Have you Drank from Marah Yet?

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Baptisms in UgandaA tiny passage in Exodus sums up the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Israelites were moving away from Egypt, away from the Red Sea and through the desert of Shur (15:22).

Very thirsty they came to a spring of water that was unfit to drink. It was bitter and the people complained against Moses who was leading them (15:24)

Moses then cried out to the Lord for help, upon which we read the simple answer. Here is a piece of wood, throw it in the water and the water will be sweet and fit to drink (15:25).

I cannot help but realize that the wood tossed into the water at Marah was a prophetic act turning out attention to the cross.

For the cross does this exact thing. The cross of Christ has turned bitter water sweet.

Where all has been bitter the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ changes the context completely.

Instead of threat of death, we have sweet life.

Instead of fear of thirst, we are confident of provision.

Instead of bitter, life is eased, and expanded, and multiplied (go on to read through Exodus 15:27).

For those of us who walk with Christ we are called to the same ministry.

Our presence and our manner is meant to eliminate assignments unto death (we do not cooperate with condemnation), faith is meant to ease fear and the complaining that goes with it, and we are meant to bring a fragrance of Christ whereby the sweet returns to our days experiences.

This is the work of believer and of the church.

The entire conversation has been changed in the person of Jesus Christ. No longer need we nit-pick, no longer need we live in fear, no longer are we party to condemnation. Rather, we realize there is enough for everyone and we live this out in the world.

We realize that ‘bitter’ is part of the old way, the new way is ‘sweet’, we therefore bring gladness to the hearts around us, we open up the way for others.

Poverty and neglect shuts down options. Love opens it all back up again.

The church is called to love, but to do this it has to stop needing to be right, stop requiring payment for offenses, and stop keeping church life small and narrow.

A church that is pinched and suspicious, critical and condemning, hasn’t yet drank at the now-sweet waters of Marah, and hasn’t yet moved on to the oasis of Elim – God help us walk in grace and the work of Jesus Christ.

For otherwise, we may as well go back to Egypt.

Investing Mommyness

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real emotions and strong livesI began my own mothering journey some twenty-five years ago. At the time I had no idea the years to come and the full hearts and years of being a Mom.

Today I look back and I am simply so glad that I invested years into the lives of my children. I’m also deeply thankful for the profound strengths that they built into me.

The journey of motherhood is fraught with emotion and momentum, with service beyond what we think we can do, and with the unaccountable at every turn. Mothering is hard work.

Yet the privilege of carrying lives in our hearts is just that, a profound privilege.

And it is not unlike our opportunity in service to others around our world. All ministry is the heart of a mother’s heart. It is the courage to carry another in the heart, to resonate with dreams and priorities different than our own.

Being a Mom simply makes our hearts bigger – and into this expanded place of love we have much to pour out into other lives. Once made strong we have strength to give to others.

This is the privilege of being a Mom.

It is meant to take us beyond ourselves, and into the world.

Our bodies, as women, are prohibited from bearing children for our entire lives. It appears that the Lord set it up so our years as Mom would in fact be limited, for there is just so much more of the world that needs the strength of Moms.

The lessons learned as Mom are to be taken out there. While we are nurtured in our homes and with our families, the goal of all nurturing is to make strong people, to instill confidence and skill sets that can serve a wider audience.

This applies to Moms as well. The most resilient and strong people on the planet are Moms.

So, harness up your life, and invest it in something bigger than yourself. You’ve already been doing this for years no doubt, where might you like it to go now?

CCI School of Discipleship

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P1320433 compressedI’m near the finishing line. For over a week I’ve been in my cave writing and editing and praying over our Course One – The King’s Heart. I’ve a deadline to send it off to Madudu, Uganda later this week.

While I’ve written the course for us western folks previously, it needed quite a bit of re-crafting to ensure it is in fact useful for our overseas pastors.

There is a lot of my heart in Madudu. And it is here that I so felt the thick presence of God, and have been so compelled to pour into the pastors and lay-leaders there.

All of our activity in Madudu is overseen by Geoffrey, our lead hand in Uganda, and Pastor Kakuba, the lead guy on the ground in Madudu.

The picture accompanying this post is from our School of Discipleship that met in August of last year.

And as they meet again in a weeks time we ask your prayers for their good success.

We also ask that you consider donating to the gathering – for help with food, transportation, and printing costs.

You can see more about that HERE

 

What Have You Learned?

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008 compressedIt is nearly a year ago that a friend said to me, “Cyndy, can you write a book about spiritual authority?”

