Who does Jesus say you Are?  The Bible tells a story about a man called Gideon. Gideon was a nobody, but when God breaks into his life he becomes a somebody, who God used to save Israel from thousands of enemy soldiers who were attacking his country. Gideon defeated them with just three hundred men. When the angel of the Lord encouraged Gideon to rise up and fight, he said to Gideon, “The Lord is with you Mighty Warrior”. Gideon responds by saying, hang on a minute, I am the least member, of the least family, of the least tribe in all of Israel! Gideon had a choice to make, to believe the angel that he is a ‘mighty warrior” or to believe his circumstances. What will you believe, who God says you are, or who your circumstances say you are? Judges 6:11-15 In Israel in the time of the Patriarchs there was a place where Jacob once wrestled with a man all night, not realising that he was in fact God in human form. All night long despite sustaining a serious injury Jacob refused t… [more]

Jesus said "A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another I once had the privilege of visiting a local prison, and the prison would attract lots of different visiting charitable groups, however there was one group of prisoners that had to be kept separate from the other prisoners and they did not get many visitors at all. As a group of Christians we were invited to visit the sex offenders on a Wednesday evening in the chapel. As around eighty men poured into the chapel they were visibly indifferent and unable to look you in the eye. On one such occasion it was my turn to speak and I felt God say “I want to lift shame off these guys!” I told them about the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus and the fact that it was a convicted offender who was the first to enter glory with Jesus. Then to the consternation of some of my colleagues I knelt before t… [more]

Naomi was trying to manhandle her two boys away from their Grandpa and get them to bed. But the boys persisted, pleading for one more story. "Grandpa, you were sick and you were not allowed in the village!" They cried, trying to tease out Grandpa’s favourite story. “Grandpa, Where are the Other Nine?” Naomi made a grab for Levi her youngest and caught his arm. They continued "Grandma sent you a message about the Rabbi who could heal your skin"! Grandpa finally raised his hand to signal that they could stay, and Naomi relented, letting them sit at his feet. "They will be so tired tomorrow!" she warned with a smile. Grandpa began raising his finger to the boys, "But when I have finished, you must say your prayers and go to bed"! Grandpa cleared his throat, "First we saw the Dust then we heard voices, both men and women shouting, then children and young boys running ahead climbing trees and rocks to get a better view. We knew it was the teacher, but it was so frustrating because … [more]

Arrogance is not Thinking too Much of Yourself but Thinking too Little of Others and true humility is being willing to be known for who heaven says you are. Being the youngest brother or sister isn’t easy, firstly you’re perceived as being spoilt and secondly you don’t have a weaker and younger sibling to master, so you learn to lead by outsmarting your older brothers and sisters. One day the tables were turned as David the youngest son of Jesse was summoned by the prophet Samuel and anointed king while the whole family watched on. Although a king in Gods eyes the next day David did not find himself on the throne but enrolled in the school of brokenness for the next decade of his life. During boot camp new army recruits go through a phase where they are broken in order to learn discipline and obedience. David was no exception, no longer the spoilt younger brother, he became a grass roots folk hero by slaying Goliath but then by day he became the target of a mad king’s spear… [more]

Are You a Dial Up or Broadband Christian? If you were around between 1989 and 2005 you will probably remember this sound...... Dial Up Modem ooooooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh dong… dong… kaaaaaaaaaaa zhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Way back at the dawn of the virtual age, that was the sound of anticipation as your computer connected to the internet using dial up. Dial up was slow and temperamental and friends could not phone you when you were surfing the net. Then came the much anticipated faster broadband where all your household computers were permanently connected to the internet. 2000 years ago on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit unpacked his bags, kicked off his shoes and moved into the hearts of Gods people, this time he would stay for Good. As with any relationship communication is key, bad communication causes the illusion of disconnection whereas good communication with the Holy Spirit gives yo… [more]

When we understand that God is our Father, do we say ‘God Here Are my Problems?’ Or ‘Problems Here is my God!’ Life has taught many of us to be resourceful and independent and as a result it can feel like we are facing our problems on our own. Sadly it’s only when we face problems that we can’t fix, that we realise how much God cares for us. Only when we reach the end of our own resourcefulness do we recognise the hands of our heavenly Father intervening and reaching into our childlike existence, picking us up, dusting us off and sending us back into the adventure of life. The child is blissfully ignorant of the complexities of life beyond its magical existence and like the child we are ignorant of the complexities of our universe. We lack the capacity to see how much God our father cares and provides for us. We are blissfully unaware of how many angels He assigns to protect us, how many doors He closes in life to shield us from harm and how many he opens. As the prover… [more]

How will Social Media Reshape the Way we do Church? Internet gurus tell us that social media is set to become so integrated into everyday life that the very term ‘social media’ will disappear. With the increasing use of GPS enabled smart phones and apps like foursquare, social media is attempting to mimic omniscience.  We find ourselves in a world where our technology has enabled more meaningful interactions with someone on the other side of the world rather than our next door neighbour. Whether we like it or not social media will influence the way we do Church both positively and negatively and it is important that as a church, we anticipate and adapt to these changes appropriately. Now that social media is here to stay, those that see church as primarily their social network may now find that they don’t need church quite so much?  Alternatively social media may have little effect on those who experience Church as both spiritual and social. In the consumer generation, com… [more]

Is yellow ribbon symbolic of America’s return into the arms of the Father? The yellow ribbon has increased in popularity throughout the States in recent years, especially in times of crisis. Yellow ribbon is tide around trees, worn on lapels to remember hostages and welcome loved ones home from the front line. I am informed that yellow ribbon is even used at funerals which I think quite fitting. These days the yellow ribbon has become a symbol through which American families can express determination to be reunited with their loved ones. Where this tradition originated many are not sure, some say it dates back to the civil war and some say that it is passed down through pilgrim folklore? All is not lost as historians have uncovered a paper trail allowing us to rewind through part of the timeline, back to the known origins of the yellow ribbon: 2013 to 1980, The US Nation has expressed solidarity by the wearing and displaying yellow ribbons for hostages and returning heroes. – … [more]

Inspiration from those who are dying should be bottled and prescribed to us the living, so that we can learn from their mistakes and lead a life free from regrets. When the terminally ill enter the departure lounge of life, initially they may feel anything from denial, fear, anger, and remorse but eventually they reach a place of acceptance. At this point they can see things with great clarity; they can step outside of life and take a long hard look. The dying are more concerned about how they lived their lives rather than the sting of death itself. It is this clarity and wisdom that we can draw inspiration from. The dying sometimes experience a period of time where they find themselves trapped in the departure lounge of life. A period of time in between the point of realisation that they are going to die to the point where death finally steals them away. For the terminally ill, this world in between life and death, can last from years to sometimes just days. Those who exit mortali… [more]