FOOTSTEPS

So I know this is very quickly behind that last post, but something that has been going on for me over several months/the past year, came into focus this afternoon during one of our (almost) regular walks.

Have you ever heard it said “He will follow in his father’s footsteps”? (Substitute the he for a she and father for mother where it applies). Have you ever said it, has it ever been said over or about you? Quite possibly you could say yes to all three of those.

Have you ever thought about what it means to follow in another’s footsteps?

It doesn’t always apply to a parent but can be a mentor or a friend etc.

Of course it can have both positive and negative meanings depending on the path led by the person you are following. However, this is focused on the positive and is pre-supposing that the person or example that I am looking to follow is a positive one.

Now I would be deeply honoured to hear I am following in my father’s or my brother’s footsteps, people who apart from being my family are God centred individuals who I deeply admire.

Above all Earthly footsteps, family or otherwise, I want to strive to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, my pattern and my role model as a Christian.

But have you ever tried to literally walk in someone’s footsteps?

Today we took a walk on the beach, along with Forrest my daughter’s dog. As we walked along the sand I was left slightly behind my wife and daughter (I do not walk very quickly) and I was looking at the footprints my wife had left and I tried to step exactly where she had done so I was literally walking in her footsteps. It was not as easy as I had first thought it may be.

Julie’s stride pattern was shorter than mine, and so I had to adjust the steps I was taking, this felt awkward and I found it far more tiring than walking to my own pattern. And then it got worse for me as her direction had changed and she was walking through softer sand that I always find harder to walk in, but was made even more difficult by trying to match her step for step and stride for stride.

When we are asked to follow in the footsteps of Jesus we are not told that every step we take will be easy, simple or in the direction we are currently heading. We have to make changes, we have to learn to change and we have to be committed to staying with that change no matter how difficult so that we can stay following those footsteps laid down in front of us.

For some time now God has been teaching me a lesson or twenty. I am a person who likes to think I have everything pretty much sorted out and know what I am doing and where I am going. I like to think that I know what God would have me do.

But for me that means I often fall into my usual pattern. I will make difficult adjustments I will change the stride of my walk to fit His footsteps, but too soon the path He is taking me on gets difficult and I find I am walking through that softer sand, where it is heavier going, and all to quickly I will move over to an easier path, finding once again that familiar place known as my “comfort zone”.

So more recently He has been adjusting my thoughts, He has been teaching me to listen and assuring me that His destiny for me is something that cannot be achieved by doing the same as I have always done, by walking in the way I have always walked. I am learning to just take hold of the direction He is leading me, to grasp the opportunities He places in front of me to honour Him and He is teaching me to seek out His footsteps and place my feet where He has led me.

I am still learning and I pray that I will continue to listen to Him that I will continue to adjust my walk to be fully aligned to His.

How much are you willing to change the steps you are taking, to adjust your stride patterns so that the steps you take mirror the steps He has already taken?

Oh to have said “He is walking in His Heavenly Father’s footsteps”

God Bless You All

RESPONSIBILITY

I am deeply privileged to be responsible for nurturing the lives of 6 wonderful young people, my children. Four daughters and two sons.

As parents we have our children with us for quite a short time of their entire lives. During that time we hope to provide them some guidance to help and enable them to live out the rest of their lives, to make informed decisions and ultimately as Christians we hope that they find a pathway to the saving grace that comes from knowing Jesus.

I have heard many quotations concerning children during my lifetime:

“Children should be seen and not heard”

“Spare the rod and spoil the child”

“Like mother, like daughter and similarly like father like son”

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them”

And there are those from scripture:

Proverbs 22 vs. 6

“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it”

I Timothy 4 v 12

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (as I posted in last month’s blog).

And there are many more.

A short while ago I was reading Proverbs chapter one and came across these verses on which I have pondered for a while:

Proverbs 1 vs. 8 & 9:

“My child, listen when your father corrects you, don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honour around your neck”

So the emphasis shifts from focusing in the “child” and turns the focus on us as parents and guardians of the young. The instruction may be to “the child” but the responsibility is clearly placed at the feet of parents. The child is told “what they learn” is important and will be a focal point of their future, this “chain of honour”

As always this led me to thinking about what “chain” my children would see. And it led me further into fully appreciating that EVERYTHING I do has an impact on how they will live in the future. What they see “behind closed doors” is the “real” me, “warts and all”. They see me happy, sad, angry and glad. They have a first hand view of how I react and deal with everything that comes our way weather that, in our eyes, is something good or something bad. They also see how I behave towards other people and how I talk about and treat other people.

So as is often the case I reflected how this passage could apply to us all, parents or not. I realise it specifically mentions mother and father, but I also see the focus is for the child to be guided, and obviously the role of the parent is absolutely key in developing this.

