“Memories, like the corners of my mind. Misty watercolour memories of the way we were”.
The story of Sleeping Beauty is all about a princess who is cursed by a wicked fairy to fall into a deep sleep but is later awoken by a prince’s kiss!
“Beloved ones, listen to this instruction.
Open your heart to the revelation of this mystery that I share with you.
A parable and a proverb are hidden in what I say— an intriguing riddle from the past.
We’ve heard true stories from our fathers about our rich heritage.
We will continue to tell our children and not hide from the rising generation
the great marvels of our God— his miracles and power that have brought us all this far.
The story of Israel is a lesson in God’s ways.
He established decrees for Jacob and established the law in Israel,
and he commanded our forefathers to teach them to their children.
For perpetuity God’s ways will be passed down from one generation to the next, even to those not yet born.
In this way, every generation will set its hope in God
and not forget his wonderful works but keep his commandments.
By following his ways they will break the past bondage
of their fickle fathers, who were a stubborn, rebellious generation
and whose spirits strayed from the eternal God.
They refused to love him with all their hearts.
Take, for example, the sons of Ephraim.
Though they were all equipped warriors, each with weapons,
when the battle began they retreated and ran away in fear.
They didn’t really believe the promises of God;
they refused to trust him and move forward in faith.
They forgot his wonderful works and the miracles of the past,
even their exodus from Egypt, the epic miracle of his might.
They forgot the glories of his power at the place of passing over.
God split the sea wide open, and the waters stood at attention on either side
as the people passed on through!
By day the moving glory-cloud led them forward.
And all through the night the fire-cloud stood as a sentry of light.
In the days of desert dryness, he split open the mighty rock,
and the waters flowed like a river before their very eyes.
He gave them all they wanted to drink from his living springs.
Yet they kept their rebellion alive against God Most High,
and their sins against God continued to be counted.
In their hearts they tested God just to get what they wanted,
asking for the food their hearts craved.
Like spoiled children they grumbled against God,
demanding he prove his love by saying,
“Can’t God provide for us in this barren wilderness?
Will he give us food, or will he only give us water?
Where’s our meal?”
Then God heard all their complaining and was furious!
His anger flared up against his people.
For they turned away from faith and walked away in fear;
they failed to trust in his power to save them when he was near.
Still he spoke on their behalf, and the skies opened up;
the windows of heaven poured out food,
the mercy bread-manna.
The grain of grace fell from the clouds.
Humans ate angels’ food—the meal of the mighty ones.
His grace gave them more than enough!
The heavenly winds of miracle power blew in their favour,
and food rained down upon them;
succulent quail quieted their hunger as they ate all they wanted.
Food fell from the skies, thick as clouds.
their provision floated down right in front of their eyes!
He gave them all they desired, and they ate to their fill.
But before they had even finished,
even with their food still in their mouths,
God’s fiery anger arose against them,
killing the finest of their mighty men.
Yet in spite of all this, they kept right on sinning. Even when they saw God’s marvels, they refused to believe God could care for them.
So, God cut their lives short with sudden disaster, with nothing to show for their lives but fear and failure.
When he cared for them they ignored him, but when he began to kill them, ending their lives in a moment, they came running back to God, pleading for mercy. They remembered that God, the Mighty One, was their strong protector, the Hero-God who would come to their rescue.
But their repentance lasted only as long as they were in danger; they lied through their teeth to the true God of the Covenant.
So quickly they wandered away from his promises, following God with their words and not their hearts! Their worship was only flattery.
But amazingly, God—so full of compassion—still forgave them.
He covered over their sins with his love, refusing to destroy them all.
Over and over he held back his anger, restraining wrath to show them mercy.
He knew that they were made from mere dust— frail, fragile, and short-lived, here today and gone tomorrow.
How many times they rebelled in their desert days! How they grieved him with their grumblings.
Again and again they limited God, preventing him from blessing them.
Continually they turned back from him and provoked the Holy One of Israel!
They forgot his great love, how he took them by his hand,
and with redemption’s kiss he delivered them from their enemies.
