Pressing forward

Osama Bin Laden

2011-05-02T03:02:00.000-07:00

Today Osama Bin Laden was shot dead by US soldiers ten years after the 9/11 attack on the World trade centre. The Americans finally got their vengeance and feel some sense of Justice was served today when body of the leader of Al Qaeda was identified and confirmed dead.

What shocked me most about this news story was not the death of Osama bin Laden but the reaction that it got worldwide. I was watching Australian television, where the prime minister welcomed the news and congratulated America on a successful job. The Americans poured onto the streets, chanting USA, USA!! It strikes me as strange that the death of a man, EVEN if its Osama Bin Laden brings so much rejoicing around the globe. A sad day in our history I think. Reading some of the news reports from Washington, I was sickened by the arrogance and pride of some blood thirsty people, seeing today as a good reason to drink champagne and parade the streets celebrating how great a nation America is. One person interviewed had this to say....
'This is a tremendous moment, and hopefully it will bring us together, it doesn't matter if you're Muslim or Christian or whatever,' said firefighter Patrice McLeod. 'We'll never give up.'

'We'll never give up', and lets party on for America's great victory seems to be the general feeling outside Washington, and worldwide today. Well I certainly for one won't be joining in on the celebrations but will remember May 2nd as the day we shamed ourselves and rejoiced over a life lost.

Coffee Van

2011-04-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

Coffee Van is one of our main evangelism ministries here on the Gold Coast. We take a van every Thursday and Saturday down to the city and set up a table on the street. We offer free tea's/coffees and food to anyone who passes by. Its a wonderful tool for meeting people in our community and engaging in good conversations. The aim of course is to be the light of Christ in our community and seek opportunity to tell people about Jesus.

Saturday's coffee van is located next to the beach and so we meet a lot of tourists and holiday makers and the atmosphere is very upbeat and lively. This is in stark contrast to what happens on Thursday night, as we set up in a different location where a lot of people are homeless, hopeless and in great need of love. On Thursdays we meet a lot of Alcoholics, drug addicts, people living on the streets, unemployed people and people whose family lives have fallen apart. Very often we find our conversations on a Thursday night tend to go a lot deeper as these people are really seeking comfort and are desperate for a better life.

Its very easy to let yourself get effected by the sad stories of these broken people and in recent weeks I have found that the enemy has attacked me by listening to these stories. Instead of thanking Jesus for the hope that we have in him, I have allowed doubt creep in and wondered why God seems to be so distant. Its very important for me in these times to hold strong to my faith and declare truth even if I don't feel it. Walking in the opposite spirit is something I need to do a lot at coffee van. Very often we see God move in exciting ways when we feel low and chose to walk in the Spirit.

Yesterday I met a gentleman named Stuart and his story was so positive that I came home so encouraged and thanked God for sending him my way. He was an alcoholic and in a desperate situation. He went to the church feeding programme and to AA meetings and he is now 12 years sober. His life has totally changed and he still goes to AA meetings and the feeding programme but he is oozing with joy and has so much peace in his life. I dont know if he has made a full commitment to Christ but says he does pray and his faith is important. Please pray for Stuart. He is a really nice guy and I was so blessed to share a coffee with him yesterday.

One of our team got baptized in the Holy Spirit yesterday and started healing people at coffee van so it was a bit of a crazy evening. Thats a whole other story but please continue to pray for the coffee van ministry that runs here.

Does the Holy Spirit convict us of sins?

2011-04-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Did you ever hear these words preached in church, "When we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin". Ive heard that preached before and let me tell you, its one of the biggest lies of the devil. The Holy spirit does not convict us of sin, but rather he convicts us of the righteousness we received by grace.

Making this distinction is very important. In John chapter 16v7 we read that the Holy Spirit is our Advocate. In the Greek this word is Paraclete and simply translates as "counselor" or "helper". When we sin, he doesn't whisper in our ear that we messed up, but rather he says there is more grace available to us. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8) and so the Holy Spirit cannot possibly convict us of sin! He is not the accuser, he's the helper. The devil is the one who reminds us of our sin and we say its the Holy Spirit!! This is crazy talk. Lets be very careful not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit by confusing his voice with that of the devil!! He is for us, not against us and when we sin he wants to say "you are a child of God, who is made righteous by the gift of Gods grace". That should encourage us to walk and grow in grace and help us to live a life of righteousness. Where sin abounds, grace super-abounds (Romans 5:20). I'm so glad that there is grace and an advocate who helps me in my strengths and weaknesses.

Mercy and Grace

2011-03-26T01:53:00.000-07:00

Mercy is when you don't get what you deserve. Grace is when you get more than you deserve.

You know very often we use words like Gods Grace and mercy loosely and without giving the words much thought, as if they were the same thing. These words on closer inspection take on two very different meanings.

I am a sinner and deserve to die but God showed me mercy by forgiving me of my sins. However it doesn't stop there and this is the incredible thing about Grace. He also gives us much more! Psalm 23 says "...my cup runneth over". We don't just get pardon for sins but we also receive blessing way beyond what we deserve. That is what grace is.

It is very possible to live in Gods mercy and yet not live in the fullness of his grace. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 12 says "see to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many". God wants to show us more of his grace and it increases every day of our lives. I can say that today I have experienced more of Gods grace than I did any other day of my life. The reason I can say this is because we grow in grace and knowledge. It says so in 2 Peter 3:18.

So how to we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord? Well the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and so I suggest we start to pray for wisdom. Prov 8:35 says "whoever finds me (wisdom) finds life and receives favor (grace) from the Lord".

Next weeks lectures cover the topic 'Fear of the Lord' so yippee this is all well timed. God is good.

Oz Death!

2011-03-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

So I arrived back from Oz Quest on Wednesday evening and man what a crazy few days it was! A little background to what Oz Quest is and why its on the Discipleship Training school programme.

Its a three day adventure/torture trip where you are supposed to be physically/mentally/psychologically/emotionally/spiritually/sexually challenged. Ok not sexually but all the other ones! We left on Sunday evening and as Bear Grylls would say, it was relentless!!