However as a body of God’s people we all have a role to play in developing and nurturing the young. And right now I am not simply talking about age, but about spiritual maturity too. How each and every one of us reacts to each other, with those within the “family” of God and those who are outside of the “family” is absolutely crucial in the development of the “young”. New Christians are like children regardless of age in that they will look around and observe how those of us who are slightly more mature in our faith behave, and will reflect that behaviour.

So please just allow me a little “poetic” licence and adjust that verse in Proverbs slightly (retaining the emphasis of the passage):

“Young Christian, listen when those in leadership correct you, don’t neglect your fellow Christians example. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honour around your neck”

Children, young people and new Christians need solid role models, they need good examples and they can only come from the people they surround themselves with, be that birth parents or be that fellow Christians.

Jesus was our role model, our example, and we are told to reflect His image.

If I thought I had responsibilities before, now this passage in Proverbs has made me realise more than ever that we all have a responsibility as we live out our lives each and every day.

I pray that Daddy God gives me the strength to reflect Jesus in a positive way so that I do not cause my child, or a brother or sister to slip up because of what they have seen me do.

Amen and God Bless

ENCOURAGE ENCOURAGE

Up until receiving a communication the other day I was torn between three half written blogs, not sure how to finish any one of them or which one to focus on first. And then I received this message and I knew what I wanted to say.

The saying goes “Children should be seen and not heard”.

Well that’s how the saying went (sort of) when it first came about in the 15^th Century. In fact it was aimed at young women but has become a phrase aimed at all young people regardless of gender.

Some people have claimed this phrase is from scripture when clearly it is not.

I have heard it said over me many a time (can’t think why) and I am sure that most people have.

However I think we have lessons to learn from some of our children and for that reason I want to hear their voices speak out. “From the mouths of babes……” another saying/phrase which can be so true

I want to relate 3 stories that should help us (us = those no longer “young” in age) to encourage our young people and yes, even listen to what they have to say. One from scripture, one from my much younger life and one from this past week……………..the idea is to encourage!!

A young man named Samuel heard the voice of God and came to his mentor Eli believing that Eli had called out to him and asked Eli what he wanted. Eli basically told Samuel to go away as he (Eli) had not heard anything and he had not called Samuel. This happened a number of times until Eli realised that it must have been God that was calling out to Samuel and Eli told Samuel the next time you hear your name being called simply say “yes Lord, here I am I’m listening”. The whole story is told in 1 Samuel chapter 3. Verse one says: “The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli”

So firstly we know Samuel was young, he was called a “boy”. We also know he was being taught and mentored by an older and wiser man, Eli, who was able to pass on his understanding of what was happening and guide Samuel in the right direction.

As parents we have a similar role to play as Eli did, to guide and nurture our children and provide them good counsel and advice as they face various problems or challenges or where they need clarity and understanding on a subject. As older more experienced Christians the role is very much like that in that we should be seeking to guide and encourage the young people in our churches, and allow them to grow into a deeper experience of our Daddy God.

And I have said before in a previous blog that we can never truly know where the seed we sow might grow and bare forth fruit in spectacular ways, but we have to just keep sowing. And our young can do that as much as we can.

A young boy of 9 years old was playing with his brother who was then 6 and they often played their favourite game pretending to be in charge of a space ship and flying all over the universe saving people (the space ship was the bay window of their shared bedroom behind curtains which made the window area their cockpit. It was very simple, no electronic gadgets but they had heaps of fun. On this particular day the 6 year old turned to his 9 year old brother and said “How do I become a Christian?” The 9 year old simply said “You ask Jesus to be your saviour, your friend”. “And how do I do that?”. “You say a prayer” said the 9 year old and at that point they both kneeled down by the side of one of the beds and prayed a prayer together just asking Jesus to be the younger brothers friend.

That conversation had been overheard by the parents who were intrigued about what the boys were talking about.

The 6 year old’s name was Chris – my brother (I was the 9 year old) – and some 40 years later Chris is a full time missionary working with an organisation called Living Hope Ministries who not only equip and train church leaders but also have the opportunity to preach the gospel to many hundreds even thousands of people at rallies that he is invited to and through prayer have seen many healing miracles. The work he does for God has taken him to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, India, Poland, Bosnia and will soon be going to South Africa and Mozambique with further plans for Burundi and Malawi in 2013. An amazing Godly man!!!

I share that not to “big” me up but to demonstrate that we can never truly know how those simple things we do can lead to something much bigger.

And our young people can be amazing avenues of revelation for us too. And that is what stimulated this blog this week.

The other day I received a Facebook “in box” (an email or message within the Facebook set up) from a young lady (now 17/18) whom I have observed growing up over a number of years. I have watched her stay faithful to God and observed how she has sought Him to be relevant and leading in her life.

So she sent me this message in which she said she had been considering for a few weeks and weighing up how she was going to share it with me. It was things she felt God had placed on her heart and it was for me personally.

