Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

Andromeda and Me

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A friend’s husband is the chair of a important UK government agency. He has a position of power and prestige at Oxford University. His books are well-received, and he appears on television regularly. You get the picture…
His youngest daughter was unhappy at University, and despite all his national and university politics and his own books and media work, he was extremely worried about her. And took time off on the weekend to drive down with my friend to see their daughter.
He was simultaneously concerned with politics, with his books, his academic work, his university admin, with keeping all those glittering balls in the air, and with the happiness of his youngest daughter. All those thoughts in his head, and one thought, an unhappy girl, superseded them!!
* * *
Beautiful Andromeda is home to several galaxies. God named each of the stars in each of these galaxies, long before astronomers dreamed of their existence. “He calls each of the starry host by name,” Isaiah writes (Is. 40.26).
God is the ultimate multi-tasker. He controls the storehouses of the snow and the storehouses of the hail, Job 38:22.  He tips over the water jars of the heavens  when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together. Job 38:38. The fall of evil regimes at the prayers of God’s people is inevitable. He is in the coincidences of our lives.
And he who created Andromeda tells us that nothing is too small for us to request him for it, Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:13,14.
He holds so many thoughts in his head, simultaneously. He is a force in world politics when people pray; he loves Andromeda, and knows its billion stars by name, and he loves me, and answers my silly little prayers, and even asksme to ask, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8.
Wow!

William Booth, Inspiring Founder of the Salvation Army (A Guest Post by Kimberley Sullivan)

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William Booth

“While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; while children go hungry, as they do now I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight, I’ll fight to the very end!”  And these are the words I grew up with.  They were spoken by William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army.  
My grandparents were Salvation Army ministers, and my parents were entrenched in the fight for racial equality in a very racially tense Chicago at a Salvation Army youth mission. Even as a young girl, the passion of this man inspired my heart.  Oh to live life so full of fire!
                                                     * * *
 In 1852, William Booth began his ministry with the Methodist Church in England.  Later, he would fall in love and marry Catherine Mumford who proved to be his perfect match, for her passions were the same as his: the underdog and the down and out.
“Go for souls, and go for the worst!” was one of Booth’s favorite mottos.  The Methodist Church wasn’t in favor of sending Booth out as an evangelist, although he had proven himself successful in doing so, drawing thousands to meetings. So they assigned him to church after church as pastor.  Finally, the couple decided that it was time to step away in faith and fulfill the call of God on their lives: to love the unloved in the service of the Lord.
After years of street witnessing and preaching, the couple had a small following.  It wasn’t long after that they had coined themselves the Salvation Army.  We are all familiar with the uniformed men and women who serve humanity at their darkest hour.  But imagine for a moment that they were not the highly respected charitable Christian organization that they are.  
Suddenly, street preachers have organized, calling themselves an Army with ranks and uniforms!  People were concerned to say the least.  There were riots and disturbances everywhere these early soldiers went.  But nothing could cause General Booth and his ranks to retreat from their objective to reach the world for Christ. They were radical, risky and revolutionary!
* * *
 Social issues had always caught the attention of General Booth.  Now he was determined to provide a Soup, Soap and Salvation Army.  For how can one truly listen to the Gospel if they are hungry? Or in need of a bath?  His idea was that by meeting the physical needs of the lost, lonely and poor that he was opening the door to their hearts so that they might truly hear about the love of Christ.  
His hunger for souls intensified rather than diminished over the years.  It is said that one of his sons caught his father pacing in the middle of the night.  When asked what was troubling him, he answered, “Ah, Bramwell, I’m thinking about the people’s sin. What will people do with their sin?” He wept over sinners; lost sleep over sinners; and made the ultimate sacrifice for sinners: he lived for them.
When I consider whether a man or woman is great, I often think of the legacy that they leave behind.  William Booth leaves behind a charitable organization with the highest standards of integrity financially, socially and most importantly spiritually.  Found in over 124 countries, with 15,765 churches this army of compassion has become the hands of God to anyone who finds themselves lost and destitute.  160 years later they are still going strong.  
When asked how the Army became so successful, William Booth declared: “If there is anything of power in the Salvation Army today, it is because God has had all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.”For as the fine General also once said, “The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”

If you’d like to read more about William Booth there is a fine biography written here.
And more about the Salvation Army, you can go to their international website here.


