Tag: Jesus

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We are only meant to bring the loaves and fishes.

If you have been watching The Chosen then you might already know what I’m going to be posting this week.

In the live streams and a number of interviews Dallas has spoken about this.

He has stated several times that it’s not our place to make the miracle happen, we only need to bring the loaves and fishes.

It’s so true when you think about it.

We are not able to make any kind of miracle happen. It’s just not in us, regardless of what we might think.

The disciples were only asked to bring what they had, which turned out to be the loaves and fishes. They didn’t have to produce the miracle, that part was left to Jesus. But they were part of the miracle by bringing what they could, the loaves and fishes.

The same is still true for us today. We only need to do our part and leave the miracle to God.

The question is, will we do our bit?
Will we bring the loaves and fishes, or will we make our excuses?

If we do want to see God move in a greater way, then we need to be willing to bring the loaves and fishes.
Father wants to include us in his work and hence he asks us to bring what we can, the loaves and fishes.

Dallas also talks about, just because we bring the loaves and fishes, it doesn’t mean that the miracle will happen.

This can be a tough point for us.
After we have gone through the effort of bringing the loves and fishes, then we can tend to have this expectation that something will happen, after all, we’ve done what you asked for… didn’t we Father.

Sometimes we will feel as though, we have fallen flat onto our face, being left with the thought of, “What have I just done???”

If we have followed Fathers prompting, then we have done just what we need to. We might get to see what it was all about at a later date, or we might not, it’s all in Fathers hands.

Do we have a heart that wants to say yes to Father, just like the lady who danced in the park (one of my earlier posts)
The Lady who Danced

If we can all come to that place where we are all willing to bring our loaves and fishes, regardless of what happens, then how much more will we be helping Father to see his purpose fulfilled, not only in our lives but also in our wider communities.

Can you imagine a church were everyone is willing to bring their loaves and fishes to Father, regardless of what happens?

Wouldn’t that be a miracle all on it’s own?
Everyone doing what they are meant to be doing, when they were meant to be doing it.

That almost sounds like it could be the start of something so much bigger. Revival perhaps?

Father,
Please start with me.
Help me to be willing to bring to You my loaves and fishes.
Help me to think more of You and less about everything else.
Help me to know and trust You that much more so that I want to say yes to You that much more quickly.
Thank you that you do accept me where I am, but please continue to lead and guide me.
Amen

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“I’ll Raise a Hallelujah” is a battle cry

Do you sometimes think that a certain song can being sung in wrong way?

That’s how I feel about “I’ll Raise a Hallelujah”. (Bethel Church)
I sometimes feel that people can sing it, a little bit too happily.

Yes that’s right, I did say too happily.
So why would I possibly think this?

For me, that song is a Battle Cry!

It says to me, “I WILL Praise my God, even when it hurts”.

You just need to just look at the words and you might start to see where I’m coming from.

I’ll Raise a Hallelujah, in the presence of my enemy.
I’ll Raise a Hallelujah, louder than the unbelief.

I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the storm.
Louder and louder, your gonna hear my praises roar.

Are you starting to see why I think this song is a Battle Cry?
When making a Battle Cry it just works better if you deliver it with a ROAR rather than a smile.

I have to admit that there is no wrong way to sing the song, but for me, I do try to declare the words in the song from somewhere deep within.

I think that the song captures the essence of what Habakkuk, one of the Old Testament prophets, was saying.

Habakkuk 3:17-19
Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the sheepfold and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

When the song was written it was in a time of impending sorrow.
A little boy was very ill and things were not looking good.
If you would like to hear the full account then search on YouTube for “The Power of Praise – Miracle of Jaxon Taylor’s Healing”

The song was written at one of the darkest points of that time.
It was written to say “Yet I Will Praise the Lord, even though it looks bad”.

The feelings of happiness were probably less at that point in time, but the declarations that God is Good were that much louder!

