I Press On......

2012-01-20T00:24:00.000-08:00

Promises, Promises Promises!

In Genesis God makes a clear and comprehensive promise to Abram 'I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great, And so you will be a blessing'. When we as humans make promises we enter in to a contract usually with the intention of fulfilling the contract being made, an example when a groom and bride stand facing each other on their wedding day they make promises to one another with the full intention of keeping them, many fail in the promises made during their wedding vows .

Not so with God when he makes promises you can be confident he will fulfill them he is faithful . The problem arises when the promises do not come to fruition within our time scale, as was the case for Abram.
God promised that he would have descendants that would become a nation that takes time which Abram clearly did not factor into the promise, having descendants does not happen over night, but he makes a common mistake he helps God out, through his own scheme rather than waiting for God's plan to come about. Patience is not a gift many of us have but it is a fruit of the Spirit which is given by God and developed within us all we need to do is to ask for it, it is not instant, it is a life time lesson for some of us to learn but learn it we must.
Blessings Ray

And Jesus said......

2012-01-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Jesus said 'I am the way, the truth and the life no one can come to the Father except through me'

Jesus said 'I am the Way' he is the one who leads to the path of life, it is only through Him that we can be with God. If you turn up at an airport wanting to travel to South Africa then you need to board a plane that is heading to South Africa, no other plane will take you there. Jesus is the only way to the Father.
Jesus said 'I am the truth' no other man on this earth can claim to be such. There is no one on this planet who never lied or did anything wrong, so no one can claim to be the truth, except Jesus because He is God himself and there is no sin or lie within Him.

Jesus said 'I am the Life' What is the meaning of life about which Jesus is talking? Are we dead and do we need life? Lets see what it is about. We read in Romans 3:23, 'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' And also in Romans 6:23 'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

All have sinned and so we are lifeless because our soul is dead in sin. because of our sins we are heading towards death - eternal death. But Jesus came into this world to save us from hell. He gave His precious life for us. he shed His precious blood on the cross to purchase freedom for us.

He gave His life for us but now we have to claim life - eternal life, so that we may never die but live forever. Jesus came to give us eternal life - a life that will never fade. He came to give us life abundant and it is available free of cost because Jesus paid the price for it on the cross.

The Good News of Jesus is for all; it welcomes all just as we are. but if that loving invitation into God's Kingdom is to be accepted, it requires radical change of those parts of our human nature that fall short of God's will for His creation. you may recall that the very first recorded words of Jesus in Mark's account 1:15 are these 'The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the Gospel/the Good News.' The challenge to repent, to turn away from what is selfish and sinful, in order to receive something better - that challenge has always provoked a mixed response.

We are called to preach the whole Gospel, not an edited version, not an inoffensive Gospel like lead free petrol or wheat free bread the gospel only comes with power if there is repentance.

Blessings
Ray

And He will be called.....

2011-12-20T12:34:00.000-08:00

For to us a child is born

to us a child is given,

and the government will be on HIs shoulders

and He will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:6

Wonderful Counselor - through the birth and death of Jesus, a priceless gift arrived, the Wonderful Counselor sent to dwell in all the hearts of those who would believe. Is He guiding you? Surrender your life to His leadership, what He has for you is beyond anything you could imagine. 1 Corinthians 3:9

Mighty God - We follow a Mighty God, not like the gods of this world, or the gods Isaiah had in mind when he wrote this prophecy. Isaiah was surrounded by gods who were impotent and brought death but we have a God who is mighty to save. This is what makes our God mighty, scripture tell us that while we were dead in our sins He made us alive!

Our Everlasting Father is compassionate, He is not angry with us, he is concerned about the smallest things in our lives and when He corrects us He does it to bring us closer to Him, not to condemn us or drive us away. He wants for us to be His children.

Prince of Peace - we long for peace in our lives....in our thoughts, decisions, emotions, relationships, families and our world. He is our Prince of Peace, our refuge throughout the storms in our lives.

The Government is on his shoulders all authority is with him, he is the one who is in charge of this world and as Christians we have access to the everlasting father because of the birth of this child Jesus let us honour him.

Blessings Without Warnings Ray x

My Son's Testimony

2011-07-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

Better than Spec Savers

2011-01-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

We are in a series at present based in the book of Ephesians, last week I preached from Ephesians 1:14-18 'I pray that the eyes of your heart would be opened'

Remembering Paul is writing to the church we can understand from Paul's prayer of asking that it is possible to have 'Dull Hearts' which do not see supernaturally, this was an issue in the church at Ephesus, they saw with their natual eyes but perhaps were not seeing things in a deeper way.

