Ok…I’m back blogging with a confession to make… a confession that only a few people really know about.  I have to confess that I’m a secret hip-hopper (if that’s even a term?!)  I like a lot of music, but the music in my ears pumpin’ out the beats most frequently at the moment is hip hop (I blame DVC for this!). I’ve become a big fan of Lecrae, a Christian hip-hop artist. He has a song called ‘Don’t Waste Your Life’ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RWEllqh5J0&feature=related

Great song, decent wee video too…

What about these lyrics from the song:

While I’m here livin’ man I gotta ask why,
What am I here for I gotta figure out,
Waste my life, no I gotta make it count,
If Christ is real then what am I gonna do about,
Everything in Luke 12:15 down to 21 ya really gotta go and check it out,
Paul said if Christ aint resurrected we wasted our lives,
Would that imply that our lives drift around Jesus being alive,
Everyday I live I try to show the world why,
Christ is more than anything I’d ever try…

I’m coming off the back of a busy summer of activity, lots of teams, lots of missions, all sorts of stuff.  All good stuff.  And now, as I look ahead to another busy year of youth ministry I echo what Lecrae says: While I’m here livin’ man I gotta ask why, what am I here for I gotta figure out, waste my life, no I gotta make it count…

As the question sometimes crops up - why?  Why bother serving God?  Why spend a life lived this way, living for Jesus?  Why…when I could spend my time doing other things?  The answer comes rushing to me again and the answer excites me:- JESUS IS ALIVE.  ‘Paul said if Christ aint resurrected we wasted our lives’. Because Jesus is alive, we are alive in Him, our faith is alive, the mission we are on is alive and this life we are living becomes the most exciting adventure to be on as we ’show the world why…’

Wherever you find yourself today:  Don’t waste Your Life.  Make it count.

I’m just home from being part of an SU team at New Horizon (7 day Christian conference) in Coleraine.  I’ve truly had an amazing week working with an amazing team and we encountered some amazing young people.  A song that I sang for the first last week is left ringing in my ears. I’ve included the lyrics and a link below for you to look at.  You’ve maybe heard it before…worth a read and listen…

We saw and we encountered the unfailing love of God last week in all that we did and I truly believe that God was with us every step of the way and that great things will happen in the lives of many who were part of what went on.  No matter where you are at in your own faith journey, read these verses, read these lyrics and listen to the song…this is a love that never fails.

Psalm 36:7
How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 52:8
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.

Psalm 107:8
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men…

Psalm 130:7
…put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.

Your Love Never Fails

Verse 1:
Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes, but
You have new mercy for me everyday
Your love never fails

Chorus:
You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night
But joy comes in the morning
And when the oceans rage
I don’t have to be afraid
Because I know that you love me
And your love never fails

Verse 2:
The wind is strong and the water’s deep, but
I’m not alone here in these open seas
Cause your love never fails

The chasm was far too wide
I never thought I’d reach the other side
But your love never fails

Bridge: You make all things, work together for my good

For a link with lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVPr1fI7acM

Let’s be honest, sometimes the Bible isn’t always that easy to understand.

When you read the Old Testament and then turn ahead to the New it sometimes seems hard to see exactly why things happened the way they did and why God in the Old Testament seems to be so different to God in the New Testament.  It can sometimes seem a bit like this picture - it’s difficult to see how all the lines and paths exactly meet up…

So far this summer, I’ve had my head into the book of Lamentations.  Yeah, not always top of the Bible reading charts but I’ve persevered and managed to get through it with the aid of some good study notes.   At first glance the book of Lamentations seems to be all depression & gloom. But, as my notes pointed out, ‘the deeper the gloom, the more brightly the light shines’. As you read a book like Lamentations you confront the horror & terror of God’s wrath/judgement but alongside that you see the wonder of his mercy, and we can then see Jesus more clearly as the One who ultimately rescues us from that terror.

