Revolutionary Road

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Jo Saxton

Last night we sat down to watch Revolutionary road. It’s a film set in 1950’s America’s , where a young couple  Frank and April Wheeler( played magnificently by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet)  with full of high hopes and expectations  for their lives slowly, let eventually come undone, with  ultimately devastating consequences. 

Frank and April dreamed of being something and being “somebodies”. They felt and wanted to be different from everyone else. Yet as time went by, and life happened to them, they learned that they were, like everyone else, simply human and ordinary.  Frank might have been a dreamer once, but in the end he really was a corporate man like his father, and he didn’t want another adventure. April, who once planned to be an actress, but didn’t succeed, wrestled with the bubbling passion for more in her life, juxtaposed with the grinding sense of ambivalence and failure as mother. And the world she lived in seemed to suffocate her and deny her the world she longed for. The revelation broke them into a million pieces. Arguments ended up in relational cul de sacs, responsibilities bred resentment, and disappointments led to desperate selfish acts of infidelity, as if they were narcotics to numb the pain of seemingly futile lives.  April ultimate desperate act was to attempt to abort the unborn child that seemed to stand in the way of her dreams and their shared future, and the attempt cost her her life.

To me it was more than a great film, with some of my favorite actors. Even though it was set in a different era, there was something timeless about it’s explorations of life and relationships which I found made it staggeringly relevant in today’s culture.  It wasn’t just the revelation that not everyone’s dreams are fulfilled. Even in this age of American Idol, and lottery tickets to a new life, somewhere in us we still know that we can’t always get to do what we want. What got me in this film was this couple had to reckon with the fact that they weren’t who they thought they were or who they hoped each other would be, and they couldn’t find a way to deal with the textured, complexity of ordinary life. And extraordinary dream is one thing; you can shape and control your hopes and expectations, your relationships and responsibilities.

But ordinary life? Who has the emotional capacity, the mental rigor the physical energy for that? Who knows how to handle life? If we did we probably wouldn’t have half the Supernanny, What not to wear, how clean is your house type shows that disciple us on how to live, would we?  Perhaps we are rudderless, visionless, after all – we didn’t learn this kind of stuff in school or college. That was about what you were going to be when you grew up. Now we’re here we have to work out how to be grown up whatever our landscape looks like. We all need signposts to that road

There’s much more to say aRevolutionary Road picnd to think on this. In another post, I guess.

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Changing Seasons

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Jenny Cornell

I love autumn, it’s my favourite season. I love the beautiful colours, the smell of bonfires, crunching and kicking through the leaves with the kids or splashing in puddles, the excuse to get out those chunky winter jumpers, the afternoons getting darker and feeling cosy inside. How romantic it sounds!

I’ve been really aware of the changing season this year, particularly in the past week coming away from the coast to the hills where the trees are in full autumn glory. I read something recently that remarked on how ironic it is that the leaves are only so beautiful because they are dying. The leaves have enjoyed the pleasant spring and summer and now must die in order for the cycle of life to start again in the spring. This isn’t a dismal death though; this is going in a blaze of glory! It has made me reflect on how I embrace the cycle of life and death (or pruning in John 15:2) in my walk with Jesus. Ecclesiastes 3 says, “there is a time for everything…a time to be born and a time to die.” So often, I am not best pleased when that pruning time comes; I want to run from it because it is usually painful and hard work. I reluctantly give in to God rather than run towards Him with a willing heart. I kind of wither and shrivel in self-pity rather than blaze with glory and let the beauty of death to self shine through. The thing about the seasons in nature is that you know what’s going to happen. I know that winter will soon follow and it will be cold and sometimes feel desolate but then the warmth of spring will eventually return and the trees will become green again. Life will be restored.

Really, it’s the same in our faith.  If we want to have life to the full and be fruitful in our walk then we have to go through seasons of pruning and death. But we have to remember that light and life will return and that the Lord will carry us through those tough times. Trust in Him and embrace whatever season you are in!

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Running

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Helen Askew

“Don’t you realise that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize?  So run to win!  All athletes are disciplined in their training.  They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

So I guess this is one of the more famous passages in the Bible about the Christian life.  One that is quoted often, usually in relation to discipline and it’s certainly helpful in that way. But I’ve been thinking about it a bit with a different slant.  My question has been ‘What is the race? What is the prize?’

