SEE YOURSELF CONNECTING

The impotent man in John 5:7 appears to be waiting for his opportunity to be healed from his long illness. Apparently he was waiting for the wrong thing..not for the moving of the water but for the omnipotent to move in his direction. This man's condition is common to all of our experiences. Impotent describes his current situation not his future existence. He is "impotent" deprived of power without strength and disabled..Jesus is "omnipotent" unlimited in ability, power and authority. The two had to meet for there to be a real "move". At first glance it appeared he was waiting on the water but he was really waiting on God. This man finally learned when your options are limited you can be trapped into waiting on a pool when you ought to be digging a well.
"Sir I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool"..the Ethiopic version reads "I have no men, or servants to wait upon me to take me up in their arms and carry me into the pool". This is the thinking he must escape rom..the "attitude of acceptance"..believing that where he was, was always where he was going to be. He could see the pool, close enough to see the angel at a certain season but could not see himself connecting to the opportunity.

See yourself connecting to all the opportunities that God is providing for you. It is obvious that this is not going to be a conventional year..so look for the unconventional, the non-traditional and surprisingly you will find Jesus there!

Blessings
PJ

PERSONAL FOCUS

You are what you believe yourself to be. This statement is especially meaningful in the development of the image of God in you. I would encourage you to get in touch with the image of the God in your lives which houses the blueprint for your purpose. There is no discovery in the external world more valuable than the discovery within you. Once you discover who you are, and accept what God has manufactured you to be, the path becomes clear. The ministry tends to make you focus on all the on-going needs of others while at times neglecting your own needs. All public positions, viewed and assessed by the masses, tend to bring significant pressures and challenges. This requires you, as a minister, to prepare yourselves emotionally, physically, spiritually and psychologically for the demands of ministry. Remember, the ministry is not something you can do of yourself or by yourself. Your help still comes from the Lord. All the management and leadership tools to help you organize your responsibilities will be advantageous when considering the work of ministry. There are things in ministry preparation that are inspired and there are things that become the structural responsibility of good organization. There are resources to assist in organization however, there are unique gifts that are derived from your relationship with the Lord. Taking care of you is easier said than done. It becomes increasingly difficult to shift the focus from what you have been called to do and who you are called to be. It makes no sense to spend all of your time and energy preparing, feeding and serving others, while you go hungry. Time must be set aside to ensure that your needs are met and that the work of the ministry is being handled, as God would have it to be. Whenever you begin to think that things cannot be achieved without you, is the time you begin to believe that without you, God will not bring His purpose to pass.

ONE SOUND

In Joshua chapter 6 the first thing that Joshua and his new leadership team faces in the Promised Land is a problem. Jericho became the next issue to deal with even though still battle-worn from the Red Sea experience. Joshua was a listener! He had listened to God through the wilderness, through the sea and now directed his energies to listening to the plan that God had for the problem. You may have a problem but you also have a plan!

The plan was for Israel to come into unity and come into agreement with the plan to remove the walls that prevented them from possessing what God had promised. Six days they closed their mouths and followed the plan which was to walk once around the city of Jericho each day. On the seventh day after the seventh circuit the plan said for Israel as a whole to shout.

It was not the strength of Israel or the loudness of their instruments that caused the walls associated with Jericho to fall. It was, and is the simplest of concepts that describes God throughout history, ONE SOUND! Together with unity and agreement the challenge was removed. The sound of victory is ONE SOUND, the heart beat of God is ONE SOUND, the sound of deliverance is ONE SOUND!