Being a bloke, i often get told that I am never going to be great at multi-tasking. I think it is a gift, i also think that most women are great at it. But i think i can hold my own, i think that even the most lowly of men (i.e. me) can train myself to do two things at once. Now i know that i can't rub my tummy and pat my head, i know that that is beyond me, but right now, believe you and me, i am multi tasking at this very minute. As i am typing this blog i am, yes wait for it, I am watching a DVD. lol, yeah ok so i am probably not really multi tasking, but like i say i am a bloke.
Last week, i was at the youth alpha conference, and was listening to Mike Pilivachi and he said something that i found really challenging. If you follow our tweet @nottinghamyfc you will have already heard it, but he said ' If you just read the Bible you will dry up, if you just follow the Spirit you will blow up, but if you put them together you will grow up.'
Going round lots of churches and speaking at different fellowships over the years, you do seem to see people favouring either the Bible or the Holy Spirit. Me myself, i am a raving penty and so do know i put a lot of emphasis on God's spirit, because He is what God sent us to help us to be in a relationship with Him, and therefore he helps us to communicate with our father in heaven. But to have the Holy Spirit without the bible would be, and is in some circles, dangerous and not what God would want for us and our faith. The Bible, i also see in so many fellowships, become a God on it's own. Let's face it, there are some really hard things in the bible to get your head round, and often i can end up reading it and feeling like there is nothing in it for me.
So when we do faith, when we journey in our faith it is good to remember that God knew it would be difficult, God know we would struggle. That is why He left His Spirit, because He knew. So let us not neglect what God has given us, both His word and His Spirit.
See how you do, and even if you struggle, go on try multi tasking.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Do we give God the credit?
In quite a few Churches across the UK, over the last few years there has been a song that has been sung: ' you give and take away, you give and take away, but my heart will gladly say ' blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be His name'' . I don't know whether i find it easier to forget God when times are good or when times are bad.
There are times in our life when things are going really well. I am not talking about when you are taking steps of faith and God is obviously there. No, cause they are times i know i thank God for what he does. For example when i started Nottingham YfC, we were living by faith and every meeting every school we started partnerships, every bit of money we got in, was given credit to God. It was obvious.
What i am talking about is when things are going well, we start to take things for granted and we are comfortable with where we are. We seem to forget about past struggles and what God does for us to keep us in that place, day to day miracles, conversations etc.
So we would think that when bad times happen, then we would remember God and ask Him to help us, to guide us, to comfort us. But we don't do we? Our default tends to be to blame God. To tell Him it was all His fault. I have been continually reminded and challenged by a news article i saw 2 days after the Haiti disaster, it was a group of Christians that were just praising God, and as they were interviewed they said that whatever happens God is their father in heaven, and that they didn't understand why, but they knew that God would be there to comfort.
WOW what an interview, how can we forget about God? How can we blame Him for the bad stuff that happens? I know from my experience that a lot of the stuff that goes wrong in my life is my fault, then other things that are hard can be attributed to people around me making strange decisions, and then there is the unexplainable bad things. But to blame God is a bit of a cop out. How can i claim that God is love and then say it is His fault for things that are wrong?
Not just the things that don't go the way i want, but things that are fundamentally wrong. I would be a hypocrite then.
So yes, things don't always go well, I don't get things right, but whether life is good or bad, whether I have honoured God or dismissed Him in the past, i now choose to say 'Blessed be your name.'
There are times in our life when things are going really well. I am not talking about when you are taking steps of faith and God is obviously there. No, cause they are times i know i thank God for what he does. For example when i started Nottingham YfC, we were living by faith and every meeting every school we started partnerships, every bit of money we got in, was given credit to God. It was obvious.
What i am talking about is when things are going well, we start to take things for granted and we are comfortable with where we are. We seem to forget about past struggles and what God does for us to keep us in that place, day to day miracles, conversations etc.
So we would think that when bad times happen, then we would remember God and ask Him to help us, to guide us, to comfort us. But we don't do we? Our default tends to be to blame God. To tell Him it was all His fault. I have been continually reminded and challenged by a news article i saw 2 days after the Haiti disaster, it was a group of Christians that were just praising God, and as they were interviewed they said that whatever happens God is their father in heaven, and that they didn't understand why, but they knew that God would be there to comfort.