Then miraculously he became better.
After the doctors were saying there was nothing more they could do, after all the prayers and praises, then he then was healed.
It’s worth watching the video.

So what can we take forward from this?

Sing the song in a happy way, praising God, if that is where you are at.
But also, try to declare the words as what we want our will to be.
Use the song as a Battle Cry in harder times, in order to declare that God is Good, what ever is happening around us.

Father,
Thank you that we can Praise you at all times.
Thank you that we can Praise you in the good times but also when times are not so good.
Help us to look to you in times of trouble, so that we can lean on you to bring that something extra to keep us going in our times of struggle.
Thank you that You are with us and all we need to do is to call out to you.
Amen

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Do we come to God with our needs or our wants?

When we come to God, how do we approach him?
Do we come to him with all our wants and desires asking him to approve and rubber stamp how we think things should be done?
Or do we come to him with ears open, wanting and willing to hear what he has for us?

When we look at it this way, we would all probably say the latter.
After all, we all know that Father has our best at heart and hearing from him should be our number one aim.
So why is it then that we can all fall into the trap of coming to God with our wants?

It seems silly when you think about it.
It can be a bit like the patient who went to the doctor with a paper cut.

The patient went to the doctor and shouted out, “I’m in extreme agony, HELP ME!”
The doctor saw the patient and immediately replied, “Yes, come in and I shall attend to your wounds.”
The patient was in fact in need of urgent medical help.
He had been in some sort of battle with something and as as such had many wounds which needed attention or he was going to die.
As the doctor attempted to see to his most urgent wounds the patient screamed out, “What are you doing? It doesn’t hurt there, the pain is coming from the end of my finger. Look.”
The doctor looked at the finger, but couldn’t see anything, so he carried on to do his life saving work. But the patient insisted, “Look at my finger!”
The doctor looked closely at the finger, and saw a tiny paper cut.
He dismissed it and again tried to save the patient’s life.
The problem was, each time the doctor tried to do his work the patient kept coming back to his finger.
It got so bad that the doctor exclaimed, “I can’t save you if you don’t let me!”

The doctor knew what needed to be done!
He had the ability and wanted to do what was needed.
But the patient wouldn’t let the doctor do his work.
How long will the patient survive if this continues?

So do we ever find ourselves in the place of the patient?
Do we come to God with what we think should be done to the extent that we do not listen to him?
God is more interested in our needs than our wants.

If God tells us to look at, or do something, are we willing to listen to him?
Do we hear his voice well enough to know that it’s him when he speaks to us?
Do we trust him enough to follow his lead?

Father,
Help us to all know your voice that much better.
Help us to trust you, that much more so that we are willing to follow You.
Help us to be obedient to your ways and to follow your promptings to us.
Amen

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How do you react when you are having a bad day?

Lets face it, we all have bad days from time to time.
We all can have days that leave you crying out AAARRRHHH!!!!!!!!

So how do you act or react when a bad day comes your way?

Do you scream out at anyone near you? (unfortunately those closest to us can bear the brunt of this.)
Do you go and hit something? (hopefully not breaking whatever it is your hitting, and most definitely hopefully not a person or pet.)

Or do you just crawl off to a quiet place to hide and wait for the day to end singing, The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, will be OK. (Just like the little girl with red cotton candy curls sings in a film.)

None of the above options really help us that much.
They may be a small release, but is there a better option?

I believe there is a better option.
Like all better options it’s not an easy one to put into practice but it can bring a release that goes to another level.
One that can bring in a victory.

So what is it I hear you say?

Seek the Lord your God and call on him to help you!

Simple really, isn’t it…???

Maybe not so simple when all you want to do is all of the above.
So How can you do it?

You could try the, singing a song idea.
No not the song mentioned above but a different one.

Incidentally, do you know who the true author of that song, “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” is …???
I’m not talking about who wrote it but the one who inspired it…???

