Don Egan on life, the universe and everything

Yellow Wellies and Hungry Wolves

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:10:00 +0000

Leonardo da Vinci once wrote:
"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer; since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgement. Go some distance away because the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen."

Hazel and I have just returned from a week's break in the Lake District. It was good to just get away and stop. Although, we did walk many miles on the hills during our time there.

Whenever I get some solitude I'm always listening for God's voice. What is God saying to me today? There were two moments last week when I felt God was speaking to me.

Firstly, there was the little girl in yellow wellies. She was paddling in the edge of Lake Coniston trying to catch the little ducklings, who were in turn looking for food from people. Every time she tried to catch a duckling it swam into deeper water out of her reach. I watched this little girl to see if she would catch a duckling. As I did, I noticed that the more she tried to catch one, the deeper she ventured into the water.

Her wellies were only short and it was only a matter of time before she stepped in too deep and the water would come over the top and flood her yellow boots. As it was a cold day, I wondered what her reaction would be when the inevitable happened. She stepped in deep to try to catch her latest target. The water flooded over the top of her boots and filled them up. To my amazement she didn't bat an eyelid.

I was impressed. This little girl was carefree. Her flooded wellies didn't bother her. She continued chasing the ducks. As I watched her, laughing and splashing about, I thought, that's how God wants us to live - carefree. 'Unless you come as a child…'

Secondly, on another day, Hazel and I walked round Humphrey Head, the only true sea cliff in North Lonsdale. In 1281, Edward 1 commissioned a man called Peter Corbet to kill every wolf in the kingdom. The last English wolf lived on Humphrey Head. As we passed through the woods on the far side of the head, I imagined Peter Corbet here hunting his last wolf. What a task - to pursue and kill every wolf in the kingdom.

I thought of our walk with God and how we need to constantly subdue the flesh lest our enemy turn on us and devour us.

Somehow we are called to hold these two things in tension: To live a carefree life and to be alert to the wolves prowling in the kingdom. Peter obviously thought about this when he wrote:

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:7-8

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The spirit of infirmity

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:07:00 +0000

“And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.”
Luke 13:11

I am learning that there are two levels of sickness at work in people's bodies. There is the physical problem in a person's body - whatever the sickness or disease is - but there is also a spiritual level. The Bible calls it the 'spirit of infirmity'.

The spirit of infirmity is a demonic spirit that oppresses people in their body. Now let me say, first of all, not all our sickness begins with a demonic attack. If you've eaten too many hamburgers all your life, and you end up with a weak heart, that's not the devil, that's too many hamburgers.

If you trip and twist your ankle - that's not the devil, you just tripped.

But, the devil takes that weakness and begins to come on you to keep that weakness in your body and make it worse. He wants to establish a spirit of infirmity that you can't shake off.

The spirit of infirmity tries to make your sickness into your identity - 'the blind man', 'the deaf woman', 'the cripple' - Satan loves those titles.

This is why, when I pray for the sick, I really view it as deliverance. I see all sickness like a snake seeking to poison us and suck the life out of us. Satan's plan for your life is to steal from you, kill you and destroy everything you have. (John 10:10)

We see repeatedly in the scriptures that sickness is oppression of the devil:

“…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Acts 10:38

“… The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.”
1 John 3:8

“Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.”
Matthew 17:18

So what does Jesus come to do? He comes to free us from bondage. Back in the story in Luke 13:10, we see Jesus' response to the spirit of infirmity.

But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”
Luke 13:12

And we know that Jesus still wants to do that same thing today. He still wants to loose people from their infirmity because he is the same today as he was then.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8

A Prayer
I pray for those of you who are sick today - I curse every sickness and disease in your body. I bind the spirit of infirmity at work in your life. I break the power of sickness and disease attacking you today. I declare you are loosed from all sickness and disease. May the Holy Spirit come and touch your body right now. Sickness is going and healing is coming! Right now, in Jesus name. Amen.

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Keep on moving

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:28:00 +0000

Bad stuff happens to good people. That's the nature of life on earth. We see it everyday on the news. But what if we are that person? What if the bad stuff comes our way? We need to look up and listen to Jesus!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

One of the most dramatic pictures in the Bible is the story of Ezekiel's valley of dry bones.

“The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.”
Ezekiel 37:1

Sometimes we talk of being 'down in the dumps'. These bones were down in the valley. It was a place of depression and difficulty. At some point in our lives we all pass through this place.

Most people rush on and talk about the amazing image of the wind coming on the bones and the spirit bringing life to the dry bones.

