Born to bring life

This post contains my celebrating Jesus Christ's birth through some poems I wrote long ago.


BORN TO BRING LIFE 

Come all who are heavy laden
come now and behold your King
come all who are sad and lonely
it's time to rejoice and sing

Come all who are weak and weary
lift up your heads and see
come all who are bound in fetters
this Saviour can set you free

This Jesus Who once was rejected
must now be received by all
for the Father has granted eternal life
to those who will answer His call

He comes to give life in abundance
a bearer of burdens is He
He's been born in a world of rejection and strife
He's been born to bring pardon - born to bring life



YOU WASN'T BORN IN A MANSION

You wasn't born in a mansion
You didn't come as a king
You left Your throne in the Heavens my Lord
Jesus..... You gave up everything
born in a manger, in a cradle of straw
for me Lord You made Yourself poor

You didn't walk with the wealthy
You sought neither fortune nor fame
You ate and drank with the sinners my Lord
spent time with the blind and the lame
riches and honour were what You deserved
but Jesus... You came and You served

You didn't die in comfort
there on that hill far away
broken and bleeding, rejected and in pain
You said 'Father, forgive them I pray'
slain for a world filled with hatred and strife
for me Lord You gave Your own life

I thank You Lord Jesus for being born into this sinful world in order to pay the price for all to be reconciled back to the Father and have access to eternal life.

My Testimony

I just feel to re post my testimony to glorify my Saviour Jesus Christ.  

Many years ago I had recorded onto a cassette some poems and songs that I had written.  They related part of my testimony.  While I was living down in West Wales an elder of a church I was attending put them on an mp3 disc for me.  As I know very little about this kind of technology I have just been to the library to ask if anyone can link this disc to my blog.  A young lady there has done her best regarding this, and so I am going to see if this link has worked - the young lady was not sure if it would.  Most of these songs and poems I may have already put up, and I am definitely no  'singer', and only learned a few chords on my guitar to be able to play the tunes that came into my head at the time of writing the songs.
However - one thing I learned at that time of learning from the Lord was  that as we are taught by God through His precious Word, and go through our trials trusting in Him, we are able to get stronger spiritually.  My journey is still on-going, I am forever learning, and I will not know whether this link will work until I publish this post.  If it doesn't work, then I will have lost nothing through trying.:-)

To listen to my testimony  press the link below.

Testimony by Brenda Rees - Soundcloud

How do we think?

A few nights ago I had a dream in which I was trying to speak to a very important person on the phone but could not get connected. This brought me to think of how we, as believers, connect with God. Do we connect with Him through the carnal mind or the mind of Christ as spoken of in 1 Corinthians ch. 2 v.16:- 

'For who has known the mind of the LORD, that he may instruct Him? But we have the MIND OF CHRIST.' This is saying that when we have been born again of the Holy Spirit and  are spiritually  part of the body of Christ on earth, as stated in 1 Corinthians vs. 12 and 13 ( For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body, whether Jews, or Greeks , slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink...) then we  have the mind of Christ. 

Isaiah ch. 55 vs. 8 and 9 clearly states that Gods thoughts and ways are totally different to mankind's thoughts and ways :- 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways' declares the LORD.
Do we argue with that Word?

Job ch. 40 v.2 states:-

' Shall he that contends with the Almighty instruct Him? he that reproves God, let him answer it.'

This is how Paul the Apostle spoke to believers in Ephesians ch. 4 vs 22-24 regarding how they should be in Christ:-

'You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.'

Jesus' Words to us, enlightened by the Holy Spirit,  are what enable us to work out our salvation, and just as He did, we too can learn obedience through the things we suffer, trials strengthening us as we journey on.  Hebrews ch. 5 vs. 8 and 9 state:- 'though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,'  and I see through this that to 'obey' Him means to 'act' on the Word spoken to us as believers, and not just be 'hearers' of that Word.