I believe it is the enemy himself, the deceiver, the father of lies.
Before you go off and call me whatever it is that’s in your mind right now, please, just give me a chance and I’ll explain.

What is the message of that song….???
Give up on today! Today is done! You have been beaten today, so just give up and try again tomorrow. (It sounds all the more convincing if you say the above with a bit of a growl in your tone of voice.)

The problem with singing that song today is that tomorrow still has troubles of its own to deal with, which will try to lead you to singing the same song over and over again.
A song of eternal defeat.

This is why I believe this song is a song from the enemy!

There is a different song you can try to sing in its place.

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
I WILL rejoice, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!, and be glad in it.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!
This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.

As I have said it can be a hard thing to put into practise, but it can bring about a victory. (Even if it is only in your heart and mind but this is where the victory has to come first).

There is an incidence in the bible where we can see this principle in action. Can you guess which part I’m thinking of….?

Well, I’m thinking of Paul and Silas when they were locked up in the inner cell of the prison, with feet fastened into stocks. And this was after having been stripped, beaten and flogged. Acts 16 vs 16-40

Well, they were having a VERY BAD day!
They were Roman Citizens and should not have been treated in such a way.

We may think we have human rights but they had Roman Rights!
They should have been protected by Rome!
We can see how they should have been protected in Acts 22 vs 25 when on another occasion when Paul was about to be flogged he asked
“Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t been found guilty?”
On that occasion Paul wasn’t flogged because of his Roman Citizen Rights.
But back in chapter 16 he had his rights abused.

He had every right to complain!
He could have said “I am a Roman Citizen, How Dare you treat me this way!”
But he didn’t. instead he (and Silas) looked to their citizenship in GOD!
He looked to a higher power.
Father in Heaven.

How did they look to their Father in heaven?
Well they were both were singing, even though they were beaten, battered and bruised.
They were singing even though they had had such a very bad day.

When I first read this passage I had a bit of a romantic view that God must have enabled Paul and Silas to worship after having such a bad day. After all, how else could they have done it? Surely God must have inspired them with power from on high…???

I now think that the reality is some what less dramatic. I now think that they were singing because they needed to. You see, I think they knew they needed to draw close to God and singing was the method they were using to do this.

This turned my thinking on it’s head.
They were singing because they needed to, not because they were inspired to by a power from on high. (How ordinary.)

What happened after they had been singing for a while?

They not only saw the victory in there hearts and minds but also in the reality of their situation.

There was an earthquake, the doors were opened and even the jailer and his house hold came to salvation. (You need to read Acts 16 vs 16-40 to get the whole account.)

This all happened because they made the decision to sing rather than complain.

The miracle happened after worshiping.

So can we do likewise?
When things don’t go our way instead of doing all the wrong things can we instead turn to God, using whatever method works for you to enter into his presence?
Can we try to seek His face, His help and His assistance?

It is the better option.

Father.
Help us to always look to you.
When times are good and also when times are not so good.
Help us to seek and trust you always.
Amen.

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The Precious Jewel

I have a precious jewel in my pocket.

As soon as I take it out, another one takes its place in my pocket.

I now have one in my hand and one to give away.

Who will take my precious jewel?

When you take hold of this jewel and put it into your pocket, then the same will happen for you also.

So what is this precious jewel I have?

It is Jesus in my life.
You see having Jesus in my life is something special, and something that can’t be lost. When I share him with you and you accept him then you can experience all that I have and together we shall both become all the richer.

So will you ask Jesus into your life, and also become all that much richer?

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Social Distancing is Difficult

Back to our meetings in the park.

Social distancing is difficult. We may all mean to try and keep our distance but it is just not normal.
So, how can we meet and still keep our distance?

We have found that it helps to set boundaries. (Literally)

Theses boundaries could be anything.
A picnic blanket, which you stay on (a towel makes a good blanket).
Off the top of my head, a jumper, coat or even a bag placed on the ground could be used as a marker to say, you stay on your side and I’ll stay on mine.