Now I am not naming the girl here because in these blogs I tend only to name my own family members or people from whom I have asked specific permission, but I will say that for a very large number of people who read this you will know her and be aware of her family.

As I read through what she wrote it was evidently clear that this was of God. So much of what she called out in her note to me had been either prayed over me or it supported words and prophecies I had received from people she could not know or were things I was being challenged about or experiencing right now in my life. She has read my blogs, so knew some stuff about me but, she talked into things I had not shared on this blog at all.

Simply put it was a real encouragement and uplift to have received this and I simply wrote back to her and encouraged her to keep seeking after God and explained that it was evident to me that she was truly being used by God.

And that is why I chose to share this. To firstly help us of the slightly more mature age bracket to be willing to listen out for what our younger people have to say. And to be there to support them because they will still need guidance, will still need mentoring but above all else, if they are to continue in the Christian faith, they are to be encouraged by us.

The reason for these blogs to be written in the first place was as a platform to encourage God’s people and stimulate our responses to Him and I just hope that we can all take that role on board, to be encouragers.

And for our younger generation I share this: I Timothy 4 v 12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity”

God Bless

WHAT IS YOUR EXCUSE??

Too many people moan too much. They make excuses for not doing something. Actually by “they” I mean WE.

When we are asked to do something we are swift, clever, comical, witty, intelligent or simply downright rude with the answer we give: “Honey, can you do the washing up”. “Not right now babe I just want to watch the game” “Sweetheart would you mind cooking dinner” “But I’ve been at work all day and I’m too tired”

When God asks us to do something our normal first reaction is “You can’t mean me I:

Am too old

Am too young

Don’t have any money

Am too scared

Am too much of a sinner

Did that really horrible thing that I can’t talk about

Drank too much last week

Cannot speak I get nervous and stutter

Have a criminal record

I’m in prison

And so on and so forth. You get the point. Have a look at these fine upstanding and righteous people that God decide He would use to fulfil His purposes:

Noah            –        Drunk

Abraham      –        Liar

Sarah           –        Too old to have more children

Moses           –        Speech impediment – disobeyed God

David           –        Adulterer – Accomplice to murder – Disobedient to God

Elijah           –        Afraid and ran away – isolated

Gideon         –        Made an idol of gold – Felt inadequate

Joseph         –        Full of pride

Joshua         –        Did what he was told not to

Samson        –        Fell to a woman’s tempting

Solomon       –        Greedy (excessive taxes) – placed people into forced labour

Peter            –        Denied knowing Jesus

Paul             –        Persecuted Christians

Timothy       –        Timid

Thomas        –        Pessimistic

I think you will agree that if lined up in front of you with each of these attributes I am not sure that you and I would employ any them for your job vacancy. Thank God that I am not Him and He sees potential and then uses that potential:

Noah            –        Saved the animals and was the only Christian in his region

Abraham      –        Founder of the Jewish nation

Sarah           –        Mother of a nation, ancestor of Jesus

Moses           –        Led the Israelites out of Egypt

David           –        Became the greatest King of Israel

Elijah           –        Represented God in a “showdown” with priests

Gideon         –        One of the Judges of Israel – military expert

Joseph         –        Brought Egypt through famine – was full of Spirit of God

Joshua         –        Revived the temple – obedient to Gods call

Samson        –        Started the freeing of Israel from Palestine

Solomon       –        Wisest man that ever lived – built Gods temple

Peter            –        Leader amongst the disciples

Paul             –        Shaped the history of Christianity

Timothy       –        Highly respected Christian – Pauls special representative

Thomas        –        An honest and loyal man- one of the 12

So when you are called by God to do something for Him, I wouldn’t worry too much about all or any of your shortcomings.

Our minister (Rev Bob McKay) sometime last year shared this in a sermon and it has stuck with me (not sure if this was “his” but it doesn’t matter):

“God does not call the “equipped” He “equips” the called”

I thought this was brilliant.

Just think that through a few times then look at the characters above, then look at your own life. I bet you can come up with some weaknesses.

We need to get ourselves in a position where we are willing to listen for His call and prompting and that we will react to it.

If God wants to use you then He will provide you with everything you need so that you can fulfil that calling. And don’t forget that He already knows what you need because he already knows what he has in store for you.

Jeremiah 29 vs. 11 says: “I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you”

So: What IS your excuse? Whatever it is God will sort it out, just be ready to step into that calling and step out of your box and stop making excuses.

God Bless

WALKING BACK TO THE RIGHT PATH

Towards the end of last summer my wife (Julie) and I, my two eldest daughters (Kimberley and Kara) and my daughter’s dog (Forest) went for a walk in Holt Country Park, which is about a 25 minute drive from where we live. Just to be clear when using the word “park”, it is really a huge area of woodlands and forest with pathways weaving in and out, not a recreational park where you could play football or such like.

