In Job 9:33 we read, “If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together.”
Job had been talking about the utter lost-ness of his position. That no matter how much he tried, no matter how well he kept the law, no matter how perfect he could manage to live (and he did live an innocent life before God), it didn’t bridge that gap between him and God. We find Job’s heart crying out for a mediator between himself and God.
It was one of my first days in Madudu. I was with Pastor Kakuba and we were making our way down the road, stopping at different homes to encourage and pray for folks and to bring some medicines to those in need.
There was something lovely about stopping at a home where I had on an earlier trip prayed for a Mamma and unborn baby, and to this time stop and meet that new little one.
Something lovely about stopping at the home of a woman whom loves me and whom I love. Sitting with her on her mat, enjoying a short visit of simply being in each others company, communicating by heart and through our eyes and smiles.
From home to home we went.
I cannot adequately describe the beauty and joy on the faces of the elderly as we pulled up to their homes and entered to visit and pray for a time. By now a number of these elderly faces are familiar, but even more familiar are the individual spirits of each person.
I recognize the light in those eyes, and the broad smile of that one, the gracious heart of yet another. And into these spaces that they hold for me, I enter, am welcomed, settle in and rest. It is deep communion with one another.
One dear old woman, before we left, skittered away for a moment to return with money to press into my hand. And with my heart in my throat, and my inside voice screaming ‘No! you keep the money’, I simply accepted it and gave a heartfelt thank-you.
A widow with little to live on, managing day to day… there are no words.
Farther down the road we stopped at a home in the ‘center’ of many others. As we would travel the calls of greeting, “Mazungu” would echo along and often it seemed that people were aware of our coming before we actually arrived.
Regardless of how, at this ‘center’ home it was the same. Within minutes of our feet touching the ground, there was a crowd of young and old alike.
A large mat was spread on the ground and onto this mat the people began kneeling that I might pray over them. Not everyone of course, but simply those who wanted.
(Note: Lately I’ve been dissatisfied with our word ‘prayer’. For it does not capture near well enough, the act of blessing and of pouring on of love and of declaring peace over another.)
Many came and went, and as I remained, kneeling on the mat while Pastor Kakuba spoke with others, and while the doctor gave out the medicines to still more, a little one knelt.
She was about eight years old. Was wrapped in a shawl around her head and over her shoulders. Covered, but not covered enough to hide all the mud markings over her entire body and head and face.
Those markings indicate a sort of satan worship, and one can only imagine all the evil and horrors she has seen and witnessed, as accompanied with that.
But there she knelt. Quietly yet simply stating by action, ‘Please pray for me’.
The motion of her kneeling and waiting, held a regal strength and a firmness of conviction and a dignity that spoke, ‘You have something I need.’
I really don’t have the words to describe that moment, but I do know I will never forget her.
For in her there was the full symbolic struggle between the things of this earth that are only about destruction and horror, and within the heart a plea for things of heaven that are of life and bounty and peace.
She knew this struggle. She knew what she was asking for, most likely more than all the others. Her body language was marked by humility and simple request and a surrender.
It was simply an honor to pray over her. And I will keep praying over her. She has a long battle ahead of her. Being so young, and with influence unto destruction in the adults around her, it won’t be easy by any means.
But I’ll see her in heaven one day. For she asked, and received. For at the core of accepting Christ is surrender. Pure simple surrender.
(postscript: To explain the context and the magnitude of this child’s actions, it is important for me to explain that children in Uganda do not come forward for anything on their own. There is not this initiative or boldness or clarity to ask for anything. Even now, years after the encounter with this girl moves me deeply).
Sundays are a day for pausing, for reflecting and for worship.
It’s a day where we live out our inner convictions of whose we are in this world.
Of how the universe works,
And our part in it.
In a world where the work never ends, it is imperative that we take a day to stand back from the work, and to give thanks.
Not that we don’t worship or give thanks on any other day of the week, there is something powerful when we put action to our gratitude in the form of pause.
Work hard, play hard, rest hard
And worship.
For many, resting is hard work,
And worship is foreign,
But these are the power of constraint in full force.
Taking a day to pause, to consider, to rest our bodies and our minds, gives greater force to the rest of our week. Pausing to gather strength and reapportion passion, and we are well set to take on our days throughout the week.
Resting is all about changing it up a bit. It doesn’t matter if you live in the city and resting is getting to the country, or if you live in the country and resting is getting to the city – rest is about shifting the pace and depth of life, if even for just one day.
Worship is all about gratitude and giving thanks to the one who has given it all. For no matter our circumstances we can all find things to be deeply thankful for, and to bring those thanks in intimacy to God.
Sabbaths are especially made for this.
Rather than some old-worn relic of a habit, Sabbaths ground us, and they release us. Gathered into your Sabbaths are the memory of your days, the knowledge of your purpose, and the voice of your life.
Sabbaths give room for these and give voice for these.
Without a Sabbath, we are increasingly isolated, both from ourselves and from the one who fashioned us and gave us breath.
“For whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” Hebrews 4:10
Invest in your Sabbath, mark it in some way, acknowledge it, create a habit of rest and refreshment in it (whatever that might be for you), and be prepared for your life to settle into place, like a home on its sure foundations, strong, tall, proud.
Your particular gift set, your experiences, your story and your unique personality are perfectly matched with the needs of this day and age. Learn how to completely settle into your own life and then into how to give it away.
This course is for those who want to do more with their lives for God and for others. It is for those serious about leveraging all of who they are for The King, the Kingdom of God and for people, the great loves of The King’s heart.
Your life is currency. How might you invest it? Learn how to express it.
The entire conversation about spiritual authority must solidly reside within the context of the Kingdom of God and the work of Jesus Christ. In Module One: The King’s Heart we dig deep into the character of God and how everything about who we are can reside within the light of Christ.
In our humanity our understanding of authority is often skewed and misrepresented. Not only have we been hurt by authority in the past, but many of us shrink from authority. In this we leave our legacy of co-regents in the Kingdom of God aside. It’s time to unpack Godly authority and take it on for ourselves.
Spiritual Authority is all about representing the King of Kings. It is about working out His will on this earth. It is about stepping up, taking the land and restoring to God’s original plan the details of our lives and our communities and this world.
Before we can know authority we must know its author. Risking to open our heart to the King of Kings, risking to have his heart opened to us we are equipped from deep inside to live authority that mirrors him and expresses him. That place where all things are made new.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, and Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Isaiah 40:28-29 ESV.
Please Note that we have this course written for a North American audience and also specifically written for our overseas indigenous colleagues.
Contact US for information about the material specific to you.