But I am wondering about something else. Why were these bones there in the first place? What caused them to die in the valley?

They stopped. When the going got tough… they stopped right there. And died. They camped on their difficulties. We've all met people who are stuck because of something that happened so very long ago. They have stopped in the valley of their trouble.

King David had a different approach.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalms 23:4

He didn't say 'even though I stop…' but 'even though I walk through'. He wasn't stopping in trouble. He was going through. When trouble comes we must keep moving. We have the promise of God - he will deliver us.

“He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.”
Psalms 91:15

If you are in the valley of trouble today, don't stop! Keep on moving. Keep believing that God will deliver you. Keep praying. Keep taking steps out of trouble.

Special book offer for readers!
For two great books for when sickness or trouble comes, check out this special offer.
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God saved you for a purpose.

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:31:00 +0000

As recent weeks unfolded, I have become very aware of God's purposes for my life. Last week I had a phone call from an old friend I haven't seen for a long time. She was telling me how she believed God had a plan for her life that included being a partner with RSVP.

She also told me that years have come and gone and, although she's done a few things about God's plan for her life, she hasn't remotely reached her full potential.

God wants you to reach for your full potential.
This week I believe God wants you to reach for your full potential. As we seek his face in prayer God will give us revelation. God says to you…

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13

Some people I meet don't really believe God can do anything with their life because of things that happened in the past. If you've read my book 'Beautiful on the Mountains' you'll know I had nothing to offer God. I was a zero really. But Jesus is the holy One. What I found was that when this zero stood next to the holy One we became 10. Then I noticed a few other zeros standing with Jesus. We zeros became millions as we stood next to the holy '1'

I like the way Muhammed Ali put it:

“If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”

What are your plans for this year?
It is not unspiritual to make plans - far from it. The Bible recommends we make plans.

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.”
Proverbs 21:5

In fact, if you fail to plan then you are planning to fail. We need a plan for this month, this year and the next five years. Be aware though that, in reality, most of us overestimate what we can achieve in a year. But we underestimate what we can achieve in five years.

And when you've made some plans - take some action!

Vaclav Havel said, “Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.”

I like that. What is the one thing you could do this week that will make a difference to your life? Maybe there is some decision you could take right now.

It is time to step up and reach for your full potential.

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Who is Jesus...?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:59:00 +0000

My friend Antony Delaney posted this video on his blog and I just think it's fantastic.

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Calling those things which are not as though they are.

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 08:42:00 +0000

“…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;”
Romans 4:17

God calls those things which do not exist as though they did. What a great statement! God is always contradicting the darkness in the world.

In creation God contradicts the darkness. 'Let there be light!' When he said that it was dark. He contradicts the situation.
Jesus tells the cripple to stand up.
He tells the leper to be clean,
He tells the blind to see,
He tells the mute to speak, and the dead to rise!
He tells the storm to be still and the evil spirits to be silent.
Everywhere he goes he contradicts the circumstances.

We are made in God's image and we need to rise up and start contradicting a few things. We already do it in the natural world. When we come home and it's cold we turn up the thermostat. We come home and find the house too cold at 8 degrees. We turn up the thermostat to 22 degrees. We call it 22 degrees but it's initially still 8 degrees. We are calling those things which are not as though they were. It's time to set your thermostat on your situation by faith.

We overcome the world and our difficulties by faith. We change the climate of our situation with our faith.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.”
1 John 5:4

We are not to be moved by what we see but by what we see in the spirit.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith is a fight!
Moving by faith in the world is a fight. Sometimes we think we'll say a little prayer and something will happen. But often that doesn't work. No. We need to rise up a start contradicting a few things. We need to curse sickness, poverty and oppression. We need to start to fight!

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
1 Timothy 6:12

Fighting and faith go hand in hand. The devil may start it but me and God are going to finish it. Towards the end of his life Paul wrote:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7

And we fight the fight by calling those things that are not as though they are. The Bible says:

“Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'
Joel 3:10

We are to call things that are not as though they were. Let the sick say I am healed. Let the poor say I am rich. Initially it may sound a bit peculiar. But you are called to be peculiar!

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
1 Peter 2:9, KJV.

Say these statements out loud right now!

I am strong!
I am healed!
I am in a period of uncommon favour.
I am a millionaire!
I have no fear!
I have power to get wealth!
God has healed all my diseases
I have the strength of a teenager!
I am free from every addiction the devil put on me!
By his wounds I am healed!

