We are living in the age of 'Reality T.V.' What is the real life of Peter Andre, Katie Price, Kerry Katona and umpteen other so-called celebs? How do these people really live their lives? How do they really interact with their children? What is their favourite breakfast cereal in the morning? And do we really care? Television channels are showing us hours and hours of T.V. shows depicting what life is 'really like' in the lives of all sorts of people. So you can find out who kills rats and cleans overflowing drains, you can find out what goes on in Essex, you can find out what hairdressers use to cut hair...and the list goes on and on and on. I am sure we will see a show about which paint dries the fastest on your walls and they will call it 'Paint Drying on a Wall-watch.' It will probably be more exciting and more intelligent than most of the celebrity shows on at the moment!
But if they were to make a reality t.v. show about your life or my life what would it look like? I happen to love my life. I have a great wife and great kids. I love my job of leading Bethany Community Church, Harpenden. I love being part of a wider family who are stoked up about our glorious Dad in heaven. Life is pretty cool and I can't wait to see what happens next. But in the last week I have been challenged about what is reality! Now that sounds a bit weird coming from a church leader who should be convinced about what reality is. I'll try and explain.
The question I have to ask myself is this: "What is more real: what is in heaven or what is here on earth around me?" Well that is obvious - what is in heaven is by far more real than what is here. So when we look at Jesus we see a man who lived a life doing things that for us seemed unreal but they happened! He then teaches us a pattern for prayer. It wasn't a prayer that we are to recite at special occasions in a monotonous tone, but a teaching tool that reveals the heart of God. Part of the prayer is: "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it IS in heaven." He is teaching us to pray for the reality of what is in heaven to invade and permeate our seen reality and change things dramatically. So what is in heaven?
Life. Jesus raised the dead!
Health. Jesus healed the sick!
Abundant provision. Jesus turned hundreds of gallons of water into wine and fed thousands of people with five bread rolls and a couple of fish!
He found two coins in a fish's mouth.
Purity and holiness. Jesus freed the lepers from being unclean by healing them. He made the unclean woman with an issue of blood clean be healing her. He forgave the paralytic man, the man on the cross, the woman caught in adultery, Zaccheus... and the list goes on.
No demons. Jesus cast out thousands of demons from people's lives.
Jesus also walked on water, stopped a storm by his word, was transfigured and spoke to Abraham and Elijah on a mountain.
Can all this be a reality to us? Absolutely. So why aren't I seeing the reality of heaven invading every area of my life and the life of the church and its members? It is because I live seeing things with my earthly mind and not the mind of Christ.
1 Cor 2:9 - 12 is staggering. Look:
9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
And in verse 16b it says "But we have the mind of Christ."
In order for me to start seeing the reality of heaven invade everything area of my life I need to allow the Holy Spirit to change the way I think to the way Jesus thinks. If I have his mind I should start thinking his way and his way was his Father's way and his Father's way was all the things I mentioned earlier that Jesus did. The Father's will is to bring heaven to earth because it demonstrates His absolute love for us. Do you want a huge taste of heaven? Then ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and you will be transformed to understand the will of our Father in heaven.
Soul II Soul once sang - "Back to life, back to reality." True life is pulling down the reality of heaven in prayer and seeing it invade all we do. There are exciting days ahead as we pursue the will of God in our lifetime.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
A tiny seed shouts out "Some-one designed me!"
I was talking to someone recently who isn't a Christian and has shown little interest in anything to do with God. He was explaining that he was watching a programme on evolution and could understand how animals might evolve as their brain tells them how they must adapt. But he then went on to say that the other day he was out in his garden wearing his dresing gown. He brushed past a particular plant that had seeds with hooks on. One of these seeds hooked onto his dressing gown. It got him thinking that this plant had the ability to reproduce itself by having seeds that hook onto passing animals and eventually fall off somewhere else to grow a new plant. He then spoke about the sycamore tree and how it's seeds can't be planted near the tree as there wouldn't be the space or light. But the seed is designed to be carried by the wind well away from the tree it comes from. From one tiny seed this person had started the process of thinking that maybe there might be a Grand Designer behind everything. He didn't fall to his knees and exclaim, "I believe, I believe!" But it started him on a journey.
We have no idea what a small seed might do in the heart of an unbeliever!