They disregarded all the epic signs and marvels they saw when they escaped from Egypt’s bondage.
They forgot the judgment of the plagues that set them free.
God turned their rivers into blood, leaving the people thirsty.
He sent them vast swarms of filthy flies that sucked their blood.
He sent hordes of frogs, ruining their lives. Grasshoppers consumed all their crops. Every garden and every orchard was flattened with blasts of hailstones,
their fruit trees ruined by a killing frost.
Even their cattle fell prey, pounded by the falling hail; their livestock were struck with bolts of lightning.
Finally, he unleashed upon them the fierceness of his anger. Such fury!
He sent them sorrow and devastating trouble by his mighty band of destroying angels; messengers of death were dispatched against them.
He lifted his mercy and let loose his fearful anger and did not spare their lives.
He released the judgment-plagues to rage through their land.
God struck down in death all the firstborn sons of Egypt— the pride and joy of each family.
Then, like a shepherd leading his sheep, God led his people out of tyranny, guiding them through the wilderness like a flock.
Safely and carefully God led them out, with nothing to fear.
But their enemies he led into the sea.
He took care of them there once and for all!
Eventually God brought his people to the Holy Land, to a land of hills that he had prepared for them.
He drove out and scattered all the peoples occupying the land,
staking out an inheritance, a portion for each of Israel’s tribes.
Yet for all of this, they still rebelled and refused to follow his ways,
provoking to anger the God Most High.
Like traitors turning back, they forsook him. They were even worse than their fathers!
They became treacherous deceivers, crooked and corrupt, and worshiped false gods in the high places,
bringing low the name of God with every idol they erected.
No wonder he was filled with jealousy and furious with anger!
Enraged with anger, God turned his wrath on them, and he rejected his people with disgust.
God walked away from them and left his dwelling place at Shiloh,
abandoning the place where he had lived among them,
allowing his emblem of strength, his glory-ark, to be captured.
Enemies stole the very source of Israel’s power.
God vented his rage, allowing his people to be butchered
when they went out to battle, for his anger was intense against his very own.
Their young men fell on the battlefield and never came back.
Their daughters never heard their wedding songs, since there was no one left to marry!
Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows were killed before they had time to weep.
Then all at once the Almighty awakened as though he had been asleep.
Like a mighty man he arose, roaring into action!
He blasted into battle, driving back every foe, defeating them and disgracing them for time and eternity.
He rejected Joseph’s family, the tribe of Ephraim.
He chose instead the tribe of Judah and Mount Zion, which he loves.
There he built his towering temple, strong and enduring as the earth itself.
God also chose his beloved one, David. He promoted him from caring for sheep and made him his prophetic servant.
God prepared David and took this gentle shepherd-king and presented him before the people as the one who would love and care for them with integrity, a pure heart, and the anointing to lead Israel, his holy inheritance.
Psalm 78 TPT
The people of Israel rebelled and were not faithful to God (78:8). They forgot about the miracles God had done (78:11-12) and put God to the test by making demands of him (78:18). They lied to him and tried to flatter him (78:36), and they continued to turn away from him even after he did great works on their behalf (78:42-56).
Yet God woke them up with His redemptive kiss! The acts of these painful rebellions in his Word are so that we can avoid the same errors!
They limited God because they put a cap on what He was able to do! They had lost sight of knowing that nothing was impossible for God.
“For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37
Like sleeping beauty, we can forget the wonderful breakthroughs and answers to our prayers, the miracles, healings and love that has already been poured out upon us. Yet like sleeping beauty we have an enemy, whose only aim is rob, kill steal and destroy. Steal, your peace, relationships, joy, rob you of your possessions, dreams and future and destroy your health and have untimely death!
“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So, keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.” 1 Peter 5:8 MSG
You were created with free will, and when you put your will into action not even the devil can stop you from being saved!
“Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is east of Galilee. Now when Jesus stepped out on land, He was met by a man from the city [of Gerasa] who was possessed with demons. For a long time, he had worn no clothes, and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!” Now He was [already] commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him [violently] many times; and he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, “Legion”; because many demons had entered him. They continually begged Him not to command them to go into the abyss.
Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the mountain. The demons begged Jesus to allow them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the city and out in the country. And people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind (mentally healthy); and they were frightened. Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed.” Luke 8:26-39AMP
Too many people are bound by demons, now is the time to rise up in the anointing, the power and authority (Gen 1:26-28) we have been given and set the captives free!
Sleeping beauty had 16 glorious years of being a princess, until the day her finger was pricked and she fell into a deep sleep. That’s a picture of you and I, as the enemy deceives us to believe his lies. Often he comes the moment we ask Jesus into our heart.
When I became a Christian, I remeber a leader saying to me, ' the honeymoon will soon be over!' What a cynical thing to say to me! How sad it is when even the body of Christ causes your seeds of faith to be stolen! But God had put such a passion in my heart that no demon was going to steal my salvation from me!
“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].”
John 10:10 AMP
We often focus on the thief rather than the I came!
The enemies strategy is found in Matthew 13
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
When we take our eyes off Jesus, we look at the winds and the waves and begin to sink. But, thank God as we cry out to him he holds out his hand and lifts us out of the hole that we have been pushed into or fallen into accidently or even those holes we throw ourselves into because of the pain in our hearts!
and with redemption’s kiss he delivered them from their enemies.
“I waited and waited and waited some more,
patiently, knowing God would come through for me.
Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.
He stooped down to lift me out of danger from the desolate pit I was in,
out of the muddy mess I had fallen into.
Now he’s lifted me up into a firm, secure place
and steadied me while I walk along his ascending path.
A new song for a new day rises up in me every time I think about how he breaks through for me!
Ecstatic praise pours out of my mouth until everyone hears how God has set me free.
Many will see his miracles; they’ll stand in awe of God and fall in love with him!
Blessing after blessing comes to those who love and trust the Lord.
They will not fall away, for they refuse to listen to the lies of the proud.”
Psalm 40 TPT
When we lose the courage for obedience, we lose the awe and succumb to the battle! When we lose the wonder, we become easily offended by what doesn’t go my way. If I hide my offence in the “will” of God, then it justifies me!
Reasoning is developed outside the wonder of Him,Jesus!
A person living in compromise is much more nervous about facing the battle!
God is intent on our transformation not on our intellectual abilities.
What we remember determines how we live, in victory or defeat!
I believe that the greatest miracle in our life is our own conversion.
Why not stop what you are doing right now, put down your phone or better still turn it off for the next while and sit in the presence of the Holy Spirit and let him show you the magnificence of your asking Jesus to come into your heart as your lord and saviour. Remember the joy of your salvation, the tears, where you were, what you felt and experienced.
Ask Holy Spirit how the Father, how Jesus and how the Holy Spirit himself felt that very moment you became a Christian. Ask Him to show you what was taking place in heaven at that very moment. What can you hear, what can you see and what can you smell? Let the memory of your salvation stir up your joy and go out in the power of His might to share your good news with someone today!
Maybe you have never asked Jesus to come into your heart or maybe you have walked away from Him because of some person or situation and now is the time to come home.
Pray this out loud with me.
Jesus, I realise that my heart is a mess without you. On the outside I look like I have it all together, but on the inside I'm drowning in pain, disappointment and sin.
If you can do anything with my life I'm asking you to kiss me with your redemptive kiss.
Come into my life and live in my heart, take my sin, my disappointment and all those things that I am drowning in.
I want the life that you paid for Jesus. I acknowledge that you were beaten and hung on the cross and died for me. You rose from the grave victoriously. And your victory is now my victory. Please heal my spirit, soul and body as I surrender to you. Set me free from all demonic influence and fill me with your Holy Spirit.
Thank you that you welcome the prodigals, and this prodigal is coming home today, into the loving arms of my father in heaven. I receive your redemptive kiss! Amen.
If you have prayed this for the very first time or you have come home, please go and tell someone and may the Lord lead you to a loving church that will help you grow in love so that you might fulfil your God given destiny!
This ministry would love to hear your story and pray for you to be the best version of yourself!
Sleeping beauty wake up, your bridgroom awakens you!
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