Saturday, September 29, 2012

God's great secret......Jesus!


I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret." - Col 2:2-4

Some people like to complicate things.
Even in the very early church it would seem that there were people that wanted to complicate things.

It would seem that preachers started to suggest that Jesus was not enough. They started to create a belief that there was something else, some other door to unlock, some other puzzle to solve and only then would we discover "the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge" of God.

Paul is simple and straight forward. We have been shown the great mystery of God and that is JESUS! Everything he wanted to show mankind about Himself is found in Jesus and CANNOT be found anywhere else!

Jesus plus anything is a wild goose chase!

Jesus is not the starting point from which you set off on a spiritual journey he is the quest.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Nothing is wasted


Behind the Song: Nothing Is Wasted from Elevation Media on Vimeo.

Another amazing from Elevation Church.

You know my every need
You see my poverty
You are enough for me
JESUS

I am learning more and more that God will use everything, the good, the bad and the ugly to achieve his eternal purposes in my life.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Looking to Jesus


Writer of this song Lilias Trotter was a brilliant artist whose talent opened the doors to wealth and influence. Her other love was missions. After struggling in prayer for two years, Trotter came to the conclusion that she must lay down her love of art in order to fix her eyes solely on Jesus, and on His calling to the mission field. She subsequently served for more than 38 years as a missionary to Muslims of Algeria.

Nearly 100 years she wrote this which still seems to be so appropriate today:

"Never has it been so easy to live in half a dozen harmless worlds at once -- art, music, social science, games, motoring, the following of some profession, and so on. And between them we run the risk of drifting about, the good hiding the best." It is easy to find out whether our lives are focused, and if so, where the focus lies. Where do our thoughts settle when consciousness comes back in the morning? Where do they swing back when the pressure is off during the day? Dare to have it out with God, and ask Him to show you whether or not all is focused on Christ and His Glory. Turn your soul's vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him." - Lilias Trotter Which Passion Will Prevail?

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of the earth
will grow strangely dim
in the light of His Glory and grace.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Not Ashamed


Listening to that song brought me back to this scripture:

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. - 2 Tim 1:12

At the age of 16, God used this simple Bible verse to change my life. The words NOT ASHAMED seemed to jump off the page and bash me in the face. Somehow deep within there was still an embarrassment about my faith that kept me penned in. Following God but hoping no one noticed too much. Mainly because I felt totally inadequate to be a follower of Jesus and always inferior to everyone else around.

That moment it was forever settled in my heart not because of me but because I knew I could trust God with my life.

That was the moment that I decided make the Gospel & Jesus the total centre of my life no matter what.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Unleash - Breaking Free of Normalcy

Stop it. Stop living a boring, predictable, normal life...break free! God doesn't want you to be a spectator of what He has done. He wants you to be a participator in what He is doing. Embrace the promises that will define your future. Unleash the life that is more than you could possibly imagine! - Perry Noble
An extract from Perry Noble, Senior Pastor at Newspring Church, first book Unleash! which launches in online stores in the UK on the 20th September. You can even read a preview chapter here.

Visit unleashbook.com for pre-order information.

Pre order here.


Unleash! by Perry Noble (Trailer) from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Long Obedience - Discipleship


My annual pilgrimage to a campsite in France is an oasis of calm for me when I get the opportunity to read a lot and quiet my heart to listen more acutely to my God. The subject of Discipleship has been on my mind and heart recently as God calls us not to be believers but to be disciples. An old book by Eugene Peterson called A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society was my first port of call.

It took me on a journey through a group of Psalms that are commonly called the Songs of Ascent. Songs for the road that were sung by the pilgrims on their journey towards their spiritual home Jerusalem.

Here are a few of the quotes that stood out for me in the first chapter.

The essential thing "in heaven & earth" is there should be long obedience in the same direction; there  thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living. - Nietzsche

There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.

A disciple is a learner, but not in the academic setting of a school room, rather at the work site of a craftsman. We do not acquire information about God but skills in faith.

There is a vast difference between a tourist and a pilgrim.

Pilgrim tells us we are people who spend our lives going some place, going to God, and whose path for getting there is the way of Jesus Christ.

The world whispers a lie into the ear of every Christian; There is no payoff for discipleship, there is no destination for pilgrimage. Get God the quick way, buy instant charisma.

Discipleship has a great deal to do with competence, earned by struggling for excellence, with compassion, hard won by confronting conflict; and modesty and patience, acquired through silence and suffering.

The songs of Ascents recorded in the Psalms are not monuments, but footprints. A monument only says, At least I got this far, while a footprint says, this is where I was when I moved again.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Yield!


Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but YIELD yourselves unto God - Rom 6:13

YIELD is defined as: To give up, as something that is claimed or demanded; to make over to one who has a claim or right; to resign; to surrender; to relinquish; to give way; to cease opposition; to be no longer a hindrance or an obstacle.

YIELDING is not something that we are totally comfortable with in our competative world. It is often seen as weak. But in certain situations it is beneficial and in others essential.

Loved this post by Seth Godin:
The rules of right of way make sense.
A manueverable motor boat yields to a sailboat because it can more easily recover from the turn.
A bicyclist going downhill yields to one struggling uphill, because he can get back up to speed more quickly.
The senior partner invests a little bit of time helping the junior one, because no one else has the skills to do so, not because reciprocation is the goal.
Asymmetrical trades are what makes a society work.
Yield has two meanings, and one leads to the other.
In our ultimate unbalanced relationship with God we need to get the message that YIELDING is not just preferable it is our path to growth and maturity.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Leadership - Good to GREAT

A brilliant post by Pastor Perry Noble about how to be a great leader.


  • A good leader makes assumptions…A GREAT leader asks questions! 
  • A good leader waits for feedback…A GREAT leader solicits feedback! 
  • A good leader finds reasons for the problem…A GREAT leader finds solutions for the problem! 
  • A good leader takes notes…A GREAT leader creates actions steps!  
  • A good leader works a job…a GREAT leader invests their lives in what they do! 
  • A good leader leads through declarations…a GREAT leader leads through influence! 
  • A good leader makes promises…a GREAT leader keeps their promises! 
  • A good leader is obsessed with gathering information…a GREAT leader is willing to make the tough call after receiving the proper information. 
  • A good leader is supported by those who follow him…a GREAT leader supports those who follow him! 
  • A good leader asks “What Are You Doing”…a GREAT leader asks “How Are You Doing?”