RAINMAKERS

  We meet weekly on Fridays at our Prayer Room in Merthyr. Last Friday, July 3rd, we had just finished interceding for the valleys, when suddenly I was able to see into the Spirit. I saw a huge angel standing on the heads of the valley road (A465). It was looking down the Merthyr valley, shouting. It's clothing was like the waves of the sea.  It is often difficult to make sense of things, in the moment, when you are seeing what is happening in the Spirit realm. I kept looking at this one angel, and was fascinated. Then, in the Spirit, the view panned backwards, and I could see an angel facing down the Aberdare valley, then one over the Rhymney valley, Tredegar valley, Ebbw Vale valley, Brynmawr valley, and the Usk valley. Each with clothing like the waves of the sea, and each shouting down their valley. Similar to this pic below.  I asked the Holy Spirit who these angels were, and why they were shouting up and down the valleys. I believe the Holy Spirit called them the An...

This morning I was thinking about bringing the areas of our lives that are hurt, into God's presence, and allowing Him to heal those wounded areas. This prompted another familiar thought that I ponder from time to time, it surrounds the thought of being 'vulnerable' in the presence of God. I find this to be a bit of an oxymoron—'Vulnerable' and 'Presence of God'.  I have done enough training in my professional career, around vulnerable poeople, caring for, and protecting them, that this thought that we are to be vulnerable in God's presence has always messed with my head. See, to be 'vulnerable' means to be "at risk of harm or exploitation." Does that sound like our condition in the presence of God? If you didn't answer, "NO!" to that question, or you said, "No, but...", then you have a wrong perception of Father God. We have NOTHING to fear of Him. So, what I experience in God's presence should never be vuln...

  " For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus " Revelation 19:10 (NIV) In my earlier prophecy training the model was to speak in the first person, "I God say to you..." or "Thus says the Lord..."  YIKES! I ditched that method a long time ago because I have seen the damage it has caused. If what the vessel says is actually God, then who wants to argue with God? However, it's probably 50/50 God through a human vessel. I found it much better just to say, "I believe God is saying..." If it is God, people will usually know, but that caveat allows them freedom to weigh the word with impunity. That is a much healthier way.  The reason I started this Blog was for the very reason of bringing narrative, from my perspective, of what I believe God is doing in Wales, and wants to do. I do not claim that it is all that God is doing in Wales, or that it is the right way of doing things, but it is part of it. Prophetic utterance is abou...

  Brand Management(mass noun):  refers to the strategic and tactical process of nurturing a brand. How you manage your brand directly influences your brand equity, brand value, and brand reputation (Amazon) In the same way that businesses have crafted compelling logos, colour schemes, catchy songs etc. all in the name of burning brands into our subconscious, the modern day church has also adopted these similar methods of Brand Management to fill churches. Is this right?  A phrase I heard a few years ago referred to this practice as "McDonald's Church". Where you will have a "mothership" campus, and then multiple campuses across a city, region, or nation, or the globe (In the same way McDonald's Restaurants are everywhere). A lot of these churches stream the same sermon from the mothership to all the campuses. Yes, they have the lattes and lanyards, but going to church is like going to the movies. The first time I went to Norway the food was alien to me, exce...

  "Pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonians 5:17 How many of us have struggled with this verse? The thought of never ending prayer can be daunting, especially if we feel like we're not doing it correctly. Do we repeat the Lord's Prayer forever? Do we constantly reel off our shopping list of requests until God gets bored with our incessant repetition? The Bible can't seriously be saying that we are to pray without ceasing, right? Well, Yes and No! Look  at these other Bible translations that help give us a rounder image of this verse: "Never stop praying" NLT "Be unceasing and  persistent in prayer" AMP "Continually be prayerful" ISV That last one is especially helpful, "be prayerful", or, be "full of prayer"! Here is where I find people struggle. From all of my years as a Christian, then as a leader, then as a Pastor, all of the struggle comes down to definition, what is "Prayer"? Fortunately for us the Bibl...

  Photo Credit: Brothers of the Book Blog "For this I toil, struggling with all his energy (En) that he powerfully (D) works (En) within me" Colossians 1:29 There are several words used to describe the "power" that God provides for us to live out our Christian witness. They range from power to live moral lives all the way to power to heal cancer and raise the dead.  Here are the main Greek words describing power. Dunamis (D):  Power through God's ability - dunamis is needed in every scene of life to really grow in sanctification and prepare for heaven (HELPS Word-Studies). The power to perform miracles. The power to live with moral excellence.  Energeia (En) :   The efficient harnessed release of power for controlled purpose, performance, or operation, such as changing a life or healing the sick. Ischuos (I) : The might or muscle power that overcomes, binds up, and sets free; both physical and spiritual strength; power that overcomes the strong man and demon...