper meaning of the Christ’s command to Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:3).

To be “in Christ” is essentially to be adopted into the heavenly family of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and to receive from the Christ all that He has: all that He has inherited from His Father including His victory over the forces of evil.

Below are some of the scriptures that spell out our inheritance – and our identity – “in Christ”. Each of these scriptures has sufficient spiritual power to melt mountains, but to experience that power we need to take them into meditation and sit with them for hours, returning to them day after day. Then the Holy Spirit will uncover their deeper meanings and make them, increasingly, come to life and impact our daily lives.

“The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
“ …neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).
“… of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).
“those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2).
“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22).
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph. 1:4).
“He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6).
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Eph. 1:7).
“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11).
“God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4-5).
“and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
“now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13).
“ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, (Eph. 2:19-21).
“ in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22).
“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14).
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7).
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:9-10).

The fact that, as believers, we are now “in Christ” impacts every aspect of our identity. We exist in an intimate, invigorating relationship of unity with the risen Christ. This is a truly awesome realisation!

By Ann Shakespeare 30 May 2020

The biblical meaning of “name”. What does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”?

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 19:12:27 GMT

“He has never failed me … I delight in speaking well of His name”.

This is the beautiful way in which George Müller concluded a letter of encouragement that he had written to Hudson Taylor, who lived by faith as a missionary in China for over 50 years.

Clearly, George Müller was not using the word “name” as a label of identification but rather as an expression of the character and nature of His Lord, whom he had come to know as an utterly faithful, tender and wise Father who is unfailingly true to all His promises.

It stirs my heart to read this expression of delight. It also leads me to reflect more deeply on the meaning of the word “name” in the Bible and – in particular – on the use of the phrase “in Jesus’ name” in our prayer lives.

Jesus Himself indicates, in several instances, that we are to pray and make requests to the Father “in My name” (for example, in John 14:13,14 & 16, among other verses).

The word “name” in both the Old and New Testaments generally means authority and character. It is never simply a form of identification; rather, in biblical culture, a name always conveys the bearer’s whole nature, character and qualities.

So how do these two biblical meanings of the word “name” apply to us when we pray and act?

Praying and acting in the authority of Jesus

As believers, we are given authority to pray and to act in Jesus’ name because of His sacrifice on our behalf. His death and resurrection set us free from the penalty of sin and enable us to approach the Father with boldness, because we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. His righteousness is now our own righteousness: “For He [God the Father] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Praying and acting in the character of Jesus

In my own experience, it is much more challenging to pray and act in the character of Jesus because it requires us to have (or to work towards having) the qualities and characteristics of Jesus flowing in our own lives.

It is worth mentioning here that aiming to have His character – founded upon Love – is vital because without the foundational characteristic of love, the exercise of authority can sometimes be unhelpful and even damaging.

The character of Jesus is manifold. He is loving, forgiving, merciful, compassionate, gentle and kind. He is patient, obedient, self-controlled, humble and fully dependent upon His Father. He is prayerful, faithful, thankful, joyful and peaceful. He thinks no evil, keeps no record of wrongs, is not resentful or irritable but is always hopeful and rejoices with the truth.

These are just a few among the many Spirit-endowed qualities and characteristics of Jesus that are mentioned in the Bible. And – most wonderfully! – they have all already been bestowed upon us through the Holy Spirit who indwells those who are born-again believers.

The Passion Translation expresses it in this way: “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts!” (Eph. 1:3, TPT). The spiritual blessings lavished upon us include all the characteristics and qualities of Jesus.

So they are not out of our reach! However, we cannot develop these characteristics in our own strength, and therefore it is a huge relief to know that it is God who will perform this miraculous transformation in us as we submit to Him: “… it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13). God is passionately concerned that we grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ – to reflect His character and qualities – as we seek in faith to appropriate them and walk in them.

