The Tabernacle Blog

Here is another song from Misty Edwards of IHOP.
It is a wonderful hearts cry to surrender to Jesus and a wonderful tool to take us into worship. It fits well with the thought of our lives as an Alabaster Jar.

So why not put everything else aside for 5 mins and let your heart minister to the Lord as you sing this song to Him.

I have just been sent and read a chapter from a Book called Punk Monk. It tells of the writers journey (24/7 Prayer, England) with God of discovering ‘Sacred Space’ or thin places. This is exactly the language that we were using as God first took us to Europe and then took us into Tabernacle and started to teach us that He wanted spaces set aside for Him here on Earth. They are great reflections and I highly recommend reading the chapter and then spending some time asking God what He has for you from it.

You can download the pdf of chapter 2 here.

We would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this chapter, please comment there. Thanks

I was spending time in the Tabernacle the other day and I was praying and asking God about some relational stuff that I was going through and I heard Him say to me “Don’t pray for peace in your relationships pray for Health”. At first I was confused by the first part of this, don’t pray for peace?? I thought surely I heard that wrong. But then as I thought about it, the absolute profoundness of this hit home. If ‘peace’ in a relationship is your main thing or main goal then your responses and what you allow people to do are very different than if ‘health’ in a relationship is the main thing. I started to think about different relationships that I have with people, and how I believe that I have been for years having ‘Peace’ as the ultimate aim. The outcome of this is that I have allowed and participated in unhealthy stuff that I was uneasy about but allowed because doing as the other party wanted bought ‘peace’ or at least avoidance of conflict. Now as I have walked in this new revelation for a couple of weeks, I do truly believe it was a word from God as I believe it is profound and it has bought great freedom and health to me.

When I have ‘health’ as my ultimate goal I am not afraid of or manipulated by a little ruffling of feathers or other people not getting what they want from me, like I would have been if I was looking for peace. When Health in relationships is my goal, I am finding myself to be freer to be myself to say what I truly believe and to be more forthright and honest. I can say that I am enjoying this revelation and that I love healthy relationships. Interestingly enough, ‘true peace’ comes when you know that you have acted in open healthy ways, the false peace or calm may be disrupted along the way, but the true peace that comes from healthy relationships is well worth it. Maybe I have finally learnt what ‘peace’ in relationships actually is??!!

I am cautious that I need to keep pride in check as I do this, always acting in humility otherwise I might find myself pridefully disrupting relationships or not caring enough for the feelings of others, but I have a new main thing that I aim for in relationships, it is no longer Peace but now HEALTH.

“When they came to Jesus & found that He was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of Blood & water.” John 19:33-34

How utterly consistent is this book of God! Here at the very time of Jesus’ death, the continutiy of this awesome God breathes again. At the moment of the spear being thrust into Jesus side, blood & water flowed out. The message this speaks is stunning!

At the enterance of the Tabernacle of Moses, was the altar where daily sacrifices were made to deal with the sin of the people. Because there is one fundamental aspect about this God we love, He is Holy. Sin is not holy, it is quite the opposite! And sin estranges us from God. So something living had to die, & blood had to be poured over the altar to cancel the sin. This was the role of the Priest in the Tabernacle of Moses. He took the animal, killed it & poured the blood out over the altar. To then move into the presence of God that dwelled in the centre court of the Tabernacle, the Priest would go to the laver, gold bowl filled with water. There he was to wash himself before entering the Holy of Holies. The water dealt with the uncleanilness of not only dealing with a sin sacrifice but also a sinful people. He had to be clean.

This incredible book of the words of God, says that when Jesus who is our Priest died, blood & water flowed out of Him. Here is but another echo of the Tabernacle in the very moment of Jesus death. The message is stunning! In Jesus death, He dealt with sin – our intentional rejection of God & of how He asks us to live (blood flowed out). And He dealt with uncleanliness - like what hits us as we walk past people talking in corse ways or when we turn on the TV & get assaulted with a sudden visual we didn’t want to see before we could change the channnel (water flowed out). In Jesus’s dead body was the message of the Tabernacle, He has dealt with both sin & uncleanliness so that we could experience the presence of God dwelling. And of course prophecy was fulfilled in this moment. Zechariah 13:1 says, “On that day a fountain will be opened up to the house of David & the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin & uncleanliness.” Tabernacle, the presence of God dwelling, echoed again in the moment of Jesus death confirmed. How utterly consistent is this God!

