Time to Man Battle Stations

Time to Man Battle Stations

The call to arms has never been stronger. The battle cry is ringing out from heaven. The battle ground is moving from the heavenlies to here on earth – it is moving into Satan’s territory. No longer will he invade our land, although he will still try, albeit with decreasing success. Instead, the Lord is calling us to take back the land he has stolen over the years.

In Judges 6&7, the story is told of how Gideon, with just 300 men, destroyed the Midianite hordes because the Lord was with him. In Judges 7:18 we read, “When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’”” We stand today on the edge of a new Gideon army, a small band willing to listen for God’s call, who will sound their own battle trumpets. Satan hates the sound of them because they always signal the Lord’s presence in battle and, therefore, Satan’s defeat.

How many times have we read that “the fields are white unto harvest but the labourers are few”? How much harvest has been wasted or even lost because the Lord’s army has been unprepared, or unwilling, or even just plain disobedient? The hour is very fast approaching when the Lord will call His new army of harvesters to their battle stations. 

The time to be ready is NOW. The time to take up our weapons of war is NOW. The time for standing by and watching is over. Today the Lord is calling His Gideon army to battle readiness. Today is the day to declare war on whatever is opposing you. List all that the enemy has stolen from you over the years – there is your battleground. Take heart, the Lord is with us and on our side. The battle is His.

The enemy is defeated by King Jesus. NOW is the moment for which creation has groaned for so long. NOW is battle hour! NOW is harvest time.

What Are We Doing About It?

What Are We Doing About It?

Isaiah 3:8-9 “Jerusalem staggers, Judah is falling; their words and deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence. The look on their faces testifies against them;  they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.”

This scripture could be speaking about Europe and America right now. I wonder how many, like me, are getting a little – or a lot – sick and tired of a Christianity that denies Christ, Christian attitudes that embrace world values, Christian doctrine that pleases man but is abhorrent to God, lives lived without a single thought of eternity, and Christian morality that is so corrupt and hypocritical that it makes much of the worlds morals seem more acceptable.

How did we get into such a parlous condition? More to the point, what can we do about it?

In my humble opinion – we need to stop going to church on a Sunday when it really needs to be every day. We need to stop going to church altogether and start acting like and actually being the church as described in the New Testament. Sunday-only Christians have been around forever. Our problem is becoming the fact that, more and more, the world is now recognising this fact and uses it as a stick with which to beat us. “Hypocrite!” is the most common cry – and I honestly believe Jesus would agree. Sadly, we are only really realising now the sacrificial necessities of actually being the church – of loving our enemies and loving our neighbours as ourselves.

Again it’s only my opinion, but we need to face facts and confess our faults, our half-heartedness, our hypocrisy! It doesn’t matter what I say here, it will not convict you, or trouble your conscience in any way you don’t want it to. Only Holy Spirit can do that – and even then He virtually needs your permission !!! You see, we still need to ask Him, to invite Him to do His work in us.

As the Word says in Psalm 139:23 “Search me and know my heart” to which we should add, “and show me my sin that I may repent and turn again to you.” A bit fierce for you? How else will we become the Church as Jesus wants it to be? How else will we begin to love our neighbours “as ourselves”? How else will we show Christ’s love to a hurting and unbelieving world?

Only when we repent of our sin can we expect God, through us, to deliver others of their sin. Only when we do something is God released to do something. He can or will do little until we do. “If my people, who are called by My Name . . . . . then . . . . ” 

IF - THEN . . . simple isn’t it?

Power of the Cross

Power of the Cross

We hear so much about the power of the cross. There is a wonderful song about it – my favourite version is sung by Chris Bowater - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deL06aw8xeg . Actually it is my all time favourite song, sacred or secular.  The words of the final chorus are these

“This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God-slain for us.
What a love! What a cost! 
We stand forgiven at the cross.”

So what is the power of the cross?

For 2000 years, the cross has been an emblem of shame, of victory, of disdain and mockery, of death and life, of nearly anything you care to name. It has fascinated millions; it has infuriated millions; it has brought hope to millions. The cross is a powerful reminder of the Bible story of Jesus. Millions believe that story while even more millions trample it under the foot of unbelief or hatred or a different belief. Unbelievable evil has been done in its name and it has inspired almost unbelievable deeds of goodness.

What is it about a symbol of shame, torture, and death that makes it the object of such passion and interest? It calls believers and unbelievers towards it. It calls bad men to exchange their unholy ways for more God-like ways. It also drives bad men to even worse deeds.

It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ without words, without deeds, without any props or reminders. It is the symbol and constant reminder of love, God’s love for us. It is the greatest symbol of hope the world has ever seen.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

This is the power of the cross – nothing less than salvation for everyone who believes, and eternal life through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

25567 days

25,567 Days

Odd sort of number isn’t it, but as far as I am able to calculate, today, on my 70^th birthday, I have been alive for 25,567 days.  So, what have I done in those 70 years and what will I do with whatever remains for me? The Bible mentions the span of mans years being 3 score years and 10 – that’s 70. Many people take that as their measure and almost curse themselves with it by saying that after 70, they are living on “borrowed time”. I refuse to limit God like that because the Bible also says that a man’s days are numbered – and I believe I have some way to go before He calls my number in.

For some reason, that always reminds me of the story of the boating lake when the manager calls out your number when the time is up. “Come in, number 91” he shouts, “Your time is up.” “But we don’t have a number 91 says his assistant. “Oh”, says the manager. “Number 16 – are you in trouble?”

Sorry about that.

Most would say that the most precious achievement has been the procreation and successful cultivation to maturity of two sons. Actually, I have to question that, good though it is. You see, it depends on which way you want to look at these things. We can view them from a limited time perspective, otherwise known as the earthly perspective. Or we can view them from an eternal perspective otherwise known as God’s perspective.