*******
Kimberley Sullivan
Kimberley Sullivan

The wife of the friend she could not live without, and mother of the three most wonderful children in the world, kd sullivan is always searching for overlooked lessons in life. As a recently retired homeschool mom, she is busy trying to figure out, “What now?” Journey Towards Epiphany, kd’s spiritual journal blog, is where she regularly bares her soul.  She also has a second blog, What In The World R U Doing For Christ’s Sake?, which chronicles the stories of everyday people who are doing amazing things for the kingdom of God.  But perhaps her greatest joy is found working on her first YA historical fiction book.  She hopes to finish it sometime before her 80th birthday…She’s currently 44.

The Secret Spiritual Power of Helplessness: A Lesson from the Life of Gideon

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Battle of Gideon Against the Midianites - Nicolas Poussin
As part of my ongoing battle for physical fitness, I have been listening to a dramatized reading of the Bible as I walk, instead of reading the Bible while seated. There are gains and losses.

One gain: I am certainly going to listen to the entire Bible this year. Another: I am gripped by the spellbinding sweep of the stories.

I listened to Judges today, captivated by the story of Gideon.

* * *

 God sees potential in us which neither we ourselves, nor others see. He calls into existence the things that do not exist. (Romans 4:17). So the angel of the Lord greets the faintly ridiculous, terrified Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress, so as to be unobserved by the Midianites, with words, which sounded ironic, but are, in fact, his new destiny: “The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior.”

And then Gideon is commissioned to do a task, which humanly speaking, he cannot do. “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hands. Am I not sending you?”

But Gideon has no strength.

“But Lord” Gideon asked. “How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the weakest in my family.”

Just as we crave for love and significance, God desires our love—and our faith!  For us to know him. To believe in him. To believe in who he is. In his goodness and power.

And so he frequently gives us a task too big for us, precisely so that we will have to rely on his power to do it. And then give him the glory, so that his character might be known among the men and women he loves.

And God answers Gideon with an answer most reassuring, if we have faith, “I will be with you.”

Gideon understandably, wonders if he is hallucinating. And so God gives him signs, the famous Gideon’s fleece (Judges 7 36-40.)

* * *

Later, God says something very interesting, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.

In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her,” send back the fearful. The fearful volunteer to go home.

So Gideon’s army is reduced from 32,000 to 10,000.

The next test reduces the army from 10,000 to 300. The Midianites, on the other hand, were “thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.”

And with this vastly reduced army of 300, God is prepared to act.

* * *

 Sometimes, we experience God’s provision most vividly when we are desperate. I received business ideas and guidance after I tried and failed to create a viable business with my own strength.

It exhausted me, so I had to cry out to the Lord in my distress for a sustainable idea which He gave.

We are so self-sufficient that we need to reach the point of desperation—of being confronted with tasks too great for us before we turn to God.

I am seeking God about this blog because my stats have been dropping. I don’t want to spend more than an hour a day on it. But I feel tempted to spend more time on my blog when my stats drop.

At the prophetic conference I went to recently, Patricia Bootsma pointed out that roots are invisible, but for a tree to be visible, and tower over the rest, it needs a deep, massive root structure for strength, stability and nourishment. Our roots lie in the secret hours we spend with God.

For a Christian blogger, the secret to growing an audience may not lie in working more, working harder, or even working smarter (though the latter helps).

It may well lie in hearing the voice and words of God, overhearing his whispers, knowing his heartbeat, so that what you write are words of life, comfort, encouragement, wisdom and strength. Shrewd marketing cannot give you this, or social media savvy, or hard work; it comes from hanging out with God.