My gut response was an immediate ‘Yes’ and within two weeks I had downloaded nearly 20,000 words from my heart and head onto paper. I quickly realized that the topic was one I had barely talked about, but had been living for well over a dozen years.

Although I had been blogging for over three years I had rarely touched on the topic of spiritual authority. It never seemed quite the time or place, and to be quite frank, I didn’t realize the wealth of knowledge and wisdom I had accumulated on the subject. Until my friend prodded me.

In the months following I continued to work at articulating and fine-tuning, writing and organizing the material, we at Capturing Courage began to realize that this was the primary job at this time: Prepare and work through, present and make ready, a course on Walking in Spiritual Authority.

What is most stunning to me as I work on this material, is the disquieting reality that all those years of my being in the fiery furnace of life, of entering into the dark pit of my own heart and soul, of coming to find God’s heart in the worst of circumstance, all of it, all those years … were the work.

I’m only now recording it all.

Not my story so much, but the story of God and the way this entire universe (and our lives) operates around the outflow of our Lord.

There is a small group taking our Walking in Spiritual Authority course this year here in the Vancouver area, and in less than two weeks our first pilot project of the re-crafted Part One – The King’s Heart will begin in Madudu, Uganda.

Thank-You to those who donated to free my time and focus to work on the re-crafting of the material for our overseas pastors. Continue to pray for me as I finish this over the next week.

Your take-away today: never discount the experiences and the lessons learned in your every day.

I thought I was just living my life (and in many ways it was a mess at the time), but it turns out that the heart of God, the wisdom found, the principles of the kingdom of God experienced, are now the basis for a work that will bless thousands of people around the world.  Who’d a thunk.

Never discount your journey – rather harness it for the encouragement and edification and building up of others.

Fasting Unto the Lord

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P1290233 compressedThis is the fasting that God wants: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you.

Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.

Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.

Then you will call, the Lord will quickly answer, ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.

Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.

You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.

Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.

Isaiah 58:6-12

Come and See

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Jesus Christ SavesThis is a reminder to those living in the greater Vancouver area that tomorrow we are having our Capturing Courage Tea, Story & Prayer gathering.

At 2pm – 4pm, Sunday April 21st, we are gathering to share and pray for God’s heart around the world.

It’s been about six months since our last event, and there have been a lot of things going on in that time – Come and get caught up.

Our last few weeks at Capturing Courage have carried some sorrow and loss – Come and honor with us.

The investments are increasing, relationships are expanding, growth is slowly yet steadily taking hold – Come and celebrate with us.

A trip is in the wings, we are praying and planning – come and look ahead with us.

  • Sunday, April 21
  • 2-4 pm
  • 10082 160St
  • Surrey

“Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life could be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.” Mark 6:12-13 The Message – And the task we are about

Capturing Courage Stories & Prayer from around the World

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You are Invited - April 21st

Pray Around the World

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We keep in mind today those on the front-lines of the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

Pastor Edward whose wife just had surgery – pray for health and healing and the funds to pay for the operation.

Pastor Michael as he heads up ministry to disabled children – pray for funding and direction, clarity, peace and great joy for all.

Evangelist Nicholas who has a team ready for evangelism – pray for a way to coordinate their heart and efforts with a van and sound equipment.

Pastor Daniel whose heart is for all the surrounding villages to know Christ – pray for relationships that bear fruit.

Evangelist Patrick who is investing in the lives of children in a remote village with a school and now an orphanage – pray for solid encouragement and provision over all the work of his hands.

Pastor Ravindra who is investing in the lives of orphans – pray for provision as well as others who will invest in the work.

Pastor Timothy who travels to outlying villages weekly, bringing the gospel and helping the people with letter writing and other tangible helps – pray for continued strength for himself and his family and for breakthrough in the hearts of the people.

Pastor Philip who is with his family trekking into the back villages bringing the love of God – pray that they are protected from malaria and that the good news settles into peoples hearts.

Pastor Michael who oversees many churches and holds the task of training and development – pray that the good things happening there continue and multiply.

Pastor Daniel who ministers to congregations thirsty for the word of God – pray that Bibles get to him and the people there, that he and fellow pastors would be encouraged today.

School director Geoffrey who selflessly serves over 200 children with education and food daily – pray for funding and for sponsors and for wisdom as they carry on.

Pastor Elizabeth and her husband John as their hearts pour into their community, supporting orphans and establishing a school in an area still struggling with Aids – pray for their hearts and the work of their hands, that continual steady progress and forward movement is attained.

Evangelist Caliph who pours his life out for his people – pray for continued strengthening and vision for he and his wife.

