Christmas reflections
As Christmas draws near I try to take time to celebrate the good things God has done, and the new opportunities that have arisen during the past year. At the same time, I acknowledge the ongoing challenges that I face. I have to say that 2023 has been a remarkable year in so many different ways:
- I see God at work in a way that gives me great hope of a united Bride bringing God’s solutions to our needy world.
- I see a spiritual awakening in the world signalling that a great harvest is ready.
- I have personally walked into opportunities that I never imagined with the potential to influence nations.
- I see the joy in people who have been born again this year as they have entered into a glorious relationship with God.
- I have heard many great testimonies of God bringing about family restoration, miraculous healing, freedom from mental torment, and extraordinary provision.
- I experience the ongoing challenge of hard situations in which breakthrough has not yet happened, but in which I nevertheless experience the peace of God guarding my heart and mind.
A significant event in 2023
Something else to look back on was the truly remarkable Heaven in Healthcare conference at Eastgate in November. To my mind (many others have concurred) this event represented a very significant spiritual move forward in many different ways: freedom, authority, creativity, unity, wisdom, revelation and testimonies. We are following up on this in a very intentional way and expect great things to develop. In the meantime, I would recommend accessing the recordings, which are available to purchase here.
The Nativity: a Story of freedom
The Christmas story is truly amazing: Jesus came into the world to bring people into spiritual freedom, to restore people to a relationship with God, and create a family of glorious sons and daughters who can release creation from its spiritual bondage. After his ascension back to heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with us in our lives and our mission, enabling us to experience the full resources of heaven.
Hunger for freedom
I have been travelling a lot over the past few months, and I have witnessed a hunger amongst God’s people to understand how to live in this spiritual freedom and to access the “blessings of God in heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1: 3). I love teaching on this subject and I believe it is key to bringing people into greater fruitfulness in their lives and enabling them to demonstrate the glory of God to those around them. God reminded me that this was what moved me to write the book “Unwrapping Lazarus”, subtitled “Free to Live as God Intended” and told me not to be hesitant to talk about it, so here I am being obedient to that nudge from God: the book is available here!
Looking ahead
Finally, I would wholeheartedly recommend a conference which is coming up on 22 & 23 March 2024 at Eastgate, entitled ‘Harvest 24’. This event is designed to help us share our relationship with God with people in any area of our lives. Joaquin Evans from Bethel Austin will be with us once again, along with David Chambers from Christ for All Nations, and speakers from Eastgate. We are very expectant and think this event will be particularly helpful to Healthcare workers, equipping us to reveal Jesus to our colleagues, patients and clients. You can book here.
All that remains is to say that I hope you have a wonderful time over the Christmas period and enter 2024 with great expectations of what God will do in you and through you.
Pete Carter