* * *

So Gideon sends back 9700 men, asking them to leave behind their trumpets. Normally, there are just a few trumpeters in an army, but now each of the 300 men has a trumpet, giving the impression of a far larger army.

And God delivers them in one of his trademark ways: An idea so good, so unusual, so startling, so clever that men wouldn’t have thought of it themselves.

Gideon tells his three hundred men, “Get up. The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” Talk about positive, faith-filled thinking!!

So Gideon divides his men into three groups of a hundred, with torches in empty jars and trumpets. At a signal, they were to smash their jars, flash their torches, blow their trumpets and shout, “A sword for the Lord, and for Gideon.”

And because of the proliferation of trumpets, the racket of the broken jars, and the sudden shock of the torches and war cries in the darkness, they created the impression of a massive army.

Groggy and terrified by this middle of the night awakening, the darkness, trumpets and battle cries, the Midianites fled. And Gideon won, delivering his people through an outrageous, God-given strategy.

* * *

The story reminds me not to rely on my natural gifts, such as they are, or on free time or hard work to achieve my goals, but to continue asking God for his strategy, his ideas, and his blessing.

And to never forget that one of God’s blessings are good ideas and good strategy, which he gives to those who ask him.

Work, Exercise, God: Panaceas, One better than the Others

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Annoyingly, I can’t find it online, but as a teenager, my father had given me a quote from Charles Kingsley saying something like, “If you are sad, work. If you are sleepless, work. If you are bored, work. If you are restless, work. If disappointed, work. If heartbroken, work.”

I have often said it to myself, and it is the cure for a lot of things: When sad, work. When bored, work. When restless, work. When bitterly disappointed, work.
But as somebody who tends to overwork until a burnout, it is not truly a panacea: a remedy for all disease or ills; an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties.
For one, the work I naturally tend to do, reading and writing, feeds just my mind, and some emotional needs. But I am a quadripartite being–a true panacea will need to satisfy spirit and bless the body too.
* * *
Interestingly, when we lived in Virginia, the then Governor, George Allen, distributed a piece, when said, in effect: Sad? Exercise. Bored? Exercise. Under-performing? Exercise. Stressed? Exercise. Unfit and unhealthy? Exercise. Trouble sleeping? Exercise. Burnt out? Exercise.
But that too is a partial solution because it ignores the spiritual—just as a purely spiritual solution which ignores our physical, intellectual and emotional dimensions is also weak and one-sided.
                                                                    * * *
But I honestly believe that the river of my needs, and problems and difficulties find their answer in the sea of God. That the answers and fulfilment I seek are in Christ  “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Col 2.3.
Hidden is the operative word. I need to find the answer for how to be fitter and more healthy. I need to find the answer for how to write more. I need to find the answer for how to read more. And, by faith, I know the answers are hidden in Christ.

“Prophetic Decrees”