God does this for our benefit and our blessing, as well as for His glory. The more we die to self and live for Him alone, the freer and more joyful we become, and the more we will see His fruit sprouting and growing in our lives and through our prayers.

So, let us “celebrate him with all our hearts!” (Eph. 1:3)

By Ann Shakespeare 30 April 2020

The strength and beauty of God’s protection

Sat, 28 Mar 2020 20:36:03 GMT

“God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever”

(Psalm 73:26, AMPC)

“He [or she] who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.’” (Ps. 91: 1-2)

In the last article, we saw that the “secret place of the Most High” in Psalm 91 is a place which enfolds us in the love of God. It is also the place where we are enveloped in the shield of God’s protection. It is the “shadow” of the Almighty (the Hebrew concept of shadow is protection). Isaiah refers to the “shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (Isa 32:2) and this points to Jesus Christ. Christ is our spiritual rock (1 Cor. 10:4) and the “Rock and firm Strength of my heart” – utterly unshakeable.

When the world is shaking around us, as well as perhaps within us, it is hugely encouraging and strengthening to contemplate, more and more deeply, the nature of the Spirit of Christ who indwells us, and who never leaves us nor forsakes us.

This Spirit of Christ is our sanctuary (Isa 8:14) and our peace (Eph. 2:14). In Isaiah 47:4, we see that our Redeemer is also the mighty Lord of Hosts (meaning Lord of innumerable armies). In other words, all agencies and forces – however numerous or powerful – are under the kingship of Christ. Indeed, Christ is placed “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:21).

The Spirit of Christ within us is the creator of all things and the upholder of all things (Col. 1:16 & Heb. 1:3). He is the King of glory (Ps. 24:10), and is also the constant source of our protection and uplifting encouragement:

“You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the one who lifts up my head” (Ps. 3:3).

Our Mighty King of glory is also the most tender of fathers:

“The same way a loving father feels toward his children – that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you” (Ps. 103:13, TPT).

Christ within us protects our hearts through His beauty: “[He] is like the morning light when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the fresh grass springs out of the earth through sunshine after rain” (2 Samuel 23:4, AMP).

Christ within us is the Word of God, the Word made flesh, who is faithful and true. The words that He speaks to us are Spirit and they are Life (John 6:63). The Passion Translation describes the Word of God within us, in this way: “For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, and it pierces more sharply than a two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12). It is pointed out that “two-edged sword” can also be translated “two-mouthed sword” – God speaks His Word, then we, in agreement, also speak His Word and it becomes a two-mouthed sword. How inspiring!

It is amazing to reflect on the awesome truth that our own lives are hidden within this mighty and utterly beautiful Lord Jesus Christ. In Him we have more supernatural grace and protection than we could ever imagine or ask for, with our human minds.

And thanks be to God that we do not have to understand everything about it in order to benefit from it and to bless others through it! I find it very liberating and reassuring to read: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths (Prov. 3:5-6).

We are called to have childlike faith to look up to our heavenly Father and to accept and trust in all that He has provided for us; and all that He pours out upon us, and out through us to others.

By Ann Shakespeare 28 March 2020

Tender intimacy in Psalm 91

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 13:41:59 GMT

“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge” (Psalm 91:4)

This photograph of a greylag goose sheltering her chicks, under her ever-watchful eye, is a beautiful metaphor for the tender care that God extends to His children. It is also a portrait of loving trust and intimacy.

The theme of the gentle yet powerful protection of God is clearly communicated right from the beginning of Psalm 91:

What is the “secret place of the Most High”? It is a state of faith in all that God is, and in all that He has done for us in Jesus Christ. It is the place which enfolds us in the love of God – the perfect love that casts out every fear (1 John 4:18).

The secret place is a tender call to intimacy with God. He wants us to look so deeply into the mirror of His love (that is, His Word) that we find ourselves drawn into His very heart and into the experience of divine Life Itself. For He is our very Life. Because of Calvary and the resurrection of Jesus, our life is indeed now hid with Christ in God, and – wondrously – we now carry within us the ultimate treasure of the Father, which is “Christ in you” (Col. 1:27).