It was a really hot day and great weather for walking (not that I participate in that too often) purely because the sun was out. We had packed some sandwiches to have a picnic when we arrived and Forest was very excited about the whole thing. I was kitted out in sturdy walking boots (yes people I actually took OFF my sandals!!!) and a pair of shorts.

Some of you will have been there and know there are 4 or 5 set walks that you can choose form all signposted with coloured arrows relevant to the length of walk you want to do, form half a mile up to about three or four miles. We decided we would do the long walk which took you round the outside of the “park” and was the three or four miles and the arrow colour as I recall was “yellow”.

So at around 12:30 after having some lunch together, we commenced our walk knowing exactly where we were going and knowing we had signposts all the way round, and that the walk would probably take around an hour and a half or so. We even hoped we may call in on a teaching colleague of Kimberley’s who lived on the outskirts of the “park” just to say hello.

Forest was loose running free and excited exploring every area we walked past as well as introducing himself to other dogs along the way. He is never great “on” a lead but off the lead he is fantastic and a real pleasure to take out. We met loads of people all taking one of the various walks and even met some people that we knew on the way. As the walk was the longest of the ones available, we cut in and out of woodlands and even crossed some fields, it was such a great time.

As we continued following our route we noticed less and less people were walking our way. We went through what I thought was some very strange pathways given that they were overgrown with head high plantation, just passable, if slightly difficult, and tearing at my exposed legs like you wouldn’t believe. After a while we came to some fields and could not find any signs to direct us as to which way we should go. In fact we then realised we hadn’t seen an arrow for some time, maybe even half an hour.

We split up a little at this point to travel down two path options until Kara called out that she had found a “yellow” arrow. So we all headed in her direction and indeed she had. So we were back on our journey once more heading in the right direction. We found a few more of these arrows and continued in the direction we were being led. However after another long period we had this “feeling” that we were not where we were supposed to be. However we came across a church ruins and walked around them and decided, based on the direction of the next yellow arrow we found, to cross over a stile and a field, which once we were in it found it contained 4 or 5 fully grown horses.

Things got a little interesting. Forest was placed on his lead and Julie decided she would walk him across the field. However the horses were very interested in him and as a consequence were following him and Julie very closely, a sensation my wife really did not like. So I was given the dog and she all but ran across the field to climb over the fence on the other side. My two daughters at this stage were behind me and the horses were now paying attention to Forest and me. The only thing I was sure of was that I did not want to get behind any of them so kept shooing them away. However the biggest one got ahead of us, stopped and kicked out his back legs, narrowly missing both Forest and me. At this point I got the girls to walk in front of me and just head off the field and then I continued to walk Forest on his lead towards the gate at the same time waving my spare arm to get the horses away and this seemed to work with Forest eventually diving under the gate and me pathetically climbing/falling over the top of it.

Shortly after our experience with the horses we found a couple walking through the fields coming towards us, clearly “professional” ramblers, with all the correct “gear” including an Ordinance Survey map and a compass. After exchanging some pleasantries I explained that we were taking the “yellow” Holt Country Park walk and that we appeared to have taken a wrong turning as we really couldn’t find where we were, and I asked if he could show me his map. That didn’t help me too much as it was full of lines and numbers and I couldn’t really read it properly like the one in my car. I asked him if he could show me where Holt Country Park was on his map. Oh dear!

According to the map and his estimate on miles to the inch we were about 3 miles outside of Holt Country Park. My first response was that I couldn’t believe it as we had followed the yellow arrows and I had walked through the park before and the arrows had always been accurate. He sort of smiled (well I think it was a smile) and informed me that the only “yellow” arrows around us were for National Walking and they were yellow on a black background. (Apparently they are National Trust pathways – not that I knew or know anything about that). He pointed us in the general direction of where Holt Country Park was but said he really didn’t know of pathways or walks ways to get us there.

So with no other real options we followed his guidance and continued walking. Now by this time I was getting VERY tired so was my wife and the girls and as much as Forest was enjoying himself he wasn’t running around as much as he first had been, a clear sign he wanted to rest. However with no real clue where we were except this very vague direction pointed out by a stranger we kept going. Eventually we got out of woods and fields and onto a road, which at best was a country lane and certainly not a major thoroughfare. We stood for a moment and purely based on the pointed finger from this rambler with the map we turned left and kept walking hoping to see a village sign or a road name or something that would tell us where we were. We eventually came across a building which had an address on it of “Lower Bodham”.

I tried calling my brother and his wife to try and help us by logging onto their PC and try and talk us out of our problem, we had mobile phones with gadgets on that could tell us where we were but not how to get to where we wanted to go. The only thing that seemed logical was to keep heading in the direction we were going, just press on regardless!!