Recently, the cover on my mobile phone broke and I needed to buy a new one. I do not buy on line and asked my daughter in law if she would order one for me. She went through several of them for me, asking which one I would like, many with butterflies on which I said would be the right one but which were out of stock.  She came to one with a picture of a lion on it and asked me would I like it. I said 'I love lions' , so she ordered it for me. She said 'What will you call the lion?' I started thinking about this and suddenly she said to me 'Did you say 'Judah'? I said to her that I had not said a word. She could not believe it, and said she literally had goose bumps on her arms.

Isaiah ch. 61 v.10 reads:-

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and ARRAYED ME in a robe of HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.' 

1 Corinthians ch. 1 v.30 reads:-

'It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, Who has BECOME for us wisdom from God: our RIGHTEOUSNESS, holiness and redemption....'

If the scriptures say that He has become our righteousness, and also that God has arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, I believe absolutely that what happened with my daughter in law regarding my phone cover is a sign from the Lord accompanying His Word.

What I have on my mobile screen is a picture of a sea and the words 'Walk on water', signifying that I must keep my eyes focused on the Lord, and not on the tribulations in my life.  Now that there will be a lion covering on that statement it speaks Spiritually to me that as long as I keep my eyes upon the Lord, Who is the Word of God, then I shall be covered by His righteousness.

I end this post with a section of 2 Corinthians ch. 10 v.5  that has greatly encouraged me to change my way of thinking.

'.......bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ'

Why?

Someone once said to me 'How can God allow horrible people, that have committed atrocities against others, to walk around the streets, and yet good people die before they are very old?'

Earlier she had said that she still loved a man who had previously left her and their son for another woman, and still lived in hope that he would return to her one day. This reminded me of the parable of the prodigal son in the Bible, and how the Lord used this story to show how  much God loves all of mankind and wants that they should return to Him.  The spiritual enemy is rife in the world, and it is even prophesied in 1 Timothy ch. 4 v.1 that many shall fall away from the faith in the end times.

Often people will blame God for many things that man is responsible for doing because they do not see the whole picture and realise how much God wants that we should all come to know Him and learn His ways, which can only be brought about through being born again of His Holy Spirit.  This is why it is so important that we should, as Christians, share the gospel of Christ with humility and not with any kind of judgement, which would have the ability to turn those Who God is calling to Him away from Him. Some time ago I wrote a poem about this. It is called 'Why Lord?'

Why Lord?

Why do people hate You Lord
and blaspheme Your precious name
why for all man's evil deeds 
do You always get the blame
Can't they see Your goodness  
are they all so blind
don't they see that all Your works 
are merciful and kind
or is it that Your children  
we who see Your good
are not presenting You Lord 
as we really should
Have we made our own rules 
for people in distress
Instead of showing Jesus 
do we just oppress
Are we thinking we are clean 
through something we have done
do we stand in judgement 
condemning everyone
What do they see stood in front of them 
do they see You Lord or me
do they look on a humble child of God 
or a self righteous Pharisee
Father forgive us our stubbornness  
our refusal to bend to Your will
Oh teach us to go when You say 'Move on' 
but to wait when You say 'Be still'
Forgive us for our stiff necks Lord 
for our vain and foolish pride
bring us to preach to the world Lord 
only Jesus Christ crucified
As oracles of God we are 
like Jesus to behave
Who came not to condemn the world 
but for the world to save
So Lord forgive me if I've failed to set the captives free
if I have become to You a fruitless fig tree
Don't let me see the cruelty of the possessor
let me see the plight of the possessed
don't let Your love inside me turn to hate
because I see the oppressor instead of the oppressed
Unstop the ears of this messenger Lord
open the eyes of this servant of Yours
then will I hear the cry of the prisoners
and You'll show me the way to open locked doors
Then they'll see You when they look at me
they'll just see mercy and grace
seeing the Lord of eternity upon this earthly face 


What I really love about the Bible is that it becomes a book of instruction on how to live a peaceful life on earth. Jesus says  in John ch. 16 v.33 that in Him we have peace. The more we read, the more correction, advice and Spiritual growth we have access to, and the more God's thoughts and ways become our thoughts and ways.