We will be moving back to Oregon the end of this month and we don’t know our address just yet. We are doing a Mark & Helen thing…..getting Divine Direction, packing up and moving with no job,  house or income.  We didn’t go as far as to copy you completely though… we left out the pregnancy part!

You both have been a blessing, both teaching us and being teachable yourselves. We are getting the Tabernacle concept more and more just through the Holy Spirit, but you guys started it!  I actually realized just the other day that I was practicing that concept but didn’t know it in the Oregon home we left last year. I have a 1,000 square foot room (was a shop) remodeled into a giant daycare room. But it was my private Tabernacle in the mornings and our home church Tabernacle on the weekend.

 I have had a missing piece in my spirit ever since we left that house because there is not such a private dedicated space in this house, especially with 4 students.  I thought I was just spoiled with such a large room and that was the loss I was feeling;   I realize that it is because of the solitude, privacy, freedom and the consistency of worship that created that Tabernacle Spirit. I’m sure there is more to it that we will be learning, but for now we are looking for how to create that special place in the next abode, after we get out of the motor home and into the house (that is coming) close to the new job (that is coming).

Thank you for your excellent guiding and nudging. We look forward to learning more about it.

Keep in touch and be blessed abundantly with His Peace and Presence.

Linda W

After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the Tabernacle of David which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it. (Acts15:16 NASB)

Last year, we set up a Tabernacle in our home. In the presence of God, there was touch of God, anointing, healing and rest.

But as time went on, the Tabernacle began to fall little by little. Being busy with ministry, the time at the feet of Jesus became less and less. The time in God’s presence became less and less. The Tabernacle was getting neglected.

Ministry began to replace intimacy. Busyness began to replace stillness. My plans began to replace God’s voice.

A few weeks ago, the Lord spoke to my heart clearly. “It’s time for you to rebuild the Tabernacle which has fallen.” “It’s time to restore it.”

And He reminded me of David moving the ark of God into Jerusalem. So we moved the Tabernacle from the corner of the bedroom to the livingroom-the centre of our home.

He also reminded me of the priest keeping the fire of God burning in the Old Testament. So we bought a candlestick and lit the candle. And we put on worship CDs and let it play day and night. 

Now the music is playing again. the fire of worship is burning. The incense of prayer is rising. The sweet presence of the Lord is filling our home.

Lord, let this fire never go out. Let it burn till the fire of God’s glory covers the earth. Just as the priests, let me keep the fire burning day and night, night and day. Lord, let the fire burn! Let it burn!!

I was inspired the other day, I was watching a ‘Wiggles Space dancing’ DVD with my son. They were talking about Space and what was out there, The Wiggles answer was ‘well, Space’. Then it dawned on me, that in creation the thing that God made the most of, by a huge amount is Space, ie nothing and emptiness. As I pondered this I was impressed by the importance of space to God, and humans seeming inability to be able to handle it. ie give an average human an empty room or space or empty time and they will just want to fill it. Space is so important for us to be able to encounter God, clutter and lack of space is death to being able to hear His voice and dwell in His presence. This applies to time as well, business is also death to intimacy with God.

What is important to us we make space for, sometimes though space is stolen. I have just returned from a trip to Adelaide, we were Blessed to be able to stay in two homes as we travelled, both had large LCD TV’s in the lounge area which was open and flowing into the kitchen and living areas. Both had the TV on a lot. In Adelaide it was on before we got up and it was still on when we went to bed. It reminded me of a visit to a pastor’s house here in Melbourne just recently where again the large screen TV was on. We were invited around for tea, yet before and during the meal and after the meal the TV was on and blaring.

Helen & I work very hard on the atmosphere that we live in, we not only have worship music playing 24/7 in the Tabernacle space we also have it in our home. Our sons room has had 24/7 worship playing every night of his life, we have maintained this on many trips and in many countries. This I know makes us very sensitive to atmospheres that we are not in control of such as shopping centres and other people’s homes. Grace is required as you enter other peoples ’space’ but it also makes you aware of what people allow to have such a dominate influence.

What are you choosing to fill your atmosphere?

I have just read two articles in the paper online, one saying that 2009 will mark 150 years since the publication of Darwin’s “Origin of the species” and another on some legislation before the Victorian parliament today about legalising abortion.

