Jesus walks on water..

Water is sustenance of life that no human can ever live without. We can go without food for days, but not water. Every person must have water. In the same way the Maori understood this and knew this very well. This carries on today , where the Maori are fighting to preserve our water ways, because of the folly of humankind . Like the horrible oil spill mucking up our beautiful coast near Maunganui. If people don’t wake up soon there will be no clean water left. The Maori understands this so deeply, and so intricately. But no one wants to listen to us. They think we’re all poor, brown, dumb, and ignorant. Our greatest asset is our land - which has been taken from us – our water – which is being polluted. But anyway relating this back to how Jesus felt about water- It is obviously used to cleanse. When he was of a certain age and his cousin, John was preaching in the desert. Jesus came to be baptised in the River Jordan. He was baptised with water. Why water? Why wasn’t he asked to go and get a casket of wine. Surely wine was worth more than water. Water is a symbolism for many things.  Water was included in the first miracle (encouraged by his mother ) performed by Christ. Wine was also included in the miracle and holds a key to some of the secret information about what was happening there. The water that became wine, represented the richness of what is going to happen in the next life. Now is the time for us to treasure the water. But when we make it to the afterlife, we will be living under the new wine. The wine is the blood of Christ.

The significance of water to the Maori, is that it is first and foremost an unmovable landmark. Rivers and Oceans were once the highways of our people, and so they were always acknowledged as an important part of the Maori way of life. So when we speak of our rivers there is a spiritual connection to it. Whether that water is a waterfall, creek, spring, river, estuary, or ocean itself. Each has its own purpose for being there and is imperative in maintaining the very delicate balance of the existence of Mother Nature.

It is also a natural food source, and the cycle of all creatures that live therein was documented (by memory retention and by intricate carvings) and followed (according to the moon and stars). This lays true also with the people of Jesus time, as they were pedantic about when, and where food was sourced from, and what was eaten at certain times of the day, month, and year.

It is all one big mystical code. – not the Da Vinci code which I will tell you right now is a load of absolute BS.

But taking it back to my people the Maori, we would just like to see these waterways respected and maintained for the future generations. I can never understand why, the councils and governments want to place sewerage in the water ways. Hello? Are you an idiot? The best place for our waste (bodily)  to go is back into the earth. That is where the Maori have always put it. Back into the earth. From there it naturally decomposes and the soil becomes more fertile. But if you put it into the water, the water doesn’t become cleaner? Go figure? Who was the genius who put these fools in charge?

Jesus knew the water was tapu. That is why he tested his disciples, and appeared to them walking across the sea in the midst of a storm. He knew that the water was an element which takes trust, because we cannot contain it, water is free to move, and can destroy earth, and even disintegrate iron.  It is an element that can put out fire. It can bring life, or death.

What I also want to say here is that, my hope for my homeland, Aotearoa New Zealand, it that we will maintain our clean green image, and our rivers will not become dirty like other places around the world. I don’t think I need to name them you know where they are. It’s just dirty, unsightly and not necessary. So come on everyone, keep it clean, green and of course pure. Have respect for it. Have a love for it. Because when the last drop has been wasted, you know who to blame. Don’t you.

No reira nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa

Copyright © Janelle Murphy 2012

Ancestors on the Mountains

Picking up from where I left off explaining about the similarities of Maoritanga (Maori traditions, customs and beliefs) and Christianity, is not something that I have just randomly picked out of the air.

In 2004 I had one of the toughest times of my life.

My partner at the time, Richard Nigel Allen, had been battling cancer for going on his fifth year. (Which was a celebration really because the Quack had told him he only had six months to live.)

The story of Richard (or Rick as he liked to be known) is quite amazing, however I will leave this for another blog.

On September the 28^th of that year he passed away, and the following months would be some of the closest I had with God. The year previously we had both been baptised at Liberty Church in Whakatane, and so by this time I was deep into my faith.

When Rick died I had been seeking answers about who I was.

It made me realise that life was too short, and you only had this lifetime to do all the things that you want to do, so if you want to do it, sort it out and do it now!

But anyway, one night, I was bawling my eyes out. You see, when I would mourn it would be when no one was around to see me, but when I would face people, I would be strong.

But in my own privacy the room would be covered in tissues, I’d have puffy eyes, and I’d whimper for hours on end, wondering why God had taken him from me?