The Truth is, the God we read about in the NT is the same God with a new way.  That way was and is Jesus.  And when we look to Him and think of how we can be rescued from the doom and gloom that encloses us as people who are exposed to a world of so much evil, hurt, pain and sin, then in that gloom the more brightly the light shines.

I’m seeing again in a very fresh way how amazing God’s Word is.  Amazing and perfect.  And when you look closely enough into the Old stories, told so vividly and sometimes so graphically in a book like Lamentations, then if you spend long enough there, looking and listening, you will be pointed to the great Redeemer and Saviour:  Jesus Christ. It’s all about Him.

And in Him is where life and freedom are found.  Go and discover more of this for yourself…

I love this picture.  I came across it this week on one of my regularly reads (theresurgence.com)

‘Die with your boots on’ is actually the name of an Iron Maiden song from ‘83.  Not sure what it goes like…but here’s where I’m going with this…

We all live for something in life.  We all ‘give’ of ourselves to something.  It’s not always good.  Most things, even good things, will come and go.  Here’s the thing: as a Christian I believe that I am living for something that will last forever.  I’m living for a Kingdom that is eternal.  I’m living for something much bigger, much greater, much more powerful than I will ever know.  And I love it…

I’m going to be off on holiday for a couple of weeks but I want to leave you with this conviction burning inside me.  Here’s what’s going on in me: The more I live, the more convinced I become of what God has done through Jesus.  The more I live, the more I see the need for the radical difference that Jesus brings to my life and the world around me.  The more I live, the more I am captivated by this greatest of causes.  The more I live, the more I want to live for Jesus, to make His ways known, to be known as His.  And I am going to do this to the very end.  I am going to keep running this race.  I want to finish strong. I am going to keep persevering.  I am going to keep trusting, keep believing.  I am going to ‘die with my boots on’.

So, it’s Fathers Day this Sunday…don’t be forgettin’ about your dad!   Here’s some pics for the occasion…

I’ve been reminded tonight again about just how amazing the grace of God is.  The fact that he would want to know, and even use a scoundrel like me.  A dirty rotten sinful scoundrel.  Isn’t that really all we are as followers of Jesus…we are all just saved, dirty, rotten, sinful scoundrels!  The key word being saved.  Saved by Jesus.  Saved by his amazing grace.  We don’t deserve a life of forgiveness and purpose but he gives it to us.  Amazing grace. Amazing grace that demands an amazing response from our lives.

Sometimes we can spend too much time thinking about the cross of Christ and not enough time thinking about the life of Christ. Hear me right - it is good, very good, to think and dwell and let our thoughts rest on the cross - but we must also spend much time looking at, observing, thinking about and marveling at the life of Jesus.  While immersing ourselves in the love and mercy and grace found at the cross we should also seek to live a life like he lived.

In the Bible, the woman caught in adultery encountered head on the grace and mercy of Jesus when he declared to her, in light of her sexual sin,  “Then neither do I condemn you”.   Amazing grace.  But.  But.  But.  He tells her that there must now be an amazing response:  “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

If you are a follower of Jesus and claim to be his, then think for a few moments about the sin in your life.  Maybe you live a sexually immoral life before a holy God.   Maybe few people know about what you are really like when you’re alone.  Maybe in your life your tongue is always bad mouthing people and always used in tearing others down.  Maybe you lie a lot.  Maybe you’re always dishonest in the things you say to people.  Maybe you often get jealous of others and what they have.  Maybe you have broken relationships in your life right now…with a wife, husband, mother, father, brother, sister, child…

The list could go on.

Now think about the cross of Jesus and how it speaks mercy and forgiveness over your life, even when you’re up to your neck in this stuff.

But…

Don’t let it end there…

Amazing grace demands an amazing response.

What response does your life need to make to the grace of God?  What are you needing to move away from?  “Go now and leave your life of sin”. What does this mean for you?