Finally we reached the main road, the A148, and we knew where we were, still some 2 or 3 miles form where we wanted to be but finally we knew where we were going. Our next problem was walking along a major road which was very busy, with a dog, and no pedestrian pathway. Finally arriving at High Kelling my eldest daughter and I left my wife and my other daughter and the dog at a bus shelter, sitting down, and Kimberley and I continued the walk back to the car.

A little before 17:45 we arrived at the car, a little over five and a half hours after we had left the car park for our 90 min walk. What should have been about 3 miles or so turned into something around 11 miles.

Shattered, sore feet, breathless (that’s all me by the way) but greatly relived to be back in a relatively safe place. And only just in time as the Park gates were closing at 18:00 something we were not aware of or worried about when we left. We picked up Julie and Kara and of course Forest, headed home and did little more than collapse into chairs and baths and just simply chilled out for the rest of the evening.

So why have I relayed this? How many of you are already running the synergies that I am about to share? Some I am sure, but I am going for it anyway.

This Sunday just gone, (8^th January 2012), I reflected on that day, that journey, the decisions taken, the paths followed and the worries, and the elation of finally getting home. And I just thought that could so often be like the Christian walk, or at least how I and if truth be known I am sure, some of you make it into. I cannot be alone in wanting to strive to be the best I can be for God, and follow His leading and prompting in my life. I genuinely want to walk in the path that He has for me. But so many times I wander off of that path and get a little lost.

As I start out on my walk it’s really easy, just like the “yellow” arrows. I know where I am starting and I know where I need to end up. I even have my “map”. All 66 books of it in fact. For clarity I refer to The Bible. When I start out on my Spiritual walk I refer to its guidance constantly and I remain focused on wanting to move forward and seek after God.

But as we journey we get knocked off-line. We take a wrong turn, we take a poor decision and we step outside and away from the path that has been prepared for us to walk on. We allow other external factors to influence us and change our direction.

We even take our eyes off of the “yellow arrows” and see a “false” arrow that we believe to be correct that then takes us away from God. We are so sure that “we” know where we are going we do not even refer to our map to check we are still on the correct path, or we leave our map behind and don’t even take it on our continuing journey.

It’s so easy to do, and we do it so often. We truly know where we should be going and the path we should be on, but sometimes we have strayed so far from it we are really lost and don’t know where we should go or which way to turn, so stubbornly we put our head down and keep going in the direction we are heading.

It is at this point I hope that we receive renewed guidance. That we have a Christian friend or even a Christian stranger who we can ask for help, who might be willing to share his “map” with us, and remind us of what we really need. And if we are sensible we will ask that person where we are and where we need to go in order to get back onto the right path to head in the right direction for our final destiny, serving and seeking after our Heavenly Father.

And getting back on that pathway may still take a long time, it may not be an instant transition, but at least we now know where we are going, we are back heading in the right direction, and we simply then need to keep going.

And there is a sense of elation when we finally reach that point, where we are serving God as he has called us to do, we are in that place where we know He is right there with us and finally we have reached our journeys destination and we can grasp the destiny that God has for us.

All through scripture we can read of God providing guidance for us and His people:

Genesis 2 vs16 & 17

“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die”

This is the first time God provides man some guidance for living their lives. We all know what man chose to do and the consequences of that. It was good advice that man chose to ignore

Exodus 13 vs. 21

“The LORD went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night”

Psalm 16 vs. 7 & 8

“I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me”

Psalm 23 vs. 3 & 4

“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”

Psalm 32 vs. 8

“The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you”

Psalm 48 vs. 14

“For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die”

Psalm 119 vs. 104

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path”

Isaiah 58 vs. 11a

“The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength”

Jeremiah 3 vs. 15 (when talking about Israel having gone off the rails a bit this promise was given)

“And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding”

Today we have our ministers, church leaders and teachers to help us in these areas.

John 16 vs. 13 (Jesus speaking about the Holy Spirit)

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard”

Galatians 5 vs. 16

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves”

Galatians 6 vs. 1 (we are called to guide each other and show each other the true path when we have strayed)

“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself”

Hebrews 12 vs. 12 & 13

“So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong”

Revelation 7 vs. 17

“For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes”

So we have a promise and a choice.

The promise is that God will always be there to guide our way.

The choice is whether we want to listen to His guidance or not

Be encouraged, walk straight and true, and if you stubble, let those around you support you and lift you up once more and set your feet back onto the right path.

As always God Bless

2011 ENCOURAGEMENT TO STEP INTO 2012

Firstly may I just wish anyone reading this a Very Happy New Year

No matter how hard 2011 may have been a New Year provides opportunity to have a fresh start with renewed eagerness and expectations.

This blog was originally intended as a close out to 2011, and in part it still is, but it has moved to become a foundation on which to build for 2012.