From the earthly perspective, my sons are a great achievement – even though I was absent for long periods of being “on the road”. That was part of a successful 36 year marriage to their Mum. From the earthly perspective, that was a successful life, even though 42 years of IT work was punctuated by 9 redundancies and periods of the infamous UB40 signing on for benefits.

However, from an eternal perspective things may look a little different.

Who knows what was the effect my short time as a Sunday School teacher? How about the year or so as a St Andrews Church in Woking – meeting and greeting folk as they arrived? What about my time spent with my friend Ted on our journey to the baptism in the Holy Spirit – what effect did that have on those around us? Then there was the moment of leading my late wife to the Lord before she died. Some time after that, I was introduced to the RoFMI ministry. We saw multiple healings and not a few miracles there. After that came our wonderful Twitter moment when I met this TwangyTexan, also called Linda. Married in Texas, moved to Woking, joined Calvary Church. What about the effects of our witness there. Finally we moved to Sleaford, and here comes Sanctuary, Betel, Junction, Second Chance and Roy Todd calling us “Mum & Dad”. What, I wonder was the heavenly perspective on all of that? And who knows what is left for us together?

Another 15 years beyond the 70 mark will hoist the number of days total by a further 5,479 to 31,046 – again by my reckoning. Who knows what we have left? We don’t know, but God does, and as we trust Him completely, we can safely leave it all in His mighty hands.

Thank you Lord for bringing me thus far, and lead on for however long it’s going to be.

While I’m here, I really must pay tribute to one person. This quite remarkable lady twanged her way into my life about three years ago. It must have been a God thing because we fell in love, I proposed, and she accepted, all before we ever met face to face. Then she did a truly remarkable thing – she left everything she knew and loved in her home country to came over here to a strange place with strange people and even stranger customs and language. She gave up everything for me – friends, family, home, good job, security, everything to marry and live with me here in England. God has blessed her and us both in that we’ve landed in a lovely town, in a brilliant and loving church and we have made some wonderful friends. In the absence of her own kids and grandkids, she has become “Momma” to quite a few of the younger people around here. But, to me, her crowning accolade – although some may call it madness – is that she loves me - and I love her.

My precious wife, Linda.

Responding to God's Call

Responding to the Call

Song of Solomon 5:2-6 (extracts) “I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking: . . . . . “I have taken off my dress, How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet, How can I dirty them again?“ . . . . . ”I opened to my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and had gone! My heart went out to him as he spoke. I searched for him but I did not find him; I called him but he did not answer me.”

This beautiful passage speaks of Jesus calling on us. It speaks of how we often feel – tired, not ready, already in bed perhaps. Should I respond? Oh, I suppose I had better answer Him. Doh – too late !! Sometimes, God needs our attention now. He calls for our attention now. He wants to speak to us NOW !!

There is a famous testimony from Jesse du Plantis who received a call from God to pray. He had just ordered a lovely steak lunch so was a little reluctant, but the call persisted. So he left the table and went to his room. As soon as he settled to pray, he received the most amazing vision and view of heaven. He was taken there for a personal tour and returned a while later. He dared not tell of what he saw for about two weeks and even then he only shared it with his wife. See what he may have missed completely if he had said to God that he was busy and could he pray later. He responded to Gods call.

Hudson Taylor felt the call to China – look what he may have missed had he not answered Gods call. Billy Graham felt the call to preach. What would have happened had he not answered Gods call? It doesn’t have to be a grand call. It could be a very simple call just to say hello to an elderly person, or to buy a coffee for the man begging on the corner of the street.

We need to respond when God calls to us. In my life, when seeking to change our accommodation three years ago, what would have happened had I not responded to a nudge to call my friend in what is now our home town?

What do we miss by ignoring or refusing to answer His call? I believe the first thing is that we find ourselves out of Gods will for us. Out of His will, Out of His plan for us. Out of His plan for others and, perhaps, out of His plan for something really big in our church, our town, even our country/ Who knows what we may miss by one small act of disobedience. If Reinhard Bonnke had ignored the call to Africa, how many may have missed their own appointment with God? Maybe millions of people?

If God is speaking to you today, please don’t dismiss it as your imagination. At least follow up and take even a very small step like praying about it. Someone will confirm it for you – then who knows what may happen?

Where do you go to?

Where do you go

I was having a jocular exchange of texts the other day. It was all about being scared and hiding. Suddenly, as so often, the Lord asked me where I would run to. My answer was as instant as it was a surprise, even to me.  I said simply, “You, Lord, are my protection. From anything this world can throw at me.”

I remembered David when Saul was chasing him. I remembered Elijah’s flight from Jezebel and his earlier spell in the wilderness when ravens fed him. I remembered Paul in prison, being shipwrecked, and being bitten by the snake. I remembered Daniel in furnace and lions den.

I remember an old song by Peter Sarsted called “Where do you go to my lovely”. It was about a girl who lived the life of a princess but who had come from much more humble beginnings. He asked not just where she went ‘when you’re alone in the dark’, like the ‘back streets of Naples’, but what memories haunted her. He was saying that you can block those memories but you can never forget them, nor can you hide where you have come from. 

So it is with us today except that, through Holy Spirit, we now have grace to also remember where Jesus has taken us today. In fact, the psalmist put it rather better than I when he said, in Psalm 18:1-3  “I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.”

It is so true. If we make Jesus our strength, our stronghold, and our high tower, He will give us the strength and grace to handle life His way rather than our way. 

Where do you go to when you’re alone and in the dark?  Do you need help with your baggage from the past? “Cast all your cares and worries upon Jesus because He cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7 Let Jesus take your load today. Take it all to the cross and leave it there and He will carry you through any test or trial. His grace is sufficient for me and for you.