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Have you ever noticed how God always lets Satan go first?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:18:00 +0000

Satan comes only to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). That is his plan for your life. It always has been and always will be. Sometimes when we come under attack from Satan we wonder why God doesn't act immediately.

But the Bible shows that God usually let's Satan go first. He lets him do his worst and then God moves in and redeems the situation. Nowhere is this fact clearer than in the book of Job. Yet we see it throughout scripture.

In the beginning… Satan came to Eden and corrupted Adam and Eve.

He used the Egyptian Pharaoh to bring the people of Israel into slavery in Egypt. The people were mistreated and abused for years. They grew in number, which led to the slaughter of innocent Israeli babies… then God parted the Red Sea and brought his people to the Promised Land.

Goliath intimidated the armies of Israel day after day. No one dared challenge him… until God raised up the shepherd boy David.

The prophets of Baal entered into a contest on Mount Carmel with Elijah. Elijah let them go first to see if Baal would answer… but it was the Living God who answered Elijah's prayer with fire.

Daniel was thrown into the lion's den before God delivered him.

Jesus' ministry began with the temptation in the wilderness first.

Before Jesus conquered sin and death, he was nailed to the cross first. Then came the resurrection.

Sometimes I wonder if God is taunting Satan. “Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!”

God is always ready to contradict the attacks of Satan on our life.
That is why your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurt. Your greatest victory will always be in the area of your greatest pain.

Your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurt.

In 1987 my son died during a heart operation. Around the same period my parents both died prematurely. I think I can confidently say that episode of my life was the darkest.

And yet today, my most effective ministry is in Rwanda - a place of genocide and premature death. Every family has been touched by the finger of death. Yet in the midst of that nation's grief I find my most effective ministry. Unlike so many, I am not intimidated by the shadow of death that falls across Rwanda because I know my God can bring life after grief.

If you are in a place of darkness, difficulty and fear right now, get ready because when Satan has done his worst, and the dust settles, God is going to move to redeem your situation. And when he does you are going to see the glory of the Lord.

In the meantime we need to stand firm in our faith refusing to be moved by what we see.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.”
(1 John 5:4)

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Vision - the key to miracle breakthrough

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:26:00 +0000

Over the last few posts we have looked at how to increase our faith for miracles and healing, and how God is thinking about us and is mindful of his covenant.

Today I want to look at the place of vision in your miracle. If you can't see your miracle on this inside of you, you won't see it on the outside either. When we stir our faith for something we have to begin with a God given vision.

“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint”
(Proverbs 29:18)

Put it another way - 'where there is no vision, people are all over the place'. When we don't have a vision or a road map, we are in confusion, tossed this way and that way by every opinion or feeling.

But when God gives us a vision - when we see things how they should be, in a vision on the inside of us - then we can move forward in faith towards that vision. Vision enables us to be single minded, which in turn gets us the breakthrough we are looking for.

Even when we choose a car, it begins with a vision. We see a picture in a brochure or we see a car in the street. That produces increased desire which in turn leads us to getting the thing we have been meditating on.

Look at the steps Joshua took to get the breakthrough at Jericho.

1. He meditated on God's word.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
(Joshua 1:8)

Step one is to see what God says and meditate on that until that is bigger in your mind than the problem or sickness you are facing. It means spending some quality time in God's word and in God's presence.

2. He had the vision on the inside.
Jericho was a terrifying obstacle. Lesser men would have turned and run. But Joshua knew there could be no Promised Land blessing without going through Jericho.

It's said that Jericho's walls were so thick you could race chariots along the top of them. Joshua knew it would take a miracle to get the breakthrough.

The day for battle came. Joshua led the army towards Jericho. Look at the first word God said to Joshua.

“And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valour.”
(Joshua 6:2)

First of all God says “See!” In other words, look at the vision on the inside Joshua. You can see victory on the inside. You know by faith what is going to happen here.

Then God says, “I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valour.”

Now that was not yet true. The battle still had to start. But God was saying, 'See it on the inside first. When you see it on the inside of you - when you know it in your spirit - then it's a foregone conclusion what the outcome will be.

Later we read the outcome. At the end of verse 20 it says,

“…and they took the city.”
(Joshua 6:20)

So the steps to your miracle are:

1. Hear from God's word and meditate on that.
2. See the vision of what it will look like to get your miracle or healing
3. Act on the vision and walk towards it as though it was already yours
4. Take what God has already given you.