I am actually going to try and keep this short (okay you can stop laughing now), however most importantly I want to encourage you to step into whatever God has planned for you with eagerness and boldness.

With apologies for repeating what many of you already know let me set the background to 2011.

In January my youngest daughter, (then 13), having been diagnosed with Atypical Anorexia, was admitted on a residential basis to The Priory Clinic in Chelmsford Essex. We had to cope with her not being at home, worrying about what was going on with her and travelling between home and clinic. During January and February my Mother found that the bowel cancer she was being treated for had got worse and chose not to continue further treatment to allow her some quality of life during her final days. Sadly the advancement of the disease was worse than she and my Father had believed and she passed away on March 8^th. Two days later (March 10^th) we attended a vital meeting at the Priory Clinic that resulted in my daughter being released back home (she had been having weekend home visits and had spent time with her Nanny before she passed away). Having come home we continued to have weekly counselling visits and went through a number of issues including a serious self harming incident. Then whilst I was working in the USA I was contacted by my eldest daughter to find that my wife had suffered a nervous breakdown and I had to immediately return home 4 days into a 14 day working trip. My wife continues to receive treatment as does my daughter and it has been an on-going story for us throughout 2011. Added to everything are concerns for my Fathers health especially now that he was living alone.

So I cannot hide the fact that whilst I know people who have had what I would consider a far harder year than we have, I still would conclude that 2011 had been a very hard year for me and my family.

HOWEVER…………………………

I have said in a few blogs that we serve a mighty and faithful God who wants to shower His blessings upon us. He does not wait until things are “good” before he will do that. He keeps giving if we are only willing to step out and take hold of what he offers.

So really what I want to do is encourage you. No matter where things are for you right now, I want to say if you stay close to Him, listening for His prompting, His quiet voice (or sometimes His loud voice) and are willing to get off your backside and step into something you may not be so familiar or comfortable with then I truly believe you will be blessed even when in the middle of adversity. Let me share just some of what happened for me during 2011:

• TIME TRAVEL – Oh Yes – no other way of describing it – at the time I received the call to say my wife had had a breakdown and during making the journey back home to the UK, I moved from the arrival area “F” in Schipol Airport Amsterdam Holland to departure gate “D6” in less than 60 SECONDS!!!!! I fly through that airport regularly and I and others to whom I have shared this story in full, have walked and run that same route a number of times and on average it is 15 – 20 mins and certainly not 1 minute. There is so much more to this story, but in short I was VERY low, didn’t really want to face the issues at home, but also new I needed to be at home to start picking up the “pieces” that were collapsing all around me. I had managed to get a last minute flight, going via Schipol to the UK and had a huge time constraint between landing in Schipol, to departing again. I had asked some prayer warriors to pray for me when I was in the USA. So after landing (and after departure delays in the USA) God decided to intervene and allow me to travel what I needed to in 60 seconds and as a result meeting my departing flight for the UK with time to spare (and that flight left promptly on time). God is Good!! So Good!!
• PRAY FROM MILES AWAY – One Saturday in November I was in Norwich with one of my daughters on a rare Father Daughter day out. We were taking a late breakfast when I suddenly felt a compulsion to pray for two friends who were as far as I knew around 100 miles form where I was. I had not had any recent contact and up to that very point I had not been thinking of them. I didn’t do anything for a while (maybe the feeling would go away and it was just wind, thought I) but pretty soon the feeling had become what I can only describe as an ache. So I wrote a fairly lengthy text asking them to forgive me if I was totally off target but saying I just felt I needed to pray for them and ask for Daddy’s arms to be wrapped around them and His presence to be very real and close to them at that moment. I heard nothing and received no text back or any other communication. By the Monday I just thought I had everything wrong and I had miss read the prompting I felt and thought Id just leave it at that and apologise to them both the next time I saw them. That evening I was going to my friend Rob’s commissioning as a representative of the Christian Police Association (I may have the title wrong but anyway representing God within the police force). When we had finished and on my way to the car I checked for missed calls from my mobile (like a good boy I had switched it off for the service). On it was a missed call and message from my friend whom I had sent the prayer text to on the Saturday. After the pleasantries he said “now to the text you sent”. Oh dear I thought, I got that wrong!! But I hadn’t. At the very moment the text was sent he and his wife were receiving some prayer and counselling at a conference and were battling against some stuff that was going on in their lives. They both said they were amazed at receiving the text but knew that it was of God because it spoke right into what was going on for them at that very moment.
• MORE PRAYER – Now I have quoted two amazing prayer stories (well quoted one about to quote the second), but I would be the first to tell you I have never felt called to be a prayer warrior. Not that I do not believe in the power of prayer and not that I don’t prayer but I do believe certain people have a gifting in praying for others and I have never seen that in myself. But 2011 has taught me that if I listen to God and hear Him or feel Him prompt me I will go with that flow. So a couple of weeks ago at our church, after the service had ended, a guy who had been coming regularly for a month or so, strolled forward to sort of say goodbye as he was moving away and just to chat a bit I think. I had seen him around and although no one had ever told me I knew him as John. Anyway he was talking about a lot of things happening in his life and I knew he really needed some prayer. So I looked around for one of our male prayer team members or at least a male/female team. John spotted me looking around and said “sorry I am keeping you I’d better let you go”. Realising he had seen me looking around I said “No I was looking for a prayer team member but couldn’t see one as it looked as though they had all gone to grab coffee” So I asked him if he would like me to pray for him. Ad he said yes. So I said “I’m just going to ask God to bless you John and that he helps you this week as you make some difficult decisions”. “That’s great but my names not John it’s Kevin”. OH wow so where did that come from? So I told him, “I’m really sorry Kevin it’s just that whenever I look at you I get the name John screaming at me and I have always thought that was because it was your name, I don’t know how I got that wrong I’m sorry, but we can still pray”. “Actually” he said, “Jonathan is my sons name” Oh boy when God prompts He doesn’t get it wrong does He!! So I prayed for Kevin asking for a blessing and then in the middle of praying I was prompted to pray for John. I knew nothing of him and Kevin had said nothing but I just prayed for their relationship and that there may be a strong bond between them”. By the time I finished praying Kevin had a few tears rolling. He explained that his relationship with his son was almost non existent and that he had been trying to look for ways of mending that broken relationship.
• BLOGGING – All through 2011 God has been opening my eyes to knew things and understandings form His word, or through things I have heard preached. And since October this year I have thoroughly enjoyed putting some of this down as my “blog”. And I am so very grateful for the feedback I get. Not always on this blog site, that’s okay, but I have received a high number of emails from people who have been encouraged. And that is just fantastic. That even in a life situation where for most of 2011 it has been a struggle, God has allowed me to be an encourager of others. Not because I get everything correct, not because I now know everything, but because I have learnt that I have so much to learn and I am hungry to be taught.