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WORLDWIDEGCF
 I went to a conference in Oxford today taught by Patricia Bootsma and encountered the idea of Prophetic Decrees.
She and her husband had received many prophecies about speaking, prophesying, pastoring, going to the nations, but he remained a bank manager in a tiny Canadian town, and she a home-maker. She was dissatisfied.
One day, she felt God say, “What are you doing about the prophecies?”
“Complaining that they aren’t fulfilled,” she said honestly.
“Start calling forth and proclaiming your prophecies,” God said. “Believe them, decree them.”
Revelation poured into her spirit. The prophecies over her life were conditional upon her response.
It was not right for her to sit idly by, merely hoping and waiting for them to happen. She had a role to play in the fulfilment of God’s words over her life.
·      * *
Two Essential Steps Towards Prophetic Fulfillment
1 Faith—Blessed is she who believed that there will be a fulfilment of the things which were told her from the Lord
We enter the door of fulfilled prophecy initially by believing what the Lord says is true, even when circumstances argue the opposite. Agreement of our mind, heart and beliefs with the words from the Lord creates a womb in which those dreams are nurtured until their birthing.
2 Additionally, our words are powerful catalysts or deterrent to prophecies being fulfilled.
Patricia writes “When the Lord spoke to my spirit to decree my prophecies, I did not realise the power of declaration until I witnessed its results.”
She began marching around her home, speaking forth those prophecies.
Within six months, they had entered full-time ministry at the Toronto Airport Fellowship. “I saw first-hand how to get prophetic words off the shelf, and into reality by partnering with the Lord through declarations.”
“Prophecy is intended to encourage you to build a life pleasing to the Lord, to prosper, and to fulfil your destiny.”
The Weight of Words
Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).
Our words can determine the course of our lives.
We have the power to build up or tear down our spouses by the words we say about them.
How do we overcome evil? “By the blood of the lamb, and the word of their testimony!” Rev 12:11.
Our words influence those around us to walk in greater victory or defeat. Constant belittling or pointing out faults causes discouragement, which weakens the spirit and only makes matters worse.
Our negative words not only affect the listener, but the one who speaks them. Jesus says, “It’s not what goes into the mouth which defiles but what comes out” (Matt. 15:11). James speaks of the ability of the tongue to defile and corrupt our whole being (James 3:6). We actually discourage ourselves when we speak negatively.
Prophetic decrees: Speaking in agreement with God. We do this by filling our minds with the truth of God’s word, both Scripture (logos) and the rhema words spoken to us prophetically.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
The Hebrew word translated “meditate” is hagah, “to reflect, to ponder aloud to oneself.” Regular repetition of key Scriptures and prophetic words creates a womb for birthing those words in our lives and ministries.
How did God create the world? He spoke and the emptiness shone with light.
Similarly, when we begin to declare with faith the words of God, things shift, circumstances change, and obstacles come into alignment with his will. We are “to call those things which do not exist as though they did,” and to speak to the mountain (any obstacle) to be removed (Matt. 17:20).
Bill Johnson, “Nothing happens in the Kingdom unless there is first a declaration.”
Our Children and Prophetic Decrees
She prays the Prayer of Jabez over her children, “Oh that you would bless Zoe and Irene indeed and enlarge their territories, that you hand may be upon them, that they may be free from pain.”
She speaks words like “May you be the head and not the tail. May you grow in wisdom and stature, and in favour with man and God.”
She says her children have lived up to the life-giving proclamations.
Patricia’s directions for designing decrees
1 Regularly (preferably daily) declare words of life over yourself, your family members and loved ones.
2 Be consistent
3 Be brief—summarize it in a sentence or two.
4 Ensure the decrees are consistent with Scripture and according to the nature of God.
She prays, “I live in perpetual, intimate communion with the Lord, and have peace. His presence is always with me.” (Matt. 28:20 and Phil 4:7).

Augustine of Hippo: He being dead, yet speaketh. A Guest Post by Joshua Lake

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 Why should you care about St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, born in the 4th century and dead in the 5th? What can a dead white guy from ancient Africa have to teach you today?

