We all know to take the first step in anything is always the hardest. So many things have to be overcome; particularly the unknown and usually attached to the unknown is fear.
Fear of the unknown is one of, if not the biggest enemy of making a change. Fear of the unknown causes many situations to remain the same… we even have sayings that reinforce this belief …‘better the devil you know’ or ’out of the frying pan into the fire.’
All of these things have a detrimental effect on our ability to change and usually result in the status quo once again being maintained. The reality though is that change needs to be taking place in our lives daily!
The devil is absolutely happy with maintaining the status quo, he is even more than happy with many Christians going to church as unfortunately too many churches are more than happy with the status quo.
The church of today needs a change and change often starts with one step. As God declared to Joshua he was to posses the land one step at a time… Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given that to you (Josh 1: 3).
Each new day will present us with new challenges… new opportunities to take new steps and bring about change in our world. As with all things where there is a challenge God the father will always provide for us, as the scriptures declare…new every morning, great is your faithfulness(Lam 3: 23).
Finally there is a challenge that has been ringing in my ears for the past 3 week. It relates to the story of a friend who started and runs the University of Life, an education project in Brazil, after he was moved for the first time to take coffee and bread to the homeless children, they simply asked him ….will you be back tomorrow.
Taking the first step, bringing about change is not something that we do once but something that we need to do on a daily basis as Luke 9: 23 declares. If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
This is the mission that has been laid at the churches feet so let’s daily take those first steps.
Andy
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Will the real Christmas please stand up!
Season’s Greetings…..Happy Holiday’s , Happy Xmas or my all time favourite Winterfest (courtesy of Birmingham City Council!!) …these today are a few of the ways we announce our celebration of Christmas, or more accurately Christmas without the Christ.
As we know Christmas for Christians is about celebrating and remembering the birth of Jesus but for the majority of the world Christmas is about everything but the birth of Jesus…over time the meaning and message of Christmas has been eroded, lost almost to another generation.
Over the last 100years our nation has undergone a huge cultural and spiritual change, to a point now that many scholars and social commentators now regard the UK as being Post Christian ie) our Christian heritage is exactly that ..something confined to the history books, no longer relevant to the present or the future.
As I write this two major high street retailers have gone into administrative receivership, thousands of workers potentially face Christmas or the New year unemployed wondering how they will pay the bills. We hear everyday how there is now not just a UK recession but a worldwide recession. Banks once considered one of our cornerstones of society have crumbled, bailed out by Government handouts!
Our nation and the world is rapidly changing, often exampled very well by the annual snapshot that is Christmas. The question for each of us is how do we respond to these changes?
I believe my answer can be summed up by referring to a song written by a friend some 25 years ago simply entitled ’ Let’s put Christ back in Christmas’… but how do we do that?
Christ was born to give mankind hope, to provide a way back to the arms of the Father, to provide salvation.
We can put Christ back into Christmas through hope, not just a 'once a year hope' but a hope that is relevant for everyday. More than ever lives are more touched by a feeling of hopelessness than of hope. Christ came to turn that around, and Christians have been called to carry this message of hope...salvation to our world.
All our lives have been touched by recent events but as scripture declares we have an eternal assurance. Unfortunately about 95% of our nation does not. Our nation more than ever needs to be reintroduced to the real Christmas. We all need to see ourselves as missionaries to our own backyard. We need to acknowledge the state of our nation, a nation that needs the message of Christ, the message and reality of hope, the need of salvation more than ever.
This years lets challenge ourselves once again as to how we can spread a little hope, reintroduce people to the true meaning of Christmas…Emmanuel - God is with us.
Andy
As we know Christmas for Christians is about celebrating and remembering the birth of Jesus but for the majority of the world Christmas is about everything but the birth of Jesus…over time the meaning and message of Christmas has been eroded, lost almost to another generation.
Over the last 100years our nation has undergone a huge cultural and spiritual change, to a point now that many scholars and social commentators now regard the UK as being Post Christian ie) our Christian heritage is exactly that ..something confined to the history books, no longer relevant to the present or the future.