The heart of Jesus was so set upon our understanding the depth and breadth of God’s love towards us that, in the gospel of John, it was the very last subject that He addressed before His torment in Gethsemane. Twice, in the same passage (John 17:23-26), Jesus effectively declared that the Father loves all believers with the same quality of love – and to the same degree – that He loves His only begotten Son.

That in itself is utterly staggering, isn’t it! If we are ever tempted to doubt God’s loving purposes for us, these are very powerful verses to meditate upon to make our own, and to share with others.

The tender love of Jesus is portrayed in His familiar cry over Jerusalem: “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,” (Luke 13:34). And the Song of Solomon expresses the love between Christ and ourselves, His bride, in deeply stirring words: “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine”; and “His banner over me was love” (6:3 & 2:4).

In the book of Jude we are urged to do something practical, which is to “keep ourselves in the love of God”. Most importantly, Jesus Himself specifically instructs us to “remain in My love [and do not doubt My love for you]” (John 15: Amplified version).

Jesus therefore highlights the vital importance of reminding ourselves, over and over again, of the quality of love that constantly pours out from God into our lives. God’s love is always active towards us, but we, in turn, are called to be proactive in keeping open the channel of His love, so that fear remains cast out, and so that we can live and walk peacefully, with our confidence in Christ, loving and serving others.

By Ann Shakespeare 28 February 2020

Are we honouring all the works that Jesus did?

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 11:45:12 GMT

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone;

but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24)

Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also” (John 14:12). When Jesus refers to “the works that I do” in this verse, what are the “works” that spring to mind?

Surely, we think of the dramatic miracles that Jesus performed during His life on earth, including raising the dead, healing the sick, casting out demons, transforming water into wine and calming a violent storm.

Great crowds of people flocked to Jesus and, in His presence, blind eyes were made to see, deaf ears were made to hear, withered limbs sprang to life, and incurable diseases were healed in an instant.

These are glorious works, and how wonderful it would be to see more of those kinds of works manifest on earth today.

Here and there they do occur, but, on the whole, there are relatively few highly visible signs of the healing, transforming power of God on earth. (I emphasise the word relatively, because these signs certainly do exist, but most often in quiet, unseen and yet very real expressions of healing and restoration in the lives of individuals and communities. And we do sincerely thank God for those.)

But I do wonder if we might see more evidence of God’s healing power on earth if we looked again at what Jesus meant when he spoke of “the works that I do” (John 14:12).

I wonder if by focusing on His miracles of healing etc, we may be missing the broader significance of His “works” and, in particular, His foundational works. By “foundational”, I mean the works that Jesus performed in order to enter into His public ministry after His baptism by John the Baptist.

Jesus’ foundational works

The first work that Jesus performed was to leave His Father’s side and to become incarnate as a completely vulnerable baby. This was totally supernatural and utterly miraculous.

And so was His second work. As Holy, Holy, Holy God incarnate, He – astoundingly – submitted Himself to a full 30 years of growing up within a human family, in obscurity and in complete humility. It is nothing less than miraculous that God Himself would empty Himself of wisdom in order to identify with humankind, and would therefore need to grow and to learn: “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men” (Luke 2:52).

Then we can say that His third work was to bow His Head – as God – to humbly receive baptism by a human being in order to begin His public ministry.

These are all most extraordinary, miraculous works, without which the rest of Jesus’ ministry – and of course His death and resurrection – could not have happened as they did.

The question now is, how does this apply to us? How does it apply to those to whom Jesus said: “he [or she] who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also” (John 14:12)?

The foundational works of Jesus required Him to completely empty Himself out and to take the very lowest place in order to be equipped to begin His public ministry.