But only if you let Him help you.

Wholesome Edification

Wholesome Edification

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29

I have to admit I am guilty as charged – along with a large majority of the Christian population – of unedifying, even unwholesome speech. Never have I been so aware of the truth of the verses James 3:5-10 “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.  For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.  But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;  from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”

Listen to the speech in popular ‘soap operas’. I don’t know about you but I find them negative almost to the point of suicidal, and full of unwholesome and unedifying speech as well. The language is frequently deplorable. I personally find it the same with the vast majority of modern ‘comedy’. If it is not liberally sprinkled with foul language, most people don’t even give it a second glance. No wonder we haven’t watched TV in 6 months.

With the tongue we gossip, slander, curse, and abuse others. With that same tongue God calls us to wholesome and edifying speech. Yet still, out of the mouth, the heart speaks !! And the heart is most deceitful above all things !!! How can we speak wholesome and edifying things from a mouth and tongue that is controlled by a deceitful heart? Only by placing our tongue under the Blood and control of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only God can heal our heart and our tongue. Only He can bring about the transformation so necessary to us producing wholesome and edifying speech. If you need help with this, then I urge you to find a copy of Derek Prince’s little book, “Does your tongue need healing”

As part of our dying to self, we all need to place our tongue “under arrest” so as to take captive every word and thought before we give them to the world. Our tongue can do so much good but it can also do so much harm. It can praise and it can condemn. It can lift up and it can put down. If Christians controlled their tongue better, then Jesus would be lifted so very much higher and, just perhaps, the world would take much more notice of Him.

Its a thought for you to take with you as you go about your life today – is what I say damaging or benefitting the Lord’s Kingdom cause?

A New Anointing

A New Anointing

In many churches like ours, we talk about the anointing or a mantle. This basically means a gifting or skill, or a ‘cloak’. Well, whichever way you want to look at it, we were witnesses to a new mantle and anointing being manifest in our church the other day.  Elisha used Elijah’s cast off mantle to strike the water while asking, “Where now is the God of Elijah?” The company of prophets concluded the Elijah’s spirit or anointing was now upon Elisha.

Like every church, we have one or two usually younger folk of whom you can say, “They will be leaders one day.” We are no different. We have the honour of mentoring and being spiritual mum & dad to one of our young couples. Today we had the privilege and joy of seeing God anoint them, the young man in particular, and birth them into a new level spiritually. To be exact, I believe we were allowed to witness the birth of a prophet – a real prophet.

There were a couple of good pointers. He gave a very good prophecy to the church which all those with any of the gift affirmed, including both pastor and a visiting minister.  His words flowed right, they sat right, and they hit the mark spiritually within the whole tone of the meeting. He admitted afterwards he had felt the presence of God while he spoke and that he felt he could have given a word to several if not all of those present. One felt that this was a public God moment affirming and encouraging a willing ‘newcomer’ to the ministry.

Don’t get me wrong – there are still many faults and rough edges to be resolved, but it was a spectacular start. It could all still go very wrong, but with careful mentoring, prayer, and encouragement, this young man may have found the basis for his ministry. He has a road to tread and he has only just set out. He will have to meet and cope with many difficult  circumstances and trials. But he is a young man with great potential and also with God’s hand firmly upon him.

This young man carries the mark of God which, if eventually brought to fruition, makes this one of the most exciting “finds” in recent years – at least for our church. I pray Psalm 105:15 over him, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” But do not neglect them nor ignore them either. We now have a great responsibility as a church to nurture this young man and to encourage and grow his gifting.

In Quietness & Peace

In Quietness and Peace

I feel a prophetic word rising in me. I ask the Lord for it but it doesn’t come – yet.

I know it’s there but it’s like a carrot on a stick in front of the donkey, I need to press in to get it. Why is it like this sometimes? Has the Lord changed my anointing or is He changing it? I don’t think so, so where is it?

As Elisha said after Elijah was carried off to heaven, “Where now is the Lord God of Elijah?” He is here but He is strangely quiet.

In quietness and peace God answers me.

There is a rising legalism in the church. A legalism that dictates to God more than to man. It seeks to limit what Holy Spirit is doing by placing time constraints upon Him.

“It is not a conscious thing in that it has no real understanding of the way My Spirit moves. It is much more a legalism of conforming to mans expectations than of limiting your conforming to mine.” Says the Lord, “If you want My Spirit to move in the way I have shown you in your dreams and visions, then you need to accept that I will not be conformed to your boxes. You have to keep breaking the mould of tradition in order to allow me to move.”

I believe there is a rocky road ahead before we get to our “promised land”. The good thing is that it will not take long and the breakthrough will be worth the tears. Yes, there will be serious dissent, and it may even cause a rift, but there will be joy in the morning as His peace and His Glory enter in and as His habitation is established.

This is, I believe, a word from the Lord.

We have a choice

We Have A Choice

All of our troubles and woes can be traced back to a single source – Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God told them not to do something but they both choose to believe the serpent rather than God. The result was sin which meant separation from God until we choose to come back to Him again. In between times, it became necessary for God to open the way back to Himself, not just for His people, but for every man, woman, and child on the planet. That ‘new’ way was Jesus and His payment for our sin on the cross at Calvary.

We still have to make choices today. There are right choices and wrong choices and all of them have consequences. From the clothes we put on in the morning, to what to eat for breakfast – if we have any – are not particularly consequential choices unless we disobey reasonable instructions of course. Choices later in the day may be life changing – like when to cross or not to cross a busy road, or whether or not to accept the offer of a new job. Other choices are even more serious and can affect our eternity.