It all sounds a bit silly but in order to keep social distancing then something is needed.
We just have this tendency to want to group together and when social distancing is required then something needs to be done.

So What do we do?

We have chosen to do the slightly crazy.

We have a white electrical cable (a thin multi core cable, cheaply bought from Wilko) which is 6 meters long. In the middle of the cable there is some black insulation tape added (in order to show the middle point).
The middle point is then used as a corner so that when the cable is laid out on the ground it forms two edges of a box.
Another cable with the same set up is then placed opposite this and then we have a cross on the floor (+).
We then have four boundary lines down for four house holds to have there own space in.

It’s easier to do this if everyone brings their own cable themselves to the park.

We have now learnt to all keep our distance from the cable.
This wasn’t always the case as we still had the tendency to want to move up to the line instead of keeping our distance from it, (I told you social distancing is difficult.) 🙂

If we were still struggling with keeping our distance from the lines then we could always have two more cables and then make a expanded cross.
What I mean is we could all have our corner to sit in with a gap between each cable that is big enough so that we do keep apart from each other.

This is not a normal thing to be doing, but it does actually work.

Whilst we were in tier 4 restrictions we met as described above.
We all kind of thought, is today the day when we are told to move on or receive that fine we really don’t want.
The COVID marshals were in the park, but we still carried on as we had been.
A marshal did walk over to see what we were doing, as we were singing and praying at the time. (The BBC web site did say that religious assemblies were allowed), so there we were having a religious assembly in the park! No problem with that…is there…???
The marshal looked at what we were doing, stayed for a few minutes and then walked off. PHEW. 🙂

At the end, as we were leaving he came back and said to us that what we were doing was good.
We took this as we are OK to carry on, whilst in tier 4.

One of the things I have heard in church is “the worlds problems are the Churches opportunities”.

I know this may sound really silly and on a very trivial level but I do think that we as a church (of people), are demonstrating to all, how anybody could meet together during this time in a socially responsible manner.

Anyone could follow the steps we are taking and meet in a socially responsible way. You still need to keep your distance when coming together and leaving, but it can be done. We try to stagger when people leave. Arriving is a bit easier as we don’t all arrive at the same time and keeping distance is easier at the start, for some reason.

When lock down came we then had to stop meeting together.
For the first one which was only about 4 weeks we broke up to smaller groups of two house holds (I think that it was mostly just two people) who met for prayer walks and fellowship instead. It was only going to be 4 weeks or there about anyway.

For the lockdown which happened in the new year and went on a wee little bit longer, well something else had to done.
If you haven’t guessed it yet, that should be the next post which should hopefully go out soon.

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Tired of making Sparks?

I wasn’t planning on making this post but a picture came to me as I was going to work today, so I thought to just go with it.
I will return to our meetings in the park soon.

Anyhow, Tired of making Sparks?

Do you sometimes feel that you have these ideas that you try out, just to find that they seem to lead anywhere?
It’s like your trying desperately to start a fire, but all you see are the sparks of an idea.
You give it your all, but sparks are all that you see.
Then you reach the point where you can think enough is enough, and then it’s time to move on.

The picture I had was of one such person.

There were many sparks, but no fires.

The problem with many sparks but no fires is it can become very disheartening.
You can start to think,
What am I doing?
Why am I bothering?

In the picture, this was happening to the individual who was doing their best for God.

Father saw this and wanted to give some encouragement.
I believe the words Father wanted to say are as follows:

Well done good and faithful servant.
You’ve had all these sparks and have given them away freely.
You haven’t tried to keep them to yourself.
I am well pleased with you.
Do not worry about the fires that you haven’t seen.
It’s not yet time to see the fires that will come from the sparks that you send out. Some of the fires may be small but others will be bigger in due course. You will see the results one day.
Some of the sparks are starting sparks, some are feeding sparks but others could end up being igniting sparks!
You may or may not see the igniting sparks at the time, but you will in the end.
I Love you and am well pleased with you, so just carry on doing all that you are doing for me.
I am Well Pleased with you and one day we shall see all the results of your labours together.

