Dear Friends,
Again, it has been a long time since we sent out a newsletter. We were hanging on until we had the final approval of the building, but alas, it doesn’t seem it will arrive before the end of October! Administration in Poland, as in many countries, is very special…
After seven years, since we broke ground on the 21st August 2017, the building is now finished albeit a few more lights need to be fitted and of course landscaping the garden, garden walls and gates, etc. The house is also empty, so requires lots of furniture too!
This year we have seen the installation of the fresh air ventilation system, air-conditioning units, lots of lights, essential cleaning sinks and units and the completion of the terrace with glass balustrades.
So, since we cannot make a great announcement that the House of Life is open, we still thought it may be nice to bring you up to date with what else has been happening.
A House of Life is not just about the physical building, but more importantly the life that takes place in it!
Jigsaw pieces, oxbow lakes and unique pathways!
When we started out on our journey, it felt like Father had only given us seven pieces of a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle. Over the years since 2008, he has been giving us more pieces, one piece at a time. Just like doing a jigsaw, it is easy to pick up a piece and think it goes in one place but actually it goes elsewhere – you think it is part of one thing, but actually it is part of something else. We have made mistakes along the way!
While we were still living in Krakow, but about to move to Brzezinka, Oświęcim, Father was speaking to us about oxbow lakes! An oxbow lake is created when a river meanders across the countryside along a particular route, but for various causes of sediment deposition, erosion, and sometimes flooding, it cuts another course, leaving a piece of water – a lake separate from the main flow. This lake initially contains all the life of the original river but is not part of the new flow of the river. The work of the Holy Spirit is like a river. From time to time He shifts course. Father was laying on our hearts that what He wants to do here in Brzezinka is something new and the prayer house He was calling us to build was to be a part of it. He was saying don’t get stuck in an oxbow lake! Find where I am now flowing.
So we have been on a journey to find the new flow. We have tracked with a number of different ministries. Holy Spirit has had some things resonate in us and some things not, so we have been trying to follow the “crumbs” so to speak! In our earnestness of wanting to bring in the new, we have made some more mistakes!
But you know, if you don’t make mistakes, it is very hard to achieve anything! But apologies to all those feet we have trodden upon on the way.
Jesus keeps saying to me:
…………………….Don’t be tempted to try to follow someone else’s path
…………………….Don’t be tempted to go down a path that other people are following
…………………….Don’t blindly follow the crowd even if the crowd are the believers you identify with.
I am amazed at the wonderful people that come our way. All are so unique, and it is lovely to hear their stories and what Jesus is doing through them as they follow Him down very unique pathways.
House of Life
We wrote in our last letter, that Father said to call the prayer house “House of Life”!
We are expecting this House of Life and all that Father is doing here in Brzezinka to be instrumental in bringing a revival to the Jewish people – to recognise Jesus as their one and true Messiah; and for the wound over Europe and beyond from the Holocaust to be healed. This is a big deal. And it feels like to us a lot of heaven’s power is to be released in order for this to be established.
It’s obvious, if you keep doing the same thing, you’ll get the same result! If you want a different result then do something else!
An invitation to overcome!
Let go and fall into the Father’s arms!
Embracing the Father brings life into our hearts – spirit, soul and body. We need His life in us to effect change in this world. Having a mental assent to the gospel is the first step but it is not enough. Jesus said we must be born again. Born of water and the Spirit. We may have an understanding of this – to be born again is to become a believer. We may also have an understanding of being baptised in the Holy Spirit – to experience Holy Spirit’s gifts, anointing and power in our lives. But what if the package includes more? How many of us have at some point taken out a TV media contract with 50 channels but only ever watch 5?
What if there is more that we have not tasted or experienced?
Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev3:20)
This was an invitation to believers! There is more to be had!
The passage continues… “The one who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.”
A throne is a seat of rulership from where you govern.
I have often thought this is my reward when I get to heaven. But when I read it now, it does not specify when – only when we overcome.
Each one of us has something to overcome on our journeys. And Father is so patient with us – if we don’t manage to overcome the first time, He leads us around again and again until we get it. I find that after a few rounds, it eventually dawns on me that I need a mindset change in order to overcome!
Change of mindset
That is repentance! Repentance is not just to say sorry, nor is it just to realise something is wrong. But it is to see it from Father’s perspective in the light of the power of the resurrection, forgiving and being forgiven, and Christ in me. It is a complete change of thinking.
Jesus challenged his listeners to a complete change of thinking when He said, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. Heaven is near you! You can access Heaven if you have eyes to see!
It is so easy to be distracted if we listen to the news. “War!” “War!” “War!” But Jesus said, “Father in Heaven, Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.” This is to bring Heaven down. How do we do that? By having our focus on heaven. By going up into heaven and sitting with Jesus on His throne and ruling with Him to implement His plans and purposes.
And this is the journey we are on – learning to access heaven, learning to hear from heaven and release heaven on the earth. For us, this is a new way.
Letting Go and entering the Rest
But all of this starts by entering His Rest. Letting Go. When I do this, I sense Him lift my spirit up and I am in a different place.
A few years back we realised it was easy to fall into the trap to make prayer ‘works’. I felt this pressure that I had to worship/pray for so many hours a day. But I also felt the pressure come from others when they would share their prayer needs – it was like they wanted to get as many people praying as possible to persuade God to answer. There is so much pressure in the body of believers – never spoken – but very real at the same time. It is easy to burn out with that sort of pressure and mindset. We became aware of this some years ago and we had to take on a complete mindset change.
Jesus says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. At one point I was pleading with the Father for something particular and then He showed me that His desire for me to have this thing was greater than mine. It was almost like my unbelief was stopping me from receiving it. I had to start believing Him – not just in my mind, but in the depths of my being. I did remind myself of His words to me from time to time and thank Him. Then one day I realised my mindset had changed – I could see that He was answering my prayer and my perspective was different.
He is constantly working in us without us having to strive.
Prayer is not just something we do – for us it is a lifestyle – actually it is a relationship – living in the Father’s arms, with Jesus, with help of Holy Spirit, on the unique paths He has called us to!
This epistle is long enough! Some of this may seem like a lot of random thoughts, but they are just a few of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.