Waves of mercy, waves of grace

Standing on the ocean shore this morning staring out to sea, I watched the waves lapping the shore as I talked to my Father. Each time I pray while I'm at the beach, I feel led to pray for God's mercy and grace, and His provision, to flow to me across time and space in waves, just as the waves of the sea continually flow towards me from some distant place which I cannot see.

I experienced God's power like a wave once, during a worship and prayer gathering at a Vineyard fellowship in the Maritimes. I was standing at the very back of the building and I sensed the surge of power coming towards me as the wave flowed from the front of the building all the way to the back. As it engulfed me I was almost knocked off my feet as the energy surged through me and swirled around me, traveling swiftly past me. I wish I could say that I knew what it was for or what it meant, but I don't. All I know is that I was dumbstruck with awe as I experienced yet another way in which the Spirit and the power of God moves.

So as I stood at the shore this morning praying, the  tide, which was going out when I first arrived, began to turn and the waves began to lap up closer and closer to my feet. "It's coming...it's coming..." I prophesied with the reach of every wave, and then suddenly the lapping water began to flood the sand around my feet. "It's here!" I declared, as it began to move beyond me.

A move of God is coming. We are only beginning to experience it as it travels steadily towards us from across time and space. It is just starting to lap at our feet, and already people are rejoicing and seeing visions and being super-charged by the power of God, as they meet Jesus, the Christ, and as His Spirit begins to move on their hearts, and transform their lives and anoint them with fire. But this is just a foretaste of what is to come! There is MORE!

We must prepare ourselves to walk in the fullness of the power that is to come. We must make ourselves ready to be used of God when His waves of mercy and grace flood the land around us and surround us and sweep us off our feet. Are we ready for this surge of power? Are we willing to lay everything down to serve His Kingdom purposes on earth? To be caught up in His train and carried along with Him as He sweeps through our land? It's time to decide. 


A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
   and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
   and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
   and all flesh shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
(Isaiah 40:3-5)


...for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)

Let it be so, Lord!

Rabbi, let me recover my sight!

I was reading the story of Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10 the other day. It's a very familiar story about Bartimaeus,  a blind beggar, who rightly addresses Jesus as he cries out to Him for help: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." It's evident by his address, and by his request, that He knew who Jesus truly was.

Because of Batimaeus' lowly status in the Jewish society of his day, the crowd tried to hush him. They deemed his need not important enough to trouble the Rabbi for, but Jesus heard his cries and told the crowd to call him. And then, as Bartimaeus stands before Jesus, He asks him, "What do you want me to do for you?" and Bartimaeus replies, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight!" (vs. 51)


In Chapter 10, Mark recounts several stories of people who think they see Jesus and know who He is, but who do not truly see. The first is a rich young man who is doing all he can to enter the Kingdom of God - according to the letter of the law. He's obeyed all of the commandments of God, and he comes and kneels at Jesus feet and asks, "Rabbi, what must I do to inherit eternal life." (vs. 17) And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (vs. 21) 

The young man leaves, crestfallen and filled with sorrow, for he had great possessions (vs. 22), and in his culture, his wealth represented God's blessing on his life. The rich young man recognized Jesus as a rabbi, a good teacher, and he may even have believed that Jesus was the Messiah, since he knelt in front of Him when he presented his question. But it seems likely that he was looking for more of a philosophical answer to his question, something that would "tickle his ears" and warm his soul. Or perhaps the young man was looking for a pat on  the back from Jesus for his strict adherence to the law. Any other rabbi would have been very proud of the rich young man, but Jesus was no ordinary, worldly rabbi. 

Then there is the story of Jesus' disciples, two brothers, who also thought they knew who Jesus was. They knew that He would be enthroned in heaven and they asked Jesus to give them the places of honour on either side of His throne. 

Although all of these young men had a level of understanding of who Jesus was, each one is actually blind to the truth which only Blind Bartimaeus is able to see. Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of God. They all knew this, and yet they still did not truly see. Somehow what they knew about Jesus got in the way of their really knowing the truth. It's called "familiarity". And it was familiarity that prevented Jesus from being able to perform miracles in his hometown of Nazareth. The people among whom he'd grown up thought that they knew who He was and were unable to believe anything apart from what they already knew about Him. Probably there are many folks who profess to follow Christ who've attained a similar level of understanding of who Jesus is and assume that they already know all there is to know about Him. They have become "familiar" with Jesus. But there's so much more! The more we truly know about Him, the more we realize how much there still is for us to learn!