After all, you and I live in the age of the Internet. The age of YouTube and The Office. You can Google John 3:16 in approximately 4.2 seconds, so why do you need to read Augustine’s reflections on that verse?
I’ll reveal my hand right here at the beginning: I treasure Augustine’s writings. I first picked them up when I was eighteen, and I later studied them in college. Last month I reread his famous Confessions, and I benefited anew from Augustine’s wisdom.
With that personal confession, I’ll give you at least two reasons I think you should know about Augustine.
Why Should You Care About Augustine?
First, it is wise to acquaint yourself with Christian writers from previous generations. Explaining the importance of knowing historic figures, G. K. Chesterton famously referred to tradition as the democracy of the dead. In Orthodoxy, Chesterton explained, “Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. All democrats object to men being disqualified by the accident of birth; tradition objects to their being disqualified by the accident of death.”
For that reason, I highly recommend that you read books written before your time. Recommend that you read old books. Books by dead authors. Reading old books, particularly books on Christianity, will safeguard you against falling into error. It will ground you in historic Christianity, and it will remind you of what the Church has always held to be true.
Second, I recommend Augustine in particular, because of how beautifully he combines brilliant, intellectual theology with deeply heartfelt, emotional love for Christ. Modern Christianity tends to slide off into one of those two extremes: seeking ever-fresh outpourings of the Holy Spirit, manifested in exuberant emotion, or pursuing pure, undefiled, brainy systematic theologies with no connection to life. Augustine stands as our proof that Christians can have both: they can love Christ passionately while knowing him rightly.
Augustine’s Background
You probably know Augustine’s name, but here’s what you may not know about him. Augustine was born to a believing mother and a pagan father. In Confessions, Augustine recalls that his mother spent every day in tearful prayer, begging that God would save her husband and her son.
Augustine deeply adored his mother, and he praises her for her faith and love. He writes that she endured abuse, drunkenness, and infidelity from her husband, all the while respectfully submitting to him and praying for his salvation. In the end, God did save her husband, and their marriage was redeemed.
For more than thirty years, Augustine lived as an unbeliever, scorning his mother’s faith. He lived life to the hilt, tasting pleasure and seeking wisdom. Augustine excelled at rhetoric and grammar, because he loved the attention he received from public speaking. In short, Augustine was a man of the world–he pursued pleasure wherever it could be found.
But God was not content to let him go. God heard the prayers of Augustine’s mother, and He would not let Augustine go. At some point, the world lost its luster, and he saw it for what it was. “I could not find relief,” he confessed, “in quiet forests, nor in loud games and music, nor in fragrant spots, nor in parties, nor in sexual pleasures, nor even in books and poetry.” As he put it later, “You [God] melt the defenses erected aginst You by a glance from Your will. … Nothing can escape Your heat.” God broke down Augustine’s defenses and swept in with new life.
Immediately, without looking back, Augustine gave up his sensuous pursuit of pleasure and turned to God. He sold everything he owned, gave the money to the poor, and opened a monastic community in northern Africa. Within four years of conversion, Augustine became a priest, and within four more years he was named bishop of Hippo, in what is today called Algeria. He held that position for more than thirty years, until his death.
Important Parts of Augustine’s Work
I’ve already mentioned Confessions, a memoir written as a series of prayers to God. In it, Augustine details the ways in which God moved in his life, both before and after salvation. Augustine’s language is stirring, and emotion drips off the pages in many passages like this one:
Happy is the one who loves You.
He looks to You for friendship.
He makes enemies only to protect Your honor.
The one fixed in You sees his earthly loves as beloved in You.
You alone cannot be lost; You only are certain.
Our God are You who made heaven and earth.
You fill them with works of Your creation.
– Confessions, page 59 (Modern English Version, Baker Book House: 2005).
In Confessions Augustine writes about his mother and his wild early years, and it is the most deeply personal of all his writings. There, he also presages C. S. Lewis’s idea that our desires are not too strong but too weak, saying, “Their human will does not have a strong enough desire to make them able to want real happiness.”
Augustine spent thirteen years writing City of God, where he creates the idea now known as “Two Kingdoms” theology. Augustine explains that Christ’s kingly rule places Him over all creation, but it is not fully manifest yet. While on this earth, we are all citizens of two kingdoms: one heavenly and the other earthly. So our attitude toward life should not be an anxious grasping, in the words of one historian. Instead, it should be an attitude of relaxed playfulness, knowing that our eternal fate is secure in Christ.
Our politics on earth should, as Christians, be free of messianic pretensions but also void of all hopelessness and despair. “If Augustine is a thorn in the side of those who would cure the universe once and for all,” Philosopher Jean Bethke Elshtain wrote, “he similarly torments critics who disdain any project of human community, or justice, or possibility.”
In lesser known works, Augustine covers a wide range of topics. On the Trinity is arguably his deepest book, in which Augustine became the first theologian to attempt a comprehensive explanation of the Trinity. Many sermons have also survived, where we can read Augustine’s words as a preacher. Finally, Augustine wrote a number of apologetic works, in which he dismantles a variety of heretical views threatening the Church.
Where Should You Start?
I started by highly praising Augustine’s writing, and I want to echo that sentiment here. I encourage you to make a point of reading at least one of his books before this year ends. With that said, I will issue a word of caution: Augustine wrote in an age far different from ours, and his words can be difficult to understand. If you have experience reading philosophy or ancient texts, fear not; but for the rest of us, Augustine–even translated into modern English–can be a difficult author to understand.
For that reason, I recommend picking up a modern English version of Augustine’s Confessions. This particular translation makes Augustine much easier to understand while retaining his beautiful style. American readers can pick up a copy of Augustine’s Confessions at Amazon (as I’m writing this it’s selling for only $5.99). British readers can get it for Kindle or in paperback at Amazon (currently £3.11 for Kindle, and £9.99 for paperback).
With that final recommendation, I’ll leave you with the words of Augustine:
You awake in us a delight at praising You. You made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds its place of rest in You. 