WOW what an interview, how can we forget about God? How can we blame Him for the bad stuff that happens? I know from my experience that a lot of the stuff that goes wrong in my life is my fault, then other things that are hard can be attributed to people around me making strange decisions, and then there is the unexplainable bad things. But to blame God is a bit of a cop out. How can i claim that God is love and then say it is His fault for things that are wrong?
Not just the things that don't go the way i want, but things that are fundamentally wrong. I would be a hypocrite then.
So yes, things don't always go well, I don't get things right, but whether life is good or bad, whether I have honoured God or dismissed Him in the past, i now choose to say 'Blessed be your name.'
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
what are we building?
Interesting thought, i was on twitter earlier this evening and saw this quote:
'We do not start churches to make disciples. We must make disciples, so that churches will start'
I am a big believer of the Church, and i have believed for a long time that the Church is Gods vehicle for evangelism. If you have read any of my earlier thoughts on here, you will know that i think that the Church is created more for those who aren't in it, than are.
I remember when Joel had started to be a little disobedient. He decided that he wasn't going to do as he was told, and was just going to do what he wanted to do. With this in mind he decided to rip his big sister's colouring book, while she was using it. This obviously didn't go down well with Amy and when Joel decided he wasn't going to say sorry, I put him on the naughty step (good thinking super nanny). In the end it was about me making Joel say sorry rather than him saying sorry for the right reason. It was the end product, rather than the process, that was what i was looking for. and i realise that it is one of my many faults as a dad is that i look at my kids and i expect them to do the right thin without understanding why they should do it.
I think sometimes our focus is the church rather than disciples. And the problem with that is that Christianity , our faith, becomes about organisations and not about people. The Kingdom of God becomes about geography and not about peoples hearts. This was the problem when Jesus came on the scene. Jews were expecting the Messiah was going to come and defeat the roman empire with the sword, but Jesus was more concerned with changing peoples hearts. There are times when you see Churches and organisations just trying to do anything to stay alive, their office, their building becomes their God, and the impact they have becomes less and less, because what they are about is about staying above water.
I pray more than ever that we (NYfC) do not spend more time in an office, doing admin, management and all the other peripherals, than we doing being and sharing Jesus to young people we work with.
Let us focus on what we are called to do, 'to go into the world and make disciples' and then we will see Churches grow as a bi product and we would really see God's kingdom grow.
'We do not start churches to make disciples. We must make disciples, so that churches will start'
I am a big believer of the Church, and i have believed for a long time that the Church is Gods vehicle for evangelism. If you have read any of my earlier thoughts on here, you will know that i think that the Church is created more for those who aren't in it, than are.
I remember when Joel had started to be a little disobedient. He decided that he wasn't going to do as he was told, and was just going to do what he wanted to do. With this in mind he decided to rip his big sister's colouring book, while she was using it. This obviously didn't go down well with Amy and when Joel decided he wasn't going to say sorry, I put him on the naughty step (good thinking super nanny). In the end it was about me making Joel say sorry rather than him saying sorry for the right reason. It was the end product, rather than the process, that was what i was looking for. and i realise that it is one of my many faults as a dad is that i look at my kids and i expect them to do the right thin without understanding why they should do it.
I think sometimes our focus is the church rather than disciples. And the problem with that is that Christianity , our faith, becomes about organisations and not about people. The Kingdom of God becomes about geography and not about peoples hearts. This was the problem when Jesus came on the scene. Jews were expecting the Messiah was going to come and defeat the roman empire with the sword, but Jesus was more concerned with changing peoples hearts. There are times when you see Churches and organisations just trying to do anything to stay alive, their office, their building becomes their God, and the impact they have becomes less and less, because what they are about is about staying above water.
I pray more than ever that we (NYfC) do not spend more time in an office, doing admin, management and all the other peripherals, than we doing being and sharing Jesus to young people we work with.
Let us focus on what we are called to do, 'to go into the world and make disciples' and then we will see Churches grow as a bi product and we would really see God's kingdom grow.
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