It makes me contemplate the connection here. The article points to some specific assumptions about life, either there is some order and purpose, ie a creator or there is not, and everything is just random and by chance. I see a clear connection with this science, or actually it is not science which by definition is a reproducible provable event, but an ideology of no creator and the thought that a woman’s right to choose can make it Ok to kill an unborn baby. I remember being in Russia and told of some abortions in Eastern Europe where as a baby was being born (full term) when the head first became visible then a hole would be drilled in the scalp of the baby and the brains pulled out with a hook, this of course killed the baby which was then born dead. I feel sick as I write this but as the baby was never born this was considered OK. You have got to be kidding.

The legislation before the Victorian parliament is talking about legalising the killing of a foetus in the mother’s womb as being OK if it is before a certain number of weeks and not Ok if it is after that point???

A woman’s right to choose, I really think that at the point of conception then the choice has been made and I will clearly state right here that I think it is murdering a human being to take that new life by any means at any time. In our world travels we have discovered that the Koreans have two numbers that they can give you if you ask how old they are, the Korean way is to say your age from when you were conceived but they also can answer in the western way of their age since their birth. I like this a lot, not because it makes me older but clearly as it shows that life begins at conception.

When our child was in the womb we decided to discover the gender and release the name of our child before he was born, this was amongst a pro abortion climate that we are in and Doctor’s suggesting screenings of our child in case there were defects that we might choose not to live with. I remember being given this choice once with a cat in a vet’s office I was comfortable with that but I was very uncomfortable with this offer in regards to a human.

As I write this I remember another little controversy surrounding circumcision. There were voices saying it is not Ok for parents to choose to cut their young child in this way, he may not want that in adult life. Yet now I am hearing it is going to be OK to kill a child just so long as he is only a certain number of weeks in the womb, I do believe that in every case the child would have preferred to live, to at least have the chance to choose to breathe.

It should be pretty obvious to everyone reading this Blog that I am a Christian, I believe that there is a creator and I believe that He (God) is actually very involved and very accessible. I also believe that life begins at conception and that it is not Ok for anyone to step in for any reason and to end that life.

There is one more article from today’s paper that I would like to mention it talks of a little premature baby born in Israel at 23 weeks, that came back to life after 6 hrs in the morgue. I think that God is saying something with this and I think that God has some very special plans for that little life. As I now go back to check the link I see that she has died. But I also noticed that her stories is the No1 link in the world news most viewed stories. Born tiny, died, rose again then died again and the world hears the news all in the day that it happened. What a story, what a life, she has undoubtedly impacted more people with her couple of hours of life than many people will in the entirety of their lives. Today’s legislation wants it to be Ok to kill babies up to 24 weeks, it seems in Israel today that maybe life can begin before full gestation.

Please first read the July 17th entry in my personal blog and the endorsements given to Todd.

I received an Email yesterday from God.TV confirming that Todd had separated from his wife, I have just checked the freshfire.ca website and it confirms this, then very sadly a quick look at some Blogs on the internet to see many people ’sticking the knife in’ to Todd and what happened at Florida. Why the ‘christian’ world does this I do not know.

I distinctly remember one speaker in my time at BCV The Bible college of Victoria, he was a guest who just spoke the one time. He told us that he had had the honor of being present in the Pacific on three separate occasions when revival had broken out, he said each time it was different and that the one very sad common thing was that on each occasion the established church missed it. It seemed that we had ‘god’ so defined that we were closed to any other expressions of Him. I distinctly remember at that time vowing to myself that I would never be so closed or proud of my thoughts or theology that I would shut out that which was different to my preconceived ideas.

I fully admit that when I first saw Todd this was a struggle he is ‘out there’ but you know what he is an American ministering mainly to Americans, so my reserved Australian opinion is extremely irrelevant. I received an Email from a western Australian pastor a couple of weeks ago and he was ‘warning’ people of Todd and what was happening in Florida. The guy had not been to Lakeland, he had never met Todd yet here was a mass Email throwing unsubstantiated doubt and suspicion all over Todd’s name, why would Christian leaders do this? If you don’t particularly know anything why say anything? Why throw muck? I suppose it is pretty hard when there is nothing supernatural or reflecting the presence of God happening in your church it is very confronting and threatening to have someone claiming that people were being raised from the dead and that people were getting out of wheelchairs and there were thousands of medically confirmed healings. Thousands.
I don’t want to rant or rave here just to say I saw the very strong personal endorsement of Bill Johnson, who said that he knows Todd and the family and his ministry well and personally and that IS enough for me. This is endorsement is available to listen to from www.ibethel.org look for the June 22 podcast and the actual commissioning can be seen on www.God.tv look for the June 23 meeting. Please no one take cheap shots and judge Todd until you have seen both of these events.