For us to really shine brightly and reveal Jesus in this world we need people whose lives will respond in an amazing way to His amazing grace.

Struggling to read/study the Bible?

I really believe that there is nothing more important in a Christians life than spending time with God, listening for his voice and living out what we hear.  We don’t need to go to great, great lengths to hear God’s words for us.  The Bible is God breathed. The Bible is God speaking to us.

There is a great episode on the SUNI Schools Podcast called ‘Connecting’.  These are some of the ideas talked about on the Podcast.  Hopefully, you will find yourself drawn to one or more of these helpful ways of  engaging with God’s Word.

LIKE TO DRAW? Take a passage. Think about. Draw out what you read. This is good if you’re artistic.

LIKE TO TALK? Are you a conversationalist? A chatter? A talker? Meet once a week with a group of friends. Bring passages you’re reading. Talk about it over coffee/tea…

LIKE TO WRITE AND SCRIBBLE STUFF DOWN? Graffiti your thoughts as you read a passage. Write around it. Print off the passage (biblegateway.com). Put it in a good font. Read it and ‘scribble around’ it. Scribble thoughts. Underline words that strike you. Circle phrases that are repeated. Exclamation marks where God speaks a message directly to the people in the passage. Put a star at the bits you really like in the passage. Engage with the words.

LIKE TECHNOLOGY?  LIKE LISTENING TO STUFF ON YOUR COMPUTER/IPOD? Listen to good podcasts/messages online…SUNI Schools Podcast is a good place to start!   You can even find audio versions of the Bible if you would rather listen than read…find a good one.

LIKE TO JOURNAL? Thinking things over alot in your mind and writing your thoughts down in a journal is maybe something you do… why not read a passage, grab your journal, grab a pen…and spill out your thoughts. Write your thoughts down, speak to your journal. Write down your thoughts on questions like ‘what does this passage mean for me’?  Develop it to make it a prayer journal…

I hope something here is useful.  Try some of these things out.   Have you any other helpful hints or ideas?  What good podcasts have you listened to?  Leave some comments.

Today I had Caleb (our oldest boy, nearly 2) at the pool for a swim.  Now, I tend to be quite a cautious Dad.  I try to prevent Caleb falling if I possibly can, I’m always on the lookout for potential danger…basically, I tend to be a wee bit too protective…and maybe it’s not always such a good thing.

Anyway, back to the pool…

We started off as usual: Caleb and I in the water, me very close by…on full alert, doing my best to make sure the wee man doesn’t get in to any danger.  Well, about 10 mins in to today’s swim Caleb got out of Daddy’s arms reach, he stumbled and went under for about a second!!  His whole head went under and when he resurfaced he was spluttering and coughing…nightmare.  I thought the swim could be over before we really even got started.  But…to my surprise and amusement Caleb spat all the water he could get back out and…smiled.  A big grin too…the kind of smile that lights up his whole face.  From that moment on he began to really enjoy himself.  The water was no longer just so worrying.  He seemed more confident.  I began to let go of him.  To be honest, I felt I was taking a bit of a risk knowing that at any moment he could stumble back under.  But the wee man was having a ball!!  As I let him go he just took off…he stormed about the pool, he splashed, he jumped…up and down the slide he went.  His confidence just seemed to grow by the minute.  I must add that I never left him, what kind of dad would I be if I did?!  I was never far away…but I let him take off.   An hour and a half later we left the pool.  So much fun.  Late for dinner.  Cross Mummy.  But hey, we had a ball..

I came home and couldn’t help but think how good a time we had.  I felt that as a Dad I need to be a bit more ‘risky’ with my boys…let them go a bit…they need to ’spread their wings’ as they grow and develop.  They need me to put my trust in them as they live with a bit more ‘risk’; but as I do that they need me to always be close by.  Surely this will help them grow into the men I’d love to see them become?

