I read three chapters today. One of them was a whole book!

Nehemiah 3 was a detailed but somewhat dull passage. What I mainly got from it was the ways in which so many people helped out. There were people from all different walks of life and with different skills, all doing their bit. It sounded like the church should be. God needed something doing, he gave some people the authority and desire to do it and others followed their lead. Yes there was some opposition but the main thing is, it got done.

Acts 8 was as good as I thought it would be. Full of excitement and wonder. Peter and the sorcerer, Philip and the Ethiopian. Wonderful stories. I really loved the passage that the Eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53. It tells, so movingly, the story of Jesus' walk to the cross and the wonder of his sacrifice.

A message that God seems to have been putting on my heart lately is that nothing ever changes. Again and again I have seen God that what happened to the apostles and the early church, happens to us. Today's was a message from 2 John. In verse 7 he writes that 'many who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Now, I am sure that there are many different theological perspectives, maybe John was talking about a particular heresy but to me it is simple. All too often we hear people on the internet saying that 'Jesus never existed'. It is such an obvious falsehood but it is becoming very tempting for many in the modern world. More and more people are being convinced that Jesus wasn't real. This is a deception and a message from the antichrist.

Luckily (well, predestined good fortune rather than luck of course, we are Christians), there is an even better message in 2 John. If we are obedient to Christ, we will be walking in love and as we all know; God is love. Be obedient, ignore the deceivers and you will be walking with God.

That's a message eh!

I came across an interesting website today. Proof that you really can find anything you want on the internet. I am very interested in word-clouds and find them a very nice way to visualise the messages of the Bible. Anyway, this website

http://www.66clouds.com/index.html

has word clouds for each book of the Bible as well as each testament and the whole Bible. I am going to use them as much as I can to help with my devotionals. 

Here is the one from the whole bible

What a fantastic piece of work. I am very very grateful to the people at 66clouds.com and wish to thank them for helping me do something that I have been trying to do for a while.

An interesting pair of chapters tonight. On the surface, they could be seen to be very boring. Nehemiah 2 sees him getting upset and gaining permission to go back to Jerusalem. It just is full of language and nuance though. Little parts show the evident truthfulness of the chapter and the warmth of the King and his wife to Nehemiah is lovely to see.

Another potentially boring passage was the speech given by Stephen to the Sanhedrin. Taken out of context (oh how often does that happen when discussing the Bible with our opponents!) the speech is merely a re-telling of the history of Israel. However, this epic has a sting in the tail. Stephen recounts all the times that the Israelites ignored God and ignored the prophets he sent. Then there is his final point. The Sanhedrin are as guilty as anyone else. They rejected Jesus and that's the most heinous of all rejections.

This is followed by one of the most beautiful scenes in all of Scripture. Stephen is taken out to be stoned and he looks up to heaven and sees Jesus standing there at the right hand of God, waiting for him. Dying and in pain and ready to meet God, what does Stephen do? He prays for his torturers and for their forgiveness. What a hero.

Tomorrow we see the church persecuted and spread about. I am looking forward to reading that chapter ...

I see them out and about in town and I really want to engage with them. Problem is, what is the right way to (ahem) witness? I am thinking of doing some research into this topic over the next couple of days. Hopefully I will be able to post about it and then actually do it ...

This is what our pastor is talking about on Sunday. It is an interesting question and on that we definitely need to get the right answer to.

Churches in Fort William are going from strength to strength. Their buildings are full and there are new pastors and new preachers in abundance. Scotland used to be known as the land of the book. At least we may still be a page in that book.

Problem is though, that we need to make sure we are not being complacent and resting on our laurels. They aren't our laurels after all! So what does God want? We live in a difficult world where the church is not relevant to many people. This is a shame. In our little town there are a myriad of different churches. Some have music, some don't. Some allow a guitar and some don't even allow a piano. Some are high in their liturgy, others are a little more relaxed. They all have something in common though. All of them worship the same Jesus, just in slightly different ways. People should be seeing these churches as beacons. Are they?

Don't get me wrong. I am not now nor ever will be a universalist. I know that there are doctrines of some churches which are wrong. I don't agree with the Roman Catholic veneration of Mary or their ideas about intercession. Doesn't stop Jesus shining out from their churches though. I definitely don't agree with the Free Church and the emphasis it places on membership and the way they do communion. Yet, anyone who goes to their church will hear a powerful exposition of the Good News. Which Christian wouldn't want that?

So, we, as a church, need to be getting Jesus' message out there. Show the people that He is relevant and there are different places and ways in which he can be met. It isn't that we have a mission remember. It is that God has a mission; he also happens to have a church ...