These things sometimes take time. It's rare to see the answer to your prayer as you say the 'Amen' at the end of your first prayer. Be bold. Press through to victory using these steps.

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What is God thinking?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:01:00 +0000

As Albert Einstein lay on his deathbed, he asked only for his glasses, his writing implements and his latest equations. He knew he was dying, yet he continued his work. In those final hours of his life, while fading in and out of consciousness, he was working on what he hoped would be his greatest work of all. It was a project of monumental complexity. It was a project that he hoped would unlock the mind of God.

“I am not interested in this phenomenon or that phenomenon,” Einstein had said earlier in his life. “I want to know God's thoughts - the rest are mere details.”

Wouldn't it be great to know what God is thinking right now? Actually, I can tell you exactly what God is thinking right now. He is thinking about two things and how they fit together. Firstly, he is thinking about you.

“The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.”
Psalms 115:12

God is mindful of you - yes you! Is he thinking how bad you are or how you've let him down? No! He is mindful of you and he is thinking about how to bless you.

The second thing he is thinking about is his covenant. He is thinking about the covenant he made through Jesus because that is the mechanism of his blessing.

“…He will ever be mindful of His covenant.”
Psalms 111:5

Thousands of years ago, God looked at the condition of men and women, who were separated from him, and started his plan to bring you and me back into a loving relationship with himself. He found a man called Abram. He saw faith in his heart. He performed a miracle and brought Abram into a covenant so that everything God has was his and everything that Abram had was Gods. That's what the covenant was. What a great blessing!

“On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram…”
Genesis 15:18

Fast forward a few thousand years and God extended that blessing to you and me through Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross he was fully God and fully man. As the blood ran from his veins, the blood of God and the blood of man ran together in a new covenant.

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, …that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus…”
Galatians 3:13-14

Now all that God had was ours and all we had was his! He took our sin and gave us his forgiveness. He took our sickness and gave us his healing. He took our poverty and gave us his provision. He took our fear and gave us his peace. Jesus taught that this would happen in the story of the lost son. When the older brother complained that the prodigal was being blessed even though he sinned and that he himself had received nothing, Jesus puts these words into the mouth of the father who represents God.

“And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”
Luke 15:31

It's amazing! Everything he has is ours when we live in the covenant blessing relationship. It's so amazing many Christians live like the older brother - they live with the father, try and be faithful but never benefit from the blessing because they don't realise it is there's already!

And the reason God is thinking about blessing you through his covenant is that it is set forever as the channel for his blessing.

“For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.”
Isaiah 54:10

I don't know what blessing you need today or what sickness you need healing for, but God is already thinking about you and how to bless you. It's just one of the benefits of the covenant. Here is a list of a few more.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”
Psalms 103:2-5

See how healing, protection and forgiveness are all tied together in the covenant that Jesus paid for, with his blood, on the cross.

What is God thinking? Right now he is thinking about you and how he can bless you.

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Fire in Belfast!

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:55:00 +0000

My good friend Peter Roberts was touched by the Lakeland Revival whilst watching it on TV at home. He has written a moving post on his blog. Have a look here:
http://1manandhisguitar.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-did-i-fall-down.html

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How to increase your faith for miracles and healing.

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:21:00 +0000

There was a day when the disciples of Jesus wanted more faith, perhaps wishing to see the miracles they saw Jesus do, happen in their own life.

“And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
Luke 17:5

Now you need to know first of all that, if you are born again, you have a measure of faith. Every believer is given a measure of faith by God.

“...God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Romans 12:3

But the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. So we begin with a measure of faith. But we can increase our faith. Jesus said that even with a small amount of faith we can see miracles.

“If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Luke 17:6

Faith is a seed and like all seeds it has the ability to grow. Everything God does in the earth begins with a word. Creation came about through the word of God.

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Hebrews 11:3

So every healing and every miracle begins with the word of God. So, if we want to increase our faith we must start with God’s word, because that is where faith comes from.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17

As a Christian you believe that your sin is forgiven. You feel that you know it and that no one can take that from you. It’s God given. You believe it because you have heard it preached so often. Faith for forgiveness came because you heard the word. Faith comes by hearing.

So if you heard the word on healing as much as you have heard it on forgiveness your faith for healing would be just as strong. And you can begin by speaking out God’s word. When you hear yourself speaking the word, faith comes. That is why God says we should speak the solution not the problem.

“Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”
Joel 3:10

Why should weak people say ‘I am strong’? Because God always contradicts our fallen condition. To the sinful he says ‘you are forgiven’. To the poor he says, ‘you are rich’. To the weak he says, ‘you are strong’. To the sick he says, ‘you are healed’

Using the healing words of scripture in your everyday life is explained in my book A Word about your Healing, available from our website.
www.rsvptrust.co.uk/resources.html

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Lakeland Revival – is it of God?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Sat, 17 May 2008 09:20:00 +0000

Well, it didn’t take long for the ‘Heresy Hunters’ to arrive on the scene did it? I have watched amazed and awed at what is happening in Lakeland Florida and Dudley UK. For years I’ve prayed for revival in the UK. I’ve studied just about every account of revival in the UK and in other places. So when I heard from my friend Anthony Delaney about his visit to the Lakeland Outpouring I was quite excited.

A hallmark of every revival is the critics, usually religious people with no spiritual power in their own lives. They crticise outpourings because they fear getting close to God themselves – though they will always say they want a visitation from God. But they secretly want it only on their own terms.

The Messianic revival in Israel was constantly under attack from the Heresy Hunters – the Scribes and Pharisees. They had no power themselves but hated the anointing on Jesus.

But even those in the flow of what happened began to question Jesus' anointing. There were all these weird healings and strange confrontations. It was a bit embarrassing. So John the Baptist sent some of his people to check out the revival outpouring in Jesus ministry.

“When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
Luke 7:20-23

In the last sentence, Jesus exposes the real issue – offence. People, specially religious people, get offended when Divine spontaneity disrupts the ordered flow of religion.

Make no mistake, Jesus’ words were a rebuke and a warning to John and his followers. Don’t get offended if you want to stay in the blessing. God is God. He will always do things his own way.

But there is a more important thing we should be concerned about. It is dangerous to speak against God’s outpouring.

“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.”
Matthew 12:31

I think it may be safer to err on the side of acceptance than to rush in and condemn a move of the Holy Spirit.

People have commented on Todd Bentley’s way of shouting ‘Bam!’ as he anoints people. But you know, Jesus did some strange stuff in his healing ministry. In John 9:6-7 Jesus spat on the ground, made some mud and pushed it into a blind man’s eyes and then told him to go and have a wash!

All revivals break convention – ‘Something new is happening!’ is how revivals are first noticed. Let’s not be offended by what God is doing in Lakeland and Dudley but let us pray the fire spreads.

Jesus showed what the real test should be – ‘by their fruits you will know them’ – so he told John’s disciples, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

That was the test Jesus put on a revival – healings, freedom, and good news being preached. And as I watch the Revival by satellite I see all levels of society are being touched – including the poor having the gospel preached to them.

I realised a long time ago that when God moves it can never be on our terms. We are made in his image but he does things differently.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.”
Isaiah 55:8

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Healing - Doing your part

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:47:00 +0000

"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed."
Luke 17:11-14

I've been looking at this familiar tale of the 10 lepers lately. We normally rush past this bit to the following verse where only the Samaritan leper comes back to thank Jesus for his healing. So, wrongly, we assume its about saying thank you to Jesus...

But let's look what really happens. Jesus meets ten men who 'stood at a distance'. Lepers were not allowed to mix with other people. They had to live separate lives. They were outcasts.

They shouted to Jesus and asked for mercy. Jesus' reply must have sounded the most outrageous thing they ever heard in their lives! “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

I wonder what they thought? 'Is he mocking us?' You would need to know, as they did, what Leviticus 14 says about leprosy. There's a whole chapter detailing more than a week long ceremony to declare clean someone who has been healed of leprosy. They knew and understood - Jesus wasn't just saying, 'Let the priests have a look at you.'

He implied they were healed and should start the process of restoration and proving their healing. I wish we could have seen their faces. They stood there covered in leprosy and Jesus said, 'Go show yourselves to the priests.'

It was an outrageous statement and unbelievable. BUT... what did they do?

"And as they went, they were cleansed."

In other words, they acted on their faith and the words of Jesus. Covered in leprosy, they turned to go and tell the priest they were healed. At that point their healing had not manifested. But they acted in faith, believing they had received what Jesus had said. And as they went - as they acted in faith - they were cleansed.

When I pray for the sick in our meetings I always try and make time and tell people to try and do something they couldn't do before we prayed. Many are amazed that they can now do things they couldn't do before.

If you're praying for your own healing, are you acting as though you have already received it? That's what these lepers did. Acting on what Jesus said, they acted in faith and their healing manifested.

We need to pray. We need to believe that by the wounds of Jesus we are healed. But there also comes a time to take action.

