Blessed  Encounters

That point to a REVIVAL and  THE DAY OF THE LORD

 

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Fire and Faces  -  Saturday  22 March  2020

“The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge;

the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.”  John 12:48

 

On Saturday, 8 January 2021, while consulting the notes of events on my mobile phone, I discovered that the last entry[1] was one that has more significance than I realised at the time of recording. It was a fourth blessed encounter, and it had taken place at 3.30pm on Saturday, 22 March 2020, a year after ‘the Lord’s Favour’ encounter as follows: 

                                                                                                                                                                  

“I lay down for a brief nap, having set the timer for 25 minutes.   As I put my head down on the pillow I was confronted by a vision of a wall of fierce flame. My thoughts were: “This again”?  “I want to go to sleep”!

 

On making a tired effort to look: “I can’t see through it!”; “There might be something back there?” Then I noted the trees amongst the flame, as varyingly partial obscured silhouettes being consumed by the flame.

 

Then between me and conflagration, there passed many a disembodied face, at a brisk pace.” From right to left.[2] “Some single. And some were in small disordered groupings.  There were males and females of diverse appearance.

 

As the vision disappeared, I fell asleep. I awoke refreshed, fifteen minutes after having set the timer, and thoroughly perplexed by the brief vision that had preceded my sleep.

 

Next morning (23 Mar 2020) whilst having a shower, Ezekiel 20: 45-48 came to mind”:

 

45 The word of the Lord came to me:  46 “Son of man,… prophesy against the forest of the southland.  47 Say to the southern forest:”

 

‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

               

I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.  48 Everyone will see that I the Lord have kindled it;  it will not be quenched.”

 

I have found this connection with Ezekiel puzzling.  Ezekiel 20 is very much about Israel long ago, and clearly so up to verse 44.  The original focus of Ezekiel 20: 45-48 was probably the people (trees) of Judah (Southland) to the South of Israel?  Nevertheless, the reality of events of 22-23 March 2020 suggests to me that vision is intended to convey Ezekiel 20:45-48[3] in context with   and emphasis to   prophesy given in Isaiah 24 verses 6 and 2:

 

6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth;
   its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,
   and very few are left.

 

2  it will be the same
         for priest as for people,
    for the master as for his servant,
    for the mistress as for her servant,
    for seller as for buyer,
    for borrower as for lender,
    for debtor as for creditor

                                                                                                                                                                  (Isaiah 24)          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lost and Regained 

  Friday  19 March  2021 – Thursday 1 April 2021

13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.

Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  Hebrews 4:13

 

The afternoon of 19 March 2021, proved to be the beginning of the fifth blessing.  I had gone to do some gardening work at the Manse of our new Church.   In the rush to fit in with other arrangements I had taken my favourite (and expensive) reading glasses with me.  Normally, I would have taken cheap magnifying glasses.  

 

The soon to be occupied manse was in need of basic gardening attention.  Most of my prayerful gardening effort that day involved gathering up piles of pruning of various plants into a bigger heap, and also into a ‘Green’ waste bin for Council collection.  This took about an hour.

 

On returning home I realised that my glasses must be still back in the grounds of the Manse.  I drove back soon after, to prayerfully search for them.  I searched grounds, the contents of the large Green Waste Bin, and the considerably large heap of plant cuttings and assorted fallen branches from the four large Gum trees there.  Nothing! They were lost!

 

On about four occasions, during this period, I went back to do further tidying of long grass and bushes with an electric line trimmer.  Each time I was on the lookout for my reading glasses.  Also, each Sunday, I searched for them after the Church service.  

 

Late Thursday morning 1 April, a member of congregation (faithful and effective in presenting the word) phoned to ascertain if the glasses he had found were mine.  Soon after, having affirmed the glasses were in fact mine, the messenger showed me where he had found them.  It was ground that I had inspected, weeded, raked, and gone over with an electric line trimmer!  It had also been mowed by someone on Monday that week.  Very curious?

 

My reading glasses were returned to me in excellent condition - No scratches on the lenses!  Naturally, I gave prayerful thanks.  I had regained what I had lost!   It was the day before Good Friday.  Any thought that had lately begun about a need to visit an optometrist, vanished.

                                                                                                          

The next morning, Good Friday, coincidentally, the theme of the message given by the visiting preacher Bruce T. was very much focused on God’s promise of eternal life ‘lost and regained’.  Thus, the blessing of reading glasses ‘lost and regained’ readily evoked a connection to the celebration of Easter:

 

·        The commemoration of God’s saving grace made available to us by His son’s sacrifice on the cross. 

 

·        This greatest blessing of all, whereby every believer in the crucified and resurrected Jesus regains God’s promise of eternal life that was lost to humanity - because of Adam’s sin, and humanity’s continuing inclination to sin. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

1Praise the Lord, all you nations;   extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love toward us,  and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord!    Psalm 117

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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John Griffiths

(a penitent sinner)

Originated 11April 2021

Revised  14 May 2021                 

 

To A Prayer of Worship, Praise, Thanks and Honour

 

 

 

 


[1]The only entry since March 2019

[2]This sentence from memory included on 11 Jan 2021

[3]In regard to the ‘forest fire’ and ‘drying’ conveyed by the visions Leigh H originally suggested (14 Feb 2020)  that Ezekiel 20: 45-48 might be relevant, in particular ".. prophesy against the forest of the Southland" about a fire that “will consume all your trees, both green and dry ...”.    ‘Southland’ is one of several interpretations of ‘נֶגֶב’ / negeb {neh'-gheb, from an unused root meaning ‘to be parched’}: The Negev, south country, southern, southeast, southward and south, are some others.    ‘Southland’ expressed in Latin is ‘Terra Australis’.