So on this night of my bawling, I fell asleep and God presented me with what I believe to be a very spiritual and deep revelation for Te Iwi Maori. (The Maori People)

Now this dream is not your ordinary type of dream.            It seems at times in my life, I have dreams (just like my visitation dreams) that are a little out of the ordinary where I have an outer body experience. Almost like my soul is travelling.

On this particular night (and many other nights, I might add) I was asleep, (yet awake) while I was receiving the information. What in the world does she mean you’re asking? Well I was writing and dreaming at the same time. I was recording on paper every little thing that the Lord was revealing to me. (This I do quite often.)

 In the morning when I wake up and read it and I say, “Did I write that?”.

But don’t worry folks I am wide awake while writing this.

Here was the first thing that was revealed to me spoken by the Lord, that made an impression on my heart.

The Lord said, “ soon our people (Maori) will be taken out of bondage and that they will have returned what was once taken from them.”

But first, in order for this to happen, they needed to “submit to the Lord Jesus Christ, as their God and Saviour, and then they shall be set free from the heavy burdens upon them.”

The Lord also revealed to me that this was strongly connected to Te Tiriti O Waitangi, because that document was signed under the oath and name of the Lord Jesus Christ and that the only way, for Maori to be set free was to “accept Jesus Christ’s name, and to accept Jesus Christ as the Sovereign Lord over all other gods.”

Now this stuff is really hitting deep. Can you imagine what I  thought when I woke up?

I have never shared this with anyone, so it must be the right time to let others know.

The Lord also gave me a scripture: Exodus CH34 v 27

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel”

In this instance the Lord was referring to me in the place where Moses’ name appears and Maori in place of Israel.

If there is one thing we need to understand it is that God makes scriptures relevant to us, and relevant to the situations we are going through.

Now, in 2011, I see that this has begun to come to pass.

Destiny Church hosted four Maori MP’s just over a month ago.

This was a very important step for our people.

Hone Harawira, Shane Jones, Tau Henare, and Pita Sharples all attended the service.

They all basked in the presence of the Lord, and heard songs of praise and worship being sung unto Him. They heard the word of God preached, and they saw the living proof of so many lives that had been touched by the Holy Spirit and by the power of God. Even Kingi Tuheitia looked like he was enjoying himself.

This is vital to the change and progression of the Maori people, and it is through the obedience of Brian and Hannah Tamaki to the Lord that this event took place. Although there is always some type of controversy surrounding “the Tamaki’s” and “their church”,  (by the media and also by  other groups) my belief is that they are working together for the good of our people and that is all that should matter. And it is obviously of God because he continues to bless them over and over again.

Of all the MP’s present, I noticed that while being prayed over Hone Harawira was the only one who had shut his eyes and at that very time, was receiving God’s anointing.

God has chosen Hone for a very special purpose, and I have seen a change in Hone through consecutive events, and through witnessing his victory of the by-election .

Here’s the thing , by Hone closing his eyes, his eyes were actually awakened, by the Lord. The eyes of his heart and the eyes of his spirit.

I congratulated Hone on his Facebook page the evening I witnessed that, I was very proud of him. Of them all.

Being a descendant of Te Taitokerau I know he is going to be a positive influence on our people for years to come, especially if he yields to God’s call.

Furthermore, the Lord showed me (in 2004) various aspects which cross-reference Biblically to Maori.

The first of these is the Mountains.

Maori believe that their Mountains are Tapu, significant and hold great power.

Jesus understood and knew this very well.

Prove it! Okay here it is,

Mark ch 9 v 2-3: After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high Mountain, where they were alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.

You see, Jesus knew that the Mountains are a Holy place. They are a place to be cleansed and they are a place of prayer.

The rest of that scripture also confirms another reason that the Maori hold our Maunga (Mountains) to be sacred. It is the dwelling place of our ancestors, and when one makes the journey of climbing the mountain, very often it is of a spiritual significance.

Verse 4 says: And there appeared before them was Elijah and Moses who were talking with Jesus.

Moses and Elijah were Jesus’ Tupuna, his ancestors, and through the Lord they appeared to him, to strengthen him and give messages and instructions, of things unfinished.

After all, at that time Jesus was a man, and he would have needed some type of confirmation, God used Tupuna as a means of cross communication, which is very similar to the events that I have been experiencing.