We spend three days living in the wild in some forest and had to undertake a number of tasks. As a reward we could win money to buy our daily food. If we didn't win money, we had to go without eating. This was the biggest challenge for me because after a 22km hike with a backpack on back up mountainous terrain, I needed to eat. All we were able to get was half a tin of tuna. The people running Oz quest are supposed to treat you horribly throughout the duration of the trip and so its easy to get frustrated. We do daily punishments for lots of different things like being late or if at any time we leave our team members. Any distance more than 2 metres counts as leaving your team. You do all your toilet business with your team members and there is no toilets to use. We had quite a few interesting toilet stories over the three days.

We were awoken during the night after only 1.5 hours sleep to go on a hike and then back to bed for 3-4 more hours and then up again for punishment! It was exhausting and physically draining.

Quite a few members of the team were physically sick throughout. A few suffered dehydration, others collapsed from exhaustion, and others vomited the three days straight, such was the level of intensity. I had a bit of a fever the first night but was ok the next day and generally loved the whole experience.

For a few challenges we were put on the spot and given 5 minutes to prepare a 15 minute sermon and then deliver it to the rest of the group. I quite enjoyed this and when we go on outreach some tribes will expect us to preach on the spot so it was good practice.

So what was the point?

Well I guess, when you spend a few days living in close quarters with a team and learn each others strengths and weaknesses, you grow closer and have a greater understanding of what makes people react the way they do. We had a few arguments, a few tears and very little sleep but once it was all over, we knew each other so well.

We will be going on outreach to Cambodia in a little less than 2 months time. We will never experience anything as tough as oz quest during that time but some things will be the same and so we need to be prepared. We also learned how to deal with our frustrations and how to help each other along when people are struggling. I cant wait to go on outreach with my team. I love the different characteristics and strengths that people will bring to the team.

I really enjoyed my Oz quest challenge and would love the opportunity to do it again sometime, but right now Im just eager to get to Cambodia!

Update

2011-03-05T14:21:00.000-08:00

Ok so the weekend has finally arrived and Im exhausted!! Our week runs from Tuesday to Saturday and so Sunday is really the day of rest. This morning I will be checking out a new church called Metro. Its a large church filled with mostly young people and as the name suggests and from what Im told, a very Metro-sexual gathering of people. Unfortunately none of my clothing will fit the bill so Ill have to go out and invest in a bright pink fluorescent shirt if I want to go back there after today.

This week was very good although the early part was a bit of a struggle for me. Last weekend was a scorcher and we went spear fishing. My pasty Irish skin could not take the extreme heat and I ended up very badly burnt. In fact I think I had second degree burns. I was told this by one of the staff who seemed to know what she was talking about. It was pretty disgusting actually because my skin all started to bubble and I looked like some sort of mutant. Anyway its not too bad anymore, just a few scars on my arms and hopefully they will soon disappear.

We do outreach in Surfers every Saturday and yesterday was beach volleyball. So we rounded up some Japanese students that were close by and spent a couple of hours playing, getting to know them and sharing our faith. They were lovely and they might even come by again next week. Last night we all went for a coffee and I met some new people, a Liverpool fan in fact. We had a bit of a slag and then talked about where we could watch the big game on Sunday....

On tuesday we leave for Byron Bay. It will be a full week of lectures and other activities but should also be a great opportunity to meet some new folk. Three other DTS bases will all be there too so I am excited about that.

Anyway no other updates but be sure to keep me posted on any news from home, like if Enda Kenny has burned the country to the ground yet, if Galway beat Cork or the Bank of Ireland executives get a change of heart and donate all their bonuses to charity. You see, I do read news occasionally!

You stay Classy, Ireland!

Does God really want to give me what I desire?

2011-03-01T22:33:00.000-08:00

"Seek first his Kingdom and his Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt 6:33)

God wants to give me good gifts. I always when reading this verse read it wrong. I focus all my attention on the first part, the "seeking the kingdom and his righteousness" part and I guess I don't fully understand the "all these things part".

Do you ever feel that you should always be praying about the kingdom of God and his will and your being selfish when you pray about things you want? I certainly think that way but guess what, if we don't ask for things we want, we won't receive!

Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" He wants to give us our desires, if we first put our trust and faith in Him. I always thought that this meant, the closer we get to know Gods character and nature (seeking him first) then His desires become our desires. Man, how wrong was I!! His desires are actually my desires now. He has put them there in the first place. This was so freeing when I received this revelation. I don't have to change my desires to appreciate his desires and slowly grow to love them. His desires and my desires are the exact same!!

How do we get these desires? Well God can't wait to give them to us because he loves giving good gifts so if we seek him out and his righteousness and make them our number 1 goal, well then all the rest he will grant us. In Matthew Jesus says "Oh you of little faith" just before the above passage and in Psalm 37 David tells us to "Trust in the Lord". I wonder does having faith and trusting have anything to do with receiving good gifts from God? Me thinks so!!

Man its so exciting. So can I encourage you readers to surrender every area of your life to him. Trust and have faith that he will bless you and grant you all your hearts desires.

Joke (this might get me in a bit of trouble)

2011-02-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

Sandra was feeling a little down in herself lately. Every time she gazed into the mirror all she saw staring back at her was a middle-aged, wrinkled woman she barely recognized whose face and figure were both starting to droop. She was quite depressed and on one occasion while gazing gloomily into her reflection she turned to her husband and said, "Billy, I'm fat, my face is wrinkled and I feel so old. Please tell me something good about myself" Billy pauses and thinks for a moment..... "Well at least you have 20-20 vision!"

The puzzle has started coming together

2011-02-22T22:12:00.000-08:00

Today I experienced God in a way that was so much more impactful than any way I have ever experienced him before, and let me tell you He is just awesome! I am so stoked for what he is doing in my life and he is starting to grant me my hearts deepest desires.

Psalm 37 says that we need to trust in the Lord and do good. God has been challenging me big time in areas of my life where I don't trust him completely. One area is in relationships and with dating. Every Christian mans longing is to meet their spouse and form a bond through Godly relationship. We feel that if we're not dating that God will somehow forget about us and we will somehow get left to walk the single life for the rest of our days and so we help God along in this area. We flirt with girls/spend time with them/and date them even if that is not what God has designed us to do. Why do we date at all? God certainly didn't ordain the dating game. God has been speaking to me this last week about giving this area of my life over to him and to trust completely that he has something greater in store.