God just proves Himself to be amazing each and every time I listen to Him, or when I feel at my lowest, He finds a way to encourage me and remind me that nothing is impossible when He is in charge.

2011 has taught me to listen, to read and digest the Word and study more. But more than anything it has taught me to not be afraid of moving out of the soft easy chair that has been my Christian experience for so long, but to step out into a new area where I am less than comfortable and therefore have to really place my trust in His leading and prompting and I have begun to learn to tune my ears and mind to hear more of what He would have me do.

So regardless of what 2011 has had for you, as we now start in 2012 may God richly bless you and the members of your family so that you might become a blessing to those around you.

God Bless

THINK AGAIN

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I posted anything here - feeble excuses such as an awful lot to do over the past few weeks and some really heavy pressures from work. Anyway here goes............

So another Christmas has ended and we now look forward to the New Year and often a new start. I have already planned my blog for New Years eve where I will be reflecting on 2011 and sharing some testimony that I hope will encourage others to move away from their comfort zones and just "trust" God..........

A few weeks ago Tim, our life group leader, told us we were embarking on a new series of studies just working through the Bible picking up key stories, and would be starting with Creation. He asked us to look at Genesis Chapter 1 & 2 and just write down or at least think about how it spoke to us and what it was saying to us (no commentaries or other materials were allowed just Genesis 1 & 2 and a double sided A4 sheet of notes he gave us with question prompts).

My first thoughts were "I know all about that", "I've heard it all before" and "how many times have I read and studied genesis?", and having been a committed Christian since I was 14 years old that is partly the truth. I even suggested to myself that there was nothing new that I was going to learn ahead of the. You are probably already thinking that’s a bit of a "dangerous" thing to say. You are right!

It is very easy to become complacent over what the Bible has to teach us especially when we have heard or read a passage a number of times before, over several years. The arrogance of "I know all this" "I've heard it all before" means that we shut our ears and our eyes to hear what God wants to say maybe for the umpteenth time because we wouldn't listen before or maybe for the first time because we needed that revelation at that moment in time.

So whilst I started with the arrogant stance one of the things I have been taught in 2011 is to actually stop, shut up and listen. (I know the shut-up bit must amaze some of you who know me really well but 2011 has seen me spending some serious time in reflection and contemplation and listening). And despite starting with "I know it all" I decide to wipe my mental slate "clean" and start from "I want to know so much more than I do" position and prepared to spend some time reading through Genesis 1 & 2.

So I printed Chapter 1 & 2 of Genesis out on A4 paper, took Tim's notes, a note pad and during one of our joyful trips to Norwich on pre Christmas shopping with my ever patient wife, I planned to visit the Forum, buy a coffee and spend an hour or two doing my "homework". And I ended up having a fantastic 3 hours working through this, writing up notes, and just spending time reflecting on what Genesis 1 & 2 had to say to me. (By the way Julie, my wife, was fine with this as she was very happy not having me under her feet but also having somewhere she could deposit her bags and have a "break").

