My Treasure

Greatest joy and deepest pleasure

Found in knowing Christ my treasure 

Taste and See

Taste and see that the Lord is good Psalm 34:8

Listen and hear that the Lord is good

Think and understand that the Lord is good

Touch and feel that the Lord is good

Show and demonstrate that the Lord is good

Reason and explain that the Lord is good

Understand and know that the Lord is good

Search and find that the Lord is good

Go and tell that the Lord is good

Why? Because the Lord is good

Word became flesh

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us

John 1:14

Word became flesh

Verbal became physical 

Infinite became finite

Spirit became stuff

Eternal became temporal 

Unembodied became embodied

Omnipresent became present 

Omnipotent became potent

Universal became local

Heavenly became earthly

Mind became matter

Rich became poor

God became man

Something worth giving my life for!

              Bible College of Wales, Swansea

I found this recently that I wrote in September 2007 when Alison and I worked at the Bible College of Wales in Swansea

You often hear people talk about what church should be like; what are the principles, what are the key issues that we have to deal with? Last night I saw church in action in the most unlikely place, in a form that many would not recognise as church but had all the hallmarks of New Testament Christianity 

I was sat on the beach at Swansea Bay, trying to get comfortable on a large log while smoke from the bonfire was making me cry like a baby. It was late in the evening and a bunch of students had invited us to celebrate a birthday as well as our 25th wedding anniversary.

I looked around at the ecclesia of God, a gathering of God's people, with Jesus in our midst. At one point two of the students were entered into a serious discussion about John the Baptist, others were getting excited about an upcoming wedding. It was dark and getting cold but the bonfire seemed to be both a literal and figurative fire in our midst.

Later on two local guys, who were clearly the worst for drink stopped and started chatting. I was interested to see how the young students would respond; it was a pleasure to watch. Both were accepted into our midst without any condemnation but with warmth and acceptance. Our guys started to chat with them and were able to talk with them about their faith.

It was well past our bedtime and we got up to walk home; I looked back to see something beautiful and simple continuing on the beach - the people of God gathering and sharing their lives together.

What was this happening? Beach church? Sand church? Organic church? No, this was just simple, unplanned, dynamic, earth shattering church - something worth giving my life for!

Give me children or I die

In the first chapter of Genesis, God made an incredible promise to the fledgling human family, "God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it." God was going to work out his plan and purpose on the earth through the multiplying of human DNA. Taking one couple, made in relationship together and with their creator, and forming a redeemed community that would demonstrate and proclaim God's kingdom to every nation on earth. Similar promises would be made to Adam and Eve's descendants as God sought to describe his plan in language that could be understood by flesh

• Promise to Abraham in Genesis 17:5 - No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.  
• Promise to Jacob in Genesis 28:14 - Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 
• Promise to Isaac in Genesis 28:24 - Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham 

In Genesis 30 ​Isaac's wife Rachel, when she 'saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I'll die!”'  Rachel clearly felt jealous of Leah and ashamed at her lack of children. But she will also have known of all the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and maybe she also desperately wanted to participate in the promise of God. She knew that if she did not reproduce then her life would end when she died and no-one would exist to continue her lineage. Her deep and heartfelt cry was that she did not want her life to end, to finish. She did not want to die

Give - Rachel knew that she needed someone else to participate in her having children. We too know that it is Jesus, our heavenly husband, who causes the Holy Spirit to reproduce through us

Me - Rachel couldn't accept that others (Leah, Bilhah & Zilpah) would have children and she would not, she desperately wanted to bear children herself. Jesus said that 'he would build his church' and we can be certain that God will fulfill his promise. However what is in doubt is whether our church, our Christian community will continue.  'The' church will have a future but 'my' church may not see the next generation

Children - Children are not a short term responsibility, they need a lifelong commitment to be nurtured and then released so that the next generation can also reproduce

Or - An 'or' is an option, Rachel could see two potential scenarios. Firstly that she would remain childless and that others would have the children that would shape the future. The second option was that Jacob's seed would join with her egg and implant in her womb bringing new life and new possibilities

I'll die - The Hebrew word for die is mût, which means: be killed, be murdered, death, destroy, perish, slain, die out, executed, lifeless, lose life, suffer a fatal blow. Rachel could see the possibility that her life, her DNA (although she would not have understood that concept) would cease to exist. 