A second area God has been challenging me on trusting has been through my finances. I thought that giving up my job was enough to show that I was trusting God in this area but I was wrong.

In 1 Kings 18 we read the story about Elijah and the prophets of Baal. In the story they both build a sacrifice and pray to their Gods to consume the sacrifice with fire. The prophets of Baal all gather around and pray to their God and dance around and cut themselves but their God does not answer them. Elijah before calling on God orders that the sacrifice be soaked in water which if you ask me, is pretty counter productive when you want to make fire! Then he calls on the Lord and fire comes down from heaven consuming the sacrifice and drying up the water surrounding. God spoke to me this week through this story. I feel that leaving my job and having no real steady income was just preparing the sacrifice, when Gods words to me were... "Paul, I want you to soak the sacrifice"

He wants to stretch me further in the area of finances and become more dependent on Him. He wants me to get to a place where I'm not just surviving comfortably but rather a place where I am on my knees and trusting that he will provide for me for just that day.

Anyway the psalm of David has taken on a whole new light for me because as I continue to be challenged to trust more and to give things over to the Lord, my hearts desires are starting to be fulfilled. Its so exciting!!

One year ago, God placed it on my heart to fund raise for children in Cambodia and even though at the time I didn't spend any time prayerfully considering this, I did it anyway. Don't ask me why it was Cambodia, but it was. Since then my brother has been in Cambodia and other news stories from there have sort of grabbed my attention. I don't know why God has been putting Cambodia on my heart but he just has. Today God has granted some of my hearts desires.

He is sending me to Cambodia to do outreach in that nation. I received the news this afternoon in a letter and I just wanted to cry because for me it was such a revelation from God. He confirmed through this news that his hand is very much over my life and that if I just trust him and allow him to reveal himself, he has more exciting things to show me and more blessings to pour out. I'm so excited that I will be in Cambodia in two and a half months time. Man, God is just incredible.

My women problems!

2011-02-21T22:19:00.000-08:00

Well its Tuesday and I started one of my new duties today on base camp. Shopping! Yes ladies, the way I am to serve the Lord, my fellow students and staff is by hitting the shops. Now, I know all you guys out there are thinking that I got it easy out here, but let me stop you and correct your thinking. Shopping is a nightmare! Its so stressful and I certainly have a new found respect for my mother through this experience.

How did I get landed with this job you may be wondering? Well, I am one of only two students on camp who is eligible to drive the Ywam van and since they drive on the left hand side of the road here (same as back home) it just made good sense to ask me to do it. Also, most students are young and back home live under their parents roof and so have very little experience of fending for themselves. Of course when this was explained to me, I just played along and acted like I knew what they were talking about. I do Grocery shopping... sometimes!

Anyway here is the problem. There are three different houses of students who I need to buy meals for. Each person only gets a budget of 4.50 for their breakfast. 7 guys to one house, 2 girls to another and 1 girl in the last house.

The lady living on her own only gets 4.50 in total and a box of cereal costs about 5-6 dollars! Already over budget. Now luckily I can compensate with the lads house budget and the guys dont mind. Guys are fairly easy going anyway.

The second problem is trying to buy groceries for girls. So it turns out that girls dont eat cereal in the mornings! They prefer yogurts and fruit. Thats just the beginning when it comes to womens eating habits in the mornings. So what do you do when you get to the fridges and try select a milk for cereals etc.?

Simple- you reach in for a few litres of full fat milk....if your shopping for the guys. Men really are easy going and dont fuss over what kind of milk they are drinking. Not so simple for the ladies though!

Ok so most girls dont drink full fat milk and much rather skimmed or low fat milk. However if I buy full fat milk for the guys and bring back skimmed milk for the girls, the girls get quickly insulted and instantly assume that I thought they were overweight and needed to shed those few extra pounds so they can squeeze into their summer swim-wear. The strange thing is that they wanted the skimmed milk the whole time!!! Go figure? Women are a strange beast....

If I dont get much spiritual value from my Dts, I will at least understand a little more about the complexities of women.

A short story

2011-02-20T15:22:00.000-08:00

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men (Col 3 v 23)

Billy was a young keen football fan. He was 12 years of age and was part of the under 13's West United football team. He was very slight in stature and although being 12 years of age he could quite easily be mistaken for a 10 year old. Every week Billy without fail would show up to soccer practice. He was the most committed member of the team and even when it rained/hailed/or snowed Billy was there with his striped top and socks pulled up above his knees. Other players often didn't show up when the weather was poor and didn't show the same level of commitment that Billy showed.

Every Saturday West United would play a competitive game against another local side. Billy was not much good at football and never made the starting team. This set back didn't however effect Billy's attitude and his commitment. He continued to come and sit on the bench, week in - week out. His father would come and sit in the stands as billy would sit on the bench. Billy never played a single game.

One day the trainer of the club received a phone call from a neighbour to say that Billy's father had been brought to intensive care after suffering a heart attack. He could tell by the tone of his neighbours voice that it was very serious. The following day, on the 12th of February, Billy's father passed away. At the funeral the church was packed out and some of the soccer team showed up to pay their respects. Billy was in floods of tears and he bravely placed a soccer badge on the coffin of his deceased father.

Next weeks local soccer game was against Uniteds biggest rivals and possibly the most significant game of the season. All the guys were sitting around the dressing room, nervously lacing their boots and eager to get out on the field. There was a space by the locker where Billy usually sat and despite the excitement of competing in this big game, there was also a somewhat somber mood in the dressing room. With just 15 minutes to kick off no-one expected what happened next. Billy arrived at the dressing room door. He apologized for being a little late and the response he got was one of dead silence. Only a week ago his father, who had come to all the games had died and never seen him play and now Billy shows up to play. The coaches were stunned and talked amongst each other. They couldn't possibly make Billy sit on the bench again! However this was such a big game and lets face it, Billy is not very good at football. Finally they look to Billy and say, "Billy we want you to play, right side of midfield". Billy's face lights up and he quickly gets changed and ready to go.