Jesus explained many times throughout the gospels that the Son of God did not come to be served but to serve. He does not call people to follow Him so that they can be exalted and given honour and wealth and respect. On the contrary, He calls His followers to take up their crosses and follow Him. To suffer humiliation and poverty and persecution and hatred, as He did! He calls us to let go of the security and status of wealth and possessions and trust only in God to provide for our needs. He calls us to lay down our need for honour and title and recognition among our contemporaries, and to humble ourselves and become servants to both God and men.

The character of Bartimaeus is one of abject poverty and desperation. Bartimaeus is not proud. He has no wealth, no possessions, and has not even a hope of being given honour and respect among his peers. He stands before Jesus with nothing but his need and his faith. I was in the same place ten years ago, and when I realized my need for Jesus and cried out to Him, He responded in such a powerful way, extravagantly pouring out His manifest love out upon me, that I was forever changed. He healed me and raised me up and gave me sight. Suddenly I saw the world through different eyes and I was so grateful and filled with love for Him that I would do anything and give everything I had or ever would have to serve Him.

Over the past ten years of being "taught" by the church and by religious educational institutions, the keenness of my "new born" sight has began to dull. It's become clouded, and the cares of the world and the desire (need) to accumulate wealth and possessions has brought about a slow decay. But as I study this text my heart cries out, "NO! This is not what I want!" I don't want some watered down version of the gospel of Christ that allows me to remain complacent in my comfort zone looking out at the pain and suffering in the world around me from a "high" place. I know that when I get entrenched in comfort and in security that comes from money and things, I lose my boldness and my effectiveness as an ambassador of Jesus Christ and I no longer care about the circumstances and lives of other people. I don't want to become "familiar" with Jesus, believing that I already know all there is to know about Him because the more I seek to know Him, the more I realize just how magnificent and vast and glorious He is and it only makes me long to know Him more!

When Jesus first came into my life I knew Him as the Son of God, the Light of the World. I knew that I had met a "cosmic" being, one for whom nothing was impossible. If He could get hold of me in spite of my stubbornness, He truly was capable of performing miracles - and He did. He brought me into the knowledge of the love of the Father, and knowing His love filled me up so full that I needed nothing else. Because His love for me changed me life and set me free, I wanted everyone who was hurting to know His love too. 

Because of my love for Him I was so tuned in to the Father's heart that He would show me the ones He wanted to shower with His love. He would allow me to see into their hearts and show me the pain and the darkness in their lives, and that would give me a burning desire for them to know His love. He would tell me where to go and what to do and who to bless and what to say - and I would do it. If I was afraid, I would still do it! And lives were touched with the love of God because of my obedience and my boldness. He gave me the ability to see the spirit realm, to see angels as well as demons, and because of that sight, and my obedience to Him, a few people were released from harassment and bondage. It is for this reason we are commanded to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength - because when we do that we receive His heart for the lost and broken ones and He anoints us to heal and comfort and minister to them.


It's a tragedy that in North America, so many of us who call ourselves Christians do not really see Jesus and know who He truly is. Unless we have come before Him, filthy and dejected, poor and begging for mercy, nakedly admitting our need to Him, we have not truly encountered Him; we have not experienced His compassion, His healing love or His transforming resurrection power that changes us and circumstances in an instant. Humility and desperation are the keys that unlock the door to revelation and grace and free us from our worldly or religious mindsets so that we can see and know Jesus as He truly is. 

Although Bartimaeus' clothes were filthy, his heart was pure. He came to Jesus with no agenda, with no pride, and with no ulterior motive. His desperate cry was for mercy, and His one desire was to recover his sight. That is my prayer today.


Lord, I long to return to that same passionate first love I had for You. I want to live and breathe and have my being in You; to obey Your every word like I used to. I release to You everything that hinders me from being pure of heart and fully surrendered to Your will. Even what little prestige and wealth and  possessions I have, I give them all up for You. Forgive me for relying on the material things of this world for my security. Grant me the humility and wisdom of dear Bartimaeus; I come before you as he did, a dirty, tired old beggar. And just as he did, I cry out to You, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" "Rabbi, let me recover my sight!" I want to see you as you truly are!

 Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:52)

This is a response I wrote to a Facebook post written by someone I love. He was angry that a caring but misguided Christian friend told him that unless he and his family believe in Christ they are all going to hell. The response is addressed to him and to those who posted comments that supported him and denigrated the good news and those who preach it.