The truth is that the entire church of Christ will die out in one generation if we do not have spiritual children. We must not sub-contract this responsibility to others, to trained and professional clergy or to charismatic superstars. It is God's intention that all of us are to bear fruit and have spiritual children. Jesus spoke of it this way; “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:17-20

God please help me to learn how to share my faith with others. Not only that they can understand and respond but in a way that equips them to also share their faith

Know Christ

I want to know Christ

Phil 3:10

I want to hear his word

I want to experience his presence

I want to taste, touch and smell him in my daily life

I want to receive him at all times

I want to love and be loved by him

I want to proclaim and demonstrate his greatness 

I want to sing out his melody

I want to tell his story

I want to bow before him

I want to appreciate his vastness

I want to fathom the depth of his love

I want to be aware of him in the detail of life

I want to grasp his infinite goodness

I want to recognise him in the lives of others

I want to perceive his purpose

I want to discern his priorities

I want to know him and be known by him

I want to follow him and become a fisher of people

I want to be sent by him as a worker into the harvest fields

I want the rhythm of my life to be set by the rhythm of his life 

I want my eyes to see him

I want my ears to hear him

I want my mouth to speak of him

I want my feet to walk with him

I want my face to smile at him

I want my life to revolve around him

I want Christ

I want him

I want his life

I want to know Christ

The Higher Standard

Law says I must give a tenth of my income to the church

Grace says that I can overflow with generosity whenever the opportunity

Which is the higher standard?

Law says I must share my faith everyday

Grace says that I can seek to love God so deeply that he overflows out of my life to touch others

Which is the higher standard?

Law says I must read my Bible through each year

Grace stirs my heart so that I long to find Christ in the pages of scripture

Which is the higher standard?

Law says I must attend services twice on a Sunday and not miss the prayer meeting

Grace inspires me to long to meet God with my brothers and sisters

Which is the higher standard?

John Piper tells the story of an American football coach who decided not to tell his team to get up at five in the morning and run three miles to ensure peak physical fitness. Instead he sought to inspire them by focusing the players on the joy of playing the sport, the privilege of representing their university and the opportunity of making history by winning the play-offs. He then encouraged them to do all they could to get fit and be physically ready for the task ahead

Was the coach right to take this approach? Which was more likely to produce the fit players that he required? Which was the higher standard?

The Haven

This is the place in around 1973 when I first committed my life to Christ. In those days it was called 'The Haven,' situated in Sidmouth in East Devon and was used as a Christian coffee bar. Dozens of young people used to meet there and sing hymns and choruses, it was after one of these evenings that my Christian journey really began. 

At the time I understood very little and didn't really appreciate the commitment I was making. I did not realise that my life would be hugely impacted because of what happened that evening. Today, over forty years later, I am still seeking to pursue Christ and his kingdom and still feel that I am on a journey somewhat into the unknown. The difference is that today I have a greater confidence in God's love and grace towards me and I have seen evidence of that truth over the past four decades

What does the future hold? Nobody really knows the answer to that. Will I continue to be a disciple of Jesus? I hope so. If I can continue to love God and love Alison then everything else should be ok

World Half Marathon Championship

Less than two years ago I started running. On April 28th 2014 I ran 1.2 km in a time of 10:37; two days ago I raced against Mo Farah (and 12,000 others) in the World Half-Marathon Championship in Cardiff and finished in a time of 1:56:47

I find it interesting to think about this and to try to work out why I have achieved this at the age of 55. What was my motivation? Why have I not given up? Why have I kept pushing myself to achieve? Should I be proud of my achievement? And the broader questions such as, why do some people remain motivated whilst others stop? Why are some tenacious, and others quit when the going gets tough?

So I repeat my question; why have I kept going when I could have so easily given up? 

A Calvinist might answer 'It was God's sovereign will'  

An Arminian might point to the Protestant work ethic

A Charismatic might say that 'God spoke to me and told me to do it'

A Pentecostal might say 'Glory!'

A Quaker might stay quiet for a long time

Preaching

I came across this from 12 months ago

I preached in a local chapel this evening. A key question is why? Why me and why preach? No one opened the Bible to read the passage, no one seemed to really engage with what I was saying, nobody said very much afterwards. Was there any point in doing what I did? Did I help anyone? Did God speak into anyone's life? Were we just going through the motions?

But I love the church, I love God's people, I love God. I believe that the 'word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

But was my preaching the word of God?