The game kicks off and Billy looks to the empty seat in the stand where his father once sat. The coaches wonder if Billy is focused on the game or struggling with his loss. The ball falls to the feet of Billy and he takes off. He goes by one, slips the ball through the feet of a second defender and drives the ball towards the goal. The keeper stumbles and the ball crashes into the back of the net. GOAL!!! Billy puts the side a goal up and the place erupts. No-one can quite believe that this scrawny guy who never played a single game before this, has just scored the opening goal. The game continues and Billy is playing incredibly well. He finishes the game, scoring a hattrick and when the final whistle blows his team mates lift him up above their heads. He is overcome with joy and is awarded with the man of the match trophy.

His coaches cannot comprehend how this little boy could put in such a big performance and not be effected by the loss of his father. Coach Reilly says to Billy, "Son, this is the first time you have played and the only time your father wasn't here to see you. How could you still play so well?"

Billy looked at his coach and said "sir my father was blind. He didn't come here every week to see me play. He came to show me support. He would not have been able to see me play last week or the week before that, but you know what.... today he saw me play".

Feeling Condemned?

2011-02-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death."

This verse written by Paul to the Romans, was the first verse read out by my DTS staff leader when I arrived here. I can tell you that I have read this verse numerous times and heard it spoken in church on many occasion but it was only this week that it really started to penetrate into the deepest part of my being. When reading this verse before I took great comfort in the words because I knew I was a wretched sinner, yet if I'm to be completely honest I still didn't fully believe it in my heart. I like Paul battle with sin and I'm reminded of the passage in Romans 7 where he talks about his struggles with the law and sin.

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."

Since arriving here God has really begun to deal with things in my life. A church leader gave me some great advice before I left Ireland and it was to just be available and open to what God has in store for me. In doing this I had to allow God to deal with the past junk in my life and allow for healing. Well I can say with great joy that this process has already begun and when I had an opportunity to share my testimony yesterday, I was able to open up about the guilt and shame I felt over the way I was living. My fellow staff and students were able to gather around and pray for me. They prayed that I would know guilt and shame is an attack from the devil and that because of Christs wonderful gracious sacrifice, I have been completely cleaned. A new slate!

So this of course doesn't mean since its in my past that I don't have struggles anymore. Im a long way off but the guilt is gone and I can begin to really live in newness of life.

Paul writes to the church in Colossae about replacing the old rotten sinful ways by clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Theres also a whole lot more there but I think ill try starting with this list!

Guys and girls back home, I know that you are supporting me in prayer and perhaps the above list is something that you could be praying over my life. I want to be able to live and show these fruits of the spirit in my day to day dealings.

Until next time, peace!

Very quick update

2011-02-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

So Im on my third day here in Brisbane and this morning the sun is out and its going to get hot, hot, hot!! This is not welcome news as my shoulders are still a nice shade of pink after yesterday, which was the most overcast day in a good while too. The sun never popped out and so I reckon Im pretty goosed today! :(

Anyway, today myself and Johnny are going for a long walk to a beach that Johnny likes. Its his day off so thankfully we get a chance to spend the full day together. Up to now I have been walking aimlessly through the city by myself and soaking in the pool/hot tub..

I still cant get over the high prices here. Its crazy expensive! Your easily looking at 5 dollars for a coffee. Myself and Johnny went for a drink last night and one drink each cost 30 dollars!!!

Im heading down the gold coast this evening to get settled in the YWAM base. Im looking forward to that as Ive been bunking in a hostel and its not the most ideal living quarters.

Anyway thats just a very rushed update on whats been happening so far. Once I start to get settled in Surfers, ill let you all know how Im doing.

Please continue to keep me in your prayers, especially as I begin my Ywam work.

On a totally unrelated yet majorly important note. United play City tonight and its going to be a real nail-biter! COME ON YOU REDS!!!

Back in Business

2011-02-08T04:49:00.000-08:00

Hi Folks,

So I decided to dust off the cobwebs from the pages of my blog and start a fresh. New years resolutions coming late and all that jazz! I will be using pressing forward as a way of communicating with family and friends from home while I am away. Sort of a way of sharing my thoughts and feelings during my escapedes, (but in an incredibly manly way of course!!)

So this is the beginning of a new chapter in my life and although feeling a mixture of apprehension and excitement, I know that God has a plan and he will see it through to completion.

Amidst so much uncertainty in the world, it is wonderful to be able to fully trust in the Lord. I know that the Lord is faithful and I cant wait to see what he has in store for me over the next 7 months.

A few prayer points while Im away:

-First of all for safe travel getting to Brisbane
-That I will learn to hear and respond more readily to the voice of God
-Learn real Godly love for others.

Thats enough for the moment but that list is going to grow over the course of my trip. So get praying people, I do appreciate it :)

2010-05-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 13
Love

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

.... "Love is a choice. We must never wait for a mood or feeling to overwhelm us. That may never come. Love is voluntary, an act of the will - what we deliberately and consciously choose to do."... (R.T. Kendall)

Gods word

2010-04-18T07:52:00.000-07:00

While the bible is exciting, full of life and inspirational, we must be careful not to place it as the centre piece in our lives. If we spend our lives trying to get everything we need out of Gods book, we will miss his purposes. God didn't give us the bible so we wouldn't need him. God gave us the bible so we would know how to seek him, how to serve him. The bible helps us know how to live with God, it's not given as a substitute of his presence. If we just want to get our theology right or our thinking right we won't be able to do it through the bible. The bible will point us to the Lord. Yet this does not mean we aught to neglect our bibles. God says we need to read his word.

Looking for happiness?

2010-02-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

Did you ever hear anyone say that they were looking for happiness in life?

Perhaps that's what you consider a successful life? To find fulfillment and happiness. Now I don't intend to start sounding like some down in the dumps, killjoy, who is not impressed with this notion of seeking joyful fulfillment, however this is not what our chief goal in life should be.

The writer of Hebrews says that the righteous shall live by faith (ch10v38). God has called us to be a faithful people. In chapter 11 of Hebrews, we can see a number of examples of the heroes of faith. However not all these wonderful figures received a fulfillment of the promises on their lives. Not even Abraham!! Yet they all chose to be faithful over being fulfilled. Can our generation boast the same? Have we made our careers, our friends, our possessions, and our hobbies the source of our happiness? Or are we motivated by being faithful to the one who has been faithful to us?

My teacher's statement this week in class put it beautifully and I'll finish on this note...

If we sacrifice Fulfillment for Faithfulness, God will take care of the fulfillment.
If we sacrifice Faithfulness for Fulfillment, we will then have Neither!

