We’re back in Fredericksburg, Virginia, but many of you already know this. It’s now very much Spring here with a fullness of white and pink blossom and the bright yellow of forsythia and daffodils.
I do love this time of year with lighter evenings and the sound of birdsong in the mornings.
Prophetic School
Last Saturday morning we were blessed to join a Prophetic School at Grace Church of Fredericksburg, led by Dylan Standridge of Iris Ministries. This ministry was founded by Heidi Baker, who lives much of the time in Mozambique. It is primarily a ministry of God’s love to the poor and disadvantaged.
Dylan has a remarkable prophetic gift from God and he led us by teaching from I Corinthians 12-14.
As he highlighted the blessing of prophetic ministry, and encouraged us to receive this gift and prophesy, he emphasised that prophecy must be a ministry of love.
While chapters 12 and 14 of 1 Corinthians speak of the spiritual gifts given to the church, he reminded us that those chapters are either side of the central chapter 13 which is all about love.
Prophetic Ministry
Dylan focused his teaching on the importance of always pursuing love as the primary focus.
”Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.“
I Corinthians 14:1 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/1co.14.1.NKJV
This really helped me to refocus my own understanding of the value of the gift of prophecy.
In fact I had the opportunity to speak prophetically to two people on Sunday evening. One was a member of staff at a diner called Taco Bell. It was a simple conversation, asking his name and telling him that Jesus loved him deeply. Just a moment in time but my prayer is that John has been impacted by that interaction.
The other was our female Uber driver, who turned out to be a Uyghur and was deeply troubled by personal issues arising from persecution of her people. If the Holy Spirit had not caused me to hear His promptings and speak into her life and the life of her people, we would simply have had a car ride.
As it turned out, the 20 minute ride became a time of personal ministry with each of us telling the other “I love you” as we arrived at our home and stepped out of the car. We were really blown away by the power of His Presence in that car!
Pursue Love
I also want to thank Dylan Standridge for ministering personally to me and my husband Roger on Sunday evening before we went out to eat at Taco Bell and get our ride home that night.
It was a great blessing to have such an encouraging personal word over our lives, which resonated so strongly in our circumstances. It brought such a sense of God’s love and plans for us. We could sense the joy of God’s Spirit as we received His words.
A Poem
Pursue Love
What is love? Ah, God is love.
And we do well to contemplate
The love He shows. The love He is.
For God is love and He is great
We see His plan to bring His love
To earth in Eden’s garden
It wasn’t long before man’s heart
In self began to harden
A lack of trust. A fear of loss
And we grasped for our will
It broke His heart, but as we fell
Our Father loved us still
Yet He is just in every way
For love must justice bear
And so our God sent forth His Son
To find us where we were
This Son is love. He’s perfect love
Reflecting here true God
Yet in the darkness of this world
We cursed the earth He trod
And so He trod it to a cross
Upon a barren hill
And gave His life, so we might live
And do His Father’s will
As Jesus rose up from the tomb
Where we had made our bed
He broke the curse of lovelessness
So we find love instead
It wasn’t us. We couldn’t do
What He had always planned
To bring His love to earth in man
By His all-loving hand
The only One who could do that
Was Jesus, God’s true Son
Pure-born of love to rescue us
From all that we had done
And what a cost. Oh what a price
To pursue that love on earth
For God Himself has ransomed us
For what He says we’re worth.
Pursue God’s love, His deathless love
Through justice, truth and grace
And praise Him for the loveliness
Upon His lovely face…
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
The Bakery 