Jesus told this parable in Mark 4:
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain — first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Our job as God's children is simply to sow seed. We are not called to grow the seed and produce the plant. We can not do that and we never will. That is God's job! One word of life from our lips is a seed that is planted into someone's heart. What happens after that is not our problem. You just have to step back and allow the miracle of new life to occur. God is very clever. He is very powerful. He is very resourceful. By ourselves we are none of these things, so let's stop acting as if we are and think that someone's salvation is dependent on us!
"Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how." I love this because it helps me to realise that God is in complete control of those I have sown seed in! Wow, that's amazing! You see, we may never see anybody become a Christian through our witness. But you never know what is going on in their hearts and where they may end up. God will never hold us responsible for people's eternal destination because we have absolutely no power to save anybody. Every individual is responsible for their own eternal destiny. However, I believe that we are going to be very surprised when we get to heaven. I reckon there will be many there who we have shared the good news with and never knew they had responded at a later point of their lives. Let me share this amazing link about Mr Genor and it WILL inspire you.
God bless you amazingly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH4F49HFZeE
We have no idea what a small seed might do in the heart of an unbeliever!
Jesus told this parable in Mark 4:
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain — first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Our job as God's children is simply to sow seed. We are not called to grow the seed and produce the plant. We can not do that and we never will. That is God's job! One word of life from our lips is a seed that is planted into someone's heart. What happens after that is not our problem. You just have to step back and allow the miracle of new life to occur. God is very clever. He is very powerful. He is very resourceful. By ourselves we are none of these things, so let's stop acting as if we are and think that someone's salvation is dependent on us!
"Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how." I love this because it helps me to realise that God is in complete control of those I have sown seed in! Wow, that's amazing! You see, we may never see anybody become a Christian through our witness. But you never know what is going on in their hearts and where they may end up. God will never hold us responsible for people's eternal destination because we have absolutely no power to save anybody. Every individual is responsible for their own eternal destiny. However, I believe that we are going to be very surprised when we get to heaven. I reckon there will be many there who we have shared the good news with and never knew they had responded at a later point of their lives. Let me share this amazing link about Mr Genor and it WILL inspire you.
God bless you amazingly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH4F49HFZeE
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Making a Splash!
Well, I have been off the scene for a couple of weeks and all for a very good reason. As a family we have just been to Disneyworld and enjoyed the company of Mickey and friends. I have to say that I love the parks and had great fun taking the kids on all the big rides. I discovered that my kids are fearless when it comes to these scary adventures. My five year old daughter came off the Tower of Terror with a huge smile on her face pleading for us to go a second time. However, we had an appointment with Beauty and the Beast and time didn't permit. In hindsight I wished we had done the ride again instead of enduring the horror of singing clocks, teapots and candlesticks!
We went to Disneyworld a while back and the ride that scared me the most then was the same ride that scared me the most this time. That was Splash Mountain. You go into the ride knowing what to expect because you go past the fifty foot log flume drop with screaming people travelling at forty miles an hour in a plastic log. The ride lasts about ten minutes and for nine and a half minutes all I am thinking about is the fifty foot drop that is approaching. All is well until you go into a pitch black area and you climb slowly up the mountain, inside. Then you are lured into a false sense of security as you suddenly go down a smaller drop in the pitch black. And then you know there is no turning back as you approach - the drop. I can't remember if I screamed, shouted or anything! I do know that my eyes were closed because we have the photo to prove it. It was exhilerating, but scary enough that when we came back to the park a few days later I chose to opt out of the ride when everyone else decided to go again. I know my limits!
Are you a thrill-seeker? Do you like to take risks or step out of your comfort zone? To me faith is a bit like a theme park. Most of the rides I know I can do without fear. They are clearly tame and safe. You do them and it is just nice. But there is no buzz afterwards. You don't talk about it in depth and you don't tend to describe your emotions about how you felt before, during and after the ride. There is a lot of things that I do as a child of God that is very safe and tame. I can very easily go through the motions. I can do many things that requires no fear, no risk and no emotional battle. And afterwards I can say: "That was nice!", but then feel like I haven't really grown much through the experience. It is when I am confronted with challenges that require an emotional battle that takes me into a different realm. It is those moments where I have to engage more trust in God to get me through the situation. Everytime I have gone to do a Treasure Hunt have I had to overcome fear, discomfort and other emotions. Even when I am out on the street having to approach people that I have words of knowledge for, does more fear and nausea kick in. It is the same kind of emotions I have before a scary ride. I don't want to do this. But I know it will be fine. But what if it all goes wrong? But hey what is the worst that could happen? And it will all be over quickly! And then you step out and go for it and actually it is okay. The person was actually really friendly. He actually wanted to be prayed for. Okay let's do the next ride! And afterwards you just want to tell everyone what happened and you feel like you have grown in your faith.