Soccer heroes

2010-02-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

I was struck with a thought yesterday, well more of a question really, during a tense game of indoor soccer. I wondered who I considered my all time, footballing Role model? Who I would love to be compared to on the soccer pitch?

A number of wonderfully, skillful players through the decades flooded my thoughts. The likes of Ronaldo (the fat one!) just for clarification, Giggs, Zidane, Rooney, Iniesta, Zola, Bestie, Charlton, Larsson.... I got a bit carried away!!

I had to quickly snap out of this beautiful daydream as I received a pass from a team mate and found myself boxed into a corner with the football and two opposition players bearing down on top of me. I managed to shelter the ball until Dad (on my team) made space and I was able to find him with a pass. Myself and Dad link up fairly well together in indoor soccer :)

That is when it struck me...

My role model in football is none of the names on the list above!! In fact this player doesn't play in the premiership or in La Liga!!

Believe it or not, my Dad is my footballing role model. Is this sad??

He plays the game with a class that in my opinion supersedes all those other stars. He plays the game with integrity and dignity.

He is wonderfully skillful and goes by players with ease. Often his style of play reminds me of Ryan Giggs style. He has a great awareness on the pitch, where he needs to be and where to place a pass. I really enjoy being on a team with him.

His attitude is what makes him world class though. I have never seen him argue on a soccer pitch. Not even once!! He is a competitive player, yet he will not let this effect his character when playing. He will always humble himself even when other players cheat and argue decisions. He carries himself with real dignity and consequently is the most respected player at Wednesday night soccer. He always seems to enjoy himself at footie, even when it is not the greatest game.

Its a humble and gracious attitude that shines through on the pitch. That's what I look for more so, than the step overs and flicks. He is a real pro. and a true role model for any footballer.

The Missing day - Fact or Fiction?

2010-02-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

Mr. Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore, Maryland, and a consultant in the space program, relates the following development.

I think one of the most amazing things that God has done for us today happened recently to our space scientists at GreenBelt, Maryland. They were checking out where the positions of the sun, moon, and planets would be 100 years and 1,000 years from now. We have to know this so we won't send up a satellite and have it bump into something later on in its orbits. We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.

They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries, and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong with either the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out, and they said, 'What's wrong?"

Well, they found there is a day missing in space in lapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair. There was no answer.

Finally a Christian man on the team said, 'You know, one time I was in Sunday School, and they talked about the sun standing still.' While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, 'Show us.'

He got a Bible and went to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with 'common sense.' There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, 'Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.'

Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy, and if darkness fell, they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That's right... 'The sun stood still and the moon stayed and lasted not to go down about a whole day!' (Joshua 10:12-13)

The astronauts and scientists said, 'There is the missing day!'

They checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough.

The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes ... not a whole day. They read the Bible, and there it was 'about (approximately) a day.' These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes, you'll still be in trouble 1,000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits.

As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS.
The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the "Book" and read these words in 2 Kings that told of the following story: Hezekiah, on his death bed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said 'Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?' Hezekiah said, 'It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees.' Isaiah spoke to the Lord, and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD!

Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes!

Twenty-three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe!"
Isn't it amazing?

References: Joshua 10:8 and 12,13 and 2 Kings 20:9-11.

WARNING!

2010-01-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

(Hebrews 6 v 4-6)......For it is impossible for those who were once -enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, -if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

YIKES!!

The Victory

2010-01-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

I heard an excellent illustration last weekend and said to myself...'I don't want to forget that example'. I thought the best way to remember the illustration was to post it here. I do occasionally read my own writing. You might think this to be very egotistical, but my thoughts are, ......'well at least someone reads my blog'!!

The example given is not used the same way the speaker used it. I have changed it around slightly to convey my point.

In 1982, Offaly won the Sam Maguire trophy and were crowned All Ireland Champions. This was a special time for the people of Offaly and sadly for them, they have not retained this trophy since then. If you ask any 15 year old from Offaly when their county last won the All Ireland final?, they will tell you that THEY beat Kerry in 1982 and became champions.

Now hold on!! How could they say this and identify with the event since they were not born yet and in fact would not be born for another 13 years? The fact that they were not present is not important. It was a proud day in their counties history and their county was victorious which is something that they can boast about.

In Romans 6, Paul is speaking about an event which happened over 2000 years ago. Just like the 15 year old from Offaly can identify with the great success and victory of his/her team in 1982, we today can identify with Christs great victory. Offaly defeated Kerry, but Christ defeated death.

The Offaly fans have not been able to do too much boasting in recent years as their victory was short lived. Christ was victorious 2000 years ago, and will have the victory forever and ever. He is always going to win, and that's where our confidence lies as we continue to put our faith and trust in Him.

Trouble ahead

2010-01-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Past experience of success, is no guarantee for the future!!

Do I believe this? Do you believe this? I say 'you' to make it sound like people actually read my blog!! This statement was made during my Hebrews class by my teacher, Dr. Arden Autry. Of course he wasn't thinking football when he said these words.... but I admittedly was. You see while the second part of my two part class on Hebrews and general epistles was about to start, Manchester United and Manchester City were also about to begin a two part series, which judging by their last meeting could indeed prove to be a titanic battle. For me, to miss this encounter definitely took some Devine intervention. Anyway my rewards are in Heaven and there are times when we will suffer for Christs name etc etc..... I guess the outcome of the match just enforces the point of this blog.

United are a big club, in fact in the last decade they have been the biggest club worldwide. Now I hear you sceptics and 'A.B.U.'S' say... "What about Madrid? Barca? etc.." and I say to you "Ah go 'way with that rubbish!!," United is a club with a long History, and in recent times particularly, a very successful History. This History makes the club Mighty and an unstoppable force!

Dr. Autry was discussing a different situation of course. He was referring to a passage in Psalm 95. This psalm is a reminder to Israel, that their fore Fathers had put God to the test and had gone astray in their hearts and therefore, they did not enter Gods rest. This was the same generation that had crossed the Red sea on dry land, had experienced Gods great provision by receiving water and Manna from Heaven and witnessed many other marvels and wonders. Regardless of all the success they had experienced in the past, they still did not enter the promised land. They had a perfect promise, but not a perfect fulfillment!