As I write this two major high street retailers have gone into administrative receivership, thousands of workers potentially face Christmas or the New year unemployed wondering how they will pay the bills. We hear everyday how there is now not just a UK recession but a worldwide recession. Banks once considered one of our cornerstones of society have crumbled, bailed out by Government handouts!
Our nation and the world is rapidly changing, often exampled very well by the annual snapshot that is Christmas. The question for each of us is how do we respond to these changes?
I believe my answer can be summed up by referring to a song written by a friend some 25 years ago simply entitled ’ Let’s put Christ back in Christmas’… but how do we do that?
Christ was born to give mankind hope, to provide a way back to the arms of the Father, to provide salvation.
We can put Christ back into Christmas through hope, not just a 'once a year hope' but a hope that is relevant for everyday. More than ever lives are more touched by a feeling of hopelessness than of hope. Christ came to turn that around, and Christians have been called to carry this message of hope...salvation to our world.
All our lives have been touched by recent events but as scripture declares we have an eternal assurance. Unfortunately about 95% of our nation does not. Our nation more than ever needs to be reintroduced to the real Christmas. We all need to see ourselves as missionaries to our own backyard. We need to acknowledge the state of our nation, a nation that needs the message of Christ, the message and reality of hope, the need of salvation more than ever.
This years lets challenge ourselves once again as to how we can spread a little hope, reintroduce people to the true meaning of Christmas…Emmanuel - God is with us.
Andy
World Changers Pt 2
The world is changing rapidly, events no longer change by the day or the hour, change evolves continually. The pace of this change can often leave us feeling bewildered and vulnerable. How do we see change? Is it something we embrace or run away from. Part of our answer will depend on the type of change that confronts us, but for me there is a reality that a change is needed in the church, especially in the Western world. But sometimes when we talk about change in the church we can view it remotely, when what we are talking about is the need for you and me to change. What type of change is needed in you and me…that we all become world changers. You are not called to change the world by your self but you are called to change your part of the world. Not only does God help us change but we change with the help of each other, I help you change you help me change!
Please read again the previous post entitled world changers, great encouragement about how we all need to be!
Andy
Please read again the previous post entitled world changers, great encouragement about how we all need to be!
Andy
Monday, 6 October 2008
Radical....or should this be normal!
The following is an excerpt from an article I found on the web the other day, quite simply it’s time for change!
“A worldchanger is someone who is committed to do just that, change the world. A worldchanger is not someone who blends in. A worldchanger sticks out!
A Worldchanger stands up ready to make a difference. A worldchanger goes beyond the usual expectations of Christianity. A worldchanger finds the most intense demands that Jesus places on Christians and doesn't shy away but goes after then passionately and does whatever it takes to get the job done!
They are not just doing it because their parents make them or because the pastor tells them to.. A worldchanger has been radically, completely, and totally changed by a relationship with God!
Christianity is not some boring thing that a person halfheartedly commits to just because they have been in church their whole lives.
A worldchanger had found Jesus for themselves. And because Jesus died for them, they are ready to give their lives for him. Christianity. is not just lip service.
Worldchangers have a fervor to seek God with all of their hearts, and to do everything they can to let the world know that God is real and that he is alive! Worldchangers are not stuck in a bunch of boring rules and regulations, but they have the fire of the living God burning inside them! And they just can't keep it inside of them.
Worldchangers are serious about learning the word of God and then taking that word and applying it to their lives. Worldchangers are constantly changing and becoming more and more like Jesus.
Worldchangers develop a vision for their community and do everything they can to take the living Christ to a lost and dying world!
Worldchangers are sick and tired of a watered down, namby-pamby Christianity.! They want the real thing and don't care how hard it hits them or what parts of their lives they have to change.
They are sick and tired of the attitude that lukewarm Christians bring into the church, and they are ready to do something about it! They are especially ready to attack attitudes in their own lives!
A Worldchanger loves the Lord with all of his/her heart, soul, mind, and strength and loves his neighbor as himself. Write this scripture down. Carry it with you! Begin to pray over what you have just learned about a worldchanger.”
It’s time to change….time to build….are we willing?
Andy
“A worldchanger is someone who is committed to do just that, change the world. A worldchanger is not someone who blends in. A worldchanger sticks out!