Sometimes we have to go through  'sadness', 'badness' and 'madness'  before we can see what we have brought ourselves into and then we have to learn from these situations what not to do in our lives.  The only way we can change is to bring the Word and teaching of God into our lives, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in our journey through life on earth.  The battle is not about flesh and blood but is spiritual.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians ch. 6 v.12

A labourer let me be

' Stay in bed for the day ' my husband said ' get rid of that cold '.  ' Hmm.. ' I thought, ' maybe I will have a few hours in bed.'    ' I could do with a rest.'  I replied.  So I had stayed in bed that morning and much of the afternoon.

As I lay there, gazing out through the window, I watched the people passing by in the street and reflected on how their lives might be, on whether there might be sadness behind the smile, or worry and anxiety behind the sombre look.  I thought of how little we might know about one another's lives, whether we be workmates, neighbours or even strangers.  After a while my husband brought me a cup of tea and I started to feel a little better, and decided to read.  I looked at my collection of books on my shelves and chose a book of poems called ' In Memory Of ', a collection of poets' tributes to, and memories of, friends and loved ones that had died.  As I read poem after poem of peoples' feelings, some of joyful memories and some of grief, I began to realize that God was revealing to me what I had pondered on earlier while gazing through my window.  He was now showing me what lay behind a face in the street, revealing to me peoples' innermost feelings, people who were mostly hurting through loss and loneliness.I don't believe that God does anything by chance.  I am a Christian and, as it says in Psalm 139 that every day in my life was written in His book before even one of them was formed. 
 As I lay in my bed I had to question my part in life as far as my fellow man was concerned.  I read on and became filled with compassion for the people who had allowed me to see into their lives.  I know that on that day, when I was brought to see inside the hearts and minds of others, I felt compassion which brought in turn responsibility.  I had been made aware of the loneliness and suffering of others, Christians included, and it had compelled me to want to play my part in life to the best of my ability.  May the Lord help me always to be alert to where and when I may help another.

One poem in particular about a man who was grief stricken at the loss of his soul mate and looked to God for release filled me with such sadness that it brought me to write this poem which contains, I suppose, some of my own deepest feelings.

The Window

' Twas sickness caused me on that day
to rest and in my bed to lay

While through my window I could see
the world outside did not need me

It carried on its busy life
 regardless of my pain and strife

Yet as I gazed upon the scene
that lay beyond lace covered screen

I wondered at each passer by
 .... If face reflected truth or lie

I lay in comfort needing naught 
my husband food and drink had brought

but for my mind to idle be 
was nothing short of misery

Then suddenly my eye was cast 
upon my books - a treasure vast

A book of poems I should read 
to satisfy my spirit's need

to see what lay within the mind 
of other creatures of my kind

I turned the pages one by one .... 
a stirring journey had begun

For hidden there in every leaf was joy 
and sorrow, love and grief

A vast collection here was seen  
of frozen dreams that might have been

of past regrets and loneliness  
sweet memories of tenderness

Lost loves and breaking of the heart 
when sudden death caused to depart

a soul mate of so many years

My burning cheeks felt cooling tears

Such moving stories I had read 
as I lay sick upon my bed

A window had been shown to me 
through which I'd seen reality

of pain that lay behind a smile 
of need to go the extra mile

What of my part in life I thought 
what words of comfort had I brought

In all my years upon this Earth 
What words of love, support and worth

had touched the lives of those I'd met 
Was there remorse, was there regret ?

What use is it if kindly word 
is left in thought and never heard

This world that from my bed I saw
that looked so proud and strong before

has need of me .... and I of it 
each soul to do its special bit

To share with others words of love 
God's seeds of blessing from above

is all that may be asked of me 
to help to set another free

from pain and hurt and misery 
that death and loss has caused to be

but seeds can never come to birth 
unless they're planted in the earth

So Father help me in my life 
to ease a fellow creature's strife

to seek my Lord to try to do 
the things that I have learned from You

and may You cause my eyes to see 
windows of opportunity

to stretch a tender loving hand 
towards the suffering in this land

to sow Your seeds of love and peace 
that word and deed might bring release

Before I finish this post I feel led to add a song that I wrote some time ago.