So let’s actually stop and pray for Todd and his wife. Prayer points can become gossip columns. There are casualties of front line battle here, do people sometimes take bullets when they find themselves on the front lines. YES I can personally attest to that. So let’s find ourselves in the group Loving and caring and supporting showing compassion, not the group that thinks a cheap shot and a few bad words will in some way lift them up or promote themselves. There will be many people throwing mud and saying ‘I told you so’. I want to be one found focusing on the God of the move not the man God used, and I want to clearly state that if the man of the move is found to be human and vulnerable, who should be surprised at that? The God he loves and proclaimed isn’t human or vulnerable. Thanks Todd for standing up and proclaiming loudly and with enthusiasm the name of our King.

There is a good comment on perspective by Pete Greig of the 24/7 prayer movement, boiler rooms UK that goes well with this blog.

Geoff Morrow is Helen’s (one of the founders of this ministry) dad.

Geoff suffered two massive heart attacks in Manila, at the end of a time of running two tours for Wycliffe Bible translators.

These are prayers offered for Geoff whilst he was still alive and then prayers offered for the family after his passing on 26-06-2008.

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Recently while we were in Adelaide, South Australia we met with “Ann”, a leader in a local church there. We were talking about the concept of Tabernacle & of the rest that often happens in the presence of the Lord, when Ann felt from the Lord to lead a form of Tabernacle time in Church the following Sunday. This is how it went that day…

“Sunday was interesting. As the Pastor and I prayed before worship I asked the Lord to help me keep my hands off, but to be a facilitator of what he was doing. He had to remind me of that during the service as the message went a lot longer than I’d anticipated and open time for ‘resting in the Lord’ looked like being shorter and shorter. As I started to fret a little he just reminded me “My agenda, not yours” so I settled back and went with the flow. ‘Rest’ time ended up being about 15 minutes towards the end of worship.  A lot of people just sat in their seats but some got up sat on the floor elsewhere in the chapel; I think one or two went out into the foyer area.  I pretty much gave them permission to do whatever felt right to them and the Lord. There didn’t seem to be too much restlessness to indicate that people were struggling with the quiet and the unstructured time. I helped create the space, what He did with it was up to Him. I did have one lady speak to me afterwards about how much she’d appreciated just being able to rest in the Lord’s presence, and that was encouraging.”

About 2 years ago, I was mopping the floor of our apartment in Munich Germany, where we lived at the time. I had been mopping other parts of the floor area when I came to the Tabernacle area. I began mopping when all of a sudden I stopped. The Lord said to me, “Do not make common what is holy. Go, change the water & use fresh water in this space.”

Over the years we have been asked, “What’s the big deal about setting apart a physical space for the Lord? How can that be different from anywhere else? Anyway, isn’t our body now the ‘temple of God?” This is a question we confronted on our journey of discovering Tabernacle. White Australia does not have a concept nor experience of a sacred space set apart for one particular purpose, other than perhaps the football ground! So part of God taking us to Europe was to deposit this in us & give us an experience of this. Interestingly, first nations (indigenous) peoples all have a concept & experience of sacred spaces.

Ultimately, this is a holiness issue, a holiness question. The very word, holy, means set apart, consecrated. To ‘set apart’ & then consecrate to the Lord a room, chair, time, space of some sort, is to make it holy. Our God is a holy God & when He chooses a space of time or place, & fills it with His presence, He makes it holy.

There were two Tabernacles in the Old Testament before the Temple came. The Tabernacle of Moses teaches us about this very issue of holiness. The second Tabernacle (of David) was about worship & prayer. If we do not understand the holiness of God & know a fear of the Lord, we will worship & pray in a way that will be common, ordinary. Likewise if we do not understand that a holy God has chosen our bodies as His place of dwelling, His temple, & set it apart, consecrating it to Him, we will make it common. We can defile what God sees as holy by treating it as ordinary, normal; like mopping a floor with dirty water. Commonness is the greatest enemy of what is holy, special, sacred.

