tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36774502300666433602024-03-05T23:10:10.429+00:00RIVERCHURCHRiver Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-58507351970703219682017-11-12T20:01:00.000+00:002018-02-18T20:17:27.429+00:00Colin: Looking Ahead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes we all find it difficult to see the way ahead. As you know, I love to walk in the mountains, and in the summer I led my first walk in the Spanish Pyrenees. We’d planned a 9 hour walk climbing a summit just under 3000m high called Pena Xuans.<br />
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The trail was easy to follow, and after a couple of hours we’d climbed steeply to 2500m. It was clear we needed to dive left off the path up a boulder field but when we reached the ridge I hesitated. The problem was the terrain around us didn’t seem to quite match that shown on the map… there was a sharp, peaked ridge in front of us that looked too steep to be the one I was expecting. As I stood and pondered the map over and over, it started to gently snow. It took me 20 minutes to be sure – well as sure as I could be – of the way ahead. I figured we should have left the well-trodden path earlier and now were the wrong side of that sharp ridge. If we traversed the boulder field and climbed to what looked like a razor sharp col between two craggy, inaccessible peaks, we should see our path below us the other side. If we didn’t, we’d have to admit we were lost and call it a day! <br />
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Thankfully, my companions kept their spirits up and we reached the col an hour later. Snow was still falling as I looked over the ridge and, not for the first time that day, I was puzzled… again it didn’t look as I’d expected. Then the cloud shifted and a distinctive lake came into view… it was the right place and with that signpost, I could now make out the route we were looking for across the boulders. Our spirits lifted, we slid down the precariously steep scree slope and re-joined our original path. We could now make out our main goal, the peak ahead, which was wreathed in cloud. I decided we’d had enough adventure so if the cloud didn’t lift by the time we got to the base, we’d continue around and not climb. As it happened, the cloud lifted as we reached the foot of the scramble to the summit so we climbed a fantastic lump of rock and slid down an even steeper scree slope the other side. <br />
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The day ended after 11 hours of walking, mostly over boulder fields, and we were exhausted but joyful. As we lay in the sun on the way down, we all agreed that it had been one of our best days in the hills! Then God spoke. He said, yes, you may not be certain of the way ahead, but you are anointed to lead the way out. If you keep your spirits up and don’t give up, you’ll reach the goals I’ve set you and you’ll have a great adventure. <br />
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When we can’t make out the route ahead, it’s good to know that God loves to guide us. Indeed, in Psalm 32, He promises to guide us. As a leadership we feel God saying three things to us in this season: 1. We have to be clear about why He’s called River, and who He wants us to be. 2. We need to work more closely together as churches, and 3. We all need to play to our strengths. One of my strengths is a deep love of the Bible and helping people see the love of God in every page. I had been wondering whether I should do an MA to build on that strength, but was not sure. A few weeks ago I went to see the Westminster Theological Centre to investigate the possibility and that morning I received a text from a friend in Bulgaria saying they had a word from the Lord for me: they saw me “going back into academia to study theology so I could better proclaim the Father’s love”. Having received such clear guidance, you won’t be surprised to hear that I’m starting an MA in January! <br />
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I hear Jesus speaking these encouragements over us all today, and pray this blessing over you: “Play to your strengths, work together and I will guide you. If you don’t give up, you will achieve the goals I’ve set for you and you’ll have a great adventure doing so!”River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-29480182011884471592017-07-17T23:04:00.001+01:002017-07-17T23:07:37.068+01:00Colin: Few Are Chosen<div style="text-align: center;">
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There’s a tendency in parts of the church to think that few will be saved. This stems from basing thoughts about judgment on stories such as the flood in Genesis 6. If we dwelt more upon the story of God raising up a saviour to save the world in Genesis 41-47, we might finish up with an entirely different view of salvation!</div>
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The harsher view is also reinforced by a misunderstanding of scriptures such as Matthew 22:14, which says, “For many are called, but few are chosen”. This statement comes at the end of a parable Jesus tells us about the kingdom of God being like a wedding feast; and it is clear from the context that when Jesus speaks of the chosen few, He is not talking about salvation.</div>
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Let me explain. The story starts with a king arranging a marriage for his son and sending out invitations. When the invited guests all decline, because they are too busy, the king sends messengers with more invitations, but the invited guests kill those servants. The king then sends his army to destroy that city and sends his remaining servants into all the highways to invite everyone to the wedding, both good and bad. Once the feast has started, the king notices one man who is not dressed up for the wedding and has him thrown out (into the darkness). That’s when the statement on few being chosen appears.</div>
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So who are the many and the few? What is clear is that the guests who are initially invited are the Jews and their city is Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Romans. Those found on the highways are the gentiles (all other nations), so the ‘many’ who are invited into the kingdom is everyone, all the Jews and all the gentiles. So who are the few? That could either refer to the Jews, who were the especially chosen guests, or the badly dressed man who was expelled (*see footnote below, if his treatment has bothered you!). In either case, the few are not chosen for salvation, but, in the case of the Jews, to model the kingdom and ‘bring’ salvation, and in the case of the man expelled, to miss out on the feast. In fact, whenever the Bible talks of God choosing people, it is never for salvation (He chooses everyone), but always to perform a task.</div>
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So what was River chosen for? What tasks has Father God asked us to perform? I think these six help make our community very special:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>To live in freedom and bring freedom</b>. It was for freedom that Jesus set us free, and wherever the Spirit is, there is freedom. Freedom from the law and religion, as well as freedom from sin and the fear of death.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>To declare the goodness of God</b>. As Tom Wright says, it’s not that God is angry with people, but somehow manages to find a way to save a few. Rather, God, our loving Father, is determined to bless every family on earth, and therefore works against everything that holds people back from His abundant life and blessing.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>To overflow with joy in the Holy Spirit</b>. River Church was birthed in a joyful outpouring of the Spirit on a bunch of teenagers. Since then we have enjoyed discovering gifts such as prophecy, tongues and healing. Jesus sends us His Spirit to empower us in all sorts of ways to work with Him on His mission to bless and save the world.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>To be family</b>. We are held together by our relationships, our love for one another and our appreciation of these values, rather than a set of beliefs.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>To call everyone to fulfil their destiny</b>. Every person is created in God’s image and made for a glorious purpose. Regardless of age or gender, every believer is an ambassador for Christ and called to represent Him.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>To bring heaven to earth</b>. We have been given authority to serve through being good news to the poor, setting captives free, healing the sick, making peace, and bringing His presence, justice and joy in His name. </li>
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This is our calling in partnering with Him to bring revival to our land. So let’s do everything we can to make our calling and election sure, let’s give what we can to live life this glorious way, for we will reap a harvest if we do not give up! (Galatians 6:9)</div>
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* For those who, like me, have felt sorry for the badly dressed man... after all he was dragged off the street: I understand it was customary for wealthy hosts to provide wedding garments at the door so his lack of attire is really a statement about him gaining entry some other way, not using the door, or not being bothered to change. Both speak to us as Jesus is the doorway to life and He loves us too much to leave us in a less than glorious state, so has given us every blessing (Ephesians 1:4) and everything we need for a life of godliness (2 Peter 1:3).</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-75654480554518905262017-04-25T23:36:00.002+01:002017-04-25T23:37:52.266+01:00Colin: The Ministry of Reconciliation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Cor 5:17-18)</div>
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This is one of my favourite sections of the Bible because it sums up so much about who we are and what we are here for. If we’re truly to understand it, we have to understand who Jesus was: why He lived, died and was resurrected.</div>
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The life of Jesus was both ordinary and incredible! Ordinary in as much as He didn’t appear to achieve much: no books, no wealth, not many followers and no obvious kingdom. Incredible because of what He did and said: the sick were healed, the dead were raised, lepers were cleansed, demons and even storms obeyed Him. Not only that, but all were welcomed by Him, the sinner and the saint, the oppressor and the downtrodden, the wealthy and the poor, the Jew and the Gentile, young and old, men and women. He revealed the Father’s heart, not to judge, but to save, not to restrict, but to set free, not to smite, but to heal and not for a few, but for all! Few, if any, understood Him, but many listened to and wondered at Him. His life represented nice ideas, but are they true and could we trust Him?</div>
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It has often been noted that the crucifixion of Jesus, His death, without the resurrection, would simply have been a failure, just one more movement that promised much only to end in disappointment. It would have been just one more story of the powerful crushing those who resist them. The end of the dream His followers had of justice, that the oppressive kingdoms of the world would end and the Kingdom of God be established. </div>
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But have you ever wondered what the resurrection without the life and death of Jesus would have meant? It would certainly have been weird, a story to entertain, a mystery to be explored or an interesting piece of gossip, but it would probably have been quickly forgotten and would not have been world changing. </div>
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Combined, they represent a tremendously powerful story! The life, death and resurrection of Jesus are the fulfilment of two thousand year old promises made by God to Abraham and his descendants. Despite man’s rebellion, our insistence on independence from the one who made us, and the tragic results that ensued (the story of Genesis 1-11), God would find a way of blessing every family on earth. This blessing would come through Abraham, because he trusted God. It would come through one of his descendants, who would trust God to the utmost and would turn out to be God Himself bringing salvation! That was the beginning of the kingdom of God on earth, which grows as His followers are empowered by the Spirit of Jesus to live free and represent heaven in begging others to be reconciled to God. It comes through those who show themselves to be Abraham’s seed by also choosing to trust God and this kingdom will continue to grow until it fills the earth! (Isaiah 9:7, Daniel 2:44)</div>