A labourer let me be

A child is dying in the street - it cries aloud for bread
do you give of what you have or watch it til it's dead
The harvest now is ready, the fields are white I see
one thing I ask my Father, a labourer let me be
a labourer let me be.

A world was dying in its sin - it didn't ask for bread
God could have given punishment. He gave His Son instead
Yes, He gave His Son instead.
The harvest now is ready - the fields are white I see
one thing I ask my Father, a labourer let me be
A labourer let me be.
Teach us to be humble Lord while bearing precious seed
To deal our bread from Heaven to those who are in need
To those who are in need.

For what is salt without the savour
what is the church without the Word
What use are we among the prisoners
if they say 'Lord we never heard'
If they say 'Lord we never heard'.

The harvest now is ready - the fields are white I see
one thing I ask my Father, a labourer let me be
a labourer let me be.

Contaminated Water

Recently I had a dream. There was a fish tank with many gold fish in it, but the water appeared to be dirty. I felt I had to clean the water, so I removed the fish, put fresh water in the tank and put the fish back in it.  Then I saw another smaller tank further away, with just two goldfish in it, also with even dirtier water in it. One fish was alive, the other was dead. I felt to remove the dead fish, replace it with another live one, and once again refill the tank with clean water.

I believe I know what this dream was portraying to me. Ephesians ch. 5 vs. 26 and 27 reads, regarding the reason Jesus gave Himself up for the church:- 

'to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless...'

 1 Corinthians ch. 15 v.27 tells us that:- ' For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive',  and I believe the first tank was representing a danger of us being in  'contaminated water' (as in the cleansing Water of the Word, which keeps us 'alive in Christ', being blemished by false doctrine being added to that Word.)

The second tank was at a distance, and I believe the live fish was representing Jesus, Who is alive forever, and the dead fish was representing a spiritually dead church that could result from false doctrine if we allow the Word of God to us to be contaminated by it.

1 Timothy ch.4 v. 1 says :-   'The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.' 

Ephesians ch. 6 v.12 tells us:- 'For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.'

We are all One in the Lord as the 'church', the body of Christ on earth, and I believe that my 'cleaning' of the water in my dream was a warning that we must each play our part of building one another up in the true Word as stated in 1 Corinthians ch. 14 v. 26:-
'What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Let all things be done for the building up.'

Matthew ch. 28 v.19 and 20 tells the disciples to go making disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  However, it is obvious that He is not speaking to the disciples of that time alone, as He goes on to say that He will be with them until the end of the age. That Word is the same yesterday, today and forever, and is quite plainly speaking to the church today. All the gifts of the Spirit must freely operate within the church, as it is only the Holy Spirit that can lead us into all truth, and this is very much needed to bring a revival of the Holy Spirit in these end times.

Sadly, the church today can sometimes be 'washed' by 'contaminated water' (the Word of God that has been 'added to' or' taken from' through false doctrine), and the large fish tank in my dream, with many fish in dirty water portrays this.  The smaller tank with very dirty water and two fish in it (one alive and one dead) portrays to me Jesus, Who is forever alive, and the threat of what the very dirty water (the highly indoctrinated word) can do to the collective church of this day, the bride of Christ.

Jesus said 'My Words are Spirit and life' John ch. 6 v. 63, and without His Words and their teaching we have no life in the Spirit, we remain dead in our sins.

I believe that my dream was a warning to me, and to all who are in the Lord, to always check that the Word spoken to us, that we hear and act upon in our daily walk with the Lord, is in line with the scriptures, and is not contaminated by a false doctrine that does not conform with what is written there.

I end this post with this prayer:-

Father as each day I seek
Your blessed strength when I am weak
may all opposing voices heard
be silenced by Your precious Word
that all sufficient healing power
may reach me in my needy hour
Father may I see Your face
look down on me with tender grace

Those who fear Thee shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in Thy Word.
 Psalm 119 v.74

Our Spiritual journey

I love the way that the Word spoken to us is a living Word, and just as we do not say 'yes' and 'no' at the same time - neither does God through that Word as the Holy Spirit teaches us, it depends where we are in our spiritual growth.  It is an on-going journey and I love the way I am being changed through the teaching of the Holy Spirit, even though I go through many trials.