How will I grow as a Christian if I stick to just the 'nursery' rides? I need to take more risks in my faith if I am going to grow as his son. If David hadn't killed the bear and the lion to protect his sheep, he wouldn't have been able to fight Goliath to protect Israel! He had to grow in his understanding that God was on his side and would work with him in every area. How much do you want to see happen in the kingdom of God by you being used by Him in ever increasing exploits? It is time to get off the Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo rides that just go round and round and get onto some Splash Mountains and Tower of Terrors. (This is figuratively speaking!) Religious activity is dull and predictable and gets you nowhere. Taking risks for God is often scary and tense but when you look back are exciting, exhilerating and unpredictable. So who wants to make a SPLASH!!?
We went to Disneyworld a while back and the ride that scared me the most then was the same ride that scared me the most this time. That was Splash Mountain. You go into the ride knowing what to expect because you go past the fifty foot log flume drop with screaming people travelling at forty miles an hour in a plastic log. The ride lasts about ten minutes and for nine and a half minutes all I am thinking about is the fifty foot drop that is approaching. All is well until you go into a pitch black area and you climb slowly up the mountain, inside. Then you are lured into a false sense of security as you suddenly go down a smaller drop in the pitch black. And then you know there is no turning back as you approach - the drop. I can't remember if I screamed, shouted or anything! I do know that my eyes were closed because we have the photo to prove it. It was exhilerating, but scary enough that when we came back to the park a few days later I chose to opt out of the ride when everyone else decided to go again. I know my limits!
Are you a thrill-seeker? Do you like to take risks or step out of your comfort zone? To me faith is a bit like a theme park. Most of the rides I know I can do without fear. They are clearly tame and safe. You do them and it is just nice. But there is no buzz afterwards. You don't talk about it in depth and you don't tend to describe your emotions about how you felt before, during and after the ride. There is a lot of things that I do as a child of God that is very safe and tame. I can very easily go through the motions. I can do many things that requires no fear, no risk and no emotional battle. And afterwards I can say: "That was nice!", but then feel like I haven't really grown much through the experience. It is when I am confronted with challenges that require an emotional battle that takes me into a different realm. It is those moments where I have to engage more trust in God to get me through the situation. Everytime I have gone to do a Treasure Hunt have I had to overcome fear, discomfort and other emotions. Even when I am out on the street having to approach people that I have words of knowledge for, does more fear and nausea kick in. It is the same kind of emotions I have before a scary ride. I don't want to do this. But I know it will be fine. But what if it all goes wrong? But hey what is the worst that could happen? And it will all be over quickly! And then you step out and go for it and actually it is okay. The person was actually really friendly. He actually wanted to be prayed for. Okay let's do the next ride! And afterwards you just want to tell everyone what happened and you feel like you have grown in your faith.
How will I grow as a Christian if I stick to just the 'nursery' rides? I need to take more risks in my faith if I am going to grow as his son. If David hadn't killed the bear and the lion to protect his sheep, he wouldn't have been able to fight Goliath to protect Israel! He had to grow in his understanding that God was on his side and would work with him in every area. How much do you want to see happen in the kingdom of God by you being used by Him in ever increasing exploits? It is time to get off the Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo rides that just go round and round and get onto some Splash Mountains and Tower of Terrors. (This is figuratively speaking!) Religious activity is dull and predictable and gets you nowhere. Taking risks for God is often scary and tense but when you look back are exciting, exhilerating and unpredictable. So who wants to make a SPLASH!!?
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Which side of the cross are you on?