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While you’re waiting for healing…

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:53:00 +0000

I’ve seen many people healed from many things. Just a couple of weeks ago a doctor got healed of arthritis in his knees after I prayed for healing in a church service. Last year a blind lady was leaving the church after a healing meeting and thought she saw someone’s face as she left. She didn’t believe it at first, but by Wednesday of that week her eyesight was restored.

These are great stories… but what should we do when we are praying for our own healing and it hasn’t yet appeared? Here are a few thoughts for those who are praying and waiting for healing to manifest in their own bodies.

We need to view sickness like a snake climbing up our leg. If that happened we wouldn’t just mildly complain about it to others. No. We’d stand up, shake it off our leg and probably shout a bit! We may even curse it and then beat it till it was dead.

When we’re trying to get healed of a long-standing illness, I think there are a few things we should know. Sometimes, if the sickness came as a long process of decline, let’s not be surprised if our healing is a gradual process of improvement as well.

Think of the great oil tankers out at sea. You can’t just turn those things round. When the captain turns the wheel, nothing seems to happen for a while. But if he’s consistent, if he keeps the wheel turned in the same direction, gradually the vessel will turn. He mustn’t give up he must be consistent.

When we are waiting for healing, we, too, must be consistent in our faith - looking to God as the source of our healing and trusting and believing that he wants to heal, will heal and has healed.

It’s a bit like your sin:

- you were forgiven (on the cross)
- you are forgiven (as you receive the gift)
- you will be forgiven (at the judgment)

Our healing really took place on the cross 2000 years ago. Now we are enforcing that healing through declaring what God has said and agreeing with it. “… if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:19)

We begin by speaking out our faith – we say what we want, not what we have. So we begin to say ‘I’m healed’ instead of going around telling everyone we’re ill. It’s an act of faith.

For example, Joel 3:10 says, “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’” Why would the Bible tell us to do that?

We do this strange thing because Jesus said, “…he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23) So we speak the solution not the problem.

So, for example, as I am praying for my friend Tracy who has cancer, I am saying, "Tracy is healed. The name of Jesus is above every name. It’s above the name of cancer. I command this cancer to leave now. I declare that it’s the cancer that will curl up and die – not Tracy. Tracy is healed by the wounds of Jesus. Cancer is going NOW! Healing is coming NOW!" And I’ll pray like that every day – as long as it takes.

We should be expectant. We should tell Satan that his plan, to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), will not work in our body because our healing has been purchased with the blood of Jesus.

We need to come to the place where we have as much confidence that we are healed as we have that we are forgiven. How do you know your sin is forgiven? Can you prove it? No. You are trusting that the blood of Jesus paid the price on the cross, that it’s a done deal in the Spirit and that you have passed from death to life. Gradually an inner witness grows in your spirit.

Well it’s the same covenant that heals us as forgives us. How do we know we are healed? It begins by trusting that the blood of Jesus paid the price for our healing. (Matt 8:17 ‘He took our infirmities’). We believe it’s a done deal – we don’t need to qualify it with little get out clauses for God (just as we wouldn’t do that for forgiveness). Gradually an inner witness grows that we are in possession of our healing. When we get it in the spirit, shortly after it will manifest in the flesh.

Like Jesus said to Jairus, when the servant said ‘your child is dead, trouble the master no more’, he replied ‘only believe’ - and keep believing and don’t quit believing.

I love Psalm 103 because I did some research and found that the Hebrew word translated here as ‘all’ actually means… ALL!

“Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Psalms 103:2-5

I was 51 last week but I declare with the psalmist “My youth is being renewed like the eagle’s”

Whatever you are facing today, you need to stand up on the inside, like David running to face Goliath in battle, boldly confident that you are facing a defeated enemy. You are healed in the name of Jesus!

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Another year older...

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:33:00 +0000

Ah birthdays... Once you're past 30 the novelty kinda wears off doesn't it? How do I feel today on my 51st? (I know I don't look that old... I'm just wearing well). Today I feel a year older but not sure if I'm a year wiser.

As I think about life today, what I've done and not done over the years, I come to the conclusion that what really matters is family and friends. We are designed to live in community and in families. Some families don't get along, and I think all families have areas of disfunction. But with all the weird and wonderful things about families and friends, I think our relationships are the most important thing.

My grandson sent me this video this morning. I think it sums up my life well...

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Searching for God

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:46:00 +0000

When I was a teenager, I began to wonder about life the universe etc. Why were we here on planet earth? I looked into various religions and read information. One name kept recurring during my research - ' Jesus'.