Likewise, we are also called to do the same emptying-out work in our own lives. We do that by trusting in what Jesus has accomplished for us on the Cross and by identifying with Him; by setting aside our own identity and will, and by placing Jesus on the throne of our lives.

I wonder if we, as the Church, have so emphasised the “pleasant”, the spectacular, the feel-good and the potentially ego-building works of miracles (wonderful though they are in themselves) … at the cost of bypassing the foundation of Christ-like character which can only be formed in the crucible of self-sacrifice, brokenness and true humility.

We see in the lives of the disciples, and especially of Peter, that the power of God can only truly flow freely when we come to the end of our tether, lay down all pride and independence, and declare with our Master that “I can of myself do nothing”.

Oh what glorious freedom for us to come to that point!

But I do believe that we reach it through identifying with the foundational works of Jesus. Only then can we live in the truth and the immeasurable power of Galatians 2:20(a): “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

By Ann Shakespeare 30 January 2020

Above: Christ healing the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Our new realm of being is Christ Himself

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 18:47:27 GMT

“if anyone is in Christ, he [she] is a new creation; old things have passed away;

behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

Our union, or oneness, with Almighty God is way beyond the grasp of our natural minds, but it is absolutely vital so let us press into it—and not give up.

Our minds and bodies may scream: “No! How can I possibly be one with God if I am ill, feel depressed, keep failing, struggle so much with life?” May I urge you to continue doing whatever is needed or helpful at the physical level, and then make a decision to look into the truth of God’s Word—to find out what it says about you.

Yes, God’s Word speaks volumes about you. If you look into it, you will find that it is an accurate, never-changing mirror, reflecting back to you exactly who you are and to whom you belong: “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself” (1 Cor. 6:19, NLT). In his letter to the Colossians, Paul describes your identity very succinctly: “you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

The life of Christ is now our life, and all that is true of Christ is true of us. Christ is now our own identity.

It is only as we say “Yes” to this fact, and start to walk in faith in our new identity, that the truth of who we really are will begin to emerge into our experience. It does require that we look into the Scriptures and meditate upon them, taking them into our days and nights, and applying them in our lives. It means resisting the temptation to give up when nothing seems to be happening.

It helps to remember that there is One who is infinitely more desirous that we come to know and experience who we are in Christ than we are—that is our righteous Father; and He gives us a constant supply of the Holy Spirit to teach us, to encourage us and to guide us.

A stumbling block for many of us is a key verse which actually gives us entry into this new life: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). We find it extremely difficult to identify with this verse because we are still breathing—clearly not dead. We look at our limitations and failures, and conclude that these cannot be signs of the indwelling Christ. So it remains at the level of theory, very much a mystery; “maybe others get it but I don’t.”

And the power of the love of God is stifled—right there.

But wait! . . . there is a way through this.

Look at the verse from this perspective: It is our separation from God that was crucified with Christ, including all the sinful consequences of separation. That is what has died and has been destroyed forever. “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 5:18).

On the cross, Jesus crucified everyone and everything that was not of God, including our “old Adam” nature. That was our separated, sinful nature—the one that causes so very many problems and pains.

Seeing the verse from this perspective helps to set us free from being preoccupied with our little “i” that was crucified with Christ. Instead, we can start to give thanks and praise to God for setting us free from the curse of separation, and for bringing us into a totally new realm of being.

That new realm of being is invisible at first, but the more we look into it, the more it becomes real and tangible in our experience.

The new realm of being is Christ Himself

Please look at your inheritance in Christ! It is awesome, and it is available for you here and now. It is waiting to be acknowledged and quickened and manifested in you and through you. It will never be forced upon you, because love never exerts force. Force is a power that the world uses, but the power of love is the opposite of force.

The power of love is humble, longsuffering, kind, and patient. Love beckons us, looks out for us, and never stops waiting for us. We should never doubt the invitation, and never fear that we have missed it. It is always there, waiting for us.