Acts 6 and Nehemiah 1. Both wonderful chapters. Very inspiring. I like the descriptions of Stephen in Acts. When I get to heaven, I am so gonna wait in line to see that man with the face of an angel.

I was also moved by the prayer of Nehemiah about Jerusalem. I love that city dearly. It is a beautiful and moving place. I know how Nehemiah must have felt

Here is something that I knocked up after reading the chapter this evening ...

This is an important question and possibly it is too late to be asking it.

In all honesty, I am not sure. I have never been one for putting forward plans suggesting that they are form God. However, recently, there have been a couple of times when I have stepped up to the plate and shared what I think God is trying to say through me.

On both occasions it has been the right thing to do.

So, what does God want for me? I think he wants me to do a lot more preaching and teaching. To generally get involved more in the church. This is something that pleases me and I do like it when I share God's word. However, I also think that He wants me (and the wife) to get more involved in the wider church in Fort William. Mission is important both locally and globally. I need to sit and pray and pray and think about how I can do this.

Yes, my last Mission Week was a big flop and it hurt me to admit that. It was a big flop because I am a useless organiser. This time it will be different if I go ahead with anything. It will be different because I am better at realising my own strengths and my own limitations. I am willing to ask for help and I know where to ask.

So, any ideas?

Grill a Christian night. Have it in a local venue, ask a couple of the local pastors along, open the floor to any questions. I think that might be a goer.

Pub church. Does what it says on the tin. I am sure there are ways we could do this. (I know it would be difficult for some so maybe a cafe church).

I certainly think some interactive prayer stations will be needed. I will ask the wife to help with that; this is definitely her forte.

Happy New Year

2014 was a great year. It was a year in which I re-connected with God and in which He very graciously allowed me to share some things about him. Church was wonderful Work was great. Family life (when I wasn't being unnecessarily grumpy) was wonderful.

We are expecting our son to arrive in a few weeks and this is utterly wonderful. We have chosen a name for him which the beautiful wife found when she was in hospital. It relates to the story of Nehemiah and I think I will be reading the book about him over the next couple of weeks.

Not everything was hunky-dory. There are still problems that I am facing and there are still things that I irrationally let annoy me. I am working on them but thankfully so is God. That is an amazing truth and one that I hold onto every single day

An interesting chapter this one. I don't like the opening. It is dark and difficult to explain.

One point that did make me think was this one

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! Act 5:29

What a way to stand up for our faith. I wish I was much more like these two!


Also this point

They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. Act 5:40-42

Such an inspiration

Here is an interesting  annoying article from Newsweek.

http://www.newsweek.com/2015/01/02/thats-not-what-bible-says-294018.html

It is yet again an attack in the mainstream media on Christianity. Please don't think that this is another whinging 'woe is me' post about how all Christians are persecuted. I don't feel persecuted. I do feel got at though. Constantly I here that Christianity is based on lies, Christianity is based on a flawed understanding of the Bible etc. Well, I disagree

The truth is that this article is full of shoddy research, obfuscation and downright lies. The passage about the woman caught in adultery isn't from the earliest documents? No way! Oh, wait a second, every single bible I own acknowledges that fact!. Same for the end of Mark's gospel. There is a pathetic point about the use of 'John answered' in Luke 3:16. If you read Luke 3:15, it is clear that there is a question there.

This sort of thing annoys me. I am not a hate filled, ill educated know nothing. I don't reject everything that is not mentioned in the Bible. I don't pick and choose the verses that I follow of use. I don't follow verses at all. I follow scripture in its entirety.

You see, I am an evangelical fundamentalist. That means I am part of the evangelical tradition and I believe in the fundamentals of the Christian Faith.

1: The divinity of Christ - Jesus Christ is and always will be God
2: The Virgin Birth - Not a problem for me to be believe in, certainly not something too difficult for God to do
3: The blood atonement of Christ - Jesus died on the cross for my sins. Wonderful news
4: The bodily resurrection of Jesus - Jesus was raised bodily from the grave and He lives today.
5: The inerrancy of Scripture - In what it touches and in what it teaches, the Bible is always right.

I am proud of these beliefs and I will stand by them. Holding them does not make me into the horrid beings that the author of the article describes. In fact, I don't think I have ever met someone like that. Someone so intolerant and abusive. A couple of atheists that I have met have been close to it mind you ...

Been reading again tonight and once more there are two interesting points that came to me.

Firstly, the abundance of times the apostles mention the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. I grow weary of the times I am told by atheists that the Bible never says that the tomb was empty. Surely nobody who read Acts properly could possibly think this.

Secondly, I thought that the conversation between the Sanhedrin and Peter and John was interesting. They were told to stop preaching in public. Today many pastors are told not to preach in public. Nothing ever changes. There will always be opposition and there will always be Jesus. I know which side wins ...