So, although I would argue the point, that Uniteds History of success would make them a strong outfit in the future. Sadly the reality is different and I would have to concede that they are not an unstoppable force and the future success of the club is most uncertain. (Of course it is certain to go into liquidation under the ownership of Glazier. For the good of the club, Get Him Out!!) There is nothing that this world can offer us, that is everlasting. Christ is faithful over Gods house as a Son and we are his house, if we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. This we can be certain of. Amen

Avatar - harmless or dangerous?

2010-01-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

Its the highlight of the movie callander for '09 and people cant seem to get enough of it. So in light of what I heard today, I decided to make a couple of comments about the new 3D experience, Avatar.

In todays news, the Vatican have publicly critisiced the film Avatar, stating that it promotes the worship of nature.

This stance that the Catholic Church have taken is hilariously ludicrous and those guys in the Vatican, should 'get with the times'. Avatar is a harmless, well executed, extremely advanced film experience.

This was the view shared by most, if not all of my colleagues, and it disturbed me greatly.

It is true that the film offers a whole new experience in what is to become an advanced improvement in 3D technology, and these are indeed, positive steps forward in changing cinema for the future, however it is NOT harmless!!

As I pondered over the words of my work colleagues, and the statement from the Vatican, I thought about how liberal our society has become. If that same statement from the Catholic church in relation to a film promoting earthly worship was made 15 years ago, it would have been greeted with the utmost sincerity and concern. People would have listened and would not have scoffed. I was reminded of the constant struggles that the Israelites experienced with their worship of false Gods. Along with dedicating worship to Yaweh, they also worshiped fertility Gods such as Baal. Throughout the Old Testament the Israelites had to be reminded that they served a jealous God, and by Him, all things were made. Deuteronomy 6:4 says "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." This is the Jewish confession of faith and it is a statement of exclusitivity. The Lord our God is the only God and he is worthy of ALL our praises.

In the film Avatar, Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington gets introduced to this mystical world and gets drawn in by its attractions. What James Camron successfully achieves is a picture of a beautiful fantasy world, which is far greater than the real world, where creatures can come in unity to the 'Tree of Souls', offer prayers to 'Mo'at' (the earthly God) and she would answer them or keep them protected. In one particular scene, the tribe are under attack from the humans and our heroin Jake offers a prayer of help to the Tree God, and she answers his prayer by coming to their rescue, through the form of other wild creatures.

It is certainly very emotionally moving and gripping for an audience and this leads me to the conclusion that it is dangerous viewing. Our society today has come to except new age viewpoints and not just accept them, but rather embrace them. We as a church of believers in the One, true God and his son Jesus Christ need to stand with the Vatican and say that we do not find it acceptable to promote the disguised worship of false Gods, through the medium of Film and that as Christians, we will not be excited by the hype of James Camrons, Avatar.

Song for today

2010-01-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

As a way of easing my way back into the world of blogging, I have taken the lazy option and posted a piece of music. You should unfortunately recognise the song, as its a well known Dance song by DJ Sammy, and a dodgy power ballad by Bryan Adams!! I much prefer this version.

Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3f58vjRGC8

The Holy Spirit

2009-10-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

"We do not need to wait for the Holy Spirit to come: he came on the day of Pentecost. He has never left the church."------ John Stott

"Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything...... He has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person." ------ A. W. Tozer, *The Counselor*

Obedience is better than Sacrifice

2009-10-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

And Samuel said,

"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold to obey is better than sacrifice,

and to listen than the fat of rams".

This passage of scripture is taken from 1Samuel chapter 15 and for those who may not be familiar to the story leading up to these words, Saul has just been anointed king over his people Israel and the Lord says to him through the prophet Samuel that he must completely destroy the Amalekites..... "devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."

Sounds very clear, right? Well Sauls response was one which I can sympathise with. He did something very human. He carried out Gods instructions, but thought he would keep alive the king of the Amalekites and the better livestock to make a sacrifice of Thanks to God.

The reason I sympathise with him is it seems to me that Saul was acting out on what he thought was a way to honour God. He thought that this would be a nice thing to do for God. Yet when the word of the Lord came to Samuel he said, that he had regretted making Saul king. Why is this?

Saul wanted to do something for God and was rebuked. The thing is he missed the point. Its more important to let God do what He wants to do, than to do something that we want to do, for God.

After Samuel confronted Saul over this, Saul recognised the error of his judgement and realised he had sinned and rejected the word of the Lord. As a result Sauls dynasty would end with him and he would be succeeded by David. A very sobering lesson. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

The Missionary's Goal

2009-09-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

He.... said to them, "Behold we are going up to Jerusalem......" (Luke 18:31)

The goal of the missionary is not to be useful or to win the lost. His goal is to do the will of the Lord. In our Lords life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Fathers will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him.

(Oswald Chambers)

Being Christian without being Christlike.

2009-09-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

People have found ways of being Christian without being Christlike.

This is a sentence which recently caught my attention while reading Dallas Willards 'Renovation of the Heart'. In the lead up to this, Willard is referring to the church and how people are always teaching by example that it is more important to be right than it is to be Christlike. He writes, how there are so many different Denominations around the world and they are all 'Right'!! People in the church who are in positions of leadership particularly and who may be wrong in relation to something, need to be told what is right. They deserve to be dealt with severely. People who are going to be in heaven must be right on what is basic. This is of course true, however it can turn out that to be right in 'what is basic' is to be right in terms of that particular church tradition and not in terms of Christlikeness.

The problem is that for a lot of churches the 'basic goal' seems to be getting as many people ready to die and to go to heaven. The focus and aim should be on getting heaven into people. Very often we hear elderly people close to death say they have lived a full life and they're ready to die. However, how many people can say that they are ready to live??

Trying to always adopt this way of being right by the church, may not always be helpful in relationships within the church. In our attempts to do what we believe is right by God, in dealing with church problems, may be just building a wall between members of the body. We need to be a spirit filled people and people need to be able to see clearly that Christ is living within us. There needs to be evidence of a real transformation within the lives of the people of God.