I have just finished writing my sermon for Easter Sunday. It is about the two sides of the cross. On one side we still see Jesus on the cross and that we can live our lives as if His death wasn't enough to free us from our sin. We end up living under legalism and religious activity. We can live as if God doesn't accept us because we so often mess up and fail to live according to His 'law'. So we do things as penance so that God might have us back! We read more of the bible, we pray for a longer period, we go to more meetings and we try and help out more at church. Basically we live as slaves to a false gospel that says that by our own efforts we can become acceptable to God. Yeah, Jesus died for us, but was it really enough? If it was then why do we resort to religious acts and legalistic actions? As if by them we can get anywhere? This is the wrong side of the cross. This is not living in freedom of the cross and what was accomplished on it by Jesus' perfect sacrifice.
The right side of the cross is the empty side. Not only is Jesus not on the cross still, but He is no longer in the grave! He is ALIVE!!! Do you know what this means? It means that His sacrifice was totally accepted by His Father in heaven. His blood was enough to totally free us from the power of sin and death. When He breathed His last breath the temple curtain that separated men from the Most Holy place was torn from top to bottom. This gave all of us access into God's very presence. He tore it! He did it so that we didn't have to. Because we couldn't do it.
Living on the right side of the cross means freedom. It means living as His children, where His full attention is on us. It means being a co-heir with Christ. It means that we have been made perfect forever as we have been set aside and dedicated to our Glorious Dad in heaven for eternity. It is impossible for us to do any more to make us more acceptable to God. It has all been done for us! Glory, glory, glory!!!
Which side of the cross do you want to live your life? I have chosen my side. Will you join me? Have an amazing Easter this year and remember that we actually celebrate it daily. All blessings on you. Neil
The right side of the cross is the empty side. Not only is Jesus not on the cross still, but He is no longer in the grave! He is ALIVE!!! Do you know what this means? It means that His sacrifice was totally accepted by His Father in heaven. His blood was enough to totally free us from the power of sin and death. When He breathed His last breath the temple curtain that separated men from the Most Holy place was torn from top to bottom. This gave all of us access into God's very presence. He tore it! He did it so that we didn't have to. Because we couldn't do it.
Living on the right side of the cross means freedom. It means living as His children, where His full attention is on us. It means being a co-heir with Christ. It means that we have been made perfect forever as we have been set aside and dedicated to our Glorious Dad in heaven for eternity. It is impossible for us to do any more to make us more acceptable to God. It has all been done for us! Glory, glory, glory!!!
Which side of the cross do you want to live your life? I have chosen my side. Will you join me? Have an amazing Easter this year and remember that we actually celebrate it daily. All blessings on you. Neil
Friday, 18 March 2011
Interesting times!
I am a great music fan. I am one of those people who can just sit and listen to music and do nothing else while doing it. I find it relaxing. But I like songs with decent lyrics. I know I am getting older as I don't really like much of the music in the charts these days. I like songs that have a meaning or a story. So over the years I have enjoyed David Bowie, Queen, Billy Joel and more recently Coldplay and Elbow. These are artists who have written some great anthemic songs backed up with great musicality. I recently taught up in Bedford to the Frontier Project students on Eschatology or End Times. And I was reminded of the great REM classic - "It's the end of the world as we know it!" The first line is - "That's great it starts with an earthquake." Then as I turned up last Friday to bring my teaching, I heard the tragic news that there had been a devastating earthquake in Japan. The sixth most powerful earthquake in history and 8000 times more powerful than the one that just hit New Zealand. It is hard to imagine what this nation is going through right now and we must continue to pray for them. We must pray for the Comforter to go and descend upon this devastated country and for God to bring life out of a dark situation. This is a very secular nation that is in desperate need of the Father's love.
The thing I am hearing a lot at the moment is that Christians and non-Christians are asking whether these are the signs for the end of the world? Does this mean that Jesus is coming soon? Well Jesus said that there will be signs that point to the end times. And even though we need to be aware of these signs, we mustn't try and work out that this is imminent. What we need to focus on is getting on with what God has called us to do in the area He has placed us. Even Jesus didn't know when He would come back. Only the Father knows when this will happen, so we don't need to fear or get obsessed with specifics. Jesus said that the last sign to occur before He comes back would be that the gospel would have been received by all nations or as the Greek puts it - all people groups. Now it is estimated that there are still around 6800 unreached people groups which represents approximately 2.8 billion people. This may help you see that there is still a long way to go before Jesus returns. Jesus taught that we need to be prepared for His coming at all times but that our primary call is to love God and love others. I want to live my life for His glory so that He will say to me - "Well done good and faithful servant."
