Tag: #jesus

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 1st December 2023

Lord, be my guide in the wilderness when my footsteps falter on my journey through the pathways to heaven.

Be my handrail over rocky ground, my staff through flowing streams and my light in the darkness of the forest.

Be my shelter from the midday heat and storms. A cave where lightning strikes cannot enter and in my search for calming words, let not the crashing thunder drown out your voice.

In the morning mists when nature’s sounds are muted, I feel your nearness like a dewdrop running down a leaf and, in the cords, played by the wind on the spider’s web I hear the Holy Spirit speak.

Hold my soul, Lord; mould me to fit into your mystic realm that stretches further than my imagination can comprehend as I await your coming.

May your Peace flow like a waterfall of plumed angels cascading from the mouth of creation and bathe me in your Glory, now and forever,

Amen.

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 24th November 2023

The anticipation of Advent is to catch a glimpse of Grace in the chalice of Holiness.

His presence is eternal and through the cycle of our worship, we can celebrate the promise of His coming and the chance to welcome Him into our wilderness.

The expectation that out of His birth, would come peace to all mankind is something that the world so sorely needs. To catch just a glimpse of His Grace through the shadows of war that darken the hearts of the world we must look for the chalice of holiness.

If we are not in search of the chalice, there can be no chance of Grace. And if we are in search of the chalice, then no other activity or conflict would matter.

As such Peace and Grace go hand in hand!

And the hands of the star that rises in the east hold the chalice of holiness. He is Coming!

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 8th September 2023

In true African tradition, the Clivias of our wilderness are Spring’s ‘Praise Singers’.

With creation’s garden bursting out in colourful praise, spring is shouted out from open-mouthed blossoms, and we awaken to the knowledge that summer’s sun is just around the corner.

Myriads of blossoms are eager to announce spring’s arrival as they jostle for position to bask in the early morning light. Their rainbow hues are enough to send ripples of joy through the hearts of God’s gardeners, gladdening souls and bringing warmth into winter’s lingering cold.

Floral praise singers, remind us just how much the whispers that we echo reveal His Glory and broadcast to the world the presence of the Trinity in the wilderness of our existence to all and sundry.

And so, with faces turned towards the heavens, let us cry out praises to the glory of God and walk before Him as testimonials to His Grace.

Glory to God in the Highest!

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Fridayfootptints – Friday 25th August 2023

Creation gifts us bouquets of fragrances and colours.

We see a world where leaf-painted paths lead us through gardens where blossoms blend with sound bites and textures to proclaim, as praise singers, the glory of God.

No matter the season, the Trinity is forever present in the sights and sounds of nature. Its testimony to the ‘Master Gardener’ is written in the vibrant words of the corsage handed to us every time we step outdoors.

These are the whispers that are painted on the canvas of our testimony. Each plucked flower becomes a gospel in a vase that we can take with us to magnify His Glory within the walls of our homes. Here, the fragrances fill rooms and our senses come alive to wafts of the Spirit that clothe us in the soul-sounds of His Grace.

These are our winter’s blanket or summer’s shade. It is in colour’s comfort that we see the ‘Be not afraid …’ and that we find peace enough to declare Him King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Creator of all creation!

Amen.

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 4th August 2023

The landscape of creation is His canvas, and the fragrances, colours, and sounds are the smorgasbord of inks that He uses to fill the mural of our existence.

His whispers are in the fragrances that we breathe, and His words are to be heard in the rustle of windblown leaves. As each leaf turns in the breeze of His breath, letters emerge on the scrabble board of nature where they are mixed on His palette into phrases and sentences, in scripted words of worth.

Then as we climb the moss-softened steps with gathered words and whispers, we are gradually absorbed; ‘woven’ into the very fabric of His panorama, as we become the living faith of His masterpiece.

As we rise higher and deeper into His artwork, eventually we become one with the canvas and merge into Him and He into us, where we will be placed in heaven’s gallery as an exhibition of our Lord.

May the Holy Spirit breathe His fragrances of faith into us as we display the brushstrokes of His Grace to the world.

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 14th July 1955

Winter is a cold and desolate time.

It is a time of testing faith when the heart of God seems as frozen as a gardener’s fingers when the daily chores are tackled.

Winter asks that we look beyond the surface and delve into the depths of His creation to discover the bouquet that awaits. It is the peeling away of the layers of darkness until we can discover what awaits us, presented as a visitor’s gift in acknowledgement of hospitality.