But the invitation is about relationship, and for any relationship to grow—and not remain stagnant—it needs to be nurtured. The way to develop relationship with the Author of love is to come to know Him through His Word. Jesus beckons us to Himself, urging us on—ever deeper into love: “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4).

Jesus could not have given us a more intimate invitation, could He?

[This is an excerpt from chapter 4 of the book God’s Gift of Tremendous Power. Very slightly edited and condensed.]

By Ann Shakespeare 31 December 2019

Let it be to me according to your word

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 18:34:56 GMT

“Mary said, ‘… Let it be to me according to your word’” (Luke 1:38)

The artist James Tissot’s remarkable portrayal of Mary and Joseph (within the article text below) as they seek a lodging for the birth of Jesus conveys the heart-rending predicament of that little family in a most vivid way. It also speaks volumes about the extent to which God was prepared to go in order to bring us back into full relationship with Himself.

It helps us to enter into their situation in our imagination and, in particular, to meditate upon the faith of Mary, who remained utterly steadfast in her trust in God, despite facing conditions that might well seek to cry out on her behalf: “Surely, this cannot be of God!!”

Nine months earlier, Mary had heard the angel Gabriel say to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

Her response was immediate and uncomplicated. She said: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

Yet the word of the Lord that she had heard was subsequently tested in the extreme. The circumstances that Mary and Joseph had to endure seemed to contradict the glorious promises that she had received through the angel all those weeks ago.

I am not seeking here to compare our own lives with that of Mary – not at all – but I would like specifically to draw out one similarity that we share with her. That is, that what the Word of God says about us can often be the polar opposite of our human experience or perceptions.

Pondering Mary’s steadfastness in the face of the severe opposition she received (which was, in fact, opposition to the Word of God) gives us encouragement to hold fast to all that God has spoken over our lives through His Word.

If we believe and trust in Jesus’s death and resurrection on our behalf, the Holy Spirit has indeed come upon us and the power of the Highest has already overshadowed us, for our lives are now “hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

Each one of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) and we can rely on the fact that, whatever we face, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Our lives may not look like this or feel like this, but it is the truth about each one of us!

Howeve, the more we can meditate and ponder these truths, the more we can come into alignment with God’s purposes for us, and the more His fruit can flow through our lives. It is strengthening – and reassuring – to recall that Jesus tells us: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16).

The Lord desires this for us infinitely more than we can desire it. So, as we contemplate His Word, we can rely on His loving guidance to lead us into all truth and to do the work through us that He has appointed for us to do.

“Let it be to me according to your word.” Amen.

By Ann Shakespeare 28 November 2019

The power of prayerful imagination

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 18:15:36 GMT

“Whoever believes in me … rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

By this he [Jesus] meant the Spirit” (John 7:38-39, NIV).

In this wonderful image, Jesus is teaching that those who believe in Him can rely on His presence within them for ever in the form of the Holy Spirit – the eternal wellspring of living water. This vivid image also enables us to imagine and contemplate the activity of the Holy Spirit within us, as well as the outwards flow of the Spirit from our innermost being out into the world.

(The Greek word translated “from within them” in this verse literally means “belly” and can also be translated as “heart” and “innermost being”).

It is awesome to contemplate that God, the creator of the universe, who put 100 billion galaxies in place, not only desires to indwell each of us by His Spirit but also invites us to work together with Him to impact the world. Staggering – but true!

It defies human logic and takes us into a different realm altogether. It lifts us out of the Old Covenant where God is “out there”, and sweeps us up into the New Covenant which is permeated by Immanuel – the omnipresent Christ: “‘Behold, the virgin shall … bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matt. 1:23).

So, in the light of the truth that our identity is now in Christ, and that Christ is in us, making each of us “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19), we have faith to believe that we can truly be co-workers with God (1 Cor. 3:9) in our daily lives.