I hope you all will read this even though it is a different point of view and written by a believer. I used to feel exactly like you do whenever someone brought up Jesus or quoted the Bible to me. It made me very angry. I felt they had no right.

I'm sorry someone mis-represented Christ - and Christ followers - to you. Jesus never condemned people - except the uber-religious ones called "the Pharisees and scribes". They were the Jewish leaders and teachers of religion and they were misrepresenting God to the people, making him out to be a nitpicking angry God, and that made Jesus very angry. 

The Bible says that God doesn't want anyone to go to hell. He's not some divine ogre in the sky just waiting for us to make a wrong move. He loves us all no matter whether we believe in Jesus or not and whether we're good or not and he wants us to be with him. Remember The Father's Love Letter (http://www.fathersloveletter.com/)? Every word is from the Bible, it is truly God's love letter to us. But as much as he loves us, we all have a choice to make, and it has to do with whether or not we are going to follow God and believe in the one he sent. 

I know it's hard to understand this, and I would have been very sceptical myself in the past, but I have met Jesus Christ. He is real, and he is alive, and I have come to know the LOVE of God through him. My life changed dramatically the moment I met Jesus. Fear is gone, and so is shame, and in their place I have freedom. That doesn't mean that I am perfect and never do anything wrong, or that I am never afraid, but I used to live in misery and hopelessness and fear all the time before I met him. Fear of dying, fear of making a mistake, fear of not having any money, and on and on. Knowing Jesus has given me hope, and joy, and peace, and a purpose, and I long every day for everyone I love to know the hope and the love and the joy and the freedom that I have found in him. Jesus called it "abundant life" or "life to the fullest". That's what he came for and that's what he offers every person who puts their faith in him. He came to set us free so that we could know God's love. And to know and feel the love of the God who created the universe is such an amazing thing! I feel safe in the world now no matter where I am because he is with me and he guides me and protects me. It's not religion, it's a relationship, and it's real. I wasn't scared into believing in Jesus, and I wasn't brainwashed into believing either; he met me where I was in my misery and fear and he healed me and set me free. And in that moment I felt the love of God pouring into me. It was a powerful experience that I will never forget. And because of it, I cannot deny him or allow him to be misrepresented.

I'm glad that you talk to Jesus. He hears you and he cares about the things that trouble you and that you care about - and he loves you. Keep talking to him. You don't have to go to church to know him. He will meet you right where you are. I know this because that's what happened to me. And because of that my love for him goes beyond duty or fear or dogma. My heart is full of gratitude for all that he's done for me and all that he continues to do. Seek him and you will find him.

I know that what I have shared may anger the folks who've posted here - if they got this far - but it's my experience. God is real. He loves me and he loves you too – and believe it or not he loves Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo too. And yes if they were to confess and ask God’s forgiveness and truly believe in Jesus they would receive his salvation. And that's good news for all of us since none of us is entirely good. The Bible says that God forgives everyone who asks for his forgiveness. I'm thankful that I am forgiven. Of course God wants us to be good, but being good doesn't necessarily qualify us for heaven.0

This is what Jesus said on this subject: "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed. By believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness."

For such a time as this...

Three weeks have passed since I came to Powell River. It's like paradise here, so many beaches and seascapes and mountain vistas, and so much wildlife to see - eagles, loons, kingfishers, hummingbirds, seals, starfish, etc. I've met some amazing people here with whom I've of one heart and mind - in the unity of the Holy Spirit. They run and minister at the Powell River Healing Rooms, and they have a heart for the people of the community.

I had tea last week with Hazel who, along with her husband Bill, heads up the Healing Rooms ministry here and she asked me what the vision is that God has given me for Powell River. It turns out that she and Bill have an almost identical vision! They're just waiting for God to show them it's time to move on it. I was with them last night, and some other folks on the team as well, and Hazel said something that impacted me. She said it's one thing to have a vision and it's entirely another thing to actually do something about it.

I'm incredibly grateful that God has led me straight to a group of believers who are on fire for Jesus and passionate about reaching people with His love. I never imagined that it would happen so quickly, but He obviously has sent me here, as Hazel said, "for such a time as this."

Lord, I pray that you would help me to remain sensitive to the leading of your Holy Spirit, and that you would also give me the courage to act and to obey when you say, "Go." Please break my heart for the things that break your heart and let me see people as you see them. Use me as your representative to everyone I meet in this community. Move me to do what you want done, to say what you want to say, without hesitation or second guessing. Let me be your humble servant, your handmaiden - not just in words, but in deeds as well - just as Esther was, "for such a time as this."