I’ve concluded, for now, that it’s not a race to be the best Christian possible, it’s not a race to be the most ‘holy’, the most disciplined, to have the biggest ministry. Rather it’s a race to lay your life down for the sake of the Kingdom.  It’s one of those upside-down Kingdom things.  We’re not racing to be first but to be last (“But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then“ Matt 19:30).  We run and discipline ourselves for the benefit of others, for the glory of the King and for people who don’t know God, for those who need Him and need us to play our part.

I think perhaps most fundamentally of all it’s a race to develop deep relationship with our heavenly Father.  Deep, in that it penetrates our whole lives and consequently gives birth to an abundance of Kingdom life.  Deep, because it goes beyond the surface, beyond the immediate issues or situations we face, and grows into a deep, lasting, immovable peace and joy, fuelled by the love of the Father.  The sort of relationship which sustains you in the face of grief, stress, uncertainty, hardship.

So, why are you running?  What is the prize set before you?  Run to win!

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Encourage The Oppressed

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Hannah Absalom

“Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow”. Isaiah 1:17

Yesterday, along with about 60 other women, I went on a bus tour.  I wasn’t going to see any grand tourist destination but quite the opposite.  I went on a tour of 10 ministries which are reaching out to some of the most poor and marginalised of Oklahoma City.  OKC has some depressing and perhaps surprising statistics.  For example, Oklahoma incarcerates more women per capita than any other state in the US.  However, it is probably the same as most cities world-wide in that babies are abandoned, children are abused and ignored, there are thousands of homeless each night, many young adults have no-one to turn to when they face trouble etc.  It was quite an eye-opener and an emotional rollercoaster.  We heard story after story of individuals of all ages who had experienced horrific situations, but because they had been reached out to both practically and with the love of Jesus, they had found that their life had been transformed.

One story was of a woman who had grown up with a single, drug pushing mother.  They pretty much lived their lives on the streets and were in and out of the homeless shelter.  When she was older she also got into the drug scene.  As a teenager she was given the opportunity to go on a Christian camp.  She did and there she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.  A while later a family offered to take her in, although that idea did not appeal.  However, she decided for the first time to pray and ask God what He wanted her to do.  She felt Him say to go and live with them, so she did.  She restarted her education and is now married to a guy who has continued to encourage her in life and in her relationship with God.  A while ago, she felt God ask her to reach out to other homeless and struggling families.  They now have the beginnings of a ministry of their own, offering low cost housing and other support to those needy people.

A couple of years ago, some good friends of mine left their comfortable lives in Southern California to live with their two young children on the same street as the homeless and addicted.  They are leading a radical group of young adults to transform that neighbourhood.

Unlike them, I don’t think that God has made my primary calling to be the poor.  However, I don’t think I’m let off the hook either.  Years ago I stayed in a virtual mud hut in the Philippines and the family killed one of their 3 chickens so that I could eat.  Now I’m living in my virtual palace and I have to think.  What is God asking me to do with the poor who are almost on my doorstep?

I now have various lists from the places I visited yesterday with practical suggestions of what I can do.  These ideas range from donating food or lightly used children’s clothing, to cleaning streets, to mentoring children (or even those in the juvenile detention centre) to fostering a baby.  Currently, I’m thinking about what my family and I can be engaged in.  As I’m talking about it to friends and neighbours I already have quite a group of people around me who would be interesting in helping out too, including those who we’re discipling towards faith in Christ.

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”  Luke 12:48b.

Globally speaking, God has blessed me ABUNDANTLY.  What am I going to do with the riches He has entrusted to me?

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Catching The Call Again

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Guest

For the past two summers I have led mission trips to Romania, both have been incredible trips. This most recent trip brought me renewed vision & focus. My summer in England had felt long and challenging. I was in need of the adventure when it came.

I took 15 of the students I lead. We were working with a charity seeking to see kingdom transformation in the area and country. We worked with the local gypsy communities. A people marginalised in society, scraping a living of the land.  The activities we did were fun and not you’re run of the mill activities. I don’t get to throw mud (dirt & horse poo) at houses back at home. We were helping, honest. But it wasn’t this that made the experience for me.

It was the fact that God turned up. I can’t explain it but it’s as if the gap between heaven and earth is thinner. I felt his presence in ways I hadn’t in a while. I knew his love, his affirmation, his voice with so much clarity, his faithfulness to come when I ask him to show up.

In the early hours of the morning I sat in his presence looking out over stunning mountains wondering why that was. What was it about being there? What was it about that place?