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I’m excited about the forthcoming week of prayer, <a href="http://www.thykingdomcome.global/" target="_blank">Thy Kingdom Come</a> for a few reasons. Firstly, it is leading reconciliation by bringing churches together who have been separated. Incredibly, the church streams involved represent about 1000 years of church splits! It’s exciting because Jesus said that when we accept and honour one another, it would be a sign to the world that God sent Him. Secondly, it is a call for us to be bold and to invite/plead/beg others to be reconciled to God, the way we work with God to bring His kingdom and salvation to the earth. </div>
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Donald Trump may build walls to separate nations, Nicola Sturgeon may attempt to break up the United Kingdom, Theresa May may be taking the UK out of Europe, but God’s kingdom will continue to grow, He will continue to work, tearing down the walls that divide and bringing all things together under Christ (Ephesians 1:10), and that fills me with great hope! </div>
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River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-68032952385799088112017-02-09T22:12:00.000+00:002017-02-09T22:12:50.030+00:00Colin: Planted By The River<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I was recently asked what makes River so special and it’s clear to me that it is not one attribute that makes it so. Rather it is the combination of many attributes that makes River such a wonderful community to be a part of.</div>
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We glimpse something of it when meals are provided for a new-born’s family to help them through the early weeks; when a festival is run for the community at the cost of the church; in the readiness with which many speak prophetic words to comfort, exhort and strengthen the heart of the hearer; and in the ease with which the sick are prayed for in faith to make them well. You can see the heart of it in the deeply committed relationships that have bound friends together through thick and thin for decades.</div>
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Yes, I thank God our Father for River, but how did we get here? A few thoughts will help us live in the good of where we find ourselves and help propel us into the next season He has for us.</div>
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Firstly, the church was begun by an experience of the presence of God through His Holy Spirit. A group of youngsters were boating on the Thames and were overwhelmed by God and started speaking in tongues and prophesying. Over the years, adventuring in the gifts of the Spirit has been a hallmark of our community, sometimes dynamic and ecstatic, at other times gentle but just as powerful.</div>
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Secondly, we have come to know God as our loving Father. His heart is to bless us and through us to bless the world. He is for us, He is always working for good in all things, He is patient and willing to walk at our speed, He’s not controlling but allows our choices to influence His plans, He asks us to partner with Him in ways we could never have dreamed, knowing we will mess up some times but will grow through the work. In short, we know we are the apple of His eye (Zech 8:2), and that fills us with joy!</div>
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Thirdly, we have found that Jesus always treats us better than we deserve! We can all think of a hundred reasons why God shouldn’t accept us, why we’re not worthy to be used by Him to bless others, and why we deserve to be punished or to have misfortune, but when we come to Jesus we receive grace. We find He is gentle and humble and accepts us just as we are, whilst promising to transform us. He speaks words over us that lift us from the hum-drum to the highest places, things like, “You are the light of the world”, “I chose you to bear much fruit and glorify your Father” and “You will do the works I do and even greater works than these.”</div>
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Yes, this community is underpinned and watered by its theology, its understanding of who God is, which in turn shapes our thinking around life’s biggest questions: why the world is like it is, who are we and why are we here? That’s effectively what Psalm 1:1-3 says, “Blessed is the one who… delights in the law of the LORD, and in His law they meditate day and night. They shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever they do shall prosper.”</div>
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So whatever other resolution we may have made for 2017, let’s add a determination to make reading the Bible a delight and to ponder on what we’ve read. The Bible is the Word of God to us, it is given to lead us to Jesus and is the best way of learning who God is and what He wants of us. Don’t be put off by feelings of inadequacy or by thinking you’ll never understand it all… the truth is none of us understands it all and we are all inadequate, but God has promised to teach us by His Holy Spirit, to lead us in paths that are good for our souls, producing fruit in our lives that brings glory to Him!</div>
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“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” 2 Corinthians 13:14</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-45426838799254261092016-11-26T14:30:00.001+00:002016-11-26T14:47:10.141+00:00Colin: Carrying Hope<div style="text-align: justify;">
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We are certainly living in uncertain times. There has
been a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo, whether with religion as it
has been, or established political unions (old & new), or governing
parties. The growing desire for change has reached a tipping point
as 51% have decided enough is enough, things can’t go on as they are.</div>
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Some blame immigration for our troubles, while others
complain the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer, whilst multinational
companies avoid paying taxes… Democracy itself is being tested by this
uncertainty; the change appears too great for the 49% who wanted reform not
revolution. There is more anger and frustration being demonstrated than we have
witnessed for some time. We have voted for change, but what will the future
shaped by Brexit look like? How will the world be affected by an America led by
Donald Trump? The truth is, none of us really knows!</div>
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How should we live in these days? I think the church has
a key role to play, one we’ve always had, to be a light in the darkness, a
beacon of hope in an uncertain world. Biblical authors had a distinct way of
describing times like these, times of change in the world order. They announced
that the unshakable things are being shaken: the sun will be darkened or turn
black, the stars will fall from heaven, the moon will turn blood red or no
longer shed any light. None of these ‘signs’ was supposed to be interpreted
literally, they were just a way of saying that an established order, an empire
or way of life, would be swept away by great change. </div>
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Jesus himself told us there’d be times like these, along
with wars, rumours of wars, famines & earthquakes. He told us because He didn’t
want us to be shaken. He wanted us to expect these times of uncertainty and
distress so that we’d be ready, not taken by surprise. The Kingdom is coming,
but that doesn’t mean that everything will be rosy. It comes in the midst of
troubles, of trials and of persecutions. In fact, Jesus says these are not
signs of the end, but just signs that things are not as they should be. He says
that if we’re looking for a sign that the end might come, when God finally
makes all things new, then it will only come once the Good News has been
preached in all the world! </div>
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Knowing this, we can be filled with peace and joy despite
the uncertainty and the trials. No matter what we see or hear, we know that “of
the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7).
That means we can shine like stars in the darkness, we can be beacons of hope.
We know that God is love and that He is for us, that He still sits on His
throne, that He laughs at the machinations of those who plot evil, and that His
Kingdom will fill the whole earth. We also know that His Kingdom only comes as
His people step out in faith and do the things He asks of us. As His children,
we are to become like Him; as His ambassadors, we are to represent Him; and as
His co-workers, we are to work along with Him to bring peace, healing and hope
to the world. We are too weak to accomplish this by ourselves, so He gives us
His Spirit to guide us, teach us, encourage us, comfort us and empower us. </div>
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Let the words of Jesus fill and
refresh our hearts again today: “I have spoken these things to you, that in Me
you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have
overcome the world.” (John 16:33) </div>
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As we enter the Christmas
season again, let’s fill ourselves up with the Good News the angels announced,
peace and goodwill toward men & women, joy for all people. A Saviour has
been born and His kingdom will grow to fill the earth. So let’s keep our eyes
on Jesus, love everyone, and demonstrate that heaven is close.</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-28303405543317652672016-09-19T14:42:00.000+01:002016-09-25T14:43:20.857+01:00Colin: Signs of the Times<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Before the summer we heard incredible reports of thousands of people responding (in some way) to the good news of Jesus on the streets of Reading! We are accustomed to hearing such reports from far-flung places, but down the road!!! If you are anything like me and have been so blessed through coming to know the love of God our Father through His Son, if He has brought joy, freedom, peace and profound meaning to your life as He has to mine, then you, like me, probably pray for our nation from time to time. I hope you join me in regularly asking Father to do the incredible things in our land that we hear are happening in other places. So, if you are anything like me, you would have been wondering, “Is this it? Is this what we have been praying and hoping for? Has revival finally come to England?” So a few of us decided to take a look and went to Reading to join in their outreach for a morning. </div>
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First impressions of ‘The Turning”, as it has been named, were that God was doing something remarkable in a very ordinary looking church with very ordinary looking people… that’s just the kind of thing God does all the time! He uses the weak to shame the strong and the foolish to confound the wise. They had run a mission week with some American evangelists and had seen 60 or so folk respond every day, so they decided to continue and over 2000 had responded when last I heard. What started on the streets led to members of that church growing in confidence in sharing the good news so that they started to lead friends, neighbours, schoolmates and colleagues to Christ. Wow! </div>
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So is this what I’ve been looking for? My honest answer is yes and no. Yes, in that it is wonderfully encouraging to see that level of openness to faith in Jesus in our land. No, in as much as the method used didn’t sit entirely well with me, even though I’m thrilled for our friends in Reading and continue to pray blessing on their work. We all had to use a written script to speak to people, leading them through a set of questions and answers to a point where they pray by repeating a prayer we say. Being an inquisitive sort, I’d like to ask more questions about what is going on for them! Did they pray out of an earnest desire to know God, or was it just easier to pray than to interrupt and divert the evangelist from their desired goal. There’s no denying something remarkable is happening despite my own discomfort with methods. The challenge to me is to be as passionately committed to proclaiming the good news of the Father’s love for mankind and creation as our friends in Reading! The challenge to us is to find ways of communicating the Good News that speak to our culture, answering the sincere questions of our friends and loved ones. I’m currently writing a preaching series called “What is the Gospel?” where I attempt to stir us up to this task… please watch out for it, listen carefully and let me know what you think and any ideas you may have. </div>
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There is no doubt that God is doing great works in the UK. We have seen the church grow in the gifts of healing, tongues and prophecy. We have received a deeper understanding of the Father’s heart for the world, churches are working more together than they have for a long time and there have been significant outbreaks of heavenly activity in places like Reading, thousands receiving prayer in Coleraine in Ireland and over 300 kids responding to Jesus in one day in a school when Lindz West of LZ7 preached to them. These are all signs that the kingdom of heaven is coming, that the spiritual climate in our nation is changing for the better. </div>