One day I had an encounter with God and my life was changed forever. I was sharing some of my story on Easter Sunday in Basildon, Essex, UK. Five people responded and gave their life to Jesus. Some people got healed including a doctor.

You can listen to this message online, on your computer, or in iTunes. Click here to listen now.

Or to read stories of other people who searched for God, visit www.searchforgod.co.uk

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God calling…

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:46:00 +0000

After a really busy few weeks, I’m just pausing this week to reflect and take stock. Where am I? Shortly, RSVP will be moving to new offices, something we’ve needed to do for more than a year. As I just take stock today, I’m listening for God’s voice.

Yet it seems that God is always trying to get our attention, but so often we are just not listening. When Jesus came, he spent three years trying to communicate what God was like. He used lots of parables, stories and illustrations so that everybody could understand.

He’s the bread of life – so bakers can understand.
He’s the water of life – so plumbers can understand.
He’s the light of the world – so electricians can understand.
He’s the cornerstone – so architects can understand.
He’s the hidden treasure– so bankers can understand.
He’s the life – so biologists can understand.
He’s the door – so carpenters can understand.
He’s the great physician – so doctors and nurses can understand.
He’s the good teacher – so educators can understand.
He’s the lily of the valley – so florists can understand.
He’s the rock of ages – so geologists can understand.
He’s the true vine – so horticulturists can understand.
He’s the righteous one – so judges can understand.
He’s the pearl of great price – so jewellers can understand.
He’s wisdom – so philosophers can understand.
He’s the word – so actors can understand.
He’s the good shepherd – so farmers can understand.
He’s the alpha and omega – so scientists can understand.
He’s the way – so traffic wardens can understand.
He’s the truth – so politicians can understand.

He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Somehow he is communicating with you and me today, through his word in the Bible, through nature and the changing seasons, through life’s joys and sorrows - he is the God who is involved in your life. That loving, gentle hand. Closer than our own breath. Nearer than our own hands and feet.

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Watch where you are going

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:18:00 +0000

A recent report suggested that, in 2007, more than 68,000 people in the UK banged their heads on lampposts whilst walking and texting on their mobile phone. It also said that some local councils are planning to put cushioning material round lampposts to protect such people.

I think this new phenomenon symbolises life in the UK today – so many people are not looking where they are going. Not only in the street but in life.

Are you looking where you are going today? Do you have a plan for your life. If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail.

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Proverbs 16:3

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God is calling you to himself

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:23:00 +0000

Today, God is calling. He is calling to you. In the hustle and bustle of our lives sometimes we don't hear his still small voice, calling in our hearts.

I believe God wants to speak to you right now. To touch you, to heal you, to change you, to know you.

Pause for a moment, watch this video and listen, in your spirit to the voice of God.

But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9

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Pregnant men

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:03:00 +0000

I would like to announce today… that I am pregnant and I think you are too. Can men be pregnant? Yes they can. I am pregnant today with a vision to see the hungry fed, the sick healed and the lost coming to know their Creator.

You may be pregnant with a vision, with a car, a house or a ministry. God’s word plants a seed in the hearts of men and women, that grows and develops and eventually they give birth to their vision.

“The Bible is high explosive. But it works in strange ways and no living man can tell or know how that book, in its journey through the world, has startled the individual soul in ten thousand different places into a new life, a new world, a new belief, a new conception, a new faith.”
Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin - May 1928

A new baby usually deprives it's parents of 400-750 hours of sleep in the first year. As we give birth to our vision it will take time, energy and commitment. Just like a newborn baby, our newly birthed vision may consume our waking hours and some of our sleeping ones.

It needs to be nurtured, cared for and protected until it can stand on its own feet.

When my wife became pregnant with our first child, I noticed something. The way she used to walk, which I found so attractive, began to change. By the end of nine months and with the baby slightly overdue, she was walking very differently. When we are pregnant with the promises of God, it will change the way we walk in the world.

What are you pregnant with today?

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The power of ‘Hello’

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:31:00 +0000

When surveying people who stopped attending church after six weeks, 92% of them said it was because no one talked to them. I think that we in the West have a different kind of poverty to that found in the Third World. There we find a lack of material needs. But here in the UK our poverty is a poverty of spirit.

As I observe and listen to people, the cry of the human heart I hear is loneliness. We can earn a good wage, have a nice family and be surrounded by people and yet, we can be so very lonely.