The conclusion I came to was this.  For me being there and being devoted to just 15 people, leading & discipling them through our time was one of the simplest expressions of what I’m called to do. At home this is a large part of what I do but often it appears clouded by responsibility and demands. There it was simple, clear like everything came into focus.

When I got home life hit again and for the first few days I barely new whether I was coming or going.

It seemed it would have been simpler to stay out there. But I knew I couldn’t. You see I am in training. My life in England is my training ground for the things that I am called to and I could focus on them again knowing that something in my heart had been reignited to go after what it is he made me to do. I had felt a glimpse of what it felt like to feel fully alive because you know you are doing the thing he made you to do.

So I am renewed in my direction and passion as I look forward.

So I ask what it is for you? What are the things that will speak to your soul again about how it was he created you and what for? It might catch you off guard in the unexpected places but God is the God of the unexpected. He has a habit of catching us off guard.  For me it was a mission trip and 15 special people that I get to lead. I don’t know what it will be for you, but I do know he wants to show you. He is always wanting to call out of us the destiny he has put before us and give us renewed passion to pursue it.

By Ally Proudfoot.

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Come To Me

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Jo Saxton

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28–30

This is one of those well worn passages that speaks again and again.

Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… who doesn’t identify with that diagnosis of the state of their lives sometimes? Wearied and burdened, by stresses, responsibilities, relationships.  Who doesn’t want a break sometimes? Jesus offer of rest speaks deeply to our souls. And it would be easy to end there, knowing that whenever we are overwhelmed, he gives us a way out.

But he offers us more, so much more than that.

Take my yoke upon you…

His rest does not mean life is void of responsibility.  We still have responsibilities and relationships that we’re invested, committed, yoked to. Only this time, they are the ones Jesus has called us to and with that given us the grace for. So it’s not a responsibility we’ve acquired because we’re unable to say no; nor is it a relationship we’re investing in out of people pleasing or co-dependence. His rest is a yoke that is easy. Not easy in the way we understand easy today (if we think that then we expect our God given relationships and responsibilities to be problem free – that is not what the text says!).  Here easy means custom made, well fitting – a yoke placed on us by Jesus himself. It’s interesting that there’s still a burden too, but a light one that can be carried.

Take my yoke upon you…

There’s an offer but we need to embrace it. We can’t take on His yoke whilst clinging to our own. We’ll need to let go first…

And learn from me…

This is what struck me the most this time around.  Jesus offers me more than a break and some “me time’.  He invites me into a new way to live. And I don’t even have to get it because it’s not something I achieve; instead I learn as I walk through life with him.

Everybody get’s overwhelmed at some point. All of us wish there was a map, a book, that helped us navigate dating, work, marriage, parenting. What I’m discovering as I explore this verse again, is no, I don’t have a blueprint for life. But I have One who gave me relationships and responsibilities, a yoke that fits and a burden that is light. And I have an invitation to walk with Him and learn how to do life in all its complexity, His Way.

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Selah. Pause.

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Anna Burgess

There is something restorative about a moment of quiet. Many of us feel uncomfortable with silences – we try to fill them, we feel their unproductive, perhaps even a waste of time.

But there is something incredibly beautiful that happens when we embrace the natural pauses that there are in a day.

A few quiet moments to sit on the sofa with a toddler and read a story after lunch. An early morning sleepy hug in bed. A cup of coffee and a book in a coffee shop.  A quick walk to the local shops. A silence that falls when a friend shares her heart with you and you don’t know what to say.

We need moments of rest in our day, not just to catch our breath, but to breathe deeply and connect once again with our creator.

When you read the psalms, you will often see the word ‘selah’ or pause.  Far from being awkward silences, these were moments to reflect on the words that had been said.  They are moments to connect with the God who brings the words alive. They are moments to receive restoration in our busy lives.

Selah. Pause. Breathe deeply. Connect.

Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God.

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Slave to Much?

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Jess Culbert

I recently heard teaching that included a discussion about idolatry. Now I’ve always known that idolatry means worshipping something or someone other than God but I’ve never thought very deeply about it. After all, it can be easy to give yourself a clean bill of health in the idolatry stakes when you use the language of “worship”. “I worship God, I praise Him at church, I talk about Him with friends, I read the Bible…I’m not worshiping other gods”.

