| Teachers Breakfasts 2007 |
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What an exciting time the breakfasts have been. Miracle Education hosted 18 breakfasts in 07! The theme of the breakfasts for the teachers was LIFT YOUR VISION but for me, Di McRae the theme was “walk by faith and not by sight!”(2 cor 5:7) I will share part of my faith journey with you as I want to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. I know definitely that the Lord told me to host the breakfasts. But even when we are convinced that the Lord is in our assignment He does not necessarily show us the whole picture. He does not give us everything (at the start of that adventure) that we will need to complete the assignment. His word says that we walk by faith and not by sight. He wants us to rely on Him. If we can see with our physical eyes how it will be done or know with our mind how it will be achieved then we are not using our faith. If we are not using our faith then we are not pleasing Him. The word of Gods that without faith it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6). So for me and my journey with the breakfasts that meant taking my eyes of the numbers and knowing that regardless of how few teachers attended, I was fulfilling the vision the Lord had given me. I encourage you to keep walking forward in the vision or assignment the Lord has given you. If you are confident that the Lord has commissioned you then He will provide everything you need when you need it, not before, but when you need it. What He actually calls us to do, is trust and obey Him and stay faithful to what HE has put in our heart. To fulfil what He calls us to do, will demand that our faith be strengthened and developed. What He calls us to do will demand that we do not measure success by the world’s standards but by the witness of peace in our inner man. Theoretically, we know that God is a spirit and that we are a spirit BUT the physical world we live in tends to dominate us and the reality is that we FEEL the need to be reassured by our senses. The word of God says it this way …. not by might nor by power but by MY HOLY SPIRIT. Once again we are not to rely on the physical world for reassurance and confirmation BUT we are to look to the Lord. Fulfilling the vision of the breakfasts was definitely a faith journey for me. The Lord reminded me that because He is interested in the ONE lost coin and the ONE lost sheep, then HE is interested in the ONE teacher who has LOST vision, motivation, purpose or hope! His heart then became my heart. A successful breakfast was measured by bringing hope and encouragement to even ONE teacher. The Lord IS faithful, and as I continued to move forward in faith HE gathered the teachers and blessed and encouraged each one in AMAZING ways. As you read the testimonies from teachers you will be amazed at how the LORD has moved upon individuals at the breakfasts. The theme for the breakfasts this year was LIFT YOUR VISION. And the Lord has certainly done this in the lives of the teachers. Some came to the breakfasts despondent and even contemplating leaving teaching but the Lord redirected their vision back onto Him and all was well. All Praise to Jesus! The LORD told me that He sees Christian teachers as being on the mission field and that the same support that is given missionaries who leave our shores is due to Christian teachers. Hence He gave me this phrase Support Australian Missionaries, The LORD instructed me to find great venues for the breakfasts, so that teachers would feel appreciated and valued. The breakfasts have to be worth getting out of bed for on a Saturday morning! He also urged me to find excellent speakers who love Him and are doing all that He has called them to do. As they share their passion for the mission field they naturally inspire and challenge others. Praise and worship is key to Miracle Education and so too at the breakfasts. At each breakfast I read from Acts 16v25&26 25 But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them, Praise and worship is not just a time for exercising our vocal chords. Praise and worship is a weapon in the hand of the Lord. Sometimes we feel our prayers are feeble but when we come together and corporately worship the Lord not only are we strengthened but heaven responds in a miraculous way. When Paul and Silas were in trouble their response was to praise God. This is what we should do too, when we feel overwhelmed by the demands of teaching. But praise is not automatic. We need to train ourselves to do the opposite of our usual feelings of complaining and grumbling. When we choose to praise and worship the Lord in the midst of pressure, then He will shift things on our behalf. The other prisoners that were with Paul and Silas had no control over the doors to their cells swinging open. They had no control over their shackles coming off. How amazing that two men praising the Lord were able to set the whole prison free, without the assistance of an earthly army. I am convinced that a heavenly army was dispatched at the sound of praise and worship! So, release can come to the situations and people in your school community. Hard hearts of staff and students can be softened. Favour will be given to you and the gospel can go forth into the school as the Lord opens doors that were shut! There is much that the Holy Sprit can show each of us in regard to the power of praise. During praise and worship at one of the breakfasts, the Lord instructed one of the teachers who works in a state school, to arrive early in her classroom and worship Him before the students arrived. How awesome is that! Imagine the change in the atmosphere as worship fills the air. Imagine the change in the students as they come into an atmosphere charged with the praises of God. In Psalm 22v3 we read that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. I was thrilled to know that the Holy Spirit was imparting into the hearts of teachers, glorious truths as we went before Him in praise and worship. We are part of the body of Christ. Teachers do not have to do all the Christian ministry at schools. Wonderful schools ministry groups are ready to help out in various ways. A few of them are Crusaders, Scripture Union, Youth for Christ, Youth Ministries, Youth Works and Young Life. They offer various programmes from study camps through to lunchtime programmes and seminars. I encourage you to keep these ministries in mind and call on them when there is an opportunity in your school for promoting the gospel. At the end of each breakfast teachers are prayed for individually. This is a very special time where teachers feel loved as someone cares enough to pray for them, one on one. Many wonderful testimonies have been shared of encouragement , confirmation or a word of direction that has come during this time of individual prayer. The Holy Spirit is