About this traveller

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London, United Kingdom
Follower of Jesus. Husband. Father. Son. Poet. Writer. Preacher. Story-teller. Learner. Pilgrim.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Build

An architect designs a grand building. He draws the plans, rolls them out on a rough wooden table in the middle of a muddy field, and then begins making bricks. He makes a brick and lays it on the ground. He makes another and places it beside the first. This continues until a wall is begun.

What is wrong with this picture?

You got it... the architect is involved in the building of his masterpiece, but he does not do it alone.

Jesus said to Peter, "...you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

Jesus is the architect of the Church - the Church is his building project, not ours. Youth ministry belongs to God, not us. But he does say to Peter that he will build the Church using him. Peter has just declared that Jesus is truly the son of God, and Jesus tells him he will build the Church on that truth.

But even more, Jesus uses those of us that will confess Jesus is the son of God to the glory of God the Father. He wants to use us. In fact at one point he said "the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few". We are his workers. We are his co-builders.

Will we commit our lives to building the Church of Christ with our confession of him, and our service to him? May we build the kingdom to the glory of God the father.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

So Much More

Recently I was in Whitby with my family. As we chatted we enjoyed space and time and we looked out to the horizon. It struck my wife that there is always so much more to see than what our eyes see in the horizon.

I thought about that as the next few hours passed by.

There is so much more.

These words hung in my mind, haunting me with their mystery.

There is so much more.

There is so much more.

Our horizon
I'm thinking about the horizon. And I'm thinking about how far the world stretches beyond it. And as I think I realise something. There is so much more to God. We think we have him labelled. We think we know Him. We believe we understand him. And I realise we are wrong. There is so much more to God. We've settled for a God as big as a harbour when he is bigger than the oceans.

The Bible says of God,

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable"

How big is God? Huge! He’s bigger than we can ever know. We cannot confine him or define him. We cannot think all there is to think about him or know all there is to know about him - but we can journey into him to know him better.

Are we content with our knowledge and experience of God? Can I encourage us to leave the safety of our ‘harbour thinking’ and adventure into the horizon with God? I am longing for so much more of God. I am discontent to be where I am in God. I want him more - so much more. I cannot contain him with my peanut brain. I am longing to travel with God into the unknown so that I can know him more.

The horizon is only the beginning. It's the first step in the journey. At the end of that horizon where we know God that bit better, we are bound to see that the horizon is still ahead of us - there is so much more and there always will be, but the journey to the end of the horizon will teach us amazing things about God as we grow in our knowledge and experience of him.

Dream. Pray. Ask. Seek. Knock. God will reveal himself in the so much more as we journey into him.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Restless

My wife and I slept so badly last night so today we are tired and grumpy. Not a brilliant way to start a blog - I know. Not very encouraging - I know. Not very interesting - I know!

But it got me thinking about what makes me tired. I am tired. But it's not just the lack of sleep. I'm tired of the status quo. I'm tired of going through the spiritual motions just so theat I can feel good about my faith, yet attaining little for the kingdom of God. I want something more! How about you?

I was playing guitar and screeching like a cat the other day and I began singing a Matt Redman song I know from about ten years ago. The words went:

We will give ourselves no rest
till your kingdom comes on earth;
you've positioned watchmen on the walls.
Now our prayers will flow like tears,
for you've shaed your heart with us;
God of heaven, on our knees we fall.


As I sang the song I began to feel restless for God's kingdom to come here on earth as in heaven. Can you feel that restlesness within you? You know there is so much more that God wants to do through his Church in his world. I'm convinced that God does not want us to settle for the status quo. There are thousands in our home towns that are lost without hope and without God. They need Christ's help. They need a Church that rises in the power of the Spirit with healing in her wings. They need to hear God's word preached passionately and with power. They need God's kingdom to be proclaimed as it was in the apostle's day.

God chose us to be his messengers of hope to a hurting world. We should be restless to see God bring that hope through us.

May our restlessness give way to prayer that cries out for God to move in power. And may we draw strength and courage from his word to hold onto the promise of the coming kingdom. May we be restless enough to go into all the world with Christ's hope.

Lord let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Enthusiasm

I love to be enthused about something that really counts. I am especially enthusiastic about loving God and sharing that with others. In fact I've been accused at times of being too enthusiastic (as if that were possible!). I am convinced that as followers of Jesus we should be enthusiastic about loving God and loving others. We should be enthusiastic about seeking his face and understanding his word. We should be enthusiastic about sharing Christ Jesus with others. Enthusiasm is often mistaken for the shallowness of 'youthful zeal'. I'm at the stage of life that I am not sure I can really be called 'youthful' yet my 'enthusiasm' for God is not waning - rather it is growing the more I get to know God and grow in my understanding of his word.

So what is enthusiasm?

Webster's dictionary (1913 edition) gives the following definition:
Enthusiasm \En*thu"si*asm\, n. [Gr. ?, fr. ? to be inspired or
possessed by the god


There's a definition I can go for! When we are inspired by God and our lives belong to him we should naturally be enthused about all that he is and does. Perhaps the problem is not that some of us are enthusiastic, but rather most of us are unenthusiastic!

What are we to be enthusiastic about?

God. Think about it - he's the living creator of the universe; he holds the world in his hands; he's phenomonal; he's unconditionally loving; he's utterly uncontolable; he's indisposable; he's magnificently merciful; he's indescribable; he's all of this and so much more. Why should we not be enthusiastic about loving this God who has moved hell and high-water to be in loving relationship with us? - who sent his only son to the cross to die in our place! Why should we not be excited to speak of him? Why should we try to hide our admiration and adoration of him?

If the bible is true (and it is!) we have so much to be enthusiastic about. May we follow Jesus, love God and love others, with all the depth of devotion and enthusiasm that we possibly can.

Every blessing in Jesus

Monday, March 12, 2007

the need to pray

seems obvious to say it but we need to be praying. I'm working really hard at my youth work stuff - speaking, preaching, making a fool of myself for Christ, chatting, sharing, working, worshipping...

...it can be tiring as well as exciting stuff (and it's very exciting!). Yet, I see the real need is not for more activity or excitement - it's to be where God is. It's to be seeking his face rather than his blessing. It's to be quiet...listening...learning from the wisest in the universe. To be with God...in relational prayer.

In Exodus 3 Moses has the most exciting meeting with the living God. It both excites and terrifies him (God can be like that! youth work can be like that!), but then God began to share the burden of his heart with Moses. He told of a people crying out for freedom. How we need to listen to our father's heart to hear his concern for those crying out for spiritual and physical freedom. How we need our hearts to be broken for God.

Then our work will have purpose - because God will show us the needs and...ask us to help. He will show us what TO DO. Our doing must be preceded by waiting and listening to God.

May we wait upon the Lord so that he will show us the stuff he wants done - then we will speak, preach, making fools of ourselves for Christ, chat, share, work and worship AS UNTO GOD. And I'm sure we will love doing it!!

Let's pray...