Memories

Memories

We all have memories both good and bad and we are, I suspect, somewhat selective in our recall or otherwise of them. We all have treasured memories too – those favourite  memories, particularly of when our children and grand children were young. Also high on the list are the memories of happy times when all the family or friends gathered for special occasions like weddings or baby dedications and so on. For some of us, there are academic and/or sporting memories, too. Maybe musical memories – I have quite a number of CD’s and old vinyl records. There used to be a lot more but that’s another story – a bad memory.

So, as it’s that time of year, I thought I’d share a couple of memories from the past almost seventy years (!!! That old already??) So, what shall I choose? Something from schooldays – no you don’t want to hear all about my near sporting fame nor my academic “achievements”.  You’d laugh with me at the memory of my sisters kids, city dwellers, finding a frog in the country near us when they came to visit.

So let me start with a very fond Christmas memory. My boys were 5 and 2 at the time and we managed to get them through to about 7 a.m. before the usual Christmas morning riot started. The oldest stood jumping up and down in his excitement dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown – face all aglow, just waiting the signal to go downstairs to find out if Father Christmas had left anything for them. He rushed down when given the nod. There was about a 10 second silence, and he suddenly shot back upstairs again – face absolutely glowing with excitement. He went over to his little brother and said, excitedly, “He’s been, Iain, he’s been!” If only I had had a camera ready for that moment.

A few years later, his son, our grandson, was on his first sleep-over with Grandad. At night, we just thought to let him play until he dropped, but he surprised us by announcing suddenly, “I’m going to bed now Grandad,” I knelt to pray with him/for him/over him – too late. He was snoring, but I prayed anyway. Next morning, we heard shuffling sounds about 05:50 – quite early for us – but we kept our heads down pretending to be asleep. In he came, round to my side of the bed. Suddenly, I felt a little hand actually gently open my eye. I saw this smiling shining little face beaming at me – “It’s morning Grandad – It’s morning.” All the joy of a brand new exciting day lay before him as he “woke” us up.

Finally, in 2010, I went over to Texas to bring my bride back to the UK. We had to have a licence of course, so off we went to the local County Court Clerk’s Office. In due course we were rewarded with the requisite piece of paper all signed and sealed and a copy was dutifully lodged with the authorities. Off we went to celebrate at the nearest coffee house. As it happened, this was an emporium not unknown to us Brits – Subway. Finishing our drinks, we happily left – not a care in the world. Until, that is, another customer chased us out waving our licence and saying, “Did you leave something?” All was well that ended well – we married three days later in a chapel in the hospital where my bride worked.

So ends this trip down memory lane. Blessed memories – blessed moments in time – we are blessed people. 

Merry Christmas everyone.

Mysterious Ways

Mysterious Ways

From the moment Linda and I realised that we were called together by God, we have wondered why? Our meeting at all was a miracle of technology with God’s fingerprints all over it. Our moving to this area and joining this church also had God’s mark on it too. The big question was always – why? What is the reason? What on earth had He got in store for us?

Linda’s background is prayer and deliverance. Mine is prophecy and healing. Not a bad match, as things go, but still the questions hung in the air. Knowing we were coming to a bigger church, we determined to keep as low a profile as possible, saying as little as possible about ourselves. Well that one was blown out of the water before we even got here! The friend who had been so helpful in getting us here had told everyone, it seems, about us and our ministries. As it turned out, this did us a great big favour on day one as a situation came up and we were immediately ‘invited’ to minister. We were uneasy about this as nobody in the leadership team had a clue about us apart from whatever they had been told before we got here. So we went to them and asked their advice. This pleased them greatly and we seemed to be immediately accepted into the rank and file of the church.

Still the questions dogged us and occupied a deal of our prayer life. We joined in whatever we were invited to join and we got kinda busy. Being retired this was fine but even so we were very busy. Then I was asked to mentor a young man, fresh out of prison, homeless and jobless. Around the same time, we were invited to help with a group of similar people – disadvantaged, hurt, lonely, and usually jobless. Thus began a journey of learning to love, honour, and respect these people whilst trying to help them change their life around too.

Emotionally and psychologically it was exhausting but God was changing us, moulding us, and moving us into the place He wanted us. Eventually, we were asked to start a home group for the hurt and wounded – those very wary of the church and very ‘tender’ as far as Christianity is concerned. Then it started to become clear where God had us heading – towards these hurting and wounded groups – many wounded by their life style and many also wounded by the church.

All this while, the church had been running a charity shop and café as both an outreach into the town and as a funding vehicle for various charities close to their hearts. The founders of this charity were about to retire and the trustees sought to replace them so they advertised the jobs. We were approached but laughed it off – until the Lord woke me one night at 04:00a.m. and for two hours poured vision into me for the place. We took the hint. We applied, were interviewed, and were offered the job.

As the local objectives for this job are so close to our home group objectives, suddenly a few questions are being answered. Now we see quite clearly where God has been leading us. He has changed our hearts and our attitudes to a whole group of people we might previously have eschewed. He has led us deeper and deeper into His purposes for both us and for our church. In short, He has been leading us towards being the church and not just talking about it.

God still does move in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.

False Christianity

False Christianity

Do you know the people I feel most sorry for? It’s not the atheists with their stubborn denial of anything to do with any god, anywhere. It’s not the not-yet-Christians in their lost state or their false pride or even in their addictions and bondage. It’s not the followers of other gods or any kind of false religion. It’s not even those Christians in dead churches following a dead religion wrapped in legalism.