I don't believe it is the end of the world as we know it! These events that are occurring around the world should remind us of the frailty and shortness of life and provoke us into action. The reality is that we are surrounded by people who desperately need to know the love of our amazing Dad in heaven. We rejoice that we have already seen six new adoptions into God's family this year. But there are so many more that God has His eye on. There is a harvest that is ripe, ripe, ripe! Jesus didn't teach us to pray for the harvest to come in but for the workers to go out and bring it in. This is starting to happen, Praise God! But this isn't it. It is just the start. Let's go and show others the Father's love by loving them with the love that we have received. May God bless you loads. Until the next blog - Have fun!
The thing I am hearing a lot at the moment is that Christians and non-Christians are asking whether these are the signs for the end of the world? Does this mean that Jesus is coming soon? Well Jesus said that there will be signs that point to the end times. And even though we need to be aware of these signs, we mustn't try and work out that this is imminent. What we need to focus on is getting on with what God has called us to do in the area He has placed us. Even Jesus didn't know when He would come back. Only the Father knows when this will happen, so we don't need to fear or get obsessed with specifics. Jesus said that the last sign to occur before He comes back would be that the gospel would have been received by all nations or as the Greek puts it - all people groups. Now it is estimated that there are still around 6800 unreached people groups which represents approximately 2.8 billion people. This may help you see that there is still a long way to go before Jesus returns. Jesus taught that we need to be prepared for His coming at all times but that our primary call is to love God and love others. I want to live my life for His glory so that He will say to me - "Well done good and faithful servant."
I don't believe it is the end of the world as we know it! These events that are occurring around the world should remind us of the frailty and shortness of life and provoke us into action. The reality is that we are surrounded by people who desperately need to know the love of our amazing Dad in heaven. We rejoice that we have already seen six new adoptions into God's family this year. But there are so many more that God has His eye on. There is a harvest that is ripe, ripe, ripe! Jesus didn't teach us to pray for the harvest to come in but for the workers to go out and bring it in. This is starting to happen, Praise God! But this isn't it. It is just the start. Let's go and show others the Father's love by loving them with the love that we have received. May God bless you loads. Until the next blog - Have fun!
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
I can see clearly now...
Hi everyone in Blogland.
The sun is here. Contrary to public belief it has not abandoned this nation but was just on sabbatical! It has put a smile on my face and a spring in my step. It doesn't take a lot to put a smile on my face but the sun coming out will never fail. I love the sun! As Johnny Nash so famously sang:
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.
More and more people are telling me that they are loving what God is doing at the moment. It really feels that many who have been struggling for so long can see clearly now. God is removing obstacles, dark clouds and blindness from people's vision and they can truly see our bright, bright Son. Young people are giving their lives to our wonderful Jesus because the Holy Spirit is revealing the amazing love of our Dad in Heaven. God is literally coming into our meetings and removing blindness from their eyes and saying "Ta-da! here I am and it's going to be a bright, bright Son-shiny day."
One of the profoundest things that God spoke to me about recently was with regards to one of the primary reasons that He sent the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Verse 18 says that Jesus will not leave us as orphans but will send the Holy Spirit! What does it say in Romans 8 about the Holy Spirit? Verses 14-17 show us that the Spirit we received from God was the Spirit of adoption by which we cry "Abba, Father!" or "Daddy!" If we fully understand this then we will have the clearest view of the Father and our lives will be incredibly bright. It is fantastic that we will never know what it is like to be without a Dad because the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and His desire is to constantly reveal the Father to us.
As a church we are seeking to help everyone who is part of us to experience the Father's love. So I was very encouraged when someone was talking to me about a conversation they had had with someone new to us. The new person said that she has felt incredibly loved by so many in the church and that it felt like the Father's love. Wow! Did you just read that right? The church is loving people with the Father's love and it is having a profound effect on them. Another person said that her sister-in-law came to church recently and had a great experience. She told me that she just watched with joy as about ten to twelve people spoke with her sister-in-law over the course of the morning! Listen brothers and sister, we can can have the best worship, the most profound preaching and the funkiest website, but if we don't have love then we are a clanging cymbal and it counts for nothing! I love our DNA and see it as the most vital part of this church's existence. It is about love, love, love! For God so loved...How great is the love the Father has LAVISHED on us...the reason we love is because He first LOVED us, etc...etc...