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So what is our response? Let’s persevere in doing good wherever and whenever we can. As the apostle Paul says, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart” – Galatians 6:9. You see, God is at work, but He works in partnership with people. So let’s continue in the work with renewed faith, understanding from the signs of the times, that something wonderful is happening!</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-91914071999075123572016-05-16T14:39:00.000+01:002016-09-25T14:43:53.189+01:00Colin: Wherever the river flows…<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I hope you’re enjoying the new look to River’s website, banners and newsletter? I’m thrilled, as the new logo represents who we are at our core. When I joined River back in 1988, the verse of scripture often quoted was Ezekiel 47:9 “Where the river flows, everything will live” (NIV). I think that scripture still captures the heart of who God has called us to be, and I like to say, “Wherever the River flows there will be life!”</div>
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We have been overwhelmingly blessed by the love of God shown to us in Jesus. Seeing the world, and ourselves, through the forgiving and compassionate eyes of our Father brings us such joy and peace. Knowing He has chosen us to partner with Him in mending the brokenness we see all around fills our lives with hope and meaning. You could say our lives have been wrecked (in a good way!) by His love and His inclusion of us in His purposes. Our deepest desire is that others would share that joy!</div>
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As churches, we bring life in many ways: providing services where folk can meet with God, youth groups giving young people a safe and positive experience where they’re encouraged to make good choices, mother & toddler groups, community lunches, messy church, etc. These are all wonderful and very necessary as they help others see Jesus and His church in a good light; but if we’re going to see our communities truly loved to life, it requires us all to do our bit and intentionally bring life to those we live and work among. If we’re honest, our lives are pretty full and so we can tend to think, “I’m busy just now, but I’m sure God will send someone else to visit, help, befriend, speak to or pray for that person”. Often we never get around to making the time, but the truth is, God is sending us! No-one else might notice the plight or have opportunity to help.</div>
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Another hindrance to us stepping out in bringing life is that we can allow the enemy to disqualify us. We can all think of reasons why God shouldn’t use us, but that is forgetting the grace of God. He treats us all better than we deserve and is looking to work through anyone who is willing to trust Him. Last week I had the privilege of bringing life to a few people. Some of us met a homeless man and were able to help him get a bed for a couple of nights until he could pick up his first pay packet. I got to chat to a lady who was desperate and helped her see what God was doing in the midst of her pain, and encouraged her to ask Him into her life. I talked to another seeker who was seeing things in the church that he was dismissing as meaningless. I sat with him for half an hour and he thanked me for helping him see things differently. (I was late home, but I choose to believe it was worth it.) He departed not quite so dismissive of the things he saw in the church. After I had taught at the Ignite course in Newcastle I prayed for the sick. One lady declared that the sciatic pain she’d carried for 4 months had left her; and a man said his foot pain was healed and proceeded to stamp on the floor to prove it!</div>
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The truth is, we are all anointed to bring life in Jesus’ name. That’s why we’re called Christian, which means ‘little Christ’, or ‘little anointed one’. It’s also true that we carry this wonderful treasure in jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7). We are often under pressure and feel inadequate, but let’s not allow that to stop us. It is normal and means that when we do bring life in His name, He gets the glory! Our lives represent the flow of the River, so let’s aim is to bring joy and life wherever we find ourselves.</div>
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Life is not easy so we all need encouragement to live this way, which is a good reason to come to RiverFest16! Julian & Sarah Richards have such an inspirational story and will share their wisdom about how to live like heaven is near, in such a way that the abundant life of heaven breaks into this world through us. The Lord is going to do great things among us that weekend!</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-26463738733278778242016-03-21T14:31:00.000+00:002016-09-25T14:44:06.278+01:00Colin: Hosting God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<imageanchor style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8ZE5oPgqvnh4-6v126fM57yJrgvGa7k0PRiqYodz6fDiLTik7fwa8eSXv-YAJYrjejDEU5lq6x4ofzdqtdBz_yVEQawYak2xHkFzp1iBYtJyMtLaA2VYFIs4ZW41CEMza44eYr8Sa3sv/s320/ark.jpg" title="Ark of the Covenant" width="320" /></imageanchor></div>
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The Bible reveals a God who longs to live with us. It says His love for us stretches higher than the heavens are above the earth, that He is for us and that He’ll never leave or forsake us. Incredible! No wonder Paul writes to the Romans encouraging them that if God is for us, who can be against us? The obvious answer is: it doesn’t matter, for we are more than conquerors because of His great love for us! Us and God working together equals a winning team. He brings peace, hope, joy, healing, provision, guidance and the power to mend the brokenness in us and around us.</div>
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The Bible also makes it clear that God only comes where He’s invited and that His will to bless us can be resisted. He doesn’t force His way into our hearts or into our lives. Revelation 3:20 says He doesn’t even enter His church uninvited, but knocks and waits patiently for us to open the door. The same is true of the door to our hearts.</div>
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So if God is a gentleman, a guest who needs to be invited in, how do we make Him welcome and host His presence well? We can learn some great lessons from the time King David wanted God to live with him in 2 Samuel 6. The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God, and David saw how it blessed the people who lived with it. He decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem where he lived, so God’s presence would be with him.</div>
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The first lesson he learned is that structure won’t carry His presence. They transported the Ark on a new cart, spending a lot of time, money and energy building it. On the way, the cart hit a rut and the Ark nearly fell out. Uzzah reached out his hand to stop it falling and died. David realised his mistake, that God had clearly told them that His priests should carry the Ark. The point is that God’s presence is carried by us, His people, not by our structures or our buildings. At the moment, River is looking to purchase a building in Maidenhead; I’m excited by this prospect as it will help us serve our community, but I also know that the building will only truly be a blessing if we continue to carry His presence and make that our priority. That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”</div>
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Secondly, David sacrificed offerings to God. Later he realised that the only real sacrifice the Lord requires of us is a broken & contrite heart (Psalm 51:16-17). Jesus is our sacrifice, a heart that recognises its own brokenness and need of a Saviour is the first step towards a life filled with the presence of God.</div>
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Thirdly, David worshiped by leaping and twirling and praising God. The Lord doesn’t need our worship, He commands it because He knows it does us good. When our minds are fixed on Him, filled with visions of His goodness and mercy, we get drawn heavenwards, gain heavenly perspective on life and feel better about ourselves as we receive His love. That is why River is committed to providing spaces like Sunday services, Deeper and Dwell for us to enter His presence and praise Him. Please do come and be refreshed in these worship settings, but let us worship God in our hearts as we go about each day.</div>
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Lastly, David had a generous heart. He blessed the people and gave them all food to eat. In the same way, we host God’s presence powerfully when we bless the people around us with kind words and practical help. This is exactly why we put on events like Messy Church, the Larchfield Open Table, community lunches and clubs for children and youth. We serve in these ways because we are mindful that every person is made in His image and worthy of honour. In what ways might you demonstrate generosity this week? What kind of prophetic words might you say to strengthen another’s heart? What practical act of kindness might you do to bring a smile to someone’s face?</div>
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Do these things and we will host God’s presence in our hearts, homes and communities, and they will be blessed!</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-71321512107855457042016-01-16T22:28:00.000+00:002016-02-07T22:30:53.405+00:00Colin: Embracing A Year of Favour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So it’s the start of a new year; how does that affect you? Are
you filled with optimism, or fearful of what it might hold for you and your
loved ones? Some might argue that the way we feel will be determined by our
circumstances, what we can see around us and what we can see coming down the
road.</div>
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To a certain extent they are right, but what do we see? If we
only see with our eyes, material things and the stories presented by our media,
then we may well become fearful. There certainly are many challenges,
including: terrorism, continuing economic instability, climate change and an unprecedented
refugee crisis, and that’s before we get onto our personal problems around
family, health, finance, career and relationships. But knowing God as Father, that
we are His children, and that His kingdom is coming, trumps all these very real
difficulties and changes everything!<o:p></o:p></div>
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As it says in Hebrews 10:39 and 11:13, we are not those who
shrink back, but those who have faith and embrace God’s promises (even if we
don’t see them realised immediately in our lives). We walk by faith, not by
sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), because we know that the unseen realm is more
important than the one we can see with our eyes. The truth that God is love, He
is our Father and that His love for us stretches higher than the heavens are
above the earth, that He is working in us, with us and through us in all things
for good, far outweighs every obstacle the enemy might put in our way. We are more
than conquerors through Him who loves us!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am not sorry to see the back of 2015. For me it was a difficult
year in which some important aspects of my life were rocked: this included
having my integrity challenged, my theology questioned and an earthquake
destroying the training centre I had established in Nepal! But in the midst of
all those trials God spoke some wonderful promises (through Sharon Stone) to confirm
my calling and encourage my heart, Pioneer commissioned me as an apostle, and
as I ministered at various Ignite courses around the country I found myself
walking in the things God called me to 25 years ago! I imagine that most of us will
have had years filled with a mixture, as well. In such times it is vital we
dwell on and fill our hearts with the good things God says about us and does
for us, and not to nurse disappointment by worrying about the challenges and
the things He doesn’t appear to be helping us with.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When Jesus came He declared “The year of the Lord’s favour”
(Luke 4:19), that God was looking favourably upon men to bless them and not to
judge them. That enabled Him to go about doing good to all who came to Him for
help, not just the ‘good’ people. He knew that His Father was gracious and therefore
wanted to bless all men beyond what they deserved. That enabled Jesus to confidently
forgive adulterers and accept tax collectors and robbers as friends. Some, like
Judas who betrayed Him, trampled on His kindness and grace, but that didn’t
stop Jesus extending grace to everyone who came to Him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The truth is, it is still the favourable year of the Lord!
As ambassadors of Christ, those who represent the kingdom of heaven, we too may
go about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the evil one.