Lifes struggles

2009-09-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

I have been going through quite a difficult period recently. I have felt quite a lot of pressure, and found that my every day life was becoming increasingly stressful, and without going into too much personal stuff, I was feeling pretty miserable! It seemed like everything was going against me. I often thought how is it I can feel so down in the dumps and yet lead a congregation in Worship? This also added to my pressure as I felt very guilty about this. Thankfully God uses us, even in our weaknesses. In fact he can use us more powerfully in our weaknesses, as its only when we recognise how useless we truly are on our own strength and allow him to take over, that exciting things happen and God moves.

I was encouraged to read this evening Isaiah 40, where it says that strength will rise as we wait on the Lord. In this time of feeling battered, bruised and weak, I need to learn to wait on the Lord and draw my strength from Him.

Last Sunday we sang the words taken from Colossians 1v27, ....."Christ in me the hope of Glory" These words are wonderfully profound. On my own abilities I will always fall short of Gods Glory, but my hope is not in myself, but in Christ who lives in me. My only response, should be one of Worship and Thankfulness to Him for is presence and his Spirit. He is my strength.

Verse for today

2009-07-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

Matthew 6:33-34
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

This is my verse of the day and its one that I often need to remind myself of. At the moment I am going through a few changes and am trying to figure out where my life is leading. Very often I can get carried away with my own plans. The danger for me is that I can make my plans without placing God FIRST in them. I need to cast all my worries and anxieties for the future on Him and continue to just seek and pray for the Kingdom of God and His purposes. This is what is important and its what Jesus said that we ought to be doing.

Some Snaps

2009-07-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

OK so I have absolutely no photography experience and up to recently I would have said also no interest, but during my recent trip to Romania I decided to take some shots of the countryside and well this is the result. Just remember as you are scrolling, that sometimes the best photographs are the ones that initially seem crap, but as you study them deeper a whole world of beauty opens up!...........

Camp memories

2009-07-14T02:47:00.000-07:00

This is Darius. He is the kid who I refer to in this post and my memory of how I noticed God move in his life.

I think a few weeks leading up to the camp I was a little apprehensive and not so excited about the prospect of putting all my energy and expertise into the work ahead. The reason for my apprehension was probably closely linked to the fact that I had no energy and no expertise!! I guess I didn't feel like I was in a place to give and serve as I had been discouraged and disheartened. My prayer life was struggling before the camp and I had made the classic mistakes of using biblical verses to support my own desires. Verses like Phil 4:6 where it says by prayer and supplication make your requests known to God. I just wanted to pray that God would grant me my own desires, and when He didn't I began to wonder whether prayers were really answered, or if that was something us Christians liked to think. I guess I had chosen to overlook verses like Col 3:1 which tells us to seek things that are above or Matt 6..... seek first the kingdom of God. Anyway there is a reason for this long-winded opening to my camp memories and Ill try get there in the next few lines. I didn't really believe in the power of prayer, purely because of my own circumstances and I wasn't praying in accordance with the spirit. I wasn't seeking Gods will in my prayer life. Well on this trip I saw God work very powerfully through prayer and not just answer our prayers but multiply and increase the blessings.

A few days into the camp we felt that there was a spiritual warfare going on and that we were under attack from the evil one. We had just had probably the most difficult day that we had ever experienced on an Samaritans Purse trip. It seemed like we had lost all control and were being governed by the kids, who were running riot, making our work quite difficult with no regard for discipline or authority.

We sat down in the evening and prayed and in particular we prayed for Darius who seemed to be the ringleader in all the madness.

The very next morning, we instantly noticed a change in attitude and particularly in Darius who actually won person of the day that very next evening. He was well behaved, more helpful than most the other kids and started to show how much of a good example he could be. Also the team members felt refreshed and strengthened that day. It was a complete turn around.

At one stage, toward the end of the camp, Nicola and I were talking and she said how she didn't expect the camp to impact her as much as it did. Well I have to agree with her, as doing an SP trip can often make you think like you are just an instrument used in this great work, serving the children and that we aren't there to learn or receive anything. Well I learned a very important thing this week. Prayer is incredibly powerful and we can overcome and avoid any arrows the enemy throws our way because God does answer prayer.

Romania 09

2009-07-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

Ok so Ive just returned from another very successful Samaritans Purse summer camp and thought I would share a couple of photographs from our trip.....

Gods Will..

2009-06-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

I have recently been following sermons by Paster Charles Price online and last weeks was dealing with the will of God. He (Charles) says how he was once approached by a student who asked the question, a question which I often wonder about........ "What is Gods will for my life?"

Charles continues to say how this is a good question but perhaps not the best question. What we should be asking is "What is Gods will?".

This is a very different question as it takes the focus away from ourselves and is focusing on God. It focuses on Gods agenda in the world and to be a part of Gods agenda is the greatest privilege for us as his people. Jesus gave himself totally to Gods agenda and if we are to be like Christ, well then we need to focus on what Gods agenda is.

Gods will may not always be our own will and so we may suffer for Gods greater agenda but God has a wonderful plan for the world. There may be a cost for us individually! We must be careful not to desire Gods will, from a selfish perspective, where we say "what is your will?" and then decide if we want to go along with it or not.

Before we look at Gods personal will for our lives we should focus on his general will for everyone. Charles points to the following verses listed below which look at Gods general will.

1 Thessalonians 4:3= You should be sanctified or holy...... the context here is to do with sexual immorality.

1 Thessalonians 5:18= Give thanks in all circumstances

1 Peter 2:13-15= Submit yourselves to those in authority..... this may mean our boss or our political leaders.

1 Peter 4:19= Suffer according to Gods will

If we disrespect the general will of God we then begin to lose touch with the personal will of God.

Once we are living these things in our lives then we can discover what Gods personal will is for our lives. When we think something is Gods will for our lives we may need to ask the following questions:

What do my inner convictions say in a situation?

What does the scripture say?

What do my circumstance say?

What do my mature Christian friends say?....... advice

Where does the compass of our hearts seem to point?

What we need to pray is that Gods will is done, not our own will, and that he will direct our paths.

We often forget, but God never forgets

2009-05-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt like one week you were so close to God, that you could feel His presence in every little thing, whether it be in dealing with colleagues, enjoying his creation or reading a book in the quiet of your bedroom?

I have, and they are wonderful times of uplifting and appreciation for all that God has done in my life. However, I sometimes can have a completely contrasting week, where I feel like I couldn't be more distant from Him.