I can see clearly now not because the rain has gone but because of the love my Dad in heaven has shone into my heart! He has cleared out all the dross and muck and cleared a path so that I can run into His arms and gaze into His eyes of pure, blazing love. I am a free son of the living God and so are you my friend. It is done and so am I for now. Until next time:
It is a bright, bright, Sun-shiny day!!!
Love you all,
Neil
The sun is here. Contrary to public belief it has not abandoned this nation but was just on sabbatical! It has put a smile on my face and a spring in my step. It doesn't take a lot to put a smile on my face but the sun coming out will never fail. I love the sun! As Johnny Nash so famously sang:
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.
More and more people are telling me that they are loving what God is doing at the moment. It really feels that many who have been struggling for so long can see clearly now. God is removing obstacles, dark clouds and blindness from people's vision and they can truly see our bright, bright Son. Young people are giving their lives to our wonderful Jesus because the Holy Spirit is revealing the amazing love of our Dad in Heaven. God is literally coming into our meetings and removing blindness from their eyes and saying "Ta-da! here I am and it's going to be a bright, bright Son-shiny day."
One of the profoundest things that God spoke to me about recently was with regards to one of the primary reasons that He sent the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Verse 18 says that Jesus will not leave us as orphans but will send the Holy Spirit! What does it say in Romans 8 about the Holy Spirit? Verses 14-17 show us that the Spirit we received from God was the Spirit of adoption by which we cry "Abba, Father!" or "Daddy!" If we fully understand this then we will have the clearest view of the Father and our lives will be incredibly bright. It is fantastic that we will never know what it is like to be without a Dad because the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and His desire is to constantly reveal the Father to us.
As a church we are seeking to help everyone who is part of us to experience the Father's love. So I was very encouraged when someone was talking to me about a conversation they had had with someone new to us. The new person said that she has felt incredibly loved by so many in the church and that it felt like the Father's love. Wow! Did you just read that right? The church is loving people with the Father's love and it is having a profound effect on them. Another person said that her sister-in-law came to church recently and had a great experience. She told me that she just watched with joy as about ten to twelve people spoke with her sister-in-law over the course of the morning! Listen brothers and sister, we can can have the best worship, the most profound preaching and the funkiest website, but if we don't have love then we are a clanging cymbal and it counts for nothing! I love our DNA and see it as the most vital part of this church's existence. It is about love, love, love! For God so loved...How great is the love the Father has LAVISHED on us...the reason we love is because He first LOVED us, etc...etc...
I can see clearly now not because the rain has gone but because of the love my Dad in heaven has shone into my heart! He has cleared out all the dross and muck and cleared a path so that I can run into His arms and gaze into His eyes of pure, blazing love. I am a free son of the living God and so are you my friend. It is done and so am I for now. Until next time:
It is a bright, bright, Sun-shiny day!!!
Love you all,
Neil
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Keeping up
As most most of you know I was born with a disability known as muscular dystrophy. This meant I was restricted in many ways physically. This raised huge doubts in my mind about the existence of God and I chose to be an Atheist. Then in 1983, God got hold of me as a fifteen year old lad and turned my life upside-down. Three weeks later I was gloriously immersed in His Holy Spirit and I knew I would never be the same again. I was overwhelmed by His presence and knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was now an adopted son of the my Dad in heaven. Some said that it was just a passing phase but twenty-eight years later this passing phase hasn't yet passed! (And it never will). In these last twenty-eight years I have seen some awesome things. I have seen lives changed, many healed and churches planted. It has been an incredible adventure and I have been on the most exciting journey with My wonderful Father.