Undoubtedly, there are challenges for us to face, but Jesus has promised to be with
us and to help us overcome them. So let us press on into 2016 with great
courage, knowing He is with us; let us embrace the challenges and take hold of
every opportunity to represent the kingdom of heaven and bring light and life
to every situation we find ourselves in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I pray you will know God’s favour this year and be blessed in
every way, especially in every act of kindness prompted by His love. Let’s push
on into 2016 with much faith, hope and love!</div>
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River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-48686781357050927372015-11-17T07:50:00.000+00:002015-11-17T07:50:44.253+00:00Colin: Heavenly Partnership<div style="text-align: justify;">
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There are two contrasting errors we can fall into when we think about how God’s kingdom of love, joy and peace might come. The first is to think it all depends upon us, and that if we work hard enough, smart enough and for long enough, then we’re sure to see revival. The other is to think that it has nothing to do with us, that God has already planned when the next revival will take place and there’s nothing for us to do but wait patiently for Him to work out His plans and purposes, which are mysterious and beyond our understanding.</div>
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Within the River Churches, the openness of God is a cherished belief. We have a growing revelation of the freedom that is at the heart of our Father’s will for all His creatures. Therefore we have made openness one of our values, the ‘O’ in GOLD (Goodness, Openness, Love & Dynamic power). We value our own freedom and choose to exercise it in working for good together with our God (Romans 8:28). He’s working for good in all things and we love to join in as we long to be more like Him. Consequently, we work to bless our communities, helping people find freedom through following Jesus. Valuing freedom for all, we serve, refusing to dictate or manipulate to get our own way. We believe that God has given humanity the earth to rule over in order to fill it, make it fruitful and bring out its fullness (Genesis 1:26-28). Therefore He won’t work on the earth without us! At least, that’s what the prophet Amos tells us (Amos 3:7). Indeed, 2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us He is continually looking for men or women through whom He can work signs and wonders on the earth, people who are loyal to Him and trust Him.</div>
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On the other hand, Jesus taught us to depend on Him, saying, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Not meaning we can literally do nothing, but that we can’t produce the fruit the Father is looking for. He also taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10), asking Father to work His will on the earth. It’s a mysterious truth that more of His will gets done on the earth when we pray and ask for it to be done.</div>
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Now I would like us to work hard and use all our strength to see the church grow, but I know that, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it”, Psalm 127:1. To believe it all depends on us, is to choose independence and to fall into pride. When we think like that, we find God standing in our way because He opposes the proud, but shows favour to the humble.</div>
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I feel the Holy Spirit calling us to prayer. I hear 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”</div>
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In 1746, Jonathan Edwards wrote “A humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of All God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom.” Some say this book sparked a prayer movement that ignited the world in revival. Today, we see prayer movements such as 24/7 Prayer making similar ‘humble attempts’ to unite us in intercession for the world. Surely, revival cannot be far behind!</div>
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God seeks partners who will work with Him for good in all things and pray for His kingdom to come on the earth. Let’s give ourselves to work and to pray in His name, trusting that Jesus is building His church and that of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-54538473166979956942015-09-18T22:36:00.000+01:002015-09-18T22:37:58.298+01:00Ceri Francis: Encounter – being intentional about the unexpected<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
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It's fascinating to me that Moses was the first person in
the Bible to press in for a deep, one to one encounter
with God. And it wasn't just another encounter for
Moses – it was the first time God revealed His true nature
– His overwhelmingly glorious goodness.<br />
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Moses had seen so much leading up
to this point that it is all the more
interesting to get a glimpse of his
hunger for more revelation. Born a
Levite, raised a prince of Egypt, he
flees Egypt a murderer as a young
adult. Then after his burning bush
experience he reluctantly returns to
Egypt to free the enslaved Israelites.<br />
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Ten plagues later he leads two million
or so Israelites in a miraculous escape
at night straight through the middle of
the sea. His story continues with
miracle after miracle – water
production, manna, quail, healing, God's presence visible
as fire and smoke and His voice audible as thunder. It was
as if God used all five human senses and more to make
Himself known. Moses had enough stories to give awe-inspiring
talks and testimonies for a lifetime!<br />
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But after all the signs, wonders and miracles he begs God
“let me know Your ways that I may know You” and “I
pray You, show me Your glory.” Without the fire and
thunder of his previous mountain encounter, the Lord
calls him up Mount Sinai and allows His goodness, the
fullness of His glory, to pass before Moses. It is then that
God reveals His true nature and describes himself for the
first time as “the Lord God, compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth.”<br />
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Moses was described as the man God would speak with
“face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.” Yet what
was revealed to Moses was just a foretaste of what has
now been given to us in full. We don't have to beg God
to reveal His glory or send His presence to be with us and
stay with us.<br />
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Through Jesus, His glory is fully revealed and He is with us
all the time, dwelling in us, changing us to be more like
Him and revealing His nature through us wherever we go.
His presence doesn't fade as it did for Moses, who had to
put a veil over his shining face so the people wouldn't see
the effects of being in God's presence
diminishing. Paul writes that we have
unveiled faces and see His glory as if
we are looking in a mirror and being
transformed into the same image. The
fruits of the spirit are love, joy peace,
patience, kindness, goodness etc – us
becoming like Him.<br />
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This isn't about us striving to get
God's attention; it's about how we
position ourselves. He is speaking to
us all the time, longing to reveal more
to us than we could ever desire, and
wanting us to make choices that
enable us to see, hear and know Him
more. The dictionary defines encounter as something
unexpected – a chance meeting or something we stumble
across. For me the challenge is to make time for Him so I
don't miss the encounters He wants me to have, whether
in meetings or when I'm alone.<br />
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Interestingly, the Israelites heard God speak audibly for
themselves but incredibly they opted to hear Him instead
through a man's voice. We too can learn so much from
others but this can't replace having our own relationship
with God.<br />
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Let's be intentional about how we invest in our
relationship with the Lord, trusting and believing in His
goodness whatever our circumstances or feelings and
making time to hear Him for ourselves. I hope and pray
we see miracles, healing and more as we focus on the one
who is “able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we
ask or think”!
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-58444977425732233592015-07-13T22:58:00.004+01:002015-07-13T23:25:54.529+01:00Colin: A Journey With a Purpose<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: justify;">We are often told that ‘Life is a journey’ and in many ways it is an apt description. The two things that mark out a follower of Jesus are the reason for the journey and the destination, the place we are headed.</span></div>
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For Hindus and Buddhists, the journey has begun because of an unfortunate separation of our spirits from the great and universal spirit, so their purpose is to lose themselves by reabsorption. In a way, that is not dissimilar to atheists who see themselves as an accident of evolution from the dust of the ground, returning to dust after a brief walk on the earth.</div>
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The Christian view is very different to this: creation being planned by a loving God who made us in His image, though not yet mature, and gave us the mission of filling the world with His glory - that is, a world filled with people who carry his mature image, as seen in Jesus, by truly loving one another. Jews who believe their scriptures and who were entrusted with the first part of God’s mission, have a similar outlook to us. Where they diverge is around Jesus - they don’t recognise Him as their Saviour and as God’s ultimate destination for all men and women to be like Him. It may come as a surprise to some, given recent events in the Middle East, but Muslims have a similar view to the Jews; indeed Mohammed borrowed most of his worldview from Jews and Christians. Again they don’t recognise Jesus as the Godman Saviour, and seek to bring in the kingdom of heaven through other means – some tragically so.</div>
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Therefore, as followers of Jesus, we are all on a mission, a journey with a purpose. That makes us all missionaries! Whatever else we do with our lives, what career we choose, where we choose to live, whom we choose to marry and share life with, our goal is always to be fulfilling our mission to become more and more like Jesus and to help others to follow Him.</div>
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In River, we have three treasured practices that we are convinced will help us do this. The first is to ‘<b>Look on the face of Christ</b>’, to look at Jesus, to meditate on what He said and did, so that we learn how to walk like Him. He is the Beginning and the End, the source of our life and our destination! We could make following Jesus very religious (and some have!), but our second practice prevents us from doing that: ‘<b>Love everyone we meet</b>’. Love fulfils every law and commandment, it does no harm and always seeks to bless the other person. Only when we love from the heart do we truly carry the image of the God who is love.Our third practice is to ‘<b>Live like heaven is near</b>’. That’s the Good News Jesus came declaring, but it’s easy to lose sight of when we hear such awful news much of the time. </div>
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When we live like heaven is near, we take Jesus’ announcement seriously and choose to believe that the kingdom ‘is at hand’, that we can grab hold of heavenly things and bring them into our lives here and now. That’s what Jesus modelled and taught His first disciples to do: heal the sick, care for orphans and widows, raise the dead, treat foreigners well, drive out demons and help the poor. </div>
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If our churches are filled with people practising these things, there’ll be a heavenly transformation going on through the Spirit! We’ll be transformed as we look at Jesus, we’ll help transform one another through loving discipleship and we’ll be transforming our communities through being missionminded in bringing heaven to earth! He’s calling us out upon the waters; so I beg everyone, let’s be as filled up with Jesus as we possibly can be, let’s devote ourselves to loving those around us, especially our families and small groups, and let’s give ourselves to the mission of bringing heaven to earth in whatever ways we feel the breeze of the Holy Spirit inspiring us!</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-41361412243141927132015-05-18T23:17:00.000+01:002015-05-18T23:25:41.860+01:00Colin: Delight Yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>A few weeks ago I was chatting with Richard in the office about walking in the hills.</b> He mentioned a time when he’d seen a cloud inversion (when the clouds are below you as a blanket with just the peaks of the hills poking through like islands). I said I’d been walking for 25 years and never seen one, but would love to. A week later I was climbing Pavey Ark with my family in the Lake District. It’s one of our favourite hills and we’ve climbed it many times. We always enjoy the climb, but this time was special because we experienced a cloud inversion for the first time! Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I never asked the Lord to see a cloud inversion, He’d just overheard me telling a friend about it and made it happen for me!</div>
