Nothing compares

The Outside Light group went to visit a family we have been speaking to for a number of months. We had particularly been speaking with the son, however he has been in jail for the last couple of months. The last time we visited the family we got the opportunity to talk to the mum and the sister and had an amazing conversation. We prayed for them and it was a touching time, the sister gave me a present to say thank you and it was a special evening. The mum used to be a Christian a long time ago but had fallen away due to arguements and unforgiveness, they went back last night and she has returned to church. She has been going for the last few weeks on a Tuesday! Thank you Lord, we don't do this for fruit but when it comes it is a real blessing. This is what it is all about, the Father is now asking lots questions. Please pray for him.

Treasure the other side....

This afternoon went really well. I met someone who thought he was Jesus, he had basically led a perfect life. Met some workmen who were not afraid to die and had a great gospel conversation with one of them. People are generally open to talking about the spiritual, it is us usually who put up the barriers. It is like a hurdle with a piece of treasure the other side, you need to jump over the hurdle to get there but how worth it.
Met a sweet old lady from a church up the road who was really touched to have had the meeting, as was I. A lad gave me a hug who I had met from school over the last couple of weeks and another was really keen to stop and talk. You really don't know what goes on behind the scenes of peoples hearts, I know someone who does though...keep looking to Christ.

A thousand excuses, only one reason...

There is a huge hunger in me to share my faith, there is also a huge monster in me called fear. It is a battle that gets quite exhausting sometimes. This morning I made a firm commitment that I was not going into the office until I had shared the gospel with someone. About 7 people passed me over the next half hour, all of which had there valid reason, in my mind, for not being able to stop and listen to the gospel.

I then heard a cry in my head saying are you ashamed of me, gulp! I was afraid of what people would think of me. I saw a lady walking along and took the plunge. It was well worth it, she was committed to Christ as a child but felt she had been dealt to many blows to carry on with her faith. I shared the gospel and prayed for her at the end. Pray with me that she is convicted and hungry to come back to Christ. I am going back out in a couple of hours, I can't wait and really don't want to go, the paradox that is so often the case...Keep going for it!

I am not ashamed of the good news...

Had a great opporunity to share the good news with a young lad I have been speaking to over the past couple of weeks. We went through a new presentation I have using a pad and dry wipe pen, it is great to have something visual when sharing.

Been out and about following up contacts and building on some relationships with existing people at our church this last week. We have lots of people who come to church but probably don't know a lot else about the Christian message...some good conversations.

Out and about

When you leave your diary to God, things happen! I had planned to go for a walkies around the village today, get up to date with some visits and see what would happen. I had a strong sense that God wanted me out today, I prayed he would lead me where he willed.
I bumped into two people, one of which I never knew lived in the area, I had shared the gospel with her some weeks back and got another opportunity. The second I had not seen for a number of months, he goes to another church and I had the chance to pray with him. He is out of work and struggling on his benefits.
The visits went ok, not many in, left some messages and spoke to a couple, I hope some fruit comes from it. Keep stepping out.

Farmer George

I was out walking the other day and cut through a path into a freshly ploughed field. I have been talking a great deal recently about ploughing ground, preparing people to hear the good news of Jesus coming to rescue.
I then thought about my role as teaching others these principles of ploughing, sowing, watering, harvesting, threshing. my next train of thought was to think I am a farmer really. What dawned on me next I can only describe as God's sense of humour and an example of what I think it means to be in a living relationship with God. For years I had fought the meaning of my name, you know when someone gives you one of those mugs with the meaning of your name, or a place mat with your name's meaning. The meaning of my name is farmer, can you believe it? Now this probably doesn't seem odd to anyone else, but for years I have shunned that, believing that my name was more likened to a kings name or someone of huge importance. I have received so many lessons from this, the main one is my pride all those years at thinking so highly of myself. The second is over the past months I have been enquiring of God what my name is, Paul was formally Saul, the disciples got named again and this is something we see often in the Bible. So I had been asking God what is my name or more importantly who am I to you? The reply was, I believe, you are a Farmer. The even more obsurd thing is how happy I am to be called this after all those years of fighting the thought!
I think God is one of the funniest people I know if not the most...

Life in the gospel...

The bible often talks about fighting a battle, that our battle is with the spiritual and ourselves. Recently I have been fighting myself, all within me cries out don't share the gospel no one wants to hear it. God's word is often called the sword with which we fight, so I put up Mark 15:16 where Jesus instructed us to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel! That's good enough for me...

Last night had a conversation with a builder on his way home down the canal, I shared the gospel with him and challenged him to really think and investigate these issues. Please pray for him.

My friend has encouraged me to use some new techniques and visuals when sharing the gospel and I tried them out at Winston School today for the 1st time. It was amazing, it is a small book that goes through the gospel and you fill in the blanks with a pen as they give answers, it includes them in it and the biblical principles behind this simple message are great. About 7/8 people were all listening and struck by the gospel. It was like pennies were dropping, they understood, I pray it drops into their hearts and other Christians get a chance to keep building on thier hearts. We are all in this, keep telling people the news.

One of the results of sharing was I could not wipe this silly grin from my face, I was in joy as it reminds me again of the gospel and what a honour it is to be telling others the news, not a chore or something to be feared. Don't let the lies in...

Alpha and Omega

Where does it all GO, the time I mean, where, one minute its September and the next it is October! Psalm 103 - As for us, our life is like grass. We grow and flourish like a wild flower; then the wind blowws on it, and it is gone... the Lords love lasts forever.

I met an interesting chap at the weekend who was telling me how he sees the Trinity in everything, he said look at time for example, past present future! Then he said why did Jesus say I am the light, we had an interesting conversation about light, what is it, you can't touch it or really look at it. When you break down the light what happens, it is reduced to...3 colours, think back to your prism experiments at school. God really is in everything!

It has been a great week for outreach, Outside Light on Monday, our Alpha course began on Tuesday, Wednesday into Winston school, Thursday ladies bible study talk, Friday Amplify, Saturday in Wales with Avanti ministries, Sunday praising God! That to me is a pretty perfect week.

Amplify is a youth event (www.amplify-uk.com) and we had mixed things up this time and it went amazingly well. A good crowd there and the talk was simple and very effective. I had a strong sense that God has really done a work in peoples lives that night. I had a couple of conversations with people who were on the edge of making decisions and investigating Christianity, they found Amplify really helpful in doing that.

Saturday I met up with the Avanti team in Wales, Tony Anthony who heads this organisation has agreed to be my mentor. He is sold out for Jesus and his teaching is awesome. It was a great reminder for me to get away from focusing on results in evangelism, Jesus simply instructed us to GO into the world and tell the news, to love people and the greatest love is what Christ did. So much of our church activity has turned into come to church, rather than GO! I am going to be going on a mission overseas with Avanti and cannot wait. In the evening on Saturday Tony gave hs testimony and then delivered the gospel message in such a clear way and a number became Christians. A privilage to watch and be a part of.

We had a Bryn Haworth concert at our church and although I couldn't be there it is a great success and a touching evening.

I really want to challenge any Christian reading this to keep the main thing on the agenda, that is telling people the good news. Get some tracts to give to people, learn the gospel message for yourself so you can share it readily. Commit to being a part of the army of Christ who will risk everything and lose all so that they may gain Christ and see others doing the same.

Christ is all we need, he has all the time in his hands, He is the Alpha and Omega...