Unfortunately, for some of us Christian people, we are only as enthusiastic as the strength of the memory of our last experience of God. There are indeed times in our walk when we may not feel like living for Christ, and may not sense his presence. I have started to read another book recently by R.C. Sproul entitled 'A walk with God' and in this book he makes the following statement..... "Even if you never experienced another blessing from God or sensed his presence again as long as you lived, you would have no justification to do anything but live each day in praise." .......You see we could do nothing but be thankful to Him for everything he has already done for us. Before the time of Jesus, there had been 400 years where Israel had not heard from God through a prophet. 400 years of silence. I'm sure some people could have forgotten the promises of God and felt like I do sometimes,..... Spiritually Dry! Thank God its not all about how I feel on a particular day of the week. What is important, is that God did not forget his promise. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. So he deserves all our praises.

Reading Gods Word

2009-04-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

"We need to be reasonable when we approach scripture, but we submit our reason to its revelation" (Charles Price)

This is a quotation I heard a while back and it kinda stuck with me. What does it mean?

I think what Paster Price is trying to explain is that we don't always take scripture literally or at face value. To do so would be foolish and not good exegetical practice and here is an example why? For instance in a number of places throughout the Psalms, God is described as a Rock. In Psalm 28 David says..... "To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me." Does this mean David worshiped a stone? Of course not! He is saying, that God is like a Rock, he is strong and unshakable. A literal understanding of this scripture would be most unreasonable. This is a very basic example but in some circumstances we can confuse various passages of scripture and can argue over smaller things and miss the more vital truths.

We must approach scripture prayerfully. We need to ask for the Lords help in our reading of His word so that we may understand what it says, means and what God is saying to us. By prayerfully approaching the Scripture we are acknowledging the need for God and reliance on Him in our understanding. This is where our reason needs to submit to the scriptures revelation. It is through Gods Power that the Holy Spirit reveals things in the bible to us and in fact the very scripture is a revelation, as it is Gods word to us. The scripture reveals Jesus to us and he shows us the way to the Father........ (John 14:6) Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." So we need to submit to Jesus and give our lives to him as there is no other way to Salvation.

Being reasonable in our study and interpretation of scripture is very important but that is not where we should stop. There should also be the working of the Holy Spirit in our interpretation and we need to allow him to speak through the word and to reveal to us all that God is saying.

Hands up if you love football?

2009-04-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

Well, what a week its been for Manchester United and Ryan Giggs. With the arrival of Arsenal on Wednesday to the Theatre of Dreams, its surely going to be a mouth watering week in Football. The stage is set for two scintillating games, as we prepare ourselves for the semi finals of the Champions League. Tonight, an on form Chelsea side visit the European Giants, Barcelona which promises to be an epic encounter. Both teams have regularly met in the competition in recent years and there is certainly no love lost between them. While I will be licking my lips at the prospect of another master class from the likes of Leo Messi, my attention will be on tomorrows all England encounter between Manchester United and Arsenal.

United who in recent weeks have struggled with results and with the loss of Rio Ferdinand to the side looked like they were slipping and not as invincible as some pundits were labeling them have now re found form after a beautiful second half performance against Spurs last weekend.

Arsenal who looked a very weak side early on in the season, have now re found their form under the fantastic leadership of Mr. Arsene Wenger and next to Barcelona look like the most clinical side in front of goal. Unfortunately for Arsenal they cannot rely on the genius of Andre Arshavin, whose performance against Liverpool was nothing short of pure brilliance. He is not eligible to play in the competition. Yet for Arsenal all hope is not lost as they still have many weapons in their armory. The likes of Cesc Fabregas and Nasri could be extremely dangerous and all Manchester United fans will painfully remember the way in which Nasri put them to the sword earlier in the season.

There is one Manchester United player though who is worth a mention and that is Ryan Giggs. Ryan Giggs who this week was voted Player of the Year by his peers is eagerly hoping to line out against Arsenal for his incredible 800 game in a red jersey. He made his debut for United way back in 1991, in the old first division against Everton. It is an amazing thing to 18 years later see him as a hugely influential player in Uniteds future success, but I truly do. Giggs is getting older and is probably not able to play as many games in a season as he would like to, however when he does play, he appears to be getting better with age. He has adapted so well to the role of centre midfield and I for one hope that he lines up in tomorrows fixture. In my opinion, he is the only one who can stop Fabregas from controlling the game.

On another note, Fergie has been in a recent battle of words with Liverpool Boss, Rafael Benitez and this has deflected some of the attention away from any battles with his old nemesis, Arsene Wenger. I am happy that both managers have put their little squabbles behind them and have focused on the football. Hopefully this continues, but I have my doubts as there is so much riding on this semi final meeting.

Anyway enough talk, now lets get down to football!

Romania

2009-04-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

This summer, I shall be returning to Romania to once again work with an organisation called Samaritans Purse. This shall be my fourth venture with Samaritans Purse and since its been almost 4 years since my last trip to Romania, I am full of excitement and anticipation at how God is going to challenge and use me during the two weeks. We leave on the 23rd of June and return on the fifth of July. Samaritans Purse Ireland partners with Ecce Homo - a Christian based Romanian social care organisation.

Romania has a population of 22.3 million and of that 29% are below the poverty line. The work that I will be involved in is a summer camp, which will take under privileged children for a fun couple of weeks in the Romanian mountains. The picture attached is a place we visited on a previous trip, where some of the children on the camp lived. Please bring these children before the Lord in prayer and pray that God will reveal himself to them in the midst of their difficult circumstances.

Whats that all about?

2009-04-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Today's the day! I have finally decided to get a little bit more personal with all my adorning fans and to share a few of my thoughts and feelings on life/liberty/love and stuff! Yes that's right, Paul now has a blog. A fairly sad looking blog right now, but a blog none-the-less. The title of this blog is 'Pressing Forward'. Right about now, I hear a few of you saying....... what is that all about? Well allow me to explain. It is paraphrased from a verse in Philippians 3:12, which happens to be one of my favourite scriptural verses. This was a verse I read in my local church on the day I was baptized. It says.... "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Paul's words were encouraging and necessary for the church in Philippi and they are also of utmost importance for me today in my devotions. The goal for me is to know Jesus Christ and that is what I am pressing towards....