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I’ve experienced this kind of favour many times and it always blesses me to know how much our Father loves to give us our hearts’ desires. There’s a confidence that comes from knowing we don’t have to pray for everything, that we’re not in danger of missing out if we don’t remember to pray specifically for all we desire. Of course, praying and talking to God about what we’re hoping for is a good habit to form, but it’s good to know it’s not a legal thing with Him. Like any good friend, He notices what delights us and loves to see us joyfilled.</div>
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Sometimes we have to wait years to see our desires fulfilled, like when Sadie & I wanted children. We prayed, waited and were prayed for over a number of years. Then one Sunday morning in Marlow, three ladies came up to us at separate times and gave us the same message, “The Lord is giving you your hearts’ desire”. Within two weeks Sadie fell pregnant and Rachel was born in due time.</div>
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When they were with us this week, Shampa & Jonathan Rice (Iris Ministries India) told us of the time they were launching their ministry in India and seeking to build a school. They had quotes of £12,000 to build a high wall around a plot of land to keep the children safe. They wondered how they would ever afford it, but at that time a visitor from England came through and had a sum of money to give to a building project… £12,000!</div>
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We could twist this into a self-serving ‘name it and claim it’ gospel, but in reality it’s quite different. The motivation of the latter is self-fulfillment and the focus on what we will get. Whereas our motivation must be ‘Kingdom come’ and our focus on delighting ourselves in Him. That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.</div>
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So how do we know if we’re delighting ourselves in the Lord, and how can we grow in that? Well, trusting our feelings can be dangerous as our hearts can be deceptive. The fruits of delighting in God are seen in how we spend our time, our energy and our money. Do we spend our time in gratitude or complaining? Do we exhaust ourselves with work or do we always have enough energy to love those around us? Do we have good intentions to give once we’re financially more stable and if the gift is deserved, or do we give freely & generously from what we receive each month? All these things flow from our perception of God. The greater the revelation we have of His goodness and kindness, the more our hearts will be motivated to seek Him and delight ourselves in Him. That’s one of the reasons the Ignite course is so good, it’s designed to help us know our Father God better. </div>
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If you’re hungry to grow, I recommend you consider signing up to either the daytime or the evening Ignite course starting September (see <a href="http://www.riverchurch.org.uk/ignite">www.riverchurch.org.uk/ignite</a> for details).</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-74598053609318803012015-03-23T23:54:00.001+00:002015-03-23T23:57:15.615+00:00Colin: Relying upon Grace<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
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<b>What do you rely upon? Where does your trust ultimately lay?</b></div>
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If we’re honest, most of us trust in a wide variety of things. Some of us trust in our bank accounts and feel safe because we can buy what we need. Some rely upon our position or title to help us feel secure. Some trust in intellect, believing we will always be able to think our way out of trouble. Others of us trust in our friendships or families, feeling surrounded by folk willing to help us when needed. None of these things are bad. It’s good to aspire to wealth, wisdom and favour with men, but even if we have them all, we are foolish to trust or rely upon them.</div>
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The Bible encourages us to trust in God. As David said, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:7) and his son, Solomon, said, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” (Psalm 127:1). That’s why David didn’t take the kingdom from Saul when he had the chance. Even after he’d been anointed and promised the kingdom, he trusted God to make him king.</div>
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So what dreams has the Lord placed in your heart, what prophetic words has He spoken over you and what hopes has He given you? Prepare for them, position yourself to be able to step into them when the time comes, but don’t rely on your own efforts to get you there. Trust Him.</div>
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That is what the leadership of River is attempting to do. The Lord has spoken over us that we are to be a ‘resource church’, to bless the nation and the nations. He has also recently reminded us that we are called to be an apostolic resource centre – a community that sends out its best to bring life to other communities. That happens at a local level as we send folk into the estates within our towns. It happens at an international level through our missionaries & mission teams and it happens nationally through our partnership with Pioneer. Pioneer’s strategy to bless the UK is through partnership and through recognising where God’s grace rests on a church to bless their region. The aim is to build a network of regional networks that overflow with life and River is one such community.</div>
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I have been encouraged by the Lord’s grace in recent months: a number of healings in different settings, a regular trickle of people committing their lives to Jesus and prophetic words directing us to continue as we are. I have also been encouraged by the incredible folk in River, your generosity with time and finance, running messy churches and generally serving your communities with projects in partnership with other churches. Thank you!</div>
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When Pioneer established a national partnership with the Methodist Church, we agreed to take up the challenge to help revitalise 40 Methodist churches. River has recently been asked to explore partnership locally by three Methodist circuits! It’s early days, but God is building the house. Hallelujah! If we are truly to be a blessing to the Methodist churches that are looking to us, then we will need to send some of our best people to serve them. Some of us may even move for the work. That is costly as we often feel under-resourced ourselves, but as we give of our best, the Lord’s grace will be multiplied to us. Just as the food was multiplied in the hands of the disciples as they followed Jesus’ command to feed the 5000 with a few loaves and fish. If you’re reading this and your heart is stirred by the thought of helping to bring life to other churches, please let me know!</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-51241716555000006742015-01-08T21:08:00.001+00:002015-03-23T23:48:15.999+00:00Colin: New Year, New Hope!<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
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I hope you have enjoyed a great Christmas, celebrating the birth of a baby who would save the world! As God promised Abraham 4000 years ago, through Him every family on earth will be blessed, and as Isaiah said, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end”.</div>
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When we take a step back and look at history, we can see these precious promises being worked out. Maybe they’re not being fulfilled quite how we’d imagined, but the kingdom of God on earth is growing, as an army of men and women lay down their lives to bless others.</div>
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At this time of year we also like to look forward and wonder what 2015 has in store for us. In a recent gathering of Pioneer leaders, we all felt a fresh call to evangelism. The Spirit is clearly encouraging us to continue in His mission to save the world and to proclaim the Good News as loudly as we can. The Church in every generation has to work out the questions that the people of its day are asking. We can’t simply learn and repeat the answers of previous generations as they were spoken into different contexts.</div>
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Thankfully, there are signs for optimism that the Church in the UK has started to find its voice after decades of decline. Independent churches like River have continued to see strong growth, but now mainstream churches are also growing. For example, the Church of England reported increased attendance in 20 out of its 44 dioceses and an increase of 5% in adult baptisms in 2013. Remarkably, the Causeway Coast Vineyard Church in Coleraine has seen over 2600 people respond to Jesus on the streets in the past 10 months! I believe a few key developments in church culture have helped produce this turnaround:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">A refocusing on the Father-heart of God – that He is love</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">A rediscovery of the Holy Spirit powerfully at work in and through us</li>
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National events such as Spring Harvest, New Wine and Soul Survivor have helped promote such values. On top of this, there is a fresh approach to Scripture emerging, spearheaded by men like Tom Wright, which brings life rather than dogma. I strongly recommend reading his ‘Surprised by Scripture’ and ‘Scripture and the Authority of God’*. He argues powerfully that we should change our emphasis in evangelism from one largely about personal salvation and escaping this world, to one aimed at saving the whole of creation; that God’s plan has always been to see the whole world redeemed; that Jesus’ resurrection was the beginning of the new creation; that we’re headed for an eternal home on a wonderfully renewed earth; and that this is to be achieved by God and man working together.</div>
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River Churches will continue to run Alpha Courses and demonstrate His love by serving our communities, but if we are to see a real breakthrough in evangelism, it means all of us embracing the call to be good news! So how can we best cooperate with Jesus to see His kingdom come and encourage one another to be good news? Well, we could start by asking ourselves and others questions like: When was the last time you prayed for an opportunity to share your faith? When was the last time you took a step requiring faith? When was the last time you offered prayer to someone outside the church? When was the last time you were able to demonstrate your love to someone practically? These types of questions may make us feel uncomfortable, but they will challenge us to change. The answers will also enable us to celebrate the wonderful moments we get to be light in this world. I know that the more steps of faith we take, the more prayers we pray and the more love we show, the more people we will see respond to Jesus and enter a more abundant joyful life. What we have is just too good to keep to ourselves!</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-29530312151892809452014-11-16T17:55:00.001+00:002015-05-18T23:25:11.966+01:00Colin: Called to High Places<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>“The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet and makes me walk on my high places” (Habakkuk 3:19).</b></div>
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<imageanchor style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">This verse appeals to the fell walker in me! I love to walk in high places; the thrill of climbing a mountain, overcoming fatigue, dealing with extreme weather, finding a way and gaining a new perspective on the world. My good friend, Paul Wratten, and my brother Mark, share this passion and we’ve long dreamed of walking in the Himalayas together. Last month that dream became reality as we got to walk in the midst of the highest places on earth. We have many stories from our time in Nepal, many lessons learned and wondrous sights seen.</imageanchor></div>
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One lesson the Spirit taught me was that our Father gives us dreams, not to frustrate us, but to inspire us. We don’t need to make them happen, He wants those dreams fulfilled and we can trust Him to open a way for us to walk in the things He’s called us to. In pursuing our dreams, there are two extremes we do well to avoid. The first is to think that it all depends on us, that our choices will get us there and so we need to make it happen. The second is to believe that God will make it happen regardless of our choices.<br />