“Be careful not to treat the holy things as though they were common.” Numbers 18:32

We have just released a new further revelation on Tabernacle. We believe it is crucial for Gods’ end time plan. Turning all hearts to Him. The power of worship.

Read the .pdf document here.     Then please log in and comment, we would love to hear your thoughts and revelations.

I have come to the firm decision that any revelation of Tabernacle or ‘The New’ that God is releasing currently on the Earth must have a revelation of Israel.

Why?

This letter is written to Gentiles
“I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of the Jews have hard hearts, but this will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26 And so all Israel will be saved. Do you remember what the prophets said about this? “A Deliverer will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel from all ungodliness. 27 And then I will keep my covenant with them and take away their sins.” 28 Many of the Jews are now enemies of the Good News. But this has been to your benefit, for God has given his gifts to you Gentiles. Yet the Jews are still his chosen people because of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. 30 Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the Jews refused his mercy, God was merciful to you instead. 31 And now, in the same way, the Jews are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you. But someday they, too, will share in God’s mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all people in their own disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.” Romans 11:25-32

I heard an interesting retelling of the story of the Prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) particularly the interpretation of the elder brother that had stayed at home as the Gentiles and the younger brother as the Jews. We were left with the thought that the prodigal brother (the JEWS) is about to return home. We know what the response of the Father will be, and we wait to see just how the brother (Gentile Church) who has stuck with Him (Jesus), will react to this prodigal’s homecoming. How will you react?

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the calf we were fattening and has prepared a great feast. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the finest calf we have.’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you and I are very close, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ ” Luke 15:20-31

The Romans passage ends thus.

33 “Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! 34 For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? 35 And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back? 36 For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen.”       Romans 11:33-36

So what do you think? Is this a relevant interpetation of the prodigal son story? Does Israel NEED to be a part of what God is currently releasing?

Let us know your thoughts

God is really opening up this area for us at the moment. I have just come across a page of great Biblical research on the comming re-opening by God.

Here is the link to the site.

This I think will more appeal to your head than the message in the previous Blog that may speak more to your soul and heart.

I have also noticed that as with most things there can be a ding dong approach, either way to much or way not enough of things or swinging in between these two.

With ‘The New’ sadly we have noticed some groups tend to be hurt by and therefore very negative of the church (God’s bride) while other pages of this site I have linked to here can tend to lead you to believe that the church itself is the ‘Alpha and the Omega’. I am so for and endorse and support God’s church but I tend to think that that title ‘A&O’ belongs to someone else. The church IS God’s bride but in the Jewish setting the focus of a wedding is traditionally on the Groom not the Bride. So should our focus be at the wedding feast of the Lamb. It needs to  ALL be about the Groom (Jesus) not all about the Bride (the church, us).

I have just listened to a podcast (message downloaded from the internet) it was recorded at Succat Hallel (Tabernacle of Praise) in Jerusalem. The message is titled The Tabernacle of David it is really powerful & good, it dives into the scriptures surrounding the reinstatement of The Tabernacle of David. So please let me encourage you to download it then curl up somewhere and listen it is really encouraging and really good. (If you havn’t already you will need to download Quicktime Player to play it)

Once you have listened to the message please leave a comment as to what you thought or how it Blessed you.

Morgan is 11 yrs old. She lives in San Fransisco, USA.
Right now, Morgan is the only one in her family who believes in Jesus. She lives in a very abusive home.
1 ½ yrs ago she decided to accept & receive Jesus. Alicia, a leader in a local church where Morgan lives, had been the one who introduced her to Jesus.
A few weeks ago, Alicia was talking with Morgan about setting aside a space at her home to be with God because of all that she was experiencing in it. Morgan decided that Jesus could have her room. So she told him. She told Jesus that he could come in & rearrange her room in any way he wanted, cause it was HIS room. Then she added, “But please tap me on the shoulder at school so when I come home I know it was you that moved things & not my sister or anyone else so I don’t get mad at them.”
Alicia then explained the story of King David who as a boy was anointed with oil by the prophet Samuel to be set apart for a specific purpose. She shared with Morgan that both people & things were anointed to be set apart for God. So with the child’s wonder Morgan asked Jesus what she should anoint with oil to make it his. She had very specific places. First it was over her door. She run & put oil on the door exclaiming to a watchful Alicia, “then when I walk in the room, I know I am walking into that special space for God.” Next came the windows. And then in this last week, she anointed the mirror. She told Alicia it was because “then every time she saw herself, she would see herself as God’s princess.” She has also put up some special bible verses, cause it reminded her that it was his room.
Morgan also asked Jesus to clean up whatever he wanted in her room. One day a week ago, she walked into the room to find that Jesus had polished the floor. All the scratches, marks & scuffs were gone. She was so excited. Jesus was making her room, his.