But am I? One of the speaker’s comments was, “You become a slave to the thing you worship”, and so I asked myself a different question.  “What have I become a slave to?”  My answers were very different.  For example, I might say “I don’t worship money” but am I a slave to my finances, to always wanting to accrue more to pay for the things I ‘need’?  I might say “I don’t worship fashion” but am I a slave to my appearance, to having ‘trendy’ things to wear? I might say “I don’t worship that person” but am I a slave to their opinions, to making them happy, to seeking their approval?

A few days later I came across this Jewish prayer which challenged me further.

“Sovereign of the universe, it is well known to you that our will is to do your will. [But] what prevents us? The yeast in the dough[1] and [our] enslavement to other kingdoms. May it be your will to save us from them so that we can once more fully perform the statutes of your will”.

A prayer by Rabbi Alexandri (Berachot 17a)[2]

In the context of this prayer “enslavement to other kingdoms” is a literal reference to Israel’s inability to freely practice the Jewish faith while they were suffering “at the hands of ruling authorities”[3]. But it spoke to me about our own inability to fully know and perform the will of God when we are enslaved to other things, when other “kingdoms” or kings dominate our lives.  You might spot physical signs.  I know for me this can mean that life just feels heavy, burdensome, like I’m wading through mud! Anxiety levels rise, shoulders tense, sighs expelled.  But as this prayer expresses, there is hope.  Just as God moved powerfully to save Israel from Egypt so they could worship him at Sinai, He has also moved powerfully to provide a route to freedom for us through Jesus.

wind-catcherQuoting Isaiah 61:1 Jesus declared,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Luke 4:18-19

            • Are there areas of your life where you are enslaved? To people, things, attitudes?
            • If you are able, why not try sharing them with someone you trust and start asking Jesus to set you free to be ruled by Him alone.
[1] i.e. our sinful nature.

[2] Quoted by Brad Young in “The Lord’s Prayer (6) “Thy Will Be Done””, Jerusalem Perspective, 1 Jan 04. http://www.jerusalemperspective.com/

[3] Brad Young, as above.

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Marvellously Made

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Jo Saxton

I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvellously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!

Psalm139:14 MSG

This weekend’s Guardian newspaper (UK) featured an article about some models, who were healthy and glowing. Yet what struck me most was the understanding in the fashion world that UK size 12 and 14 (US 8 – 10) is now considered PLUS SIZE. The US Edition of Glamour magazine featured a model named Lizzie Miller a few months back, looking relaxed and happy. The picture created a media storm not because Lizzie was naked, but because this 5ft 11, size 12 14 US (16- 18 UK) somehow considered too large for plus size modelling had a little tummy roll. The media storm was a positive one, broadening the definition of beauty, reminding us about how out of whack our collective body image has become.

The PLUS size idea has always bugged me. “PLUS” suggests unusual when in reality these sizes have reflected the size of the average woman; plus suggests anything other than NORMAL. And now it’s just beyond bizarre. A friend of mine once reflected that back in her day after you had children, a woman’s body was expected to change, all they suggested were kegel exercises. Today she said “young mums are expected to look like they’ve never had children, like they’re supermodels”. The idolization of youth in today’s Western world means it never stops. 40’s the new 20. 50’s the new 30.  No pressure then.

So where do we stand as the world suggests we get thinner and thinner to be “normal”? Are we able to critique, to resist, the messages our culture communicates? The verses from Psalm 139 speak of the kind of perspective the Bible encourages us to have about our bodies. Yet embracing God’s word is often a fierce battle in a culture that presents underweight bodies, airbrushed images and botoxed faces as something to aspire to. And then there are the internal pressures – the tapes playing in our heads that still tell us, compel us to want the “perfect” body. However, what the voice neglects to tell you is that perfect is getting smaller and is starting to resemble a pre pubescent boy.

I try to be healthy and fit. But there’s also some tummy fat, left over from having children that seems to love my company. Dimpled thighs, grey hair … am I still marvellously made?

I believe this is a must win battle for us Christian women. We need to know who we are, and know we’re OK.  Life’s too short to live regretfully in front of a full size mirror. Is it time to slay the idol of youthful looks, and allow our bodies to simply change and mature? Then, maybe begin to allow the Lord to tell us his definition of NORMAL when it comes a woman’s shape and size. And since we’re salt and light in this world, let’s tell the truth to the  women  around us too, that  body and soul, we’re marvellously made.

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Lord, if you are willing…

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Jo Saxton

“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Luke 5:12 TNIV).

This man’s condition completely defined his life. He was socially alienated, isolated and vulnerable, and unwell. All that was left was to reach out to Jesus; there is no one else, no other hope, it’s desperate. He brings a simple, almost - request, more a statement really – Lord if you are willing… you can make me clean. He knows what Jesus can do, that He has the authority and power to change his life forever.