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At one stage, we were stuck in Kathmandu, frustrated by the weather closing down Lukla airport (a crazy little strip of tarmac on a mountainside!). We’d wasted a day trying to fly out and the second day wasn’t looking promising. I went to bed anxious that our dream would be frustrated. The next morning our guide told us that if we didn’t fly out that day, we should change our plans and head to a different region. Our flight wasn’t till the afternoon and it was normal for afternoon flights to be cancelled… my dream was disappearing. Then we met a man who offered us a helicopter flight for just £200 more each. One of my companions was up for paying the extra, and the other said they couldn’t afford it. As leader of the trip, I was given responsibility for making the decision. In that moment, I had clarity that I wasn’t to make the dream happen but to trust God. So I let go of my dream and said “no” to the helicopter flight. It didn’t feel good; I might not get another chance, but within two minutes there was a commotion at the check-in desk, we were suddenly booked on an earlier plane and flying within an hour. Lesson learned and the dream was back on!</div>
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This is one of the first lessons God taught humanity. He gave Abraham a dream that he would lead a new tribe unlike any other on earth, a tribe that would be a light to the world, that would exist to bless every other tribe. God told him to leave his homeland and showed him the land He would give to this tribe, a land of abundant blessing. He told Abraham to walk the length and breadth of it and know it would be his. Abraham was obedient and also worked to build an inheritance for his descendants. There was just one problem: he had no children and his wife was past child-bearing age. Abraham & Sarah did what many of us are tempted to, they tried to make God’s promise come true through their own efforts. Sarah gave Abraham her maid, Hagar, and she had a son called Ishmael. However, this caused family tension and the world has been living with the consequences ever since.</div>
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God has given River a dream that we are to be a resource church, a blessing to other churches and nations. We are called to walk into that destiny, to embrace it, but not to make it happen at any cost. So we celebrate the success of Ignite (that had a source in River) attracting over 300 students nationwide and we thank God for local churches linking with us, but we do not seek to promote ourselves or to build a name for ourselves. Rather we look to God to open a way for River to walk in all that He’s promised, and simply seek to enjoy serving churches and communities in whatever way we can.</div>
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What dreams has our Heavenly Father given you? What high places are you called to? Be still and know that He is God, embrace the dream, prepare for it, but know that He will open the way for those dreams to become reality.</div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-45385514436185997012014-09-14T17:22:00.002+01:002014-11-16T17:58:54.789+00:00Colin: Receiving Our Inheritance<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Firstly, some network news. Thanks to The Journey and Vicky’s leadership, the Methodist Church in Virginia Water has asked us to partner with them. </b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bearing in mind Pioneer’s national partnership with the Methodists and our call to support it, this is a significant event! I visited them one Sunday and met their small congregation. Interestingly, my personal meditation on scripture that day was the same as theirs used in the service. It was the parable of the mustard seed and I felt the Spirit say not to look down on the smallness of that church but to expect it to grow and bless its community. It’s so important to know God is with us in every aspect of our lives, so please be watchful for these kinds of signs. More recently a few of us prayer-walked the area around the church with their leaders. It’s early days but we are seeking wisdom from the Lord to know how we might help them. If you are interested in helping us strengthen them, please contact me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Pastures Church in High Wycombe has joined Pioneer and is linking through River. The person who leads this church of about 80-100 folk is a chap called Trevor Lewis, a man of great faith and vision. They run an excellent range of children’s and youth clubs every Friday afternoon/evening and are looking to make their church the heart of their community. They are also currently looking to redevelop their site and build a café and conference facility that could seat up to 300 people. Trevor is keen to work closely with us and will be attending some of our Open Team meetings on Tuesday mornings at the Windsor Hall. Come along if you’d like to meet him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ignite starts this week and this year we are running two courses: a day time one 9am-5pm Mondays and an evening one 7-10pm Wednesdays. The aim is to help the students grow in their faith to bring heaven’s blessings to earth and so help them lead in their workplaces and communities. I’m so Receiving Our Inheritance pleased that this year we have been able to make the fantastic teaching and discipleship culture of Ignite available to those who have full time careers. We already have a good number signed up to both courses, including three from St Peters in Maidenhead making them the first church to partner with us locally in this exciting venture! The Spirit is clearly encouraging this work and it is growing; last year we were one of three centres across Pioneer running Ignite, this year there will be seven! Please pray for the teachers and students as I feel this is one of the ways the Lord is preparing His church for a revival in our land.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are some of the firstfruits of River stepping into our calling and inheritance to be a network to serve churches in our region and to bless our nation. It’s not about building an empire but responding in obedience to what we believe the Lord has spoken to us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This summer I have been inspired to dream bigger dreams because of the great inheritance we have in Christ. Reading Augustus (a novel by John Williams about the first Roman Emperor), I understood what adoption meant in the Apostle Paul’s day. To us, adoption is about belonging to a family, but to the Romans it was about inheritance. This was clear to all because the emperors of Rome were adopted into their roles! Tiberius was Augustus’ stepson and hence a part of his family for many years before he was adopted as his heir signifying he was to be the next emperor. The title, wealth and favour of the emperor went to his adopted son.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most of us don’t really believe our lives are significant, and consequently we don’t dream big enough dreams. Knowing we are His adopted sons (Romans 8:15-17), receiving His name, His wealth and His favour changes what we expect and, therefore, the way we live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe we can change the world!</span></div>
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River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-9008377410137115222014-09-14T16:55:00.003+01:002014-09-14T17:02:05.976+01:00Andy: Interdependence Day<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In our Western culture the goal of maturity has often been
seen as being an independent person – standing on our own two feet, not needing
input or support from anyone else, strong, making up our own mind.
Sound familiar? So many of us have been brought up to believe
that this is the way to be if we are to be successful and respected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then some of us get married and we discover that
independence is suddenly not the only value. We promise – covenant – to give
all that we are to the other person. So, at home we realise that we rely on one
another. In successful marriages it isn’t a case of one way dependence on the part
of one party to the other, but interdependence, recognising our separate
strengths and weaknesses. In marriages that last, and last well, each partner
recognises that they truly need the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But still there is that value of independence in society. It
has often been the aspect that has been rewarded at work. Perhaps it is a more
‘male’ value – and that helps to explain the power structures that have often
existed - still exist – in the workplace. In another sphere it is reflected in
our model of adversarial politics, where it seems impossible for one party to
acknowledge anything good in the policies and practice of another.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And yet… I believe there is something in the heart of men and
women that longs for something else. Longs for a greater sense of community and
sharing and less unhelpful competition with each other. And of course we
shouldn’t be surprised by this!</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gen 1:26</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our
image, according to Our likeness…” </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God, who is in Himself community - Father, Son and Holy Spirit
– says that humanity is made in that same image. As surely as we have His DNA
permeating our very being, we are made for community. Jesus made His oneness
with the Father (John 10) and dependence upon the Father (John 5) clear. He
told us that the Spirit would come to teach us – and would glorify Him (John
16). He prayed that we would be caught up and included in on the relationship that
He enjoyed within the Godhead (John 17). What a picture of mutual honour,
respect and love! This is the image of God in us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But of course, interdependence doesn’t just happen. It needs
decisions and actions. Some of you will have heard me quote a saying in the
Kikuyu language of Kenya – “Ndugu ni makinya’ – three words which literally
mean “Friendship is steps”. Wrapped up in three simple words is a wealth of
meaning. We cannot say that we are friends with people unless we actually take
the time, effort and sacrifice of taking steps toward them – figurative, and at
times literal, steps. Here is a whole theology of incarnation and mission, but
let’s save that for another time! For now, let’s simply recognise the need for
us to take steps to build friendship and interdependence. Those of us who have
been married for more than a year (or shorter!) will know that this is true!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So finally, what does that mean for us here, now, in River Church,
as several congregations united under a single apostolic vision? Will we rise
up to the challenge of real interdependence, with servant hearts looking to see
the best in each other, and make the best happen with our ‘steps’? What will
that look like now? And what will that look like as we go on into the future,
with new churches planted, added and adopted?</span></div>
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River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-82340384009420201112014-07-13T13:58:00.003+01:002014-09-14T17:05:59.983+01:00Colin: Welcome to RiverFest:14<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I write this sitting in my office on a chilly but bright June morning. As you read it, many of you will be settling into your rooms, filled with excited anticipation for RiverFest:14!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am praying we will all experience two things that are inextricably linked: the first is a fresh revelation of the Father’s love and the second is the joy of sharing life with friends old and new. If you’re reading this at home, you can experience these two things too by making some space in your life today. Set some time aside to be with the Father, to read the Bible or to walk and talk with Him in the garden like Adam did. As we meditate on His goodness and love towards us, thankfulness and joy fill our hearts. Make time for someone else too; take them a gift or invite them for a coffee, a meal or a walk. Loving someone in this way also brings joy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How apt, then, that my reading this morning was 1 John 4, a favourite passage that speaks of us completing or perfecting the Father’s love by loving one another. He is wonderful! Doesn’t it make your heart glad when He leads you to the part of the Bible that’s just what you need for the day?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was thinking about our theme for this RiverFest weekend: Face to Face. What does that really mean? How can we see God face to face when the Bible says that no-one can see God (1 Timothy 6:16)? We know that Moses talked face to face with God as a man talks to his friend, and his face shone as a result. Can we do that? Well yes, the Bible says we have a more dazzling encounter by the Holy Spirit. For Moses didn’t see God’s full glory (that’s why, after talking, he pleads with God to show him His glory); that honour has been reserved for us in Christ.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In two places, the apostle John tells us that although we cannot see God, His glory is revealed to us. The first is John 1:18 where it says that Jesus has ‘declared Him’ or made Him known. The second is 1 John 4:12 where he tells us that, though we cannot see Him, if we love one another, God lives in us, or among us, and we complete His love, making Him plain for all to see. So we see the glory of the invisible God through Jesus and in our midst, as we love one another. Wow!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At this point it’s good to remember that love is not a feeling, it’s a choice. Jesus said that we show the greatest love when we choose to lay down our lives for others. In other words, we love another when we choose to put their needs ahead of our own. As parents, we do that instinctively for our children, especially when they are helpless babes. If we are serious about loving everyone we meet, the challenge for us is to continually be putting the needs of others before our own. That sounds impossible, but the more we know the Father, the easier this becomes because we know He’s looking after us. As our confidence in His love grows, our fears for our own needs diminish because we know He cares for us. We are worth more to Him than the birds of the air or the beautiful flowers of the field. And when we stop worrying about our own needs, we are freed to think of the needs of others. This is the life of love we are called to.=</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David says, “They looked to Him and were radiant!” (Psalm 34:5). Let’s remember Him, who lavishes us with love, and let us love one another. That’ll fill us with joy and make our faces shine. You might say we come face to face with God!</span>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-88948422035758782632014-05-18T12:00:00.000+01:002014-09-14T16:52:28.799+01:00Colin: Living by Faith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who booked into RiverFest. When we started to plan this event my faith goal was for 320 people. I’m delighted to say that a little more than 320 of us are going away together for a wonder-filled weekend in July.</span><br />