No – the people I feel most sorry for are those who practice a false Christianity. Usually it’s a form of genuine Christianity tainted by mis-quoted values and beliefs. But why feel sorry for these people? Because the Word says that, to some people, Jesus will say, “I did not know you.” And I really don’t want this to be those living a false Christianity.

I know that Jesus also tells us that if they are not against us then they are for us but He also tells them to stay on the narrow path through the narrow gate and I cannot help but think of those who seem to worship money as much as they worship the Lord, or those who preach equality of religions or many ways to God. I fear I am speaking yet again about those who practice and follow prosperity teaching, and those who preach Chrislam. They are in this mix, but so too are others who perhaps preach a separatist gospel or even sole authority for the church. Even self appointed guardians of faith or revival are not exempt from the group.

Anyone who distorts and twists biblical teaching or takes authority only given to Christ is in danger. These are they to whom the Lord may well say, “Away from me. I did not know you.” What a dreadful thing to hear – it is the one thing I dread. After believing all my Christian life that I am serving my Lord and Saviour – to hear those dread words. Oh the agony! This is why we must all be careful where we place our trust and our faith. It must be in Jesus Christ alone, Him crucified for our sin and salvation, risen, and sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Who, with the Father and Holy Spirit , is our triune God-head.

These alone are our salvation through Grace – the free and loving free gift – not earned in any way – reuniting a fallen world with our Creator and our Saviour. Oh Lord, that I should never offend or grieve You again. But that will not happen until I am joined with you; until I cast my crown before You in worship and adoration. Forgive me Lord, for my indiscretions are many but with Your Spirit’s help Lord, I will improve.

Lord - Let my Christianity be both genuine and biblical. Let it not be tainted by issues straight from the enemy’s camp. Let it be the truth, scripturally, and with the love of my Saviour fresh every morning. Let my lamp always be full and my wick trimmed ready for use to light the Bridegrooms way. Let my light shine so as to attract people who do not yet know You, and let my love for my neighbour never waver nor dim. Let my love for You, Lord, grow every day and show every day so that it’s You that people see – not me.

His Promises to Me

His Promise to Me

As I sat listening to Christmas unwrap itself on the radio, TV, and internet, through song and usually meaningless “schmaltz” – way away from the real heart of Christmas – the Lord spoke to me through His Word. Ezekiel 36:26  "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "

I got to thinking about this and, as I did so, I came to the realisation that God has been fulfilling this wonderful promise in me over the last few years, and especially in the last 18 months since we came to our present home and church. I got to thinking about the changed lives I had seen recently. People, just ordinary people, who have lived far from perfect lives thus far, being changed and softened by the love of God.

I can truly say that I once was . . . . . but now I am . . . . .

I once was selfish but now I am not so selfish any more.

I once was quite rude to people but I no longer am quite so bad.

I once was arrogant but now I don’t think I am.

I once was harsh and judgemental and I try very hard now not to be – I’ve seen too many changes in both me and in others.

I once put me first but now I don’t.

I can put my hand on my heart and say that I was once all of these things and many more, yet now, somehow by the indwelling power of Holy Spirit, I have been changed – just as He promised.

I once looked down on the less fortunate. Me - born to a poor family in London, the son of a lowly bus driver, thought some people were beneath me. Now the Lord has given me a ministry to these wonderful people. My heart simply goes out to them, especially when I see the changes the Lord brings to their lives. Me – who went to grammar school on a scholarship – who has half a decent brain – thought these very ordinary folk whom life had treated so harshly – I thought them beneath my level of social standing. Me – with all the advantages of half a brain – but who wasted his entire education chasing the sporting dream and who had to start at the very bottom.

I looked down on people but God said to me, directly, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."  I have seen Him do this in others too – replace hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. Golden hearts you might say because these old hard hearts have been replaced with compassionate and loving hearts.

Perhaps that is what this passage really means. God takes our old hard, selfish heart and replaces it with a heart full of love and compassion – a heart with God’s love for  all, especially the lost and fallen, the hurt and bound, the broken and damaged – those with less or even nothing. That’s who God would have us care for. These are they to whom we are sent.

It would do every church a great deal of good to remember that no-one is beyond the Gospel. No-one is so far removed from God that He cannot reach them with His love – maybe through you and me.

Are you being called too?

Closer & Closer

Closer and closer

What a warning for us!! Quite appropriate, it seems to me, with all the blether about the world ending, it does us good to remind ourselves of that which is to come. Don’t take my word for it – it is in God’s Word – several times! We can start off by saying that the end has two very different phases – the rapture and the return.

The rapture is encapsulated in these two scriptures

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

1 Thessalonians 4:17 “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Then the return and judgement is summed up first by this

Malachi 3:1-3 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.  But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men  who will bring offerings in righteousness,”

Then by this

Rev 20:11-15 The Great White Throne Judgment, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,  and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.  The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Gets kinda scary doesn’t it? But only scary for those whose names are not written in the Lambs Book of Life – i.e. those who did not receive their free gift of salvation, offered through Jesus Christ by His atonement for us at Calvary.

I have the strongest feeling and sense that these prophecies are all about to start coming to pass. Yes, I believe it. That Jesus is about to come for His Bride and we shall all “meet Him in the clouds” and go to be with Him forever.

Why do I believe all this? Because God’s Word says so – that’s why.