Is this the way God is with us?  He wants us to ’spread our wings’ (spiritually speaking).  To take risks.  To go a bit deeper.  To follow through with some of the plans and visions he puts on our hearts.  Maybe he is just urging us to believe and to go for it.

Maybe he wants you to believe in Him for the first time?   To put your trust in Him and start living for the greatest cause there could ever be?

Or maybe you are a Christian and there is stuff that you know you need to do…

As God captures our hearts, as He lets us go at it, and as we have fun and find adventure exploring those plans, dreams and visions, He is never far away.  He is the Father that loves us.

What risks does he want you to take as you put you trust in Him?

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. [Luke 5:4-7]

I have been massively challenged over the last couple of days.   Our church are spending a week out in the local community going round the streets, knocking doors, asking people about church, about faith…about Jesus.   I was out last night (with my partner, Mr Sharks).  We set off for our area for the night and knocked on the first door with anticipation.  With our first row of homes being pensioners bungalows the response wasn’t great…then…the first guy to open the door was a blind man.  We chatted briefly, handed him a postcard with some info on it that he said he would get his friend to read to him…then he had to go…his dinner was ready!!  Nonetheless, our first contact of the evening was made.  We knocked a few more doors with no joy until a door opened and we were greeted by a lady in a wheelchair.  She warmly welcomed us to come into the kitchen where we met her husband, also in a wheelchair.  We chatted.  We very quickly discovered that they were Christians and loved Jesus.  They expressed how they believed God had brought us to the home…they shared how they couldn’t get out to do what we were doing but that God had brought us to them!  In return they felt they could be a blessing to us as we headed back out.   And, my goodness, we were blessed!  The husband prayed for us…and God really spoke through him…we were really touched by the whole experience and left the house feeling that we had all the strength and all the power to do whatever God was wanting us to do.  We met and talked and talked to many people that evening…it was a privilege.  People need to talk about Jesus.  They need his followers to speak up.  I’m always a fan of trying to build relationships first before talking about Jesus with people…but sometimes people just need to hear - there and then.  Right there and then, at first contact.

On this occasion we were built up and thrust into action by an encounter with a blind man first…and then this amazing encounter with a wheelchair bound couple.  Got me thinking about the parable below that Jesus taught.  Some questions to ponder…What are your excuses if you’re like those in the story??  Who around you is making the excuses??  Or…who is hearing about Jesus from you…?

The Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14): 15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18″But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19″Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20″Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21″The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22″ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23″Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ “

Well, this is my first blog in along time.  On the 19th December - Day 19 of my blog project (Project 25) - our wee baby boy Joel was taken into hospital where he remained until the 23rd, fighting off a severe case of bronchiolitis.   He has made a full recovery and is doing really well.  On reflection I’m just so thankful he is well.  Thankful to God, thankful to the RVH…thankful for all those who were of help around this time, thankful for everyone who was praying.  This thought remains with me though - God is still good, even when things don’t work out as everyone would hope.  Easier said than lived out, right?  But amazingly it is true…

The beginning of January has been really busy.  Looking ahead.  Planning.  Dreaming.  Scheming.  Seeking…

I’m excited about the year ahead.  I’m also nervous.  I’m desperate as well.  It excites me to think what could be in my life and in the lives of those I work with and minister to.  But it also makes me nervous to think of what could be in my life and the lives of those I work with and minister to.

I am desperate.  I have a feeling of desperation in my stomach!   The culture we live in today opens so many doors for us and for the young people I work with.  Our media saturated world opens so many doors in the minds of not just young people today but people of all ages.   The world is relentlessly weaving its patterns all around us and its easy to get lost in the middle of it all.  And yet over and over again in recent days I hear the Holy Spirit whisper in my ear…‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…’

And so into 2010 the fight is as on as it ever was.  The battle continues and my desperate cry is for a people to rise up who will live out Christ right into the middles of todays culture and the challenges it brings.  Maybe 2010 will be a year of less conforming and more transformation.