I do hope that the above words are truly from Father and not just me.
But just imagine him saying them words to you, well done good and faithful servant.
When all is said and done, isn’t that going to be one of the greatest things he could say to us?

Father help us all to see what you want us to do.
Help us not to be too concerned about the results but just to be happy to play our part.
Seeing the results of something we have played a part in is always going to help us.
But even if we don’t see the results just yet, then please help us to not get disheartened.
Instead help us to know you are pleased with us, and continue to lead and guide us.
Please give us eyes and ears to see and hear you more clearly and a heart to follow you.
Amen

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To Conform or Not to Conform, that is the question?

This was written as I was questioning whether we should even be trying to meet up in the park in order to have some fellowship.
So below is…

To Conform or Not to Conform, that is the question?

Well, with a title like that have I now got all the non conformist’s interested yet?

So what do I mean by the above?
In the church aren’t we meant to be kind, caring, helpful and above all loving?

Hopefully the answer is yes to all the above, especially the Love bit.

So why would I even ask the question of “Should we conform or not?”

From knowing that we hopefully aspire to be loving and all the rest then surely the answer is to conform?
So why should we ever not conform?

I think that where I am trying to go with this is that sometimes we can fall into the trap of not wanting to upset anyone as far as is possible.
Not a bad thing in itself but, can we really avoid upsetting everyone all the time and more importantly should we?

If we see that something is wrong, should we just ignore it and conform to what people are asking of us just because we don’t want to upset them?

This is not one of those yes or no questions where you can say for sure the the answer is …..well, yes or no.

There are times when it is right to conform and times when we should not conform.
The real question becomes why are you acting the way you are acting?
What is at the heart of the matter?

If by conforming you are just trying not to cause a fuss and keep everyone happy, then are you doing the right thing?

If you are trying not to conform just in order go and cause a fuss, then you are most probably in the wrong place.
Hopefully this is a place we try not to visit.

How helpful is non conforming for the sake of non conforming going to be for anybody?

So, is there a time to be the fly in the ointment?

If it is needed, then the answer could possibly be yes.

It needs to come from the correct heart though. One that is looking to improve a situation.
I do think that this is the only time to be the fly in the ointment. When you are trying to improve, correct or build up something that needs to be done, even when it appears that it isn’t wanted.

Be warned, if you do need to be the fly in the ointment then don’t expect to make any friends in the process.
It can very much so be the lonely road.
After all,  who will want to come close to you if you become the trouble maker?

If you do manage to gain a following then please try to make sure you haven’t just formed a band of trouble makers, just out to cause as much mayhem as you can all in the name of your cause.

It is better to seek an open and honest dialogue with all the people involved in order to seek understanding on everyone’s part.
You need to understand others point of view as much as you may feel that they need to understand you.

The enemy seeks to destroy. He will use anything he can to do this.

Misunderstanding is one of his greatest weapons.

If we are in a place of feeling frustrated or annoyed with someone then we need to see where these feeling’s are coming from.

They’re not from God. Feelings of frustration and anger are from the enemy.
If we find ourselves in situations of the like, then we need to try and remove the emotions from the situation.

Such an annoying phrase.

It’s like, I’m so wound up and annoyed at …. and your just telling me to ignore it???

No, not quite. What I’m trying to say is you need to leave the emotion at the door when dealing with difficult situations.
You still need to acknowledge the emotions. They are real after all,  but try to not let them rule you.
Be led by something else….Someone else….

Our Father, the Lord of Lords. The One who knows all and see’s all.
He is the one with the answers after all.
If we can all see our Fathers will then the question of “to conform or not to conform” should hopefully become redundant as we all seek to follow his will.

We all need them ears to hear with, and hearts to follow.

