Joy in the Family

After all that God did amongst us and through us in Oulu, and an epic all day car journey the day before, it would have been easy for us to have rested and just coasted along in Renko and the meeting there. But that would have been holding back, and we felt as a team that we needed to remain focused on Jesus and all that He wanted to do. When we gathered together we sensed that the Spirit was leading us to celebrate and declare out over Renko, the church there and Finland His abundant life and fruitfulness. In the context of the tour so far, we had no idea the Spirit would lead us like that, but it made so much sense and was so obvious once He revealed it to us. This week we've seen Jesus restore men and release them into a free and joyful expression of their masculinity in dance, and then we've seen Him restore relationships between men and women, which we've seen is also prophetic of His relationship with His Bride here in Finland. So of course it made sense when He began to show us that He wanted us to celebrate His life and speak it out over Finland, especially when there were so many families in the meeting, with very young children present too. It was also Hannah's 10th birthday while we were there. We couldn't have planned it that way at all. Jesus is so clever!

As we worshipped, joyful sounds of adoption were released, songs that reminded us and everyone present that we are sons and daughters of the Father. This seemed so appropriate after He was restoring men and women and covenant relationships, to then restore family. We may only be going to a few places on this tour, and yet He is doing some big time prophetic things in a such short period of time every place we go to. After we worshipped we had fellowship together with the families and church at Renko before moving into some prayer ministry where God brought more freedom and joy. Later before hitting the road back to Helsinki we stopped at a friend's house to bless them and their family. The joy that was released there during that time together with them was so full and abundant! Yet again we're discovering how determined the Lord is to release people into more and more freedom and joy, and that no situation is too big or too deeply rooted to be transformed for His glory.

- Ben