Tag: county-down

The Stone of Departure

A group of us are preparing to walk part of the Camino de Santiago in late May and we have been busy preparing here in Northern Ireland with some wonderful walks and building relationships with each other.

Yesterday we walked up the side of Slieve Croob, County Down as a circular route, the weather patchy but probably nothing compared to the Pyrenees!

The views on a clear day are breath taking, (but not today). You can normally see Scotland, The Isle of Man, Lough Neagh etc etc. It’s an area I have personally come to love over many years and with Jude we used to have picnics at the top & fall asleep under the summer sun.

I have written about the Stone of Departure in the past but I can’t seem to find my original notes. I felt yesterday for a few moments to take the lads to a rather large granite stone just slightly over from the summit and share a few words.

Earlier in the week I had been reminded of the Stone of Ezel in 1 Samuel 20:19. David was waiting to hear from Jonathan about whether or not it was safe for David to return to King Saul. King Saul was very jealous of David & he was plagued by an evil spirit sent by God. He was on the war path to eliminate David, who was destined to become Israel’s next king.

David was hiding by the Stone Ezel to await the outcome. Jonathan on his return from his father would get a young boy to collect some arrows he had shot in the direction of the stone. The boy didn’t know David was there but the landing of the arrows gave David the sign whether he was welcome back or not. The arrows went ahead of the stone which meant Saul was looking to have David’s head if he caught him. David had to depart, leave the area and go on the run.

Nothing is wasted in the scriptures. The Stone Ezel means Departure or Showing the Way, and for a few moments I shared some practical aspects of this word and how we can find ourselves sometimes in a tight spot looking for Direction. These times can come while under severe pressure but because of the Providence of God we can trust Him in guiding our footsteps if we simply acknowledge Him in all our ways. Prov 3:5-6

It takes courage to step out even if it seems we are on the run like David……BUT what a Destiny awaits !!

Tender Mercies

“Heavenly Father, thankyou that whatever this life may throw at us your right beside us, and some of the circumstances we encounter are the finger prints of God. Give us eyes to see you LORD in the good and the bad and remember to give you thanks in everything. Amen”

This is the prayer Jude ended with when she gave a talk on the first five verses of Psalm 103 just a few months before being diagnosed with Leukemia.

The Church at St Johns, Hillsborough like so many others were in the midst of the Covid outbreak so Pastor Raj asked Jude to do a few recordings to benefit the congregation during a difficult time.

Some of her opening words on this incredible Psalm written by King David were as follows;

“There are times when we need a good dose of Psalm 103 to wash out that complaining spirit & replace it with a heart of gratitude to The LORD”

Regarding the benefits outlined in the Psalm Jude quotes Spurgeon;

“God selects a few of the choicest pearls, from a casket of divine love, threads them on a string of memory, and hangs them about the neck of gratitude”

Just for a moment, I want to focus on the latter part of verse 3, “….and heals all your diseases”, Jude said:

“Healing is another one of God’s great benefits to our bodies, He brings healing to us in this life through natural & miraculous ways, He promises ultimate healing for all His people in the age to come”

Jude had already said that she had received a miraculous healing, (from the menopause). Read the account by Clicking Here.

Also, and prophetically she would later fulfil ultimate healing. Read the story by Clicking Here.

I came across Jude’s notes recently on this talk and was blessed to be able to watch a short video which is still ministering to saints today.

If you would like to watch Jude give this talk it will encourage & challenge you.

Tender Mercies: A talk by Jude Gray based on the first five verses of Psalm 105.

Click Here

May The LORD bless you with His benefits.