 God's paintbrush! Sunset over Willingdon Beach, Powell River. 

It really was that red! I was with my son when he took this photo.

Your mission, should you choose it...

In a few days I'm moving to a new community and starting a new phase of my journey with God. I'm heading to Powell River which is on the north end of the Sunshine Coast. It's a beautiful place, a real feast for the eyes, but the thing I like most is the quiet! I have a son and grandson living there so it will be nice to be close to them, but I also feel as though I'm being sent. I will be "tent making" - earning a living by working at a secular job that I believe is my next assignment from God - while praying, getting to know people and seeking God for direction. I'm excited! Your prayers would be gratefully appreciated.

(Photo by my son, Jeremy Williams)

God's Unfathomable Love

Lately everything I've been reading and listening to is on the topic of the extravagant love of God. "The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus" by Brennan Manning - a book that has impacted me more than any other I've read so far - is one example. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favour.  Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, The

A sermon by Baxter Kruger on Ephesians 1 is another example. It's a powerful and profound teaching that set my heart ablaze!


And then, yesterday, in the maximum security unit of a federal penitentiary for women I heard a powerful testimony that caused me to weep with joy Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Theand awe. I lead a weekly Bible study there and had a new woman join me this week. She was the only one on her unit that wanted to participate, and so it gave us an opportunity to get to know one another better. This woman had taken a life, and the day after her arrest and imprisonment, she knew that she was facing a long incarceration and that she didn't have the strength to endure it. So she prayed and asked God to come into her life and help her - and He did!

God did not turn her away or ignore her because of her sin. When she called out to Him, He lovingly came alongside her. And since that day she has been reading the Bible and worshipping Him and praying on a daily basis. She's had no evangelizing and no teaching except for a do-it-yourself Bible study she did in the holding jail she was at before. All on her own - and with the help of the Holy Spirit - she has grown in the Lord. She's like a beautiful flower that has been hidden from view until now; she's been transformed by the renewing of her mind! And she is my most advanced pupil because she's read through the Bible several times and been tutored by the Holy Spirit in the ways of God. She loves Him and trusts Him, and she told me that she has joy and peace in the midst of her circumstances - even when it comes to the care of her four children.

How amazing is that? How amazing is God's love?! What a powerful testimony to the mercy and grace of our loving Father in heaven. I was brought to tears as she shared her story with me and she told me that I was the first person who was able to understand what has happened to her. I am humbled by the privilege of being the first person to ever hear her testimony.

Thank You, Lord, for your amazing grace! Please bless my sister in Christ abundantly as she faithfully clings to You.

He leads me beside the still waters...

We had a stormy week on the west coast with high winds and high tides wreaking havoc in many places. There was major flooding in some communities on Vancouver Island - prompting the government to impose a state of emergency in at least one community - and there were lots of power outages as trees were blown down. Logs littered the beaches in many areas as log booms were broken up strewn every which way by the waves.

While visiting my son (the photographer who took the photo above) and grandson on the northern Sunshine Coast last weekend, I spent the nights in a warm cozy bed in the loft in my son's beachfront cabin. The ceiling was just a few feet above me and it curved around the bed like a cocoon. It was awesome to listen to the sounds of the surf as great waves were hurled against the shore, and of the wind as it whipped through the trees and pushed against the walls of the cabin. One night I lay there trying to imagine what it must be like for the birds and the squirrels who live in the trees that were being tossed and shaken by the winds just a few feet from my bed. I felt so grateful that I could rest safe and warm and secure in my bed inside the loft - so secure that I was able to peacefully drift off to sleep while the tempest raged all around me.

I realized that this was a perfect illustration of what it means to be "in Christ". Though storms rage and terror reigns (H1N1 is the current scare) and the forces of death and destruction wreak havoc in the world all around us, in Christ we are safe and protected; cocooned in a peace that allows us to lay down our heads and sleep - secure in the knowledge that we live and move and have our being in the One through whom all things were created. We can rest in the Saviour, the Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who has all authority in heaven and here on earth. This realization gave me great comfort and it has continued to help me to enter into the rest of God whenever the tempest that rages around me threatens to overwhelm me. He is my fortress, my God in whom I trust.

Thank You Lord for Your love, Your peace, and Your protection. Help me to remain in Your love always.