So I want to share just a few thoughts, not all because there was simply loads going on and pouring out and being opened up to me, but let me draw out a few. These were either re-emphasized to me so very strongly that day or were revealed for the first time even though I know I had heard everything a hundred times before. Maybe I was just ready to listen. Maybe it was simply time for me to THINK AGAIN

So the first thing I did was read Tim's notes and there was a great piece in them (and I have already asked his permission to pinch his notes) that really spoke to me. He was talking about the Bible and paraphrasing his notes he said "The Bible was written by people who encountered God and through whom God tells the story of faithfulness to really awful but beloved people."

And I am one of those "awful but beloved" people who needed what God gave to us, which ultimately was the gift of saving grace through His Son Jesus and reconciliation into fellowship with Him. Oh and the small matter of everlasting life. (If you are not sure what I mean read John Chapter 3 and verse 16 in the Bible)

So where do you start with the Creation story. Well you start at the start. In fact the first 4 words are some of the most amazing words in the Bible. Genesis Chapter 1 vs. 1 says:

"In the beginning God......."

No preamble. No explanation. No arguments. Nothing.

Just that whenever the "beginning" was so was God. And I think that is absolutely awesome in the real sense of using that word and not the common way it has been reduced to today. I am in "awe" that my God simply "was" and "is" with no limit of time and no limit to capabilities.

Let me continue with some other personal awakenings:

If you have ever wondered about the rights and wrongs of genetic engineering and the cloning of some pretty weird stuff I have seen over the past 20 years or so then I think Genesis has something to say about that (I am not a scientist by the way but I can read!!)

God made vegetation, trees and plants with seed bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. God created fish and other life. God created the birds. And each were producing offspring of the same kind. And God made every sort of animal each able to produce offspring of the same kind.

For me this is clear enough evidence that God intended for species and plants to develop naturally using their own reproduction methodology and not be cross matched through genetic modification in any way. It is also very clear that everything was done with order, with forethought to the future with real strong thought out planning and that this was not some sort of random act.

God had a clear purpose for each and everything that He created and not the least of which was mankind itself.

God understands the need for relationships. God was already in a "relationship" when he created man. Regardless of all other things that God created man was to be unique. Man was to be made in "Our" image!!

ONLY man was made in the image of God, nothing else in the whole of creation carried that honour or privilege. And after creating man and giving man authority over everything He had created God saw that man needed a companion of the same design as him.

God new how important it was for man to be in relationship with someone else. God new this because there was an "Our" involved. Not "my" image but "Our" image and "our" is greater than one. Who was it that the "Our" referred to can be argued and discussed in other pages. Is it the Trinity? Quite possibly. Could God be referring to Himself and angels? Quite possibly. But the key thing is that God already knew of companionship and relationships and knew how important these were, so He provided man with a companion - Eve. Again nothing random with God, all thought out and all bought together beautifully.

I am someone who is genuinely amazed at people who say they are atheists and as a consequence believe nothing outside of the human race exists and therefore we were all bought here by a complete fluke/accident. I think that actually takes far more faith than believing in the Creation story as recorded in Genesis.

I once had lunch at the place where I worked, with an older college who knew I "went to church", without necessarily understanding what I believed or why I went to church. However he proceeded to tell me that all of that was okay for me but that he was an atheist and he didn't believe in any other "power" and certainly there was no "God". So I told him how impressed I was with his ability to believe that we all existed by a complete fluke that just "happened" to have brought everything together. He was quite for a while, I guess a little unsure of what to make of me because I am guessing he was expecting some barrage from me "preaching the word". 

After a while he just asked me to elaborate on what I had said. And I simply explained that I felt it took far more faith from him to believe that the world, the universe, the stars, the birds, animals, all plants, trees, wind, sea, sand, air and the whole of mankind all happened by chance. Where I on the other hand believed that there is a God and that He is very real and the he did create the world and everything in it on it and around it just as the Bible wrote about in Genesis. he just said "mmmm I see..." and that was it.

About a week later he found me and said, "Maybe I am not a full atheist as I can see what you mean about the random acts of everything just coming together, but I don’t believe in your God but I think there maybe something else out there". I would love to be able to tell you that he found new hope in Jesus but I do not know that. It wasn't very long afterwards that he was retired early from his role and left the business and I only ever saw him one more time.

Genesis is truly a powerful book and the Creation story one of the most (if not "the" most) awesome stories in the Bible.

If you think you know all there is to know about it then just have another read and try and remove your preconceptions before you do, and allow God to plant a new seed of revelation in you.

Watch this space on Saturday 31st December for reflections on 2011 - a truly amazing 12 months!!

God Bless