A Worldchanger stands up ready to make a difference. A worldchanger goes beyond the usual expectations of Christianity. A worldchanger finds the most intense demands that Jesus places on Christians and doesn't shy away but goes after then passionately and does whatever it takes to get the job done!
They are not just doing it because their parents make them or because the pastor tells them to.. A worldchanger has been radically, completely, and totally changed by a relationship with God!
Christianity is not some boring thing that a person halfheartedly commits to just because they have been in church their whole lives.
A worldchanger had found Jesus for themselves. And because Jesus died for them, they are ready to give their lives for him. Christianity. is not just lip service.
Worldchangers have a fervor to seek God with all of their hearts, and to do everything they can to let the world know that God is real and that he is alive! Worldchangers are not stuck in a bunch of boring rules and regulations, but they have the fire of the living God burning inside them! And they just can't keep it inside of them.
Worldchangers are serious about learning the word of God and then taking that word and applying it to their lives. Worldchangers are constantly changing and becoming more and more like Jesus.
Worldchangers develop a vision for their community and do everything they can to take the living Christ to a lost and dying world!
Worldchangers are sick and tired of a watered down, namby-pamby Christianity.! They want the real thing and don't care how hard it hits them or what parts of their lives they have to change.
They are sick and tired of the attitude that lukewarm Christians bring into the church, and they are ready to do something about it! They are especially ready to attack attitudes in their own lives!
A Worldchanger loves the Lord with all of his/her heart, soul, mind, and strength and loves his neighbor as himself. Write this scripture down. Carry it with you! Begin to pray over what you have just learned about a worldchanger.”
It’s time to change….time to build….are we willing?
Andy
Friday, 9 May 2008
Connection
I have been thinking about the 'power of connection' recently and what it really means.
Sometimes this connection can be really tangible or sometimes less so. Having recently run the 10K with another 3676 people, I can't help but feel a sense of 'connection' with them, even though I only spoke to a few of them who ran the race, I still feel that connection. I suppose some of it is around a shared experience, we all went through something together....and came out the other side!!!(Sorry that is a little melodramatic.)
This point is better exampled by the stories from the soldiers who took part in the Normandy landings and beyond, how they developed a bond with each other that was almost beyond their own families....how they became a band of brothers....developing the ultimate connection with each other
It was exactly that type of connection that Jesus developed with His disciples, which in turn they developed within the early church, and as in the Normandy landings, often in in adverse circumstances.
Going back to the 10K, Nessa decided to write a short letter to a few of our neighbours explaining what we were doing, asking for their support. The response we have had from our neighbours has been fantastic and in all honesty I have had more conversations with our neighbours because of this 'adverse' situation ie) Josh's condition, than I have had for some time...connections have come through an unlikely circumstance.
In concluding... naturally I am a shy person, and over the years I have tended to keep my head down, avoiding making a connection, but now I will do my best to make that connection...after all as in the latest line from the Dr. Pepper ad 'What's the worst that can happen?"!!!
Andy
Sometimes this connection can be really tangible or sometimes less so. Having recently run the 10K with another 3676 people, I can't help but feel a sense of 'connection' with them, even though I only spoke to a few of them who ran the race, I still feel that connection. I suppose some of it is around a shared experience, we all went through something together....and came out the other side!!!(Sorry that is a little melodramatic.)
This point is better exampled by the stories from the soldiers who took part in the Normandy landings and beyond, how they developed a bond with each other that was almost beyond their own families....how they became a band of brothers....developing the ultimate connection with each other
It was exactly that type of connection that Jesus developed with His disciples, which in turn they developed within the early church, and as in the Normandy landings, often in in adverse circumstances.
Going back to the 10K, Nessa decided to write a short letter to a few of our neighbours explaining what we were doing, asking for their support. The response we have had from our neighbours has been fantastic and in all honesty I have had more conversations with our neighbours because of this 'adverse' situation ie) Josh's condition, than I have had for some time...connections have come through an unlikely circumstance.
In concluding... naturally I am a shy person, and over the years I have tended to keep my head down, avoiding making a connection, but now I will do my best to make that connection...after all as in the latest line from the Dr. Pepper ad 'What's the worst that can happen?"!!!
Andy
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