Our fellowship with Him requires that we have a deeper concept of our faith. One that can see past the dreary and difficult days. A faith that melts an ice-enclaved soul of the cynic’s world.

In our adventure to find the colours and fragrances, we discover the presence of the Holy Spirit as He takes us by the hand on our journey of discovery. Along each step of the way, there are His whispers of encouragement. And when our heart despairs, with Him in our soul, we find the strength to go deeper to the core of our faith where His altar awaits.

And then suddenly His bouquet is visible in all its glory! Amen.

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 7th July 2023

The door to creation’s church is always open.

As we walk on hallowed ground, it is up to us to show just how Holy the ground is! Our walk through the garden in His presence is a chance to reflect His glory and grace on the world around us.

To spend time alone in the wilderness is to become aware of the hosts of heaven that surround us.

Nature’s petal-stained windows adorn the amphitheatre of our worship place as with uplifted arms we open our souls to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

A cloud-speckled ceiling bedecked with soaring eagles and other lesser wings flit across the painted dome as they escort our prayers on their ascent to the heavens. The aisles are covered by discarded robes of priestly plants laid at the feet of our humanity as a carpet of grace that beckons us to the altar of His sacrifice and an invitation to sup on the chalice of salvation.

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 23rd June 2023

The delicate scent is the invitation to come closer, to pause awhile in the presence of His Glory.

The fragrance of the Gospel flows through the delicate veins until it is released from the petal’s pores. It beckons to the passerby, uncaring of their dispensation in life or their faith. The rich incense is not held within the pores it is released to the world in an unselfish act.

The purpose of the aroma is to create the ‘pause’. To open the opportunity for a whispered word.

His Word!

To the believer; a word of encouragement or perhaps inspiration.

For the stranger to His existence, it is a chance to pose a question, tell a story, or sometimes just be the sweetest whiff that will bring peace and introspection.

Sometimes, words may not even be necessary and just the raw beauty of creation is enough to bring peace to those that encounter creation in its purest form.

Draw closer to the Lord, cup Him in the palm of your hands and drink in the aroma of salvation so that the ‘Peace that surpasses all understanding’ fills you with the fragrances of the Holy Spirit and lets angels dance like butterfly wings through the portals of your faith.

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 16th June 2023

There are many roads in the garden of my wilderness.

Each is lined with the lessons of His creation and whilst the lessons may be seen through the seasons of our existence, they all bear the same two characteristics.

They are all a journey with Christ and at the same time, a search for Him.

Daily we travel up the Via Dolorosa, yet we struggle to feel the depth of the pain and the loneliness of abandonment. Through His Word, we experience the confirmation of the Emmaus Road and then on the road to Damascus, we see the full power of the Holy Spirit at work.

As the scales we acquire in life slowly open, the splendour of the fire-infused inflorescence bursts into the world, and suddenly the wilderness is alive with the whispers of creation’s creatures as they feast on its fruits and testify to the existence of the Trinity.

Of all the roads we traverse on our journey of faith, it is on the Damascus highway that the Spirit opens a whole new world to us. It is here the explosion of testimony bursts onto the world stage. This is the flame of the Apostles’ Holy Spirit. We are part of this. We need to be part of this!

Indwelt by the Spirit, we will be filled to overflowing. Let it out. The source will keep replenishing our supply with the energy of youthfulness that lasts into eternity.

There is no end to it. Hallelujah, Amen.

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Fridayfootprints – Friday 12th May 2023

The last of summer’s petals lie gently on the ground and as autumn’s shadows lengthen, winter’s softened light beckons a silent soul to find rest.

The pastel shades of earth’s comforting blanket invite a weary body to lay its head on creation’s pillow and there in prayerful mood to converse with the celestial heights as angel wings enfold our restless thoughts.

In a lengthy, darkened winter we are unseen by the world allowing us to focus more on our fellowship with the Lord. Seasonally, we need to prepare for the summer days, and we can take our cue from nature as the time to strengthen our roots and prepare to send out new growth in the coming season. The flowers have been harvested to grace the visual and aromatic senses, and all who pass by have been left in no doubt as to their presence.

This should be the mirror of our Christian lives. We have blossomed and pleasured the lives of others. Now through autumn and winter, we rest and prepare for a coming season with new growth and renewed vigour in our spiritual presence on earth.

Lord, give me a winter’s rejuvenation so that I may greet the summer with the sweetest fragrances through the whispers of the Holy Spirit.

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