However, as glorious as it has been so far, and I thank God for that, it does not compare with what He is doing in our church today. Going back to my opening sentence, when I was young I often had to play catch up. What I mean is that on school trips where there was a lot of walking, I was always last. Because of my physical weakness I could not keep up with the main crowd. This was very frustrating as I was often walking on my own or with people not of my choice. My friends would often have to stop so that I could catch up. However, I have never allowed my limitations from stopping me do the things that I have wanted to do. I may not have done them as quickly as others but I have done them. What I am finding today is that I am having to play a different form of keeping up. This comes in the shape of God doing things in a way that I am not used to and I am having trouble keeping up. Yet this is not frustrating but exhilarating. The pace in which the Holy Spirit is moving amongst us as a church is breath-taking and I am constantly playing catch-up. More and more new people are coming through our doors, the youth are on fire, people are being saved during worship, lives are being changed, the prayer meetings are growing in size and there is greater freedom amongst us! God is knocking religion out of us and many of us are discovering more of the Father's love. The great thing about this is that we haven't planned it, programmed it or come up with any formula to see it happen! It is happening because Daddy loves us and wants us to be immersed more and more into His very presence. We are coming into a greater knowledge that the curtain has been torn from top to bottom and there is nothing more we need to do to run into His arms!
God promised the church that a mighty river would run through the centre of Bethany CC and into the town and surrounding area. We are right at the start of that promise and there is so much more to come. While Stuart, Sarah and I were praying in the office I saw this huge wave coming towards us and a lone surfer as a speck in front of the wave. Gradually I saw the surfer rise to the top of the wave and was just gliding with the full force of the wave under him. All he had to do was stay standing and trust the wave to carry him. That is us! God says just stand and trust me and you will be carried by the full force of His wave. It will surge through Harpenden and the surrounding villages and towns. It will touch many lives. The greatest thing about this, is that it is all for His glory! We can not take ANY credit for what is happening.
I don't want to ever keep up with what God is doing. The moment I have caught up with God is the moment things get predictable again! I want to be constantly surprised by Him, constantly kept on my toes and always second guessing what He will do next. Beloved, we are in the most exciting time of history. Continue to join me on the surfboard and let's see where the wave will take us. Climb on, Climb On, CLIMB ON!!!
Yours in Him
Neil
ps Check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5c39PZFQ4
However, as glorious as it has been so far, and I thank God for that, it does not compare with what He is doing in our church today. Going back to my opening sentence, when I was young I often had to play catch up. What I mean is that on school trips where there was a lot of walking, I was always last. Because of my physical weakness I could not keep up with the main crowd. This was very frustrating as I was often walking on my own or with people not of my choice. My friends would often have to stop so that I could catch up. However, I have never allowed my limitations from stopping me do the things that I have wanted to do. I may not have done them as quickly as others but I have done them. What I am finding today is that I am having to play a different form of keeping up. This comes in the shape of God doing things in a way that I am not used to and I am having trouble keeping up. Yet this is not frustrating but exhilarating. The pace in which the Holy Spirit is moving amongst us as a church is breath-taking and I am constantly playing catch-up. More and more new people are coming through our doors, the youth are on fire, people are being saved during worship, lives are being changed, the prayer meetings are growing in size and there is greater freedom amongst us! God is knocking religion out of us and many of us are discovering more of the Father's love. The great thing about this is that we haven't planned it, programmed it or come up with any formula to see it happen! It is happening because Daddy loves us and wants us to be immersed more and more into His very presence. We are coming into a greater knowledge that the curtain has been torn from top to bottom and there is nothing more we need to do to run into His arms!
God promised the church that a mighty river would run through the centre of Bethany CC and into the town and surrounding area. We are right at the start of that promise and there is so much more to come. While Stuart, Sarah and I were praying in the office I saw this huge wave coming towards us and a lone surfer as a speck in front of the wave. Gradually I saw the surfer rise to the top of the wave and was just gliding with the full force of the wave under him. All he had to do was stay standing and trust the wave to carry him. That is us! God says just stand and trust me and you will be carried by the full force of His wave. It will surge through Harpenden and the surrounding villages and towns. It will touch many lives. The greatest thing about this, is that it is all for His glory! We can not take ANY credit for what is happening.
I don't want to ever keep up with what God is doing. The moment I have caught up with God is the moment things get predictable again! I want to be constantly surprised by Him, constantly kept on my toes and always second guessing what He will do next. Beloved, we are in the most exciting time of history. Continue to join me on the surfboard and let's see where the wave will take us. Climb on, Climb On, CLIMB ON!!!
Yours in Him
Neil
ps Check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5c39PZFQ4
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