We cannot go wrong if we base our work, prayers and intercessions upon the Word of God. As an illustration, using the key text in this article – that rivers of living water will flow from within those who believe in Jesus – we can use our God-given imaginations in a powerful way to intercede for people and situations.

For example, we can imagine rivers of water (the Holy Spirit) flowing out from our body into the place where we happen to be, or somewhere we are thinking about. That could be anywhere – a hospital, workplace, family, social situations, needs in other countries and so forth.

In a hospital, for instance, we can start by visualising the rivers of water/Holy Spirit billowing out from us in all directions. We are prayerfully aware that the healing power of the Spirit is flooding every person, room and corner of the hospital with love, joy and peace.

We can do this in any situation, and we thus have the privilege of being co-workers with God to help usher in the characteristics and qualities of His Kingdom.

The key to this prayerful work is first to establish our identity in Christ by contemplating the scriptures that speak of our new nature, such as “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). This is the process of renewing our minds (Rom. 12:2) which aligns us with God’s truth and His will for us, and, progressively, it enables the Life of Christ – His Holy Spirit – to flow unhindered out into the world to heal and to bring Life and transformation.

All to His Glory!

By Ann Shakespeare 29 October 2019

This is the second article on the theme “The importance of imagination”. The first article (from 30 September ’19) is also available in this section.

The importance of imagination

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:59:21 GMT

Saint Augustine wrote: “Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” The question I ask myself is … what will help us to have active faith in a scriptural truth or promise if it refers to something that we cannot yet see?

One very important way is to use our imagination. It is striking that “to imagine” can also be expressed as “to conceive” (the original meaning is “to take in and hold”). So we could say that as we imagine something we are actually planting a seed-thought in our mind. Then we water and nurture it by continuing to meditate upon it, helping it to grow until it becomes living and active within us and through us.

So what does this look like in practice?

Let’s take one of the most prominent scriptural truths in the New Testament: that if we place our trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the position of our life is “in Christ” and “with Christ”. There are over 160 verses testifying to this truth, Colossians 3:3 being just one of them: “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God”.

The Bible makes it so clear that the life of a believer is firmly ensconced in Christ, irrespective of our feelings or what may be happening in our lives. It is a bedrock truth on which we can always depend; we can rely on Christ, moment by moment, to live His life through us. In fact, we absolutely need to, because Jesus has said “apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing” (John 15:5b, Amplified Bible).

The question remains – how do we imagine such an awesome, and invisible, position?!

Well, Jesus Himself gave us a vivid metaphor to help us to imagine, or visualise, our relationship with Him. He said: “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:5a). So as we ponder this image, we can reflect on the fact that the vine delivers to the branches – and to every single distant leaf and bud – everything needful for them to flourish.

Through this metaphor, we can also visualise the divine sap (the Blood of Jesus) coursing through the arteries, veins and capillaries of our own bodies. We can imagine His own DNA operating perfectly in every one of our cells; and we can know that there is never a time when He (the vine) will drop us or lop us off. No, the branches are precious indeed to the vine. The vine needs branches to bear fruit that will last. It is worth noting that we are called to bear fruit, not to produce it! The fruit grows and matures through us as we stay united with Jesus the vine.

Another metaphor I find very effective is to think of each of us as a cell in Christ’s Body. There is no specific scripture to support this, but we are “in Christ” – as we saw above – and are called “the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:12-27), so I believe that the metaphor is valid and helpful.

As a cell in Christ’s Body, I am constantly receiving all that a cell would need in terms of nutrition, conditions, defences and protection. As a dependent cell, I cannot go anywhere without the body. I am always united with Christ, our Head, and always united with every other cell or member in His body. He leads and directs us to live and to work together with purpose and in beautiful harmony.

By Ann Shakespeare 30 September 2019

Come! Taste the power of the love of God

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 16:46:40 GMT

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Yes, this is God’s invitation to us all … to taste of the power of His love. Once we have tasted it, we will never be the same. Our entire being, our one overriding desire, our single purpose for living will be to open the way for the power of God’s love to flow out into His creation – for His Glory.