Yet for some reason, he’s not confident He will. Perhaps it’s the years of isolation, the rejection. He’s just used to people not wanting to know. Maybe it’s a prayer he’s cried out for years, and nothing happened. Whatever the reason, though he’s confident of Jesus’ power, he’s not confident that Jesus wants reach to him. So the man’s words remain an almost request, a statement latent with longing.

My heart so identifies with this verse so often at the moment! When the pressure is on and circumstances stubbornly refuse to change, when I’m longing for a breakthrough, I wonder if the Lord, notices…me. I know you can God. I know you provide, heal, restore, and deliver. I’ve seen you do that countless times for others. But do you want to do that for me? Can I ask you to do that, only for …me?

As I think about it, I remember that challenging times test not only my confidence in His power, but also in His love. I know He is Lord and King, but He is also  my Heavenly Father. It something I have to remind myself  of, no matter how  tough itis to reconcile with my circumstances.

I wonder where you are desperate, on your knees. Does disappointment suggest to your heart and mind that your Heavenly Father doesn’t see you anymore, that he has forgotten you now? You know He’s able, but is He willing?

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.(Luke 5:13 TNIV)

I love that Jesus touched him, spoke to him, and healed him.

When I read of His touch it reminds me that He is not distant, that he reaches out to us and reaches into our world, even when it’s not whole. His words, remind me that he is compassionate, and that His words can give us life in tough times and remind us that we are loved. His healing reminds me that though the battles are intense, and my prayers aren’t  always answered immediately, Jesus is still the God of the breakthrough. What do you need to be reminded of today? His touch? His words? Or His healing?

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Perfect Timing

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Janelle Hendrickson

Why does God always seem to show up at the last minute?  The eleventh hour?  It seems to me that He doesn’t, yet this is the way our culture seems to explain it.

God’s timing is perfect and while we may not understand why things aren’t happening when we want them to, they always happen in His time.  And if we can keep listening for his direction and timing then we get to see how awesome His plan is.

Too often we get scared and force things to happen.  Sometimes this can lead to some good but I find I’m left feeling like it wasn’t God at all, just me.

Sarah and Abraham got scared.  Sarah gave Abraham her servant Hagar to father a child with, since God wasn’t moving fast enough for her.  The result was a son, who was blessed, but was not the son of the true blessing.  How many times have I read this story and thought how crazy they were for not trusting God and waiting on Him, yet here I am in a situation which forces me to wait and I get impatient and want to “fix it.”  I want the control.  I want to get moving.  I want.  I want.  I want.

My prayer is that these circumstances will happen less and less often as I learn to trust.  Guess we’ll wait and see.

Lord, help me to trust in you and your timing, not my own erred self.  Grant me patience, strength, wisdom, and an ear to hear your voice, as I travel through life with you.  Amen.

Genesis 16

  • What are you afraid of?
  • Where do you need to let go of control in your own life?
  • Where is God calling you to trust in Him more?
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Mums Run The Race

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Jo Parkins

I wonder how many stay-at-home mums out there feel they are missing out on ‘the race’? I know I sometimes do. Often I feel like the Kingdom is coming, but its not coming near me! Since my second child was born 10 months ago, my life has revolved around my two small children who take up my every waking minute; one of them demands my attention all day, and the other demands it all night! I know that being a mother of small children is often a barren time spiritually, but recently I realised it is also a time when I don’t feel I’m making a valid contribution to the Kingdom either.

God recently spoke to my feelings of being on the sidelines when I was reading the latest Heidi Baker book, Compelled by Love.  In the chapter I was reading Heidi was talking about being spiritually poor and she quoted from 2 Corinthians 6 (from the New American Standard Bible):

“…giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonour, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.”

As I read the passage, some of the words jumped out at me in a new way. Instead of thinking this passage is for those people ‘out there’ doing hard-core mission, for the first time as a mum I felt like I was included in what Paul is talking about.

Though I am not on the frontline of ministry as Paul was, I too go through ‘much endurance’ as I look after my two children at home day-in and day-out, and I too feel ‘imprisoned’ when I am not free to leave the house as and when I want to because I can’t leave the children, and I too know ‘labours’ every day as I walk up and down the stairs a hundred times a day meeting the constant demands of little children, and I too know ‘sleeplessness’ with my youngest who doesn’t eat well in the
day makes up for it in the night with night feeds…and the list goes on.