Josh, your guest writer

Josh is a twenty-something American, married to a wonderful wife and just finished with law school. This fall, Lord willing, he will begin work as an attorney.
When not working or studying, Josh enjoys spending time with his wife, reading, and writing. At his blog, Quieted Waters, Josh writes to help young Christians meditate on how to honor God in their faith, their jobs, and their marriages.
Tired of writing in third person, let me just say that I would love to hear from you! You can stop by Quieted Waters and say hello or find me on Twitter at @QuietedWaters or on Facebook.
Finally, thank you Anita for the privilege of writing this guest post. Best wishes!
   

A Dream-Crusher or Dream-Nurturer?

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                                                                                     Image Credit
I used to write letters home in rhyming verse when I was 9. My teacher was so charmed with one of them that she submitted it to the school magazine.
I told my father this, delighted. “Oh, it won’t get in.” He said.
I looked at the magazine with trembling fingers when it came out.
And here it was.
He’d look at magazines, and say doubtfully, “I think this writing is better than yours.” But I later got into the same magazines, and my writing was comparable–or better.
Each time I won something, he suggested another goal post. When The Washington Post published a little piece of mine in 1997, he suggested The New York Times. When I won the National Endowment for the Arts award of $20,000, he asked when I’d win a Pulitzer, or was it the Nobel Prize? He meant to encourage, but it caused stress in a time of rejoicing!!
When he heard of a friend of mine starting her Ph.D in her thirties, he said, “She’ll never finish it. She’s too old.”
Instant negativity.
    * * *
One of my daughters has inherited this trait. When a friend made a list of 50 things to do in a summer, she bet her £5 that she couldn’t do them. Admittedly, she also offered her £5 to read the Bible, so I guess the two bets cancelled out.
If she hears someone’s big dreams, she says, “Oh, you are full of yourself.”
She looks at my shelves and says, “Oh, you will never read all those books. You will never watch all those documentaries on DVD.”
    * * *
Whenever I see my parents’ or Roy’s parents weaknesses in our daughters, I get alarmed. How did they get them? Did recessive genes skip a generation, and emerge in them?
Or, shoot, is it environmental? Did they pick up these traits from us?
* * *
Oh, Lord, I do not want to be negative. I want to be positive, hope-filled, grace-filled, a conduit of your word to those in my world.
Show me when I am being negative, and stop me in my tracks.
Give me glimpses of the dreams and destiny you have for others, and help me impart these hope-filled dreams to people.  Help me plant seeds of hope, vision, possibility and destiny in other people.
Let me be a dream-waterer, a dream-nurturer, and never, never a dream-crusher!!