He prayed so that they would know what is the hope of His calling. Notice it is His calling! and not ours. In this passage Paul is asking for God to come in such a way that they would be able to operate in a supernatural way rather than super and natural way! Many Christian are super people and are naturally gifted, but what about the supernatural gifts?

If we walk by the faith what we see with the eyes of our hearts, will be more real than what we see with our natural eyes, the eyes of our hearts will allow us to see more than going to Spec Savers ever could.

Blessings Ray

January Sales

2011-01-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who would readily admit to the January sales being a highlight of her year. With Christmas over now comes the lure of grabbing a bargain. Another friend commented 'IT IS ONLY A BARGAIN IF YOU NEED IT'

We live in a world that has bred an ideology driven by consumerism, my desires, my needs are of paramount importance it encourages having, rather than being. Historically this ideology was the reserve of the privileged class; but now it is expected and required by many.

I read a story today with photos of a Celebrity Chef spending £30,000 on a hair transplant, it was required to retain his youthful look for American TV so he would remain popular with the viewers.
The followers of this now established 'Good Life' ideology are driven by the hollow promises that offer so much but leaves them hungry for more, it conditions them to live dissatisfied, disillusioned lives chasing what is not catchable because satisfaction is always just around the corner.
There is no question the Bible clearly teaches us personal responsibility and the idea of doing our very best in everything we do, but have we subtly bought into the same ideology as the world? Is Church about me and what I require? Has God just become another avenue for me to become fulfilled rather than the true worship of God?
Timothy Vaverek prescribes a three-fold Christian response to the life of consumerism

1. Through self-denial turning away from inessential desires of will and flesh.
2. Through prayer a deeper communion with God leading to the path of self-sacrificial love.
3. Through works of mercy and charity, places our focus away from us to others.

If we commit ourselves to the higher call of Christ, the world will see the glory of God in and through His church. Titus 2:11-14 'For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self controlled, upright and Godly lives in this present age....'

When the Going gets Tough

2010-07-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

As a church we have been looking at the book of John, last Sunday I preached the last message of chapter 6 verse 60-71. In this passage, Jesus had lost many of His followers He was left with the twelve He had chosen and one of those He had chosen was a devil; they had walked away because He spoke the truth as regards Himself 6 v 53-58. They started grumbling and complaining about this teaching they said it was a 'difficult statement', the result of telling it like it is, led to these followers turning back and walk with him no more.

Many turn back, remember the passage these were described as 'disciples' it often starts when life gets busy, church and time set aside for God gets squeezed out of peoples lives or life has not turned out as they had hoped, it is often gradual but it becomes nearly impossible to maintain a growing on fire relationship with God, they might maintain something but not a growing dynamic fire within.

John Wesley spoke to a man who thought he could be a christian all by himself. Wesley picked up a pair of tongs and took a hot coal out of the fire, almost immediately it started to go out, he did not need to say any more, many people fall away today because they fail to see the importance of the warmth of Christian fellowship. Perhaps more importantly they stop seeking the Lord's presence regularly in their lives.
In John 6 verse 63 it says It is the Spirit who gives life;the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

The Holy Spirit is the Catalyst! (Oxford Dictionary 'catalyst' a person or thing that precipitates change, increases the rate of a reaction) keep in step with the Spirit he gives us life.

Blessings

Ray

HOP FARM FESTIVAL

2010-07-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Lindsey and I went to a pop festival!! ha ha I hear you laugh There was a great line up starting with Foye Vance, and ending the day with the great 60s icon Bob Dylan. All day great bands came and went on the main stage.

We queued to get in, we queued to get our wrist bands, we queued to get a drink , we queued to get an ice cream, I queued for the loo, and I queued for 20 mins to buy a Pizza. You are beginning to get the picture there were a lot of people needing to be fed and watered.

We left the main arena at 10 pm missing the last 40 minutes of Dylan's set, as we had a 2 hour drive home and I was due to preach Sunday morning at our church in Berkhamsted. We got back to the car at 10.15pm and started to leave the Car Park; having read the start of this post guess what time we eventually got to the exit to get on our way home? It was 1pm when we eventually hit the tarmac to start our journey home, and arrived in Berkhamsted at 2.45am Sunday morning.

Around us in their cars were a lot of people very frustrated because like us they were trying to get home, there were many expressing their frustrations and some very angry.

How did we do ? It was so frustrating that these thousands of cars in front of us were holding up our progress.

Over the years