God was telling me that He sees my efforts at home as valid in the Kingdom. God made this passage speak directly to my life. He saw my hidden thoughts and spoke to encourage me. As mums stuck at home, our job of raising our children is important to God. As well as telling me that my sacrifices as a mother were noticed by God and were a valid part of the work of the Kingdom, I felt there was a second part to the message – just as Paul needed the power of God to carry out his work, so
the power of God is available to us to empower us to carry out our work too.

Yes, I can relate to ‘much endurance, distresses, labours, sleeplessness, hunger,’ etc, but it’s good to know that because the first part of the passage resonates with me, the rest of the passage is for me too. In faith I can carry out my mission to raise my children ‘in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left’.

How wonderful it is to know that just like Paul, I too can call on the power of God to fulfil the demands of my day with the children! When I am at my wits end, exhausted and frustrated, with feelings of failure, instead of admitting defeat and giving in to my impatience or anger, I now know I have as much right as Paul to call on divine help to persevere.

If you can relate to what I’m talking about then may God speak to you as He did to me – ‘My Beloved, you are not forgotten’.

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The Hope in “But”…

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Jenny Cornell

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2v4-5).

desert-cross-798497

How often do you use the word ‘but’? It’s an every day word, used countless times often in an insignificant way; “I’d love to help but I’m busy right now”, “You can have that chocolate button but first you need to tidy your toys away”, “I forgive you but I’m still cross inside.” In this passage in Ephesians the word ‘but’ becomes a hugely significant turning point; hope is restored with that one word. Man disobeyed God and so we have come under His judgement and anger BUT because of God’s enormous love for us, He sent Jesus to die for us and so opened up the way for us to have eternal life. I’m so thankful that that ‘but’ is there! This passage has spoken to me hugely this week. I have been in London learning about different religions, and had the opportunity to visit a Mosque, a Sikh Gurdwara, and a Hindu Temple and listen to religious leaders talk about their faith. The thing that struck me the most was their lack of certainty that they would be forgiven and go to heaven; a common feature with all was that they had to do good works or make offerings to their god in order to be in with a chance. It felt so hopeless. BUT what good news we as Christians have! We are forgiven and given hope and life in abundance and nothing we can do can change that. We should really pray that we know the power of the word ‘but’ in our lives every day.

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“I Am Not Ashamed Of The Gospel”

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Anna Burgess

‘I am not ashamed of the gospel’.  Romans 1:16

When I read that verse, I feel a mixture of things – a challenge, a sense of unworthiness, guilt even.  Even if it is not my desire, the reality is I often am ashamed of the gospel.  Or at least, I am ashamed to speak up when I have an opportunity.

I remember one of my school friends once said to me: “Anna, I love the fact that you have never tried to push Christianity on me – that you respect what I believe and don’t try and change my beliefs”.  She meant it as a compliment but my heart sank.  I felt like I had failed. The truth is I can’t respect her beliefs – how can I respect something that I think is going to end her up in hell, never knowing the one who came to save her? I deeply respect and love her but I can’t respect what she believes.

Now a few years on my husband and I are missionaries in Peru and our job is to encourage people to reach others for Christ.  And we believe not only in talking – we have to model it! So we have started a Mums and tots group in a poor area of Lima.  When it began I had the intention of forming relationships with the women, getting to know them, visiting them and then perhaps, many weeks down the line, sharing the gospel with them.  But God challenged me.  Here in Peru people are very open to the gospel and don’t get offended easily by sharing it.  So why exactly was I holding off?

‘Don’t be ashamed of the gospel’, came God’s word ‘for it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe’, followed by another verse: ‘Make the most of every opportunity’ (Col  4:5).

Ok God, I get it.

And you know what? Many women have begun a walkwhite harvest with Jesus as we have shared the gospel and God’s love with them every week.  I’m not saying that it is that easy in every culture (I am pretty sure it is not!), but part of me wonders if the reason I saw less people come to know Christ in my home culture had less to do with people not being open and more to do with my embarrassment of the Gospel.  The harvest is plentiful, we just need to know where to harvest and then go and do it.

Do you feel empowered or powerless when it comes to sharing the Gospel?
What opportunities is God giving you at the moment to make the most of?