God’s love is already present everywhere throughout His creation. As adopted sons and daughters of God, in Christ Jesus, we are fully equipped to be channels of God’s love, but in order to see it flow through us, we are called to believe and to appropriate those things we have been given in Christ.

The subject of God’s love is as infinite as God Himself is. There are many scriptures relating to God’s love in the Bible, but it was only when I experienced the overwhelming power of God’s love, that these scriptures came alive to me.

For years, I had been familiar with verses such as, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12) and “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16). But however much I recalled these verses with my mind, they remained at the level of theory; they often seemed dry and lifeless.

The difference came when I began to see how I was blocking the flow of God in my life by trying to do everything in my own strength. While I certainly believed in God, I saw that, nevertheless, I was not fully trusting Him. My own life was firmly in the driving seat – and the journey was becoming increasingly frustrating and lacking peace.

I began to see that the very second I thought I possessed any good in myself, or that I had any innate ability to create, to perform or to speak in a way that pleases God … I was hindering the power of God’s love in my own life, as well as its outflow to others.

This caused me to look to the One who is truly all in all to each one of us – without exception. The Risen Jesus Christ is already our all in all (Col. 3:11), but He waits for us to assent willingly to believe this awesome Truth and to choose to follow Him.

Jesus Christ has already paved the way for us to enter fully into the flow of His life, and He urges us (through Scripture) to become His disciples and believe Him.

He asks us to believe that when He died, we died (2 Cor. 5:14). He asks us to believe that when He was raised to life from the tomb, we rose with Him as part of His Resurrected Body (Col. 2:12; Col. 3:1); that we are now a precious members of His Body and partakers of the nature of God Himself (2 Pet. 1:4).

He asks us to believe that we are now a new creation in Him because whoever is in Christ is indeed a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).

We are called to be believers (John 6:29). That is the fundamental work that the Father has given us to do – to believe in His Beloved Son as He has been revealed in the Word of God. Everything else flows from there.

Then! As we look away from our own selves and stop hoping “to be better”, “to do better” or ”to have fewer faults” (which I found I could NEVER achieve in my own strength!) … and as we look towards the One who is our very life … we will indeed begin to see the power of God’s love pouring through in a way that is utterly beyond imagining!

By Ann Shakespeare Aug 27, 2019

Die to self – and truly live

Sun, 28 Jul 2019 10:23:39 GMT

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone;

but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24)

I came across this inspired piece of writing a long time ago but it never grows stale. It is very challenging but it is also deeply inspiring. I share it here in the hope that it may inspire you, too. The author is unknown.

A meditation on Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ;

it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me”

When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don’t sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer with Christ, that is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence, that is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any unpunctuality or any annoyance; when you stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it, that is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation; when you can truly love to be unknown, that is dying to self.

When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God, that is dying to self.

When you can see you brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in Spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and you are in desperate circumstances, that is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion nor resentment rising up within your heart, that is dying to self.

“Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16: 24-25).

By Ann Shakespeare 28 July 2019

Oneness in the light of modern physics – a brief overview

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 14:02:58 GMT

Up until the early 1900s, scientists believed that the universe was made up of separate bits of matter which interacted with each other. Separateness was the foundation of their world view.

However, this is in direct contrast with the spiritual teaching of the Bible which – even before Jesus came – describes the Spirit of God as being present everywhere. Psalm 139, which was written over 3,000 years ago, is King David’s glorious declaration of God’s omnipresence:

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there” (Ps. 139: 7-8).

And in the book of Jeremiah we read: ““Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord” (Jer. 23:24).

So the Spirit of God was omnipresent, even in the Old Testament era. However, humanity’s fallenness prevented human beings from experiencing that omnipresence. Rather, life was dominated by the feeling of acute separation, and the fear that accompanies it.