We have a choice whether or not to believe in God and through Him, Jesus, or indeed any other god. Even though we sometimes place people or objects in a place of worship where they become god-like to us, we still have the choice of worshiping or discarding them. It is the same with God – we can either accept His claims on us or reject them. However the consequences of these kinds of decisions are so very, very different. The decisions we make regarding God and Jesus, affect how we spend eternity. Decisions we make about other gods, can determine our decision about God and Jesus and can be, therefore, just as definitive. 

We can choose God and Jesus and spend eternity with them or we can reject them and spend eternity in that place called Hell. That’s a pretty stark choice but God still allows us to make it for ourselves. He wants us to choose Him, and to put Him first in our lives. He wants to welcome us to eternity, His eternity that we call Heaven, to spend with Him. Just look at the advantages – there is no death in heaven. No sickness, no fighting, no arguing, not even any cross words in heaven. Hell? I don’t even want to go there (that’s ambiguous isn’t it?) Hell is reserved for all those who reject God and Jesus. All who wilfully disobey God’s guidelines and, usually, worship a different god. Some claim they do not worship any god, but even atheists cling on to something, be it money, or science, or an alternate belief system.

God and Jesus have a claim on every single person’s life and eternity. He doesn’t want to lose anyone to Hell but I’m afraid it is inevitable. This is serious people. Choose life through Jesus and let Him change your life around for you and prepare you for Heaven. It’ll never be easy but neither will the alternative. You’ll all have to choose fairly soon as, according to my belief, Jesus is coming back for us all and then there will be a separation of church and state because church will be gone !!

Worth thinking about? I think so.

The Love of God

The Manifest Love of God

Are you a tactile person? Put another way, are you a shaker or a hugger? Do you shake hands politely or do you hug people in greeting? Paul exhorts his people to greet each other with a kiss. He says it five times – in Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26, and 1 Peter 5:14. Our problem is that we are “more civilised” so we hold each other at arms length so as not to invade personal space, and so on. Yet more and more, Christians in the west are following the example of their brothers and sisters elsewhere and greeting each other with a hug and a kiss – although man to man, kissing remains something of a taboo. We are to greet each other with an outward demonstration of love that reflects Gods love for us.

What does Gods love look like? What did Jesus teach about this?  Luke 15:20 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms round him and kissed him.” My wife had a beautiful dream/vision of this. She was in heaven, in the throne room. She could see God’s feet and his robe – but that was all she could see. Suddenly a tiny speck appeared in the far distance. God tensed, then He leaped up and ran as fast as He could towards the speck. As they got closer, she could see that it was a man. God ran up to him and flung His arms and His robe around the man. He hugged the man and held him close for a time, the He signalled for the party to begin!

That is the love of God. He so wants us to come to Him that, if we take a single step towards Him, then He will run towards us to welcome us with open arms and a great big smile. That’s my Daddy God. He forgives me when I turn back to Him. If I show willing repentance, then He shows me love and forgiveness.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Specks and Planks

 Specks, Motes and Planks

Matthew 7:2 “For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Matthew 7:4 “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?”

Jesus taught so many things, but He came back to this topic of hypocrisy quite a lot. I think He was talking as much to the Pharisees as to anyone, but the point He makes is quite clear for everybody, and the warning He gives with it is fairly blunt, too. I suspect that the Pharisees were ticked off enough with John calling them a “brood of vipers”, but when Jesus called them “Whitewashed sepulchres” it almost certainly sealed their hatred of Him.

I wonder how many of us are versions of the whitewashed sepulchres of old. How many of us tell everyone else their faults whilst ignoring or even oblivious to our own faults. How many of us say with the Pharisees of old, “Do as I say not as I do.”? Or “Do this” when we have no intention of doing it ourselves? How many of us judge others harshly whilst telling themselves that they are doing no wrong?

Hypocrisy is the worlds most accurate weapon for use against the Church in general and Christians in particular. “Hypocrite” is the single most commonly used word against Christianity. Sadly, hypocrisy is probably the most common fault of Christians – mostly because of their totally unwarranted “holier than thou” attitude and general air of moral superiority over the rest of the world.

Yet in Romans 12:3, Paul urges us all,  “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Now why should Paul warn us to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought? Surely he is calling us to humility and modesty of spirit. After all “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” – including us – and all of us still do sin and still do fall short of the glory of God.

Should we not, as Paul says, “eagerly seek” the gifts of the Spirit including “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 

Hypocrisy cannot live alongside this. Planks and motes in our eyes and others eyes become irrelevant when we are healed of our hypocrisy.

Pleasures of Life

Pleasures of Life

There are many concerns about growing older but, in my own case, the concerns are far outweighed by the pleasures. One of the promises God gives us is Psalm 92:14 “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,” As Joshua got older, God told him that there “is still much land to be taken” – Joshua 13:1. It seems then that maturity has its privileges and its pleasures.

Certainly, grand children are one of the great privileges and pleasures of life. How can one not marvel at the potential wrapped up in a baby. Innocence un-marred by experience, everything is new and exciting and just waiting to be discovered and explored. It matters not one jot if you are the most important person in the world, when a two year old hands you a toy telephone, you answer it. As a grandparent, it is one of my great pleasures to play with the little ones and, if I am a touch cynical, to hand them back afterwards for the feeding, cleaning, and bedding department – although I still love story time.

Another great pleasure is that of hospitality. This would never have happened years ago, but friends now call to tell us to break out more coffee as they are on their way over. I love it that people feel they are free to do that with us. We just love being hospitable and if there’s enough in the pot then stay for a bite too. If there’s not enough, then we can stretch it a bit further so that we all get some, so stay anyway.

One of the more important roles we now have is that of nurturing, especially of new Christians. This is an enormous privilege to lead them through the basic tenets of our faith and perhaps to introduce them to prayer and Bible reading/study. The joy of encouraging people to grow in their faith is only compounded by the fact that they nearly all end up as friends – good friends because we can also ‘teach’ them about hospitality as well. We have the great joy of having “adoptive” couples who are away from their own parents but who have adopted us as surrogate Mum & Dad.