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Realities

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Helen Askew

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand.  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory” Colossians 3:1-4

Where is your focus?  As you go through life what is it that defines the way you see the world?  Colossians talks about setting our sights on the realities of heaven.  Often I forget this and get consumed and distracted by the realities of earth.  It’s so easy to do isn’t it?  The things right in front of us that need doing or attending to – the relationships, the work, the tasks, the just-getting-by.

But when our life becomes defined more by earthly things than by what God says we might begin to struggle.  The magazine that tells us we should be thinner vs. God saying we’re beautiful; the boss who demands greater achievement vs. God who says we don’t need to achieve anything to be acceptable to and loved by Him; the culture which says we need to consume and own things in order to fit in vs. God who says that real life is not measured by how much we own (Luke 12:15).

Setting our sights on the realities of heaven requires hope and faith – and we often feel it’s risky because heavenly realities are unseen.  But the more you get to know the nature of our Father and his character, the more that risk is easier to take and the easier it becomes to see things from God’s point of view.

Today let God show you where you’ve become more defined by an earthly reality rather than a heavenly one.  Agree with Him now to set your sights on the realities of heaven and to seek out what that means in your reality.

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Psalm 51

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Jess Culbert

An inspiring and uplifting audiovisual interpretation of Psalm 51 that really speaks for itself. I hope you enjoy it!

Created by Ben Lacey.

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Fix Your Eyes On Jesus

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Hannah Absalom

Leadership is one of those funny things.  One moment everything’s amazing: those you’re leading are thriving and growing in their relationship with Jesus, you feel inspired about what to do and say, and those around you are saying how much you’ve helped them (what a privilege!).  The next moment the place seems to be falling apart: intense spiritual warfare, breakdown of relationships, people being negative about you, and you haven’t a clue about what to do.

Of course there is a time and season for everything under heaven.  Whether, and for whatever reason, it is a time of more passive leadership and abiding (as in the parable of the vine and branches in John 15), a time of just ‘being’ and spending more time with the Father.  Conversely, it could be a time of more active, even aggressive leadership, of working really hard (without burning ourselves out).

The key for knowing all of this is to permanently (or as often as is realistically possible) keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (Heb 12:2).  We need to keep on asking Him, ‘what am I to do here and how do I do it?’

It is so easy when times are good to think we know what we’re doing and to cruise on autopilot.  We can be tempted to give out of our own resources rather than the overflow of what God’s put in us.  We can easily be distracted by good/ interesting /fun things that are going on around us (which are not bad in and of themselves).

When times are more difficult, we may have so many urgent and pressing things or people competing for our attention.  How easy it is to respond to one demand after another.  It can be hard to find time to really seek the Lord.  What is the thing that He would deem as urgent and how would He want me to go about it?

This is one of those basic truths that we all know but sometimes forget to implement. I have to keep on reminding myself of what I’m aiming for.  Who am I trying to please?  Am I getting my priorities right?  I’m assuming that this will be an ongoing thing for us all to master.  Or is it just me?!

If we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (those whom we lead and whose lives we affect, both in and out of the church), then let nothing hinder us, but let’s run with perseverance and fix our eyes on Jesus!

Ponder:

  • How is your rhythm for spending time with God and working out what He wants you to do in your present situation?
  • Is God calling you to a season of abiding/resting/focussing more on Him?  Or is he telling you to go?
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Conviction vs. Condemnation

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Janelle Hendrickson

Conviction versus condemnation, there is a difference.  My current understanding of conviction is when your spirit reveals a wrong to you.   Condemnation is simply a lot of guilt, oftentimes false guilt.  This false guilt is what I’d like to speak into

I will never forget the day I was chatting with a mentor and she simply asked me if I was being convicted in a particular situation or condemned.  Up until that point, I had always believed the two terms were interchangeable.  I had always felt guilty about everything.  That was the first time I ever stopped to think about it.

She led me further down the thought process to explain that there is no condemnation through Christ and that Christ was sent to save the world, not to condemn it.  So often I had found myself in a trap of being condemned, or even condemning myself, for things that God was not convicting me of.  Up until that day, I hadn’t stopped to ask God if he was convicting me.  I simply assumed the guilty feelings meant he was.

So much freedom came from that conversation.  I now regularly and even without thinking, stop and ask myself if this is God’s conviction or satan’s condemnation.  I repeat scriptures to myself to remind me God does not condemn me, and then I move on.  Do I sin?  Absolutely.  Every day.  We all do. (Rom 3:23)  Yet now I know I can do my best and allow God to be the guide in my life and allow his truths to lead me, not my feelings, emotions and former habits.