By nature, I am a bit shy. But these last few months, I have been making an effort to speak to strangers. To smile, say 'Hello' – to say something just to make a connection with other human beings. To the checkout girl, to those we meet everyday who probably don't normally get thanked or even noticed.

We are drowning in our high tech society. The Utopia we sought has arrived. But now it’s here we are not so sure it’s what we wanted.

“I am much more scared of living than I am of dying. Dying would be easy, living is the tough one.”
Sophie Anderton

Human beings were made for relationships, for community. The pub quiz, the flower arranging class, the book club and the fun run – all of them show we need others to be truly ourselves.

“It is a paradox, one best captured by Jung, who said, years ago, that we need others to be truly ourselves. ‘I’ needs ‘We’ to be fully ‘I’. Looking up, however, at the office blocks in every city, those little boxes piled on top of each other up into the sky, one has to wonder how much room there is for ‘I’ amid the filing cabinets and the terminals.”
Charles Handy

What about you? Have you spoken to anyone today? More importantly, have you spoken to someone new today. In our daily routine, we need to value contact with other people, to be open, to be a friend.

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:15

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Who are you following?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:52:00 +0000

In 1977 when Elvis died, if indeed he did die, there were 34 known Elvis impersonators. By 1990 there were 20,000 Elvis impersonators worldwide. If this trend continues, by 2035 one in five people alive will be an Elvis impersonator. They will replace the Chinese as the largest people group on earth.

The Elvis phenomenon has all that one would need to make a religion:
- death of the founder and sightings since
- statues and visits to birthplace

In fact, in Easter 1994 devotees held the first service of the Church of the Living Elvis and have since planted a daughter church.

Someday you will decide to believe someone and that someone will decide the rest of your life.

Imagine you are walking down the road. You reach a point where the road branches into two and you don’t know which way to go. Two men are lying there by the road - one is dead and one is alive. Which one would you ask for directions?
Jesus is alive! He is unique among all past religious leaders.

Who are you following today?

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Holiness in strange places

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:57:00 +0000

I think there is a line in Les Misérables where a Bishop is found in an unlikely place. The character that discovers him expresses his surprise at finding a Bishop in a brothel. The Bishop replies something to the effect of, ‘You will find holiness in strange places’.

I love that picture. Not the shame of a religious leader found to be corrupt. Not the clergyman who embezzles funds. Not the evangelist found using prostitutes. But like Jesus at parties with prostitutes and tax collectors, so the holy touches the profane.

One of the ministries we are involved with at RSVP Trust, is an outreach to young women involved in prostitution. I think one of my favourite moments of that ministry was the night my friend Alison and I stood in a car park talking to two young women who were out looking for clients. One was shaking with withdrawal symptoms, the other was angry with the police. But they both shared very candidly about their life. A moment of connection based on trust. The trust came about through our faithfulness in visiting the area over several years.

That moment taught me that holiness isn’t a ‘feeling’ we sometimes get in church. It is something rooted in pure motives and a relationship with God. Holiness is indeed found in strange places.

"Everything in God's world can be holy if you realize its potential holiness. Everything we do can be transformed into a Sinai experience, an encounter with the sacred. The goal of Judaism is not to teach us how to escape from the profane world to the cleansing presence of God, but to teach us how to bring God into the world, how to take the ordinary and make it holy."
- Rabbi Harold Kushner

As far as Jesus is concerned, everything is spiritual. He wouldn’t understand the phrase, ‘How is your spiritual life?’ Everything we do is spiritual. Either opening us to evil or to the holy.

What does your presence bring to a situation? Are you a channel for the holy to touch the ordinary?

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Quick quote

noreply@blogger.com (Don Egan) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:33:00 +0000

- disciples have scars and stories.
- believers have creeds and promises.
- christians have bumper stickers and catch phrases.

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Don Egan on life, the universe and everything

Yellow Wellies and Hungry Wolves

The spirit of infirmity

Keep on moving

God saved you for a purpose.

Who is Jesus...?

Calling those things which are not as though they are.

Have you ever noticed how God always lets Satan go first?

Vision - the key to miracle breakthrough

What is God thinking?

Fire in Belfast!

How to increase your faith for miracles and healing.

Lakeland Revival – is it of God?

Healing - Doing your part

Sponsored toilets

While you’re waiting for healing…

Another year older...

Searching for God

God calling…

Watch where you are going

God is calling you to himself

Pregnant men

The power of ‘Hello’

Who are you following?

Holiness in strange places

Quick quote