welcomed at the breakfasts and He never fails to minister to teachers. This can be through words to individuals or words that are meant to encourage all teachers. They have been included in this article to bless you. If you have a testimony that you would like to share please email it to me. Testimonies are inspiring and encourage others to come to the breakfasts. The theme for next year’s breakfasts is -Whom the SON sets FREE is FREE INDEED!John 8:36. The breakfasts will commence on Saturday February 9th 08. The website will have more information, Invite cards will be available and registration will be possible on line. ENCOURAGEMENT from the Lord Romans 10v15 (AMP) And how can men (be expected to) preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! (How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of His good things!) The Lord impressed this verse from Romans upon me for teachers. The LORD considers even your feet to be beautiful as you walk amongst the students, in the playground, classroom and staffroom. Without “preaching” you spread the love of Jesus as you speak a kind word to a timid child or minister compassion as you offer a listening ear to an anxious staff member. In one state high school I know of, where no one else wants to do before school playground duty, a Christian teacher deliberately takes that duty and turns it into an opportunity to witness to the students. He walks amongst the kids and his feet are beautiful as he ministers the gospel by being amongst the students. word of the LORD given 10th March 07 "Look with eyes of the Spirit and see the honoured place I have for you. My heart is for the children. I long to bless the little ones. Like shepherd nurtures the lambs, so I am sending you to nurture my little ones. (It is we as teachers in unity who are to call forth this generation.) Call them to rise up in me. Your role as teachers is incredibly strategic in seeing this generation rise up in Christ. I am giving you the power to influence this generation. I am equipping you with power to break the enemies strongholds over lives and to see miraculous interventions ASK OF ME Psalm 2:8 Ask of Me and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession Receive my heart for these little ones. There are many wonderful things to pull out of this word. Firstly the Lord instructs teachers to look with the eyes of the spirit. That means having an eternal perspective on your role, asking the Holy Spirit to show you how God sees your school community and not allowing yourself to be dominated by what you see and hear in the natural. The Lord says that your position as teachers is HONOURED. Regardless of what the media, parents or society say, the LORD tells you that He has set you in an HONOURED position. Therefore as teachers, you need to respond and act accordingly. Do all that you are called to do with excellence. Whether it be in actual teaching practice or attitudes to the school community, do it with excellence because you are doing it unto the Lord. The Lord reminds teachers that He loves the children. It is absolutely critical then that teachers stay full of the love of GOD so that they can minister/teach out of the overflow of the LOVE that they receive from their SAVIOUR. The words bless, nuture, shepherd and lambs demand that teachers spend quality time with the SHEPHERD of their life. The Lord says that He is giving teachers power to break the enemies hold over the students. This can be done without formally preaching to the kids. In the book of Acts 6:15 we read where the power of the Holy Spirit was flowing out of Peter to such a degree that as people got as close as his shadow then they were delivered. The effective use of scripture verses in prayer for specific students will also defeat the enemy. As Australia is receiving many immigrants it is easy to see that the nations are coming to us and so the fulfillment of the verse “I will give you the nations as an inheritance” takes on another dynamic. “Receive my heart for these little ones. How glorious are these words! All PRAISE to JESUS for what He desires to do through our AMAZING TEACHERS. A BIG thank you from me to all the faithful ones who have supported and encouraged me in the vision of the breakfasts. I am grateful to the Lord for your Testimonies from teachers “Thanks for the wonderful breakfast in Parramatta recently. I was truly blessed. I had mentioned your ministry to some teachers, prayerfully you will get good attendance at the next meeting” “When I arrived at the breakfast my eyes were on the ground regarding my school . But by the end of the breakfast the LORD had LIFTED my eyes!” ”I really enjoyed coming to the breakfast on Saturday. I found it encouraging and challenging.” AND more wonderful fruit is in this amazing testimony! At a breakfast recently one of the waitresses was a Christian who is at university studying to be a teacher. She was feeling unsettled about being in “just a classroom” as she had a heart to reach the “world”. BUT after listening to the speaker at the breakfast the Lord showed this student teacher that the classroom and school environment is THE MISSION FIELD for her and that it is a HUGE MISSION FIELD. So that student teacher had her VISION LIFTED and was keen to tell other teachers about the breakfasts. Thank you JESUS. ALL PRAISE to our marvellous GOD.
I was really challenged after the breakfast I attended to step out in faith and start a prayer group. I contacted the local minister, who has 3 children attending the school and talked to him and his wife about the idea. I really feel it is having a very powerful influence in the school. Other teachers know that is happening. Isn't God amazing! Please feel free to include any of this to encourage others. We have really prayed for the Christmas message to bless our kids this year, it’s a government school, but we know God is moving and active within the walls! “A teacher friend of mine went to one of your breakfasts earlier this year and said I mustn't miss it!” and this is another WONDERFUL testimony to the faithfulness of our LORD “I really enjoyed the last breakfast that I attended and was greatly challenged by the speaker to “own my space” in the places that God has put me. I had been thinking that I might not continue with Scripture teaching next year as I wanted to get more work casual teaching but came away reminded that it is God who is my employer and He will order and bless my work as I am obedient to Him. So I will make myself available for Scripture again and trust God! My Scripture class has been a great encouragement – last term we did the topic “Prayer” and on the last day each child stood up and said a prayer to Jesus.” “I loved the last breakfast, very encouraging and uplifting. I will be a regular, hopefully with others in tow.”
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