Pastor Irene as she declares freedoms over her own congregation and the many who seek out the Lord through her – pray for her church building to be finished and for the plans for an orphanage and school to take hold and come into being.

Evangelist Innocent as he travels and shares the gospel – pray for the anointing on him to increase and for many to come to Jesus Christ.

Pastor Steven and his wife as they lead both a church and a school – pray that their influence would grow and that the mentor-ship that they provide would bless many.

Lay-leader Joshua as he grows and develops both people and the gospel through business – pray the Lord’s blessing over him and continued expansion of the Lord through his heart and service.

Pastor Charagh as he ministers in hard circumstances – pray for the church to grow and prosper and to be covered by the blood of Christ, hidden in him.

These leaders (and more that I have not listed here) are literally giving their lives away for the gospel of Jesus Christ, in service to hearts and lives around them.

They come from Uganda, India, Mozambique, Myanmar, Kenya, Pakistan, Burundi, Rwanda, Ghana, and Tanzania.

Choose one today, to hold before the Lord on a continual basis in prayer and fasting.

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” Philippians 4:6-7 The Message

Crux of the Matter

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Life and LegacyAt Capturing Courage we have been grappling with sorrow these last few days. Some sad things have taken place and we’ve simply found ourselves before the Lord – disillusioned, sad, questioning, in shock.

Concurrent to this I’ve been working on Workbook 3 of our Walking in Spiritual Authority course. Now spiritual authority is all about waging war of sorts. It’s about standing firmly against what should not be happening, and yet, and YET the real fight… is a fight for life.

Sorrow, I find, brings me right back to the crux of what we are about. Who are we in the world? What are we to be about? How might we engage and advocate?

While it takes a certain kind of strength to reconcile death, it takes a completely different kind of strength to fight for life.

At CCI we are engaging the fight for life.

Spiritual authority played out correctly brings about more life, greater strength, deeper affirmations. Just to name a few.

It’s not about keeping others low, its not about micromanaging lives, its not about any kind of say or permission.

It’s all about expanding our opportunities together, its all about engaging that risks to give our lives away, its all about lifting everyone around us to that next level.

We agree with what the enemy is saying about us (and others) or we agree with what God is saying about us (and others), simple as that. This is spiritual authority either gone bad or done right.

The choice is up to each one of us. Where we agree with the enemy we end up with death. Where we agree with the Lord we end up with life.

You and I declare the second witness.

What are you agreeing to?

 

Capturing God’s Heart – In Weakness – Volume 23

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It is hard being a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For within the role is the dynamic of all of God and then all of who we are.

All of God are the miracles and the signs and the wonders.

All of us are the aches and pains and the loss and the sorrow that we each personally have.

We preach healing and we experience sickness ourselves.

We declare healthy lives and we struggle with estranged relationships.

We teach and lead others to Christ and then can barely find him for ourselves.

Continue reading →

Anointing

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Anointing

Anointing – I wrote this today over on my cyndylavoie.com site – enjoy!

I am always struck by the story in Mark 14 of the woman anointing Jesus’ feet.

Now I have anointed people. Quite regularly the Spirit leads me to place my hands on someone, often a client I am working with, a Pastor overseas whom I’ve been ministering alongside, or a fellow prophet here at home, and I know the ‘work’ of anointing.

There is an authority in anointing that is unlike any other kind of work. It is a work that goes beyond simple affirmation to that place of allowing God’s power to flow through and onto another for an express purpose in the Spirit realm.

It is also a work that taxes ones being. There is always ‘power that has gone out’ to quote Jesus words (when another woman touched the hem of his robe one day).

Anointing requires an investment of self in a way, it is an opening of one’s spirit to allow the breath of God to blow through onto another, with the velocity and strength of the anointing differing from one person to another as determined by the Lord.

It’s why the story of the woman at Jesus’ feet, with her alabaster jar of expensive perfume stands me in delight and wonder at the spiritual and personal investment she made at that moment.

We think the expense was the perfume, but imagine if you will being the one compelled to anoint the son of God.

What kind of risking, what kind of surrender, what kind of eyes that could see bigger than her immediate circumstances and the norm of her day.

She was called into a holy act that would have her putting all of her own self aside, her self talk, her insecurities, her concern with what others might think, everything would have been put aside to enter into a simple yet profound act of service.

Thing is, we too are called to such humility.

We are called to the same kind of surrender.

Called into a way of being that puts our own selves aside, where we ignore our insecurities, where we say ‘shush’ to the naysayers, and where in accord with the compelling of God almighty we simply invest ourselves in profound acts of service.

To our King and one to another.