To understand the rest of this I will not explain it, instead I will encourage you to get out your bible, (no matter what version, Good News, NIV, King James, whatever it is) and have a look for yourself in the chapter of Mark.

Well that should be enough for you to chew on at this point. Next blog I will be looking at Moana (Water) and why it was special to the Maori, my Tupuna and my Lord.

No reira, nga mihi nui kia koutou katoa!

Copyright © Chemline-My Ancestorsfootprints.blogspot.com/ 2011

Messages From The Underworld.

Many have struggled with the concept of being able to communicate with the dead, especially when it comes to those set deep in  Christian religion. TV 2’s hit series “Sensing Murder” brushed over this gift, yet the angle that was approached is a completely different situation compared to mine.

The people they were in tune with were strangers, people they did not know, nor ever heard of before and of no relation to them.  In my case I am related to these spirits, and the things that they want me to do for them can be done by me, and me alone. I am not in any way given specific instructions, nor given any type of assistance to achieve it either; like the winning combination for the Powerball results when it hits 30 Mil. (So that I can make trips up and down the countryside, collecting data and whatnot to understand my mission further), I am, however, given direction by signs along the way. I remember when I returned to live in Auckland in the year 2005, I was tossing up whether to continue on with my theatre career or just get a 9 to 5 job and start to build a life for myself in Auckland. That day, I went to take my mother to the doctors and while I was parking the car across the road from the surgery I looked up and saw a billboard with the words, “Time to settle down”, written on it. Is that the biggest slap in the face or what, hello?

A few months later I started dating my (now) husband, and within the year was pregnant with our first child. Seems the Tupuna (Ancestors) wanted the line to carry on through him, and if I was to one day become Tupuna then I would need to pro-create in order for that to happen.

The word Tupuna according to my basic translation means Ancestor, but a breakdown of these words is “Tu”, meaning ‘to stand’, and “puna” is ‘a spring’. Usually the spring they refer to is a water spring , but the deeper meaning here would mean the spring of life, which is where we have all come from. You see, in my eyes the most important thing that one can understand, is where he or she comes from, and what their purpose in life is. To reiterate this, to know where you come from is the purpose of your life.

Heading back toward meanings of words, to tie into the title of this korero, the Maori believe that when one passes on to the next life their spirit makes the journey, back towards the Northern most of the North Island to Te Rerenga Wairua, or Spirits Bay. From there they will jump off the cliff, and plunge below into the ocean where they proceed to the Underworld. In the eyes of Christianity this comes across as being evil. Underworld? They most likely equate this to hell, but it is not, it is merely a cultural belief from stories handed down to us from our ancient ones.

There are also many interesting stories that can tie into Christianity that I could wrote about, but I will share this with you on my next blog.

Nga mihi, nga mihi, nga mihi kia koutou.

Nga Tapuwae aa Oku Tupuna.

In life I believe  that we are responsible for carrying on the work that has been left for us by our ancestors. For without them we would not be here. I myself have always stood in awe of some of my ancestors, and quite often stand in awe of other peoples ancestors. Perhaps it is the depth of spirituality that one can delve into before one reaches enlightenment to fully grasp this very fully fledged intrinsic concept.
I was brought up in a family where we were expected to respect all things spiritual.
I remember as a child, returning back to one of our home Marae (ancestral meeting places) and being told not to go to the house that was half burnt down because it was tapu.
Tapu? What is tapu I thought?
My grandmother told me it means something is very sacred and should not be tampered with. You see for the Maori we believe that everything has a spiritual life force, even the stones beneath our feet, have a purpose and reason for being here.
Almost a year ago I began to have spiritual dreams, which were more like visitations, from my ancestors who send me messages, and ask me to carry out tasks that were not finished during their lifetime. At first I thought, am I going nuts?
But after a discussion about it with Tribal elders I came to the understanding that this gift already exists in our genealogical lines, and therefore I am only fulfilling the duties of which I have been born to accomplish.
Over my time of blogging, I wish to share with you all some of my most amazing experiences, some have not yet happened. I would also like to share with you some of the rich history of my ancestors, hoping that it will bring to you inspiration for your journey ahead in life.
No reira, e nga mana, e nga reo , e nga hau e wha, nga mihi, nga mihi kia koutou katoa!