The morning star
It’s early in the morning, half past six.
The sun is about to rise.
It was still dark when I came here; to this place that faces the morning star.
I said: “Jesus, teach me about the morning star; the star that herolds the day;
The star that says: ‘Wait here! Be patient, only a little longer! The sun is not there yet,
but you can already see it in me, in my brightness. Behold, the day is coming. Be patient
and wait with me!’”

I sat there, thinking about how bright the star is. It most probably has a rough, rocky
surface, and yet it is a mirror for the sun.
In fact, that seems to be its sole purpose. The star is totally given to reflecting the sun.

“Jesus, is this true worship,” I asked, “to exist for the sole reason of reflecting You?”
“What about music then?”

“Music is a powerful tool. It has the power to take you out of the dark, clouded perception
of what’s going on around you, and lift you up to show you reality; the reality of the sun
(Son), which you are to reflect. As you declare the truth in song, your spirit will be lifted
off the ground, to those heights where the stars roam. Music, singing praises to God, will
make you stay up there. So music is more a tool that leads you into worship, than it is
worship itself. It takes you into a place where you reflect the sun. It is still dark around
you, but the world can see the sun through you and can know that it is coming; day will
triumph over night.”

“Music, even with the right words, by itself is not worship. It is there to lead you to a place
where you willingly hand over your own agenda and start living for the sole purpose of
reflecting the Son. Thoughts and pondering can do the same. Yet music is more than that.
Like poetry, painting, or other creativity, it takes your thoughts and dresses them
beautifully; it expresses them in a way worthy of a King. Yet, it is still more. It is the
expression of a heart cry, when you get but a little glimps of the beauty of your King; a
heart cry, when you realize your own inadequacy; a heart cry that says: ‘Lord! What the
heck is going on?!? Get me out of this place and restore me to the place that You created
me for: Reflecting Your Glory.’”

“Yes, worship is raw like that, just like the rough, rocky surface of a star (that still
reflects the sun in a beautiful sparkle).”

“The morning star is brighter than any other star; it herolds the morning. Yet, it did not
choose its own position. The Father Himself put it there, just like He Himself gives every
star its place. He alone knows the right place for you; the right distance for you to have to
the ground. The stars shine, but it is not their glory and it is not for their glory.”

The day has come.
The morning star has given way to the sun.

-:-

!! Reflecting Jesus is probably best summarized by saying that it means to reflect His heart to love God and to love people. So, the songs that we sing together will lead us into worship. Worship means to reflect Jesus. And reflecting Jesus means serving God and serving people. (A star faces both, the sun and the earth)!!

I have learn’t that the Chinese character for the word ‘busy’ is made up of two Chinese characters death and heart. So busyness is ‘death to the Heart’.

This struck me as so relevent for Tabernacle as one of the main things that stop people from Tabernacling is busyness. Busyness must be fought against, you cannot just let what happens happen. I have found that if I don’t fight for my time with the Lord, fight for my intimacy with Him then this SPACE just gets filled with ‘other stuff’, often very unimportant and silly stuff. Yet it can so easily fill my space and time and steal what I should be offering to God.

Lord I ask your forgiveness  for allowing this to happen and ask you to show me what to cut out and how to maintain SPACE in my life so I can not Experience ‘death to my heart’ but that I can experience life through spending time with you and hearing your voice. Show me my right priorities I pray and give me the strength to stand in them and give you the space you deserve in my life. Who should I be hanging around with what should I be listening to? thanks King Jesus.

Also there is a web presentation of more amazing history of Chinese characters, it came from a Chinese friend of mine Phil born & bred in the UK. He assures me of the accuracy of the Chinese translation.

Presentation link