A more serious role we get to play is the mentoring of the rising generation of younger Christians, particularly those possibly headed towards leadership in the church. Whether we like it or not, and whether we ask for it or not, age brings with it a certain amount of leadership and responsibility to ensure that the next generation is as equipped or better equipped than our generation. It is a privilege and a pleasure to match raising grand children and with even more responsibility. In mentoring we should remember the warnings in Ezekiel 34 about shepherds and sheep.

What we bring to the table is, in short, life experience and (assumed) wisdom. What we give is advice, wisdom, encouragement, nurturing, training, and good solid grounded faith. Without losing any of our fervour for the Lord, we have, like Paul, learned to be satisfied with what we have whilst being ambitious for those we are mentoring or otherwise helping to raise in the faith.

Yes, life does have its great privileges and pleasures and, to me, these can only increase with age.

The Healing Touch

The Healing Touch

“He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,  who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured,  and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.” Luke 6:17-19
“And when the men of that place recognised Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all who were ill to him  and begged him to let those who were ill just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.” Matthew 14:35-36

A major part of Jesus ministry involved healing. He touched people and they were healed. He touched their eyes and sight came. He touched their ears and hearing came. He touched dead people and they lived again. He touched a sick man and leprosy just left him. Jesus touched people and disease fled. Yet there was another side to His healing. In Matthew 9 we read about the woman who crept up on Him and touched Him to receive her healing. In the texts above, people tried to touch Him or were invited to touch Him – and they were all healed too.

There is something about His touch that appeals to people. So it is today. I have seen many ministers touch people and healing came. It wasn’t the minister, of course not, but it was the same as it was for Jesus. It was, and is, Holy Spirit manifesting His presence through the minister. I am not belittling Jesus ministry – far from it. Because Jesus still touches people today. Anyone who has been to a “healing meeting” has seen it. When Holy Spirit manifests, healings happen. Jesus still touches people, and healing takes place. Not just healing of illnesses, but situations, relationships, addictions and bondages too. 

One touch is all it takes. Jesus healing touch is all you need. Jesus touched the deaf mans ears and he heard. He touched the blind mans eyes and he saw. The woman with the issue of blood touched Him and she was healed. He spoke the word and the centurions servant was healed. One touch, one word, and healing was theirs. He did it then and He still does it now.

I have seen a man completely healed of cancer. He had about two weeks to live. One prayer – one touch – and he was totally healed. Medically attested and verified. I have watched another man, crippled in a motorcycle accident, completely healed in an instant. So great was his healing that his hospital consultant did not even recognise him. Medically attested and verified.

One touch from Jesus is all it takes. Just one touch.

No Spirit of Fear

No Spirit of Fear

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,” 2 Timothy 1:7-9 NKJV

What causes us to fear? The most common factor in any fear or phobia is ignorance – we don’t know or understand what is going on. Xenophobia is the intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries. Arachnophobia is the irrational fear of spiders. Homophobia, contrary to its current usage, is the totally irrational fear of men, not solely homosexuals but of all men. Actually, it is a classic example of fear through ignorance – in either meaning. 

In Christian terms, what are we really afraid of? In my opinion, one of the greatest fears is the fulfilment of the great commission. Even worse is the fear of the Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which all somehow raises the spectre, (no pun intended), of the occult. Why is this? Perhaps it is because there is so much unbelief and disobedience in the Church. Churches are still teaching that these gifts died with the Apostles and that any demonstration of them now is demonic. Really? Since when did Satan heal the sick, and deliver the bound or oppressed? Since when did Satan do anything other than rob, kill, and destroy.

Fear is an awesome weapon and Satan uses it well. He is not fearful of anything except the Name of Jesus – his own personal nemesis. I like the story of Smith Wigglesworth who was awoken one night by Satan standing by his bed waiting to kill him. Wigglesworth looked at him, said “Oh, its only you.”, turned over and went back to sleep! Wigglesworth had no fear of the enemy. Rather, the enemy feared Wigglesworth because he used the Name of Jesus so well.

Fear is the Churches great mountain of opposition right now. Not fear of God, but fear of all things not of God. Fear in finance – get rich, stay rich, be prosperous when Jesus said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the gates of heaven. Fear in doctrine, of missing the next fad, the next false teaching when the Bible says to beware false teaching and ear tickling preaching. Fear of the gifts of the Holy Spirit because they “died out centuries ago”.  Fear of Satan – I don’t know why because many are preaching that he doesn’t even exist. Fear of hell – again because so many now believe that it probably doesn’t even exist as we are all going to heaven. Finally, the Church fears repentance because it makes all their easy salvations into false salvations won by a false gospel preached by false teachers.

In the words of the old hymn, it is time to “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, You soldiers of the cross” It is time to “Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss”. It is time to learn who we are in the Lord and to put fear where it belongs – back in the pit of hell where it came from. 

There is a war on Church. A war for the souls of all mankind. There is no time nor any place for fear. Haven’t you read the last page of the Book. We win!! Hallelujah \o/

Growing Older Gracefully

Growing Older Gracefully

Joshua 13:1 “When Joshua had grown old, the LORD said to him, ‘You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.”
Isaiah 46:4 "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

The Bible sometimes seems to display the truth with a certain amount of humour. Take this first quote as an example – as if Joshua needed reminding of his great age. Then, just to rub salt in, the Lord tells him of the amount of work – hard fighting work – still to be undertaken. Then in Isaiah, the Lord reminds all of us of what may await us in old age – help in both maintaining our lifestyle and even with getting around. 