It was not until Jesus Christ became incarnate on earth and died as a sacrifice for us that separation was abolished in our experience. When Jesus Christ was raised to life after His crucifixion, His Spirit was released to fill the entire universe: “He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe” (Eph. 4:10).

We now have the unspeakable privilege not only of relating to, but actually abiding, praying and knowing that we have our entire being in Christ – in “Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23).

It is only over the last 100 years that science has been “catching up”, so to speak, with these profound truths regarding oneness. It was Albert Einstein, and then other physicists after him, who discovered that the universe is not – as previously thought – made up of separated pieces of matter. On the contrary, they discovered that matter and energy are one and the same, and that the entire universe is, in fact, one vast field of energy.

These discoveries are not required to prove biblical truth but they do bring an invigorating dynamic to the practice of the Christian faith. For example, being made aware of the extreme sensitivity of the energy field with respect to communication, including silent communication such as human thoughts, can energise the understanding and practice of our own thought lives and prayers lives.

The Bible speaks much about our thought lives. We are urged to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5), and not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2).

This is because thoughts are tremendously powerful and, whether or not we are aware of it, thoughts and meditations (which, of course, are also thoughts) impact our own lives and the lives of others. Praying and meditating upon the Word of God with purpose and focus – knowing that our meditations are coursing throughout the energy field without resistance – can bring healing and transformation beyond all that we hope or imagine.

B y Ann Shakespeare June 27, 2019

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The power of absolute weakness

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 13:43:31 GMT

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

One of the most challenging messages in the New Testament is that those who trust in Jesus Christ are given the gift of permanently indwelling, supernatural power.

Jesus’ apostles were the first people to receive this gift from God and Jesus had specifically asked them to wait and not to leave Jerusalem until they had received it. His promise to them was:

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me … (Acts 1:8)

Now, did the apostles of Jesus seem to be the most suitable recipients of Holy Spirit-bestowed power? Of the very same power that created the universe and raised Jesus from the dead? Probably not! We’re speaking of a group of men who (except for John) – some 40 days earlier – had very rapidly turned tail and abandoned their Master and friend whose life they had shared, day and night, for three whole years.

Not only had they been chosen to receive divine power, but Jesus also told them: “you shall me witnesses to Me…” Really? The same men who had ended up locking themselves into a room, cowering for fear of the Jews?

Yes, really.

And yet … those same men were part of a small group of ordinary men and women who went on to live in an extraordinarily bold way. Witnessing to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit they “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) in the space of just 30 years.

It is the very same Holy Spirit who empowers ordinary men, women and children today. And our access to that power is the same as it was for the apostles: the exercise of faith combined with absolute weakness. And the apostles had certainly experienced the demonstration of absolute weakness in their own lives.

For us who, unlike the apostles, have the benefit of Paul’s letters, we learn that absolute weakness means identifying with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection (Gal. 2:20). To use a domestic metaphor, it means keeping the “hose pipe” of spiritual power as free of “kinks” as possible. Kinks, such as pride in all its forms and any unwillingness to forgive and to bless unconditionally, tend to block the flow of God’s power. It is not withdrawn – it is always waiting to flow – but it is up to us to keep our hose pipes clear. The more we choose to “die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31) and to live consciously in our new-born identity in Christ, the more the Holy Spirit is free to flow in power within us and through us.

Lest we are tempted to grow discouraged in times when the flow seems blocked, it is helpful to remember that the power of God can never be separated from the love of God. Mercy always triumphs over judgement. It is striking – and deeply moving – that Jesus came looking for those who had abandoned Him in His greatest time of need. Their fearfully locked doors certainly did not prevent Him from appearing in their midst. He came not to confront His apostles – nor ourselves – with our failures but to grant us shalom, the peace that the world cannot give. Then He equips us and asks us lovingly to go and share that same peace with others.

By Ann Shakespeare June 27, 2019

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