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The start of meeting in the Park

The Best place to start with is… the start. 🙂

So how did we start meeting in the park?

My wife felt moved to call a friend to say… well, hello (basically).
So she did just that.

I then took the phone and also said hello.
It was during this conversation that both me and my good friend were stating that we were both fed up with not being able to meet up at church at the present moment.
So we then said that we should just meet up in a park.

The problem with the word “should” is that it can, so often, be code for never.

At some point during the conversation we agreed that we WILL do church in the park on the next available Sunday.

This, in essence is where the seed was planted.

Some people were not so keen on the idea of us doing this though as COVID restrictions were in place. Although groups of six were allowed at the time.
I believe that some thought that it just wasn’t worth the risk and that everyone needed to be sensible in order to beat COVID.
There was more to it than that but in essence I think that was the main objection.

There was the threat (probably more in my mind than anywhere else) that the authorities could descend on us at any time and at the very least tell us to move on or issue fines for a “not allowed gathering”.

We did plan to keep our distance and had some funny ideas of how to do this. (Details will probably shared further down the line.)
But we were still left asking, should we even be doing this?

As I thought about this I wrote my next post (even before I was blogging) To conform or not to conform, That is the question?

As it’s already been written the next post should be posted up very soon 🙂

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Strange Dream (Part 2)

If you haven’t already, then I would suggest that you read Strange Dream Part 1 first as this is a continuation from that.

The dream with the rich mans electric car being moved into his lounge then continued in it’s strangeness.

After the car had been moved into the lounge a large water fountain was then moved into the room nearby, one that really belongs in a pond, and the cable was plugged into a wall socket (for the pump obviously).

It was then switched on and water began to spray out of it’s top and fall all over the carpet. (No I didn’t see the water supply connected, the water was just there, it was only a strange dream after all.)

The rich mans wife was then suddenly all aghast and screamed, turn it off, turn it off and take that thing outside!

I told you it was a strange dream 🙂

Any interpretations for this bit…???

I have had some thoughts but it’s still all a bit strange to me.

At the moment we are not able to meet in church as we would like to, COVID restrictions and all.
Even if we are able to meet up then we are still restricted to what we can and can’t do.
Singing is currently not allowed in church.

I have been fortunate enough to have connected with a group of other Christian believers who have like wise had enough of not meeting together and as such we have been meeting in the park. (Whilst keeping socially distanced.)

One of our number is a very good musician and as such he brings his guitar and we are able to sing. We are able to sing and worship in this this current day and age!
It’s sooo good to do something we all took for granted for so long.

You might have guessed where I’m going with this now.
I’m thinking that the fountain is people singing.
At present that is not allowed inside.
Are we being told, take our singing outside?

I don’t know where I heard it but a phrase keeps coming back to me.

Take my Church outside!

I have seen a few things on the TV where this has happened and it might have been one of those where I heard it.
Where ever I heard it (or dreamt it) it still keeps coming back to me.

A thought has just occurred to me as I write this.
Could the car and the fountain be one and the same thing?
Could it be that Father is calling us to bring his Church outside?

I’ll try just writing the next bit, and just see if it resonates with you.

The car and the fountain are indeed the same thing.
For too long now you have been hiding away in your buildings.
It is time to bring my Church to the outside for all to see and hear.
It is time to stop hiding in your own little space.
At present you are just tied up in knots, even if you do meet up inside a building. Only so many people allowed at any one time and even then, not even allowed to sing or interact as you would like to.
Enough is Enough!
Take my Church outside and worship Me in the open, where all can see and hear that the Lord your God is GOOD!

That is a message that is easy for me to hear and receive as I am already doing just that, on a small scale.
Does it resonate with you though?
If it does, will you act upon it?

The next question is how can you act upon it.

I can’t give you a definitive answer of how to answer that question.
You need to hear from Father for the details of what you can do.
I can take you through some of my journey though with the next couple of posts.

There’s more to come so come back soon.