The brief question I now ask myself is… “Is this God convicting me or condemnation from myself, others or satan”?  And if it’s still a bit hazy I continue to pray that God’s voice would be clear to my ears and only His voice.

I cannot even begin to describe the freedom that has come from this discovery.  I can only pray that God reveals to you what his conviction is and how to listen more closely to it, while he also deafens the enemy’s condemnation.

I’ve found it very helpful to place the following scriptures in places I will see them often.  (And on occasion I’ve been known to write them on my mirrors in dry erase markers, which typically clean off very easily, but check them first, as always.)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…  Romans 8:1 (New International Version)

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.  Romans 8:1,2  (The Message)

The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.  Psalm 34:22

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  John 3:17

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Life Laundry

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Jo Saxton

In recent weeks I’ve been inspired/challenged/convicted/whatever to do a “life laundry” and get rid of the clutter in our home.  There are toys the girls no longer play with, clothes we don’t wear, paper that simply needs recycling and things we have no use of anymore that we need to say goodbye to. It’s an unexpectedly intense process. Old toys brought back memories of previous era that I was reluctance to say goodbye to. Clothes of a previous clothes size! And then there is just the stuff.  Stuff that represented my life. On the surface it’s pretty meaningless, but it’s mine and it’s hard to let go. However there’s no room to keep it all. Nor is there any need. It just clutters up the house.

Laundry Line

It wasn’t long before I saw the parallels with my own spiritual life. On one level, this life laundry is integral to it because the process is bringing things to the surface that I have to resolve

But it also makes me think of the rooms of my life, my heart. It makes me reflect on how much room there is for Jesus, and how much it’s clogged up with stuff, just stuff. I’m too busy, too tired, too frustrated. I’m hurting, in my anger I got  bitter, I’ve got self centered or greedy. Without even realizing, the doors to the rooms in my heart can barely open. All I can offer are the rooms I keep neat and tidy in order distract him from the rooms I don’t want him to see. He wants the freedom to move around the home of my heart freely; can I let him in? Sometimes I’m too scared or ashamed. But sometimes, there is room. There is space and he sweeps through the room with light and life, making the room fresh and brand new. Just like he did a few weeks back with reconciliation. Just like he’s done with answered prayers.  And I wonder how I’ve allowed myself to miss out on all that his freedom can bring.

In the meantime, my life laundry continues one piece of clutter at a time. But with the hope and the intention that one day, eventually, my home will look and feel brand new, and there will be room to live.

It seems that Jesus wants the same for my life and heart, one room at a time. Fresh, brand new, room to live.

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The Big News – Part 2

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Alicia Lynn

Now, Greg and I had a little plan to start not not trying again when Lydia turned one. That would put the children almost two years apart. This time it would all be different. This time I would look “movie star” perfect and wear the pearls and apron. Well, God used the comic genius He is sometimes known for, and had a much better plan.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006. Just a normal day. Greg and I were enjoying our little four-month-old Lydia, who we were finally in a good rhythm with. We were also becoming experts at the whole parenting thing. Now I was back on the pill, and I usually start on Wednesday mornings while on this particular one. Morning came and went, but Aunt Flo still did not come a knockin’. Thinking this was odd, I took the “baby test” from the dollar store we had left over from before.

I came out of the bathroom, looked at my husband, and a curse word passed my lips. I called the doctor’s office and asked if it is common to get a false positive when taking one of these tests…I was told to come in for a blood test, great. I went in, they took my blood and would call in the next day or so with the results.

We attempted to go about our day as normal, until the Chicago Cubs World series playoff game that evening. Here comes my husband’s favourite story to tell! We are at this game, amazing the Cubbies are doing this well. We are enjoying ourselves and love showing off our little one. Well, as the drinks were consumed by those around us, the man to my left and one directly behind me began to heckle each other’s teams. It was playful at first but quickly became rude and a bit unruly. Greg turned to the instigator and tried to calm the guy down, but he was not interested in cooperating. At this point I’ve had it, mama bear is NOT happy. I jumped to my feet, baby in arms, and got in this dude’s face. I told him how rude and idiotic he was acting and that he was only embarrassing himself. My little confrontation with him did keep him quiet the rest of the game. However, when I sat back down I began to sob uncontrollably for the rest of the game. I turned to Greg and told him between sobs of my once again ugly cry, “I better…be…pregnant.”

The next day I got a call from the doctor’s office confirming that baby #2 was on the way!

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