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The God who loves to bless continues to pour out His blessing abundantly. I am already blessed in the planning. All those who go will be blessed through our love for one another and the powerful ministries of Dary Northrop and Carl Wills. The whole of River will be blessed as our churches are filled with the fresh inspiration and energy the weekend releases. And our communities will be blessed because we’ll love them more deeply and bring more of heaven to earth. Please pray for the final preparations and that the weekend will be filled with wonder as we all come face to face with the God who loves us.</span><br />
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The Holy Spirit keeps me meditating on Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him”. I feel His encouragement to step out in faith and to adventure with Him. Not to settle for past victories or to live safely within the bounds of previous experience. He is challenging me to fresh faith and I believe He is encouraging us all to grow in faith. It doesn’t matter how much faith we have, but is it exercised? Like Peter stepping out onto the water, are we stepping out into the unknown, trusting He has spoken?</span><br />
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When I first came to trust in Jesus, to pray aloud required fresh faith, to hold my hands up in worship felt uncomfortable, to tithe my income challenged me, to tell someone how wonderful Jesus is was awkward and to speak in tongues seemed an impossible dream. Later, saying yes to lead a small group required new levels of faith and trust in the Lord. But Living by Faith: Colin Barnes with each new step of faith, Father kept meeting me and encouraging me and the Spirit kept drawing me on. Now for me to pray spontaneously in tongues and to twirl about in worship is natural. Now I walk in the realm of faith required to lead the whole of River. My point is that each new step of faith is scary. It requires us to step over fear and into the uncertain, to trust we won’t sink and that His unseen hand will hold us up.</span><br />
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Another aspect of faith is that it requires us to do things that only make sense if there is a God who loves us and is asking us to do them. If we only do what good sense dictates or take the routes others expect, that is simply wisdom. Wisdom is good, but it is not faith. Sometimes, living by faith means doing something that wise people might think strange or foolish. On the other hand, some people think that faith normally requires us to act strangely, but always choosing the less wise option is not faith, it is foolishness! The question for each one of us is: What will I do today, whether wise or foolish, that I am only doing because I believe He has spoken? That is living by faith!</span><br />
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As a leadership we believe God has called us to become an apostolic resource centre. That’s why we’ve restructured ourselves around becoming a regional network and set a budget £20k greater than last year’s. The good news is that God is already meeting us in this step of faith and I have been weeping in gratitude at your generosity and His faithfulness. Firstly, The Pastures, a church in Wycombe, is seeking to join Pioneer linked through River. Secondly, we’ve had some incredibly generous gifts recently, giving us confidence we will meet this year’s budget and can look to employ a youth leader! </span><br />
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He is faithful and will be glorified in us as we step out. So let’s continue to take steps of faith based upon His goodness and His upward call in Christ Jesus!</span></div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0SL6, UK51.5337514 -0.733279400000014951.3756659 -1.0560029000000148 51.6918369 -0.41055590000001491tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-91999183326210596122014-05-17T00:01:00.000+01:002014-05-18T23:23:19.090+01:00Jan: Don't Lose Heart!<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes it is too
easy to lose heart. When we look at the news from around the world, the violence,
hatred, manipulation of nations, it is hard to keep hope alive that this world
will become heaven on earth. There is
still a way to go!</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is easy to lose heart when the things we have worked for
and poured our hearts into are seemingly coming to nothing, when relationships
break down, and health problems persist. Our hearts can even sink when our
broadband is not as wide as we would like it or our waistband is wider than
we’d like it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lately I have been thinking about 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our
inner man is being renewed day by day. For this momentary, light affliction is
producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we
look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen;
for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen
are eternal.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Losing heart is not a good thing! It is such a dulling
sensation of hopelessness. It has such wide ranging effects on those around us
and robs us not only of the joy of who we are as beloved children of God, but
also diverts us from the productivity of an abundant life. Losing heart tends
us towards dryness and barrenness with
little overflow to bless the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It would be helpful to find the keys to “not losing heart”! Looking
at the verse above there seems to be a clue. “Look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen.” Discouragements and
disappointments, though very real, are not the whole picture. There is an
“eternal weight of glory” being given to us! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now choosing to look at the good things which are seen can be
very encouraging and life-giving. We can receive a lot of inspiration from
walking in nature (the seaside is good for me), watching children play, eating
good food and watching You Tube clips of puppies! Hearing what the Lord is
doing around the world lifts my heart: the news of our missionaries both home and
away, the stories of sacrificial love and laughter that is present even in the darkest
of situations. These restore my hope in goodness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So how do we look at the things which are unseen? We shift
our focus. I love the verse about prayer in Matt 6:6: “When you pray, go into
your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” God is unseen to us
and yet we are not unseen to Him! So a key is to look at our Father who
understands and desires to reward. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is another key? We “fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and
perfecter of faith. Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him
who endured such opposition from sinners, <b>so
that you will not grow weary and lose heart</b>.” (Hebrews 12:2-3 ) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And to complete the trinity… we fill our hearts and minds with
the Holy Spirit. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 15:13) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a lot more going on in this world than we can see. As
we live from the unseen, looking at God as Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, then
we will not lose heart for our world but be filled with hope, and keep on
loving the ones we do see. </span></div>
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River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0Maidenhead, UK51.5337514 -0.733279400000014951.3756659 -1.0560029000000148 51.6918369 -0.41055590000001491tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-72517436008034776362014-05-17T00:00:00.001+01:002014-05-17T20:58:17.474+01:00afterTHOUGHT (May '14)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Missionary position by Andy Oxley. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Somehow, eons past, I managed to get through the 11 plus exam and found myself ensconced at Dr Challoners Grammar School in Amersham. In those days the masters wore academic gowns during lessons, and the headmaster a mortar board at assembly. It was somewhat of a culture shock for me, having been brought up in relative poverty and at that time living in a council-provided wartime pre-fab bungalow. Although that bungalow was amazingly well designed, I still remember ice forming on the insides of the windows in winter. It did have an early form of central heating though, which consisted of an open fire in the centre of the building. We soon upgraded to a pungent paraffin stove lit in the hallway during the night. Utter luxury. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I well remember my first English lesson at that school. All of us, a sorry bunch of credulous urchins, were anxiously considering our fate at this renowned pillar of British education. The master did not disappoint. I sadly can't remember his name, but he flowed into the room with a long black cape billowing behind and stood directly at the front of the now silent class. We were faced by a being so ancient he had no right to live, with long lank and dirty white hair flowing down to his shoulders. There was a fascinating, slight brown, tinge beneath his dangly nostril hairs reminiscent of years of snuff sniffing. His encrusted brown teeth had, as yet, been untouched by recent fluoridisation. The final touch was a grubby Vicar's dog collar circling his scrawny neck. This man was religious! I had never met anyone properly religious before and although this man seemed to be a flawed version, he was still interesting if singularly unnerving. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weeks went by, accompanied by smacks with his ruler and his adept method of pulling a small boy to his feet by his sideburns. We listened in awe as he regaled the class with his life experiences. It turned out this man had been a missionary! A Christian missionary, no less, and had done his missionising(?) in Africa. My only knowledge of that mighty continent had been gained watching Tarzan movies. At that time, the furthest part of our planet I had travelled to was Felixstowe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One missionary story remains in my memory above others; it was, the master said, a near-death experience. He had travelled with a few others deep into the jungle to evangelise a tribe known to be head-hunters, finally arriving to a warm welcome as the tribe was obviously having a family feast and was in the process of heating up a large cauldron. Now even I knew what head-hunters did with large cauldrons. Thankfully so did the missionaries who spent the next few hours sitting with their backs to a large wall and preventing anyone creeping behind them. It seem that these natives would only cook you if you had been prepared in the correct manner, which entailed a blow to the back of the head. An early form of food safety regulations, no doubt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I wondered at that time, being reluctant to think evil of the head-hunters, if they had misunderstood the word evangelisation. It’s a long word after all, and so similar to evisceration, that it may just be they had the wrong idea about the missionaries’ intentions. Hence their response in heating up that black pot. Just a thought…)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This early missionary experience inspired me. I had not been raised in a Christian home and therefore had no idea about such things, but I was sympathetic to the faith. I remember considering the sacrifice and dedication needed to become a missionary, the devotion and faith which would be sorely tested in ways I could not imagine. When, a few years later, I became a believer myself, I was so thankful that I did not receive the call. I probably did not listen out for it much, to be fair, but I do so love England.</span></div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0Maidenhead, UK51.5337514 -0.733279400000014951.3756659 -1.0560029000000148 51.6918369 -0.41055590000001491tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-42384293380805529032014-03-09T08:00:00.000+00:002014-05-18T23:24:24.324+01:00Colin: Losing Our Religion?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I recently attended a lecture at my old university, Brunel,