My beautiful wife bought me a new Bible for Christmas. It is a proclamation Bible, meant to help me prepare sermons and other things like that. It certainly looks like it will do that.

Yesterday I started a reading plan with it. Nothing special, I am simply reading through the book of Acts. I hope to read at least one chapter a day. Yesterday was interesting. I remember being struck by a couple of verses:

Acts 1:15 - it says that the believers numbered about 120. Now I know this was a small number but it certainly opens my eyes to more than just the 11 apostles. It is nice when the Bible is this detailed in what it says.

Acts 1:21 - apparently it was necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us. Is this the correct translation? What does it mean for the position of women? Can they be apostles? Is it limited to simply that position or to others? I shall spend some time thinking about it.

Yesterday, I was leading church as our pastor was away. I was wondering what to say at the beginning and I thought that I would share my testimony. I think that is what God wanted me to do; so I did.

I had, surprisingly, never shared my whole testimony in church. I don't know why, maybe it is because up until this year, I haven't been in a church like this one. Anyway, never mind, I shall share it here.

I was not brought up in a Christian household. I don't mean to say that my family were atheist or pagans but church (or chapel of course, we are Welsh after all) were not a part of my life.

Looking back, God was always there. I remember a mission coming to the local URC and really liking what they were doing. They had a song that went to the theme tune of MOTD. what's not to like! I also had some friends who were in the Salvation Army and I went to one of their big meetings once, really felt like I wanted to commit but it never panned out.

It wasn't really until uni that I became interested in church. A friend invited me along to the local Anglican church and I was hooked. It was a lively, entertaining, loving church (I recommend it to you if you are ever in Aberystwyth; have a look at their website http://stmikes.org.uk/) and I wanted to learn more. I did two Alpha courses (free food!) and eventually became convinced in my head that all this stuff I had learned about Jesus and the church was correct. On the 17th of February in 1998, a dear friend of mine told me that I needed to make a choice. I needed to decide if I wanted to commit to a life following Jesus. I said yes and that was the best day of my life.

I spent some time serving the Lord (and visitors) to Israel in 1999 after I failed to get a teaching job. Later that year, I got my first job in London and moved to the South East. I met someone and we got married. It didn't last long and she left me for someone else. During the marriage, I had fallen away for a while but I went back to church after she left and that was undoubtedly the best thing to do.

I was in a difficult state but I again found a lovely church to visit and I found some Godly people there to help me through it. I was given the opportunity to go to Spring Harvest and I thought that this would get me right with God. However, on the first night there, it just wasn't making sense. I excused myself from the big top and went for a walk on the beach to see if God was really there. Well, it didn't seem like he was.

I went back into Butlins and went to the loo. There I slammed my Bible down on the side and a piece of paper popped out. On it was a Bible verse. Psalm 34:8. I thought that I would indeed taste and see and boy was the Lord good.

Later in the week at Spring Harvest, during a tough session, I finally got to terms with everything. I forgave myself and others for what had happened and felt the Holy Spirit come and comfort me. It was a real change and it made all the difference..

Since that day, I can say with all my heart that I have never doubted God's existence or love for me. I am not perfect, I am far from it, but I am getting there through the Grace that flows so abundantly from the God who has been in my life for far longer than I noticed!

It has been a difficult year for church. We lost our wonderful pastor to a hideous disease earlier in the year. he had been ill for a little while and there was a plan to transition to our new pastor slowly. this plan wasn't God's it seems. He wanted to take John to be in heaven with him and I can't blame him on little bit! What a truly Christian man he was. I only knew him for a few months but was wonderfully blessed with every conversation.

Our new pastor wanted a small group of people to help as a sort of transition team or leadership team. He asked me and my wife to join him in that group alongside a very Godly couple. It is a wonderful privilege and I think that God will really use us and I hope and pray that I can play a tiny part in his plan.

I have done some leading of the church and I have done some preaching too. I am not preaching for a little while because the baby is on the way but I do think that this is something that God wants me to do more of.

The people at church have been fantastic. They are so loving and so wonderful. Just today one of them told how her painful legs have been healed by God! Such wonderful news!

Well, here we are. Christmas gone and there is a lot to update on. My wonderful wife and I are expecting another child soon. Our son is due to be born on the 25th of January 2015. Our daughter is very excited. She is having a great time (despite a broken arm earlier in the autumn!). Work is brilliant. I can't believe that it is two whole years since I left godforsaken awful place. I truly am so grateful to God for what I have received in terms of work and better quality of life. I intend to write a short post about church soon so I won't say too much about that here. Anyway, lots to look forward to in the New Year. Almost forgot, I have tickets to see Wales beat Scotland in the Six Nations! God really is good...