Yet, for many of us, growing older is anything other than graceful or gentle or slow. Suddenly, we have time on our hands. Hopefully, we have sufficient finances too. What for? For Kingdom work – that’s what. You see, I now believe that our first 60 plus years are simply training for the final 20 or so years. I believe that it’s only in our first 60-odd years that we gain the experience to handle the last stretch. Growing older gracefully takes on a different tone for Christians. So many older folk feel they are no longer of use in the world. They seem to lose, or worse, give up all hope once they reach a certain age.

Fortunately, God doesn’t seem to treat us like that. He doesn’t throw all our experience away when we reach “retirement age”. No, God looks forward to that time with us because He has so many things for us to do – in fact we are a little spoiled for choice. Here’s a few of the things we bring to His service as we get a little older

Time is the most obvious thing we have as we grow older. Then comes resources. Most people have a moment in life when they stop working and live off their pension. This creates the time. Resources can be almost anything from finance to expertise to tools, physical tools or experiential tools. The next fairly obvious resource we bring is our experience. It may be experience of a job or just simply life experience.

Life contributes knowledge and this is an invaluable asset we older folk have in abundance. We also have the time and the willingness to use all these resources for God’s Kingdom. Finally, because we have all these wonderful assets, we bring one more asset to the table – that of availability. When God asks the question, all we say is “Yes Lord.” 

Growing older does not mean sitting down and wasting whatever is left of our life. It is, to me, the greatest opportunity to serve God in whatever way He asks us to do so. I love what He is using me to do right now and my wife loves it too. There is no wasted effort, nor any squandered opportunity. God places us in positions where we can serve Him very easily. It’s not hard nor is it costly. For us it is a most joyful place and we are truly looking forward to this next phase of our lives.

It’s exciting too, just watching our new life unfold before us, and knowing God is using us to perhaps bring new people into relationship with Him. 

What a privilege – what an opportunity.

Subjects of the Kingdom

Subjects of the Kingdom

“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.  ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘my servant lies at home paralysed, suffering terribly.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Shall I come and heal him?’
The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go,” and he goes; and that one, “Come,” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.  I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.’ And his servant was healed at that moment.” Matthew 8:5-13

A Well known story

What struck me was the small section Verses 11-12 “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I believe this is something the Lord revealed to me – probably as He has to so many before me. 

Many will come from the east and the west. Who are they, these “many”?  These are they who have believed in Jesus Christ as Lord, Saviour, and Messiah. They who have believed in Jesus, the Son of God – ALL of them, not one denomination, not Protestant, not Catholic, not Coptic, nor Orthodox, but the Bible says ALL of them shall be saved. That then leaves the “subjects of the kingdom” – thrown outside, into the darkness, weeping and gnashing their teeth. Who are they? They are those who have refused to believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Messiah, as the only begotten Son of God.

Perhaps this is why there will only be a 144,000 remnant of the Jews saved? As surely as God foreknew and planned for the fall of man and the need for a perfect sacrifice through Jesus, so He has always known that “the apple of His eye”, the Jews, would also ultimately turn their backs on Him and deny their Yeshua ha Mashiach, Jesus their Messiah.

The wedding feast is being made ready. It is almost time for the Bridegroom to take His Bride to the wedding and to the feast. Are you ready?

Chasing What ???

Chasing What?

As you may know, my wife and I recently spent a week holidaying with friends in another part of the country. We chose this particular area because it is also home to a quite well known Christian retreat centre where God has moved. That the area is also one of outstanding natural beauty is a great big bonus.

Whilst there we visited the local, but internationally known, Christian retreat centre. We went because we know the people there by reputation and as one part of their prayer outreach. Quite a few of our church folk have visited and nearly all of them spoke highly of their experiences. It was, we were assured, “the place to go to seek God and to experience His presence in some intimacy”. My personal experience there has left me with some questions.

It is a place of incredible peace and quiet where one can spend much or little time seeking God; basking in His presence; and receiving both from God and the fellow seekers around you. However, for me, it was a place of simple relaxation. I actually got more from our long coastal path walks than from any time spent at the retreat. Even time spent sitting at the base of their cross did little or nothing to move me. 

Eventually, I spent some time in the chapel where I ended up on my face just worshiping Him and seeking His face. That’s when I got a wee surprise. It was as though the Lord opened the door, stuck His head round it, saw me, and exclaimed, “What are you doing here Chris?” It was an Elijah moment straight out of 1 Kings 19:9&13 when Elijah had hidden in the cave. Good question – what was I doing there? Was I really seeking the Lord? Was I really hoping to hear from Him once more?

As if to answer my question, the Lord said this, “You didn’t need to come here to seek Me. Yes – I am here but am I not omnipresent – everywhere? Can you not find me in your room? In your car? At home? In the supermarket? Anywhere you want to? There is nowhere you can go to hide from Me nor is there anywhere that you cannot find Me!” He went on, “I am here for many people but you did not need to come here to seek Me. You know My voice and you can just as easily find Me and hear Me anywhere you go. ‘Anywhere you plant your foot’ is My land where I can be found.” The Lord finished up with this, “Enjoy My presence here and I will enjoy yours while you are here. I will speak further into your life another time, another place, another day”.

Our friends who went with us met with God in the place, but in a very different way to me. They got much from their visit. My wife had a similar experience to me. She too felt she could meet and hear from God almost anywhere. I am reminded of Jesus words about John – “As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind?” Matthew 11:7 

What did I expect from this place – or any other place for that matter? Was I chasing the experience? Or was I chasing God? If I am totally honest, I suspect I was looking for more of the experience than of the Person and I suspect I am very much not alone on that quest. I suspect we all chase the thrill more than the encounter because we associate the goose bumps, quite wrongly, with the Person. I was suitably chastened by my encounter, so now I am seeking His face before anything else.