on the future of secularism and religion. The speaker was A.C. Grayling, a notorious atheist who has written a humanist bible he calls ‘The Good Book’, drawing upon the wisdom of atheists throughout history to show that men are capable of good thinking without the need for a supernatural being.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">He maintains that people can do good things without a God watching over them, telling them what to do and standing over them to ensure they obey. He confidently predicted the continuing rise of secularism and atheism and the decline of religion. He’s quite dismissive of faith and people of faith, and that could unsettle us or make us angry. He even had a go at the so-called Golden Rule: Do to others as you’d have them do to you, saying that’s the last thing we should do since others probably don’t want what we want, and that we should treat people as individuals, approaching everyone differently. He says that one of the reasons atheists have become more vocal in recent years is because of 9/11 and the other acts of terrorism committed in the name of God. In short he sees religion as a negative thing that binds people up and he wants to set them free! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I actually agree with some of what he says. People without faith are capable of good thinking, and performing acts of kindness and goodness. Men have committed terrible acts in the name of God, and religion can be used to oppress people. I also think that his understanding of faith is shallow and that he has a caricatured, or twisted, view of God, His word and His people. He doesn’t understand that our faith is all about love, and that is why his confident predictions will prove to be false. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">One area of misunderstanding is in conflating religion and faith (making them the same thing). Religion can be used in a positive and negative sense, so the Greeks had at least two words for it for that reason. There’s the outward observance of rules made by men and the inward respect for a higher authority that impacts the way we behave. It’s worth noting that religion is only mentioned 5 times in the New Testament and mostly in a negative sense. In River we have always acknowledged this and that is one of the reasons we are part of Pioneer, which exists to promote non-religious Christianity. We’re not interested in the outward forms of religion but want hearts to come alive with a joyful, peaceful and powerful faith in the God who is love. That is why when people, like Grayling, tell me they hate religion, I agree with them. This often confuses people, as they don’t expect a church leader to say that! And it opens a door to real discussion that would otherwise be closed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The arguments against religion are powerful and the word is still used more often in a negative sense, so we choose to distance ourselves from it. But Pioneer also champions the cause of women, standing for their equality with men. Not making men and women the same, but recognising that women have been oppressed even until recent times. We firmly believe there is no role that a woman should be prohibited from fulfilling. The important thing is, has she been called to it? Because when God calls, He empowers. Other core values of Pioneer churches are the importance of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, and every member in ministry – each one of us uniquely called and empowered by Jesus to help build church that reflects His glory, to fulfil the great commission of making this world the love-filled planet it was created to be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Being part of this national network means we partner with people we love and respect in bringing life, not religion, to our nation! </span><br />
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River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0Maidenhead, UK51.522414 -0.7219000000000050951.4433675 -0.883261500000005 51.601460499999995 -0.56053850000000516tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-49222770957265715472014-03-09T00:00:00.000+00:002014-05-17T20:57:21.549+01:00afterTHOUGHT (Mar '14)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Taking the tablet </b>by Andy Oxley. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was excited last week … Jane had ordered something and arriving with it was a 'free' 7" tablet. I used to have one of my own but broke the glass and chucked it out, and ever since then I had been in mourning. I liked playing Scrabble and Angry Birds on it just like Jane does, ad infinitum, on her own unbroken one. I have spent hours sitting jealously watching her enjoy herself, but now, a new one was coming and I could once again try to form words with more than two letters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The thing is, I can afford to buy a new tablet, but I am too tight. It comes from living an early life of abject poverty, where living in a gutter would have been a step up. So to get anything free or cheap is where my heart truly lies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the auspicious day of its arrival, I decided to open the box really slowly. To savour every moment of the un-boxing experience. Everything looked good, nicely packaged, a lovely shaped mains plug and charger (only a man would say that) and the tablet itself looked very much the same as my broken one. Except it was not broken. I was pleased as punch. A new tablet is one thing, but a free one, that is sublime. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My little mind (only a man has one) began to gloat. I had a tablet... so what, so do many other people. But mine is free, gratis, cost zilch. Hey, that makes me better than you in a subtle but significant way. When I operate my touch screen, it hasn't cost me a penny, not many an Apple user can say that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, material things are always ultimately disappointing. Even I know that; I should do, considering the number of cheap gadgets I have had. The fact is that this cheap tablet is precisely that: cheap. The word nasty also comes to mind. Far from being an object of desire it turned out to be a poor copy, a miserable clone, a fake, a counterfeit</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh yes, it did work. It did everything it is supposed to - that's not the problem. The problem is how it did it. The screen is dull, fuzzy and unresponsive. The buttons don't feel right, and the whole thing is a bit heavy. Worse of all, its brain is slow. Ok, so it manages to keep up with my brain ok. But I prefer to have technology that makes me appear smarter. Appearances can be important - they are so effective at hiding the truth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I should have learned long ago not to expect much of cheap stuff. Surely I could have guessed this abomination which goes under the name of 7" Tablet, was going to be naff. Perhaps somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I knew it would disappoint. The trouble is, my naively enthusiastic search for something for nothing always rules. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of you (at least one of you reads these articles, and I know your name) are probably thinking that I am using the above in a metaphorical way, to illustrate a truth about faith. Well, as it happens that has just crossed my mind. Originally I was just having a moan, but what the heck, let’s be metaphorical, especially as I need to string it out to meet the word count.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you think I am going to say that our faith is the one free thing that is of true value and does not disappoint, I'm not. There is some truth in that, but no. My point is that you only get what you pay for, and if you think about it, our faith has been at a great cost. The cost to Jesus is plain, but this faith also involves a great cost to us as individuals. Think about it, it's worth it</span></div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0Maidenhead, UK51.5337514 -0.733279400000014951.3756659 -1.0560029000000148 51.6918369 -0.41055590000001491tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3677450230066643360.post-61414251802058236982014-01-12T08:00:00.000+00:002014-05-18T23:26:45.832+01:00Vicky: What would Jesus do?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFIxzM1uxBMvvZDcglas9BOiTxbt5mmuGpvCDE1LHWJL1pg5FsHIZtQSpY8FKxIceb1VQrthkfKYa4u4gEN_0feul8TjYQW5Sz0FSDAFzNDNiToW1dCXPwPeKVKKyd01Ta5AuE25CUvDC/s1600/vicky.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFIxzM1uxBMvvZDcglas9BOiTxbt5mmuGpvCDE1LHWJL1pg5FsHIZtQSpY8FKxIceb1VQrthkfKYa4u4gEN_0feul8TjYQW5Sz0FSDAFzNDNiToW1dCXPwPeKVKKyd01Ta5AuE25CUvDC/s1600/vicky.PNG" height="320" width="268" /></span></a><div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May 2014 be full of hope, joy and peace! </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the ’90s if you were around the Christian world you may remember there was a craze that started: wristbands with the letters WWJD. What Would Jesus Do? It was big and in the end it became a cheesy sentiment. And yet it is so profound. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After Jesus’ death and resurrection He hung out with His friends before ascending to heaven. His final words are important to us today. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus said “All authority has been given to me on heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what is key in these verses?</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus, as a human, through the cross, took back the authority to steward the earth well, to be all that it was be, that we as humanity had given to the devil in the Garden of Eden. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are asked to be proactive, to Go! In the original Greek this means, “As you go”. Therefore as you are going about your day-to-day life, you should… </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">make disciples. A disciple is a learner, a follower. Jesus is looking for learners and followers of Him. Where Jesus was at that time, the concept of disciple was part of the culture. Someone would learn from their teacher and put it into practice. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We make these disciples in every people-group on earth. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We baptise them into a Trinitarian God. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We teach them to observe ALL that Jesus taught. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus is with us! </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we consider this commission, WWJD is very relevant! But it’s not just what would Jesus do – it’s what would Jesus think, what were His ways? My biggest prayer is, “Lord, show me Your ways.” In Psalm 103:7 it says about God “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moses had a close friendship with God. He took the time to build this closeness and didn’t observe God’s miracles from afar as the Israelites did. We all know many things about the Queen, but most of us do not know her personally. Therefore we don’t know what she thinks, what her motivations are, how she handles people. We don’t know the Queen’s ways! It is the same with God. We can be a follower of Jesus, and - just like the Israelites - know His acts but not His ways. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our God, who is love, wants us to know Him intimately. That is why Jesus came. Jesus not only went to the cross and enabled us to have a close personal relationship with God, but He became human, so we could relate to God. In the gospels we have stories of Jesus that are so precious in enabling us to know the ways of God, and lead us into greater friendship with Him, showing us how to live on earth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Christians we may unintentionally add stuff to what it means to follow Jesus and be His disciple. I encourage us all in 2014 to determine to know Jesus and His ways. That in every interaction, every circumstance, every place, we ask ourselves the question – WWJD and WWJT (What Would Jesus Think?) and WWJF (What Would Jesus Feel?) until our friendship with Jesus and our intimate knowledge of Him becomes such that we don’t need to ask the question, we just know in our core how He would feel, what He would think and what He would do. And as lovers, friends and followers of Him we will say, “Ok Jesus, I’ll do that for you!”</span></div>
River Church UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07747539855048745796noreply@blogger.com0Maidenhead, UK51.522414 -0.7219000000000050951.4433675 -0.883261500000005 51.601460499999995 -0.56053850000000516