1 Corinthian ch. 2 vs. 11 and 12 read:-
'For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him?  So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.' 

The following is something which I felt to write many years ago.  They were words that just dropped into my head as if it was a voice speaking to me after I became born again of God's Spirit.  Whether it will speak to anyone else I do not know, but I feel to share it on this post, although I may have already shared it on my blog some time previously.

Renewal

Do not be tainted by a love that is not God's. Don't let innocence be spoiled by a wisdom that is earthly. Always remain as a child in your own wisdom so that the greatness of God's words can be allowed to enter into the ears of your heart, so that you may grow up into Him and remember no more the foolishness of this present world.  For there is a part of you which can not understand His Words and it would seek to rob you of His truth. It is the mind of your first father, Adam, a fleshly mind. The Lord speaks and your heart receives, but your mind tries to intervene and to reason with logic.  Oppose that which is at enmity with God and receive into your heart only that which is pleasing to Him, His Words, which are Spirit and life.


MIRROR IMMAGE

Lord may we learn from creation
may we look to the vast blue sea
to the mountains, the fields and the valleys
to know how we ought to be

May we look to the gentle dolphin
as he tries to befriend mankind
and follow this creature's example
leaving killing and hatred behind

May we look to the towering mountains
holding fast against tempest and rain
as we struggle with sorrow and tragedy
finding strength amidst suffering and pain

As we look to the fields and the harvest
all golden and bursting with grain
may we learn how to share with each other
may our giving replace all our gain

Then, as in the river's reflection
of the blue of the Heavens above
so too we will mirror the image
of God's totally unselfish love


These are another two poems that I have written at two separate times during my on going walk with the Lord.
The first is one that I wrote at a very early stage when I was being fed the 'milk' of the Word, it is called  'Messiah':-

MESSIAH

I watch in anguish every day
as killing, torture, hatred reign
in horror turn my eyes away,
hoping somehow to reduce the pain
I cry, despair and sorrow gripping me
Then Jesus comes, saying 'Child - I see'
and the burden is removed from me

I stumble blindly down life's road
through shifting sand and mists of sin
bent low by fortune's heavy load
deep loneliness and fear within
I scream, held tightly by frustration's hand
Then Jesus comes, saying 'Child - I understand'
and shows to me a promised land

I reach towards this man of love
this gentle lifter of my head
empowered by Spirit from above
to wake from sleep the living dead
I breathe, as new life stirs within my soul
Then Jesus comes, saying 'Child - I make you whole'
and give you back what Satan stole'

I listen - now familiar sound
a still small voice dispels the gloom
my step a dance upon the ground
as I arise from earthen tomb
I praise -  my song 'Emmanuel' 
the Christ has come saying 'All is well
for I have conquered death and Hell'

The second poem I would like to share in this post is one that I wrote regarding Jesus' sacrifice. I called it 'Forever grateful Father'

FOREVER GRATEFUL FATHER

Forever grateful Father that You gave Your precious Son
Who, knowing His awesome destiny said
'Not my will, but Your will be done'
Yet it pleased You to bruise Him Father
so that I might have peace and be healed
for through this one act of sacrifice
was Your gift of salvation revealed

Forever remembering Jesus
that You hung upon that tree
taking the pain and punishment
that was meant for a sinner like me
Yet You chose not to open Your mouth Lord
and call on the Heavenly host
to come to Your aid on that lonely day
No.... You suffered and gave up the ghost

Forever Yours Holy Spirit
while You teach me and make all things clear
chastising me when I go astray
and wiping away each tear
Oh Father I love and respect You
and Jesus I want to obey
So guide me great Spirit and keep me
'Til my Lord returns for me one day

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift   
2 Corinthians  ch. 8 v.15