It never hurts us to ask why before we leap for the place or the person before we leap for the Person. God knows our heart – we can’t fool Him with our pretence. Why try??

Backed Into A Corner

Backed Into A Corner

Well, Jesus himself warned us didn’t He? In Luke 21:8-11 “ He replied: ‘Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am he,” and, “The time is near.” Do not follow them.  When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.’  Then he said to them: ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”

And Paul warned us too - 2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather round them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

It is happening just like they said and what is some of the church doing? They are backing themselves right into a corner with their teaching. There is such a fear of upsetting those who may disagree with Christian doctrine that it has all been devalued and watered down to the point that most of the world can quite rightly say, “There is no point in Christianity at all.” Having made their foolish, crowd-pleasing assertions, those pastors have backed themselves into an untenable corner from which there is no escape – not even total, even more foolish looking, retraction.

So what’s to do now?

Change direction and come back to the full Gospel, repentance and all. The Gospel is nothing without repentance and repentance is very little without a full realisation of our un-holiness compared to God’s holiness. If we do not sincerely repent and change our ways then Jesus will have died for nothing. The Gospel is another of God’s “If/then” messages. IF we repent of our ways, turn away from our old ways to God’s ways, and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, THEN He will forgive us and enter our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life so that we can spend eternity with Him.

There is no cheap, easy gospel. There is nothing without repentance. There is no “put your hand up, say this prayer, and you’re saved” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” It’s only through Jesus with repentance that we access salvation. If you have backed yourself into the corner, repent, ask forgiveness and emboldening, and then come out fighting!

Go on – you know you want to.

Activation Part 3 - Deliverance

Activating Deliverance

I am talking here about demons or evil spirits. It’s a big subject and lots of controversy, so I can only scratch the surface here. These are my own views and opinions based upon a few years experience and quite a bit of Bible study. The first and most important thing to say up front is this – DO NOT try to minister in this area on your own or without someone of experience with you. Only the very experienced will attempt this on their own. It is always better to have two or more people so that each can confirm the others as the process is followed.

Anyone can have a demon. In not-yet-Christians a demon can lodge himself anywhere. In Christians he can only lodge himself in the flesh or soul, but not in the spirit because, the Bible tells us, that is where the Holy Spirit has His residence – where Holy and un-holy cannot mix. 

Many times, we would never know that someone has a demon at all unless the demon manifests his presence, thus identifying the fact that he is there. They do this in a variety of ways which have to be learnt by experience, but demons do show their presence by manifesting in one way or another. The next step is identifying the demon. Again this is done by experience although a demon will also identify itself if you work at it. By far the most common means of identification is by words of knowledge given to the person ministering or those assisting. Again much of this comes by experience and practice.

An interesting facet of deliverance ministry is that of the legality of a demons presence. He is there quite legally in an unsaved person and deliverance ministry in their case is most inadvisable. As it says in scripture, if the house is not swept clean, then you may throw him out but he will return with seven more nasty than him. Also, a person may unwittingly give the demon permission to be there. This has to be rescinded before deliverance can take place

One early step to take in deliverance is binding and loosing. Jesus said that what we bind on earth is bound in heaven and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. So we bind demons and loose the Holy Spirit to do His work. After this, the job of identifying can start – if it hasn’t already been done. In many cases, there is more than one demon and each one has to be identified and dealt with. Often the demon is linked with past sins or pre-salvation experiences. A demon can “lie dormant” for years before he manifests himself. 

Each demon and associated past experience (sin) has to be dealt with separately. The sin must be specifically repented and renounced – the demon too. This can be a lengthy process if done at the same time as “soul ties”. A soul tie is usually formed when an ungodly or unbiblical relationship is  entered into. The “tie” remains for years after the relationship is long gone and has to be dealt with in the same way as we deal with a demon.

The only way to deal with a demon is to bind him, cast him out, and loose Holy Spirit into the space he leaves behind. This can take a while as many demons are very reluctant to leave, often having been comfortable where they are for a considerable time. An experienced minister will know when success has been achieved, although some demons make quite a noisy fuss when forced to leave. It is different with every case.

As previously noted, deliverance ministry should not be entered into lightly, nor alone, nor with little or no training or experience. Deliverance ministry can be described as “hard core Christianity at its most dangerous” because, just like the spooky books – albeit much more rarely – the demon can turn round and enter the delivering minister. Don’t be put off by this. Cover yourself with prayer and if possible have others praying elsewhere. Seek training and experience with a good team. Watch and learn but be eager to join in when invited.

Jesus did tell us to do it - didn’t He?

Activation part 2 - Healing

Activating Healing

As with any of the gifts of the Spirit, there is contention over healing today. I would like to say, here and now, that God does not change; He is our healer; He wants to heal even more than we want to be healed; He does heal today. I have been privileged to witness more healing, all medically attested, than most people can shake a stick at, and there are those who make my experiences pale to utter insignificance.

God heals today.

Let’s look at some scriptures to put some meat on this skeleton

Exodus 15:26 “For I am the Lord who heals you.”

Psalm 103:3 “who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.”

Isaiah 53:5 “and by His wounds we are healed.”

Matthew 8:16 “When evening came . . . . . he healed all who were ill.”

Matthew 9:35 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness.”

Mark 16:18 “They will place their hands on people who are ill, and they will get well.”

The Word of God has a clear word and confirmation that healing is high on God’s menu sheet. Then Jesus said this, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ “ Matthew 28:18-20 

He gave us that same authority that He had in healing. However, in Matthew 8:5-13 He also clearly shows that in order for us to lay hold of this same healing power, we must have faith. Yet even then there are certain things that will prevent healing.

Lack of faith is probably the main block to healing. Then comes sin. The Bible clearly tells us that sin in our lives closes the door to healing because healing is by the power of Holy Spirit, and the holy, Holy Spirit, cannot live alongside the un-holy, sin. Finally, for much the same reasoning, unforgiveness of sin by us or against us will also prevent healing. The Bible says that God will not forgive us unless we also forgive those who sin against us. Even if we are forgiven of our sin, if we retain hurt and offense at those who sin against us, then we remain unforgiven in terms of receiving healing. I.E. – it wont happen.

The process and prayers or declarations of healing avail us nought if we are not fit to be healed by our Holy Healer. When we are all cleaned up then He can clean us of our sicknesses. As it says in Psalm 103:3 “who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.” Notice the sequence – forgiveness then healing.

Simple as that !!!

Activating Part 1 - Prophecy

Activating Prophecy

I have written before about activating prophecy but it seems the message has yet to get through, or penetrate the deep theological and doctrinal objections to anything prophetic. So, I believe the Lord is calling me once again to encourage people to not ignore what little or lots of prophecy that happens to come their way.

One of the main issues with prophecy is that people don’t understand it well enough to act upon it. There is also a credibility gap to hurdle, and there is a vast amount of ignorance as to what exactly to do with a prophetic word. I may be teaching Granny to suck eggs here, but please bear with me and allow me to open up my very own “Beginners Guide to Receiving Prophecy”.

What is prophecy? – Prophecy is either a revelation of something now or, more commonly, it is a revelation of something for the future. It is not telling your future, more of a telling you what God has in store for you IF certain things happen. It has no time limit.

The first thing is to somehow record it and write it down. This is of great importance and ensures accuracy of reporting and of memory. It is essential to be clear when recording prophecy so as to be able to pray about it accurately.

All prophecy must line up with the Word of God. If it doesn’t it isn’t from God so it must be tested against scripture. A prophecy will never go against either God’s written word or His spoken word. God’s Word is true and so is prophecy.

Next, it is essential to pray about it. Ask God for confirmation, particularly if it is something new. Prophecy only rarely speaks into the future other than to confirm things you have heard, or dreamed about, or thought about before. If it is a new prophecy, then the Bible says to get it confirmed by two or three witnesses before acting on it. If confirming things, prophecy is often stunningly accurate in revealing things that have never been spoken about or revealed to anyone other than the one receiving the prophetic word.

Too often, this is the end of prophecy because people to whom we prophesy frequently sit back and just wait for the prophecy to happen. It very rarely does until one receives it – takes it on board as God’s will for our lives - then believes it for oneself. Only when we receive it and believe it can we pray for it to happen as prophesied, and only then will God activate it and cause it to come to pass. I find it amazing how so many people receive the prophecy then, having done nothing whatsoever about it, complain that it didn’t happen and must have been false.

This step is the “If .... then” step which governs all prophecy. If we do certain things, then God will do certain things as outlined in the prophetic word. The “if”, for us, is to weigh the word against scripture, to receive the word, to believe the word, and to pray the word into being. The Bible calls this latter, ‘calling things into being that were not.’ (Romans 4:17)

Having said all of this, it may now be an idea to recall, or ask God to remind you, of all previous prophecies that we have received so that they can be activated. It is never too late to enter into a call God made on your life – no matter how long ago this may have been.

If God gave you his prophetic word, it is good for as long as it takes for it to happen – provided we play our part too.

What a Ride

What a Ride

When the Lord calls me home, I don’t want to go quietly. I want to arrive in heaven in a rush and skid in sideways in a cloud of dust yelling “Yahoo – what a ride” I want to be really excited about what I just left behind almost as much as I want to be excited at what I just started to experience.

Do you get excited about doing or being even a small part of God’s work here on earth? Does it excite you when you see or hear or experience real worship in the Spirit? I love to see dancing in worship. I love to hear singing in the Spirit or even to sing in the Spirit myself. I’m not that impressed by hundreds of people line-dancing like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh – but then I don’t have that sort of energy. Boing-boing-Worship-worship; Boing-boing-Worship-worship doesn’t do it for me although I do enjoy watching those with the energy bouncing around like battery operated pogo sticks. Yes – we are a ‘happy-clappy’, Spirit filled and lively church but this is more than usual.

I get excited when God manifests His presence with loud singing and dancing in the Spirit. I get excited when I hear a good prophetic word followed by 2 or 300 people going into spontaneous intercession – usually in their prayer tongues. I don’t know about your church, but in ours, we talk about a really good Spirit led meeting for days afterwards and we all get excited at the prospect of the next meeting. We have often been so excited by a meeting that we are on a ‘high’ for hours afterwards.

I get excited watching the little ones, usually the under-5’s, start dancing with the flags; holding their little arms and hands skywards – just worshipping our God. Oh, that is so anointed and so special. We recently had our drummers 18 month old son grab a mike and, hands in the air, joined in with the worship. A real show stopping tear-jerker of a moment – and he was totally oblivious. That child was singing and worshipping with all his little heart.

I get excited by our youth leaders accounts of goings on in their meetings – especially the big events and so-called ‘kids Alpha’ for teenagers. I get even more excited when over half of the baptism candidates are teenagers. I love it when one of them announces he is convicted over his use of his i-phone or i-pad during meetings.

Can you not see that the Lord is doing something extraordinary among our young people; even more than He is doing among the over 30’s?? There is still a reticence among the slightly older crowd that you don’t see among the teens. There is a wide-eyed expectancy among the teens that you don’t see among the older group.

There is an exuberance among the young that, perhaps, we have lost – but I believe it is only a temporary loss. There is a growing excitement about the things of God that not-yet-Christians just cannot understand. There is a difference in being ‘dunk in the Spirit’ as against being drunk on alcohol that the unsaved really struggle with accepting. There is something sufficiently different about today’s young Christians that just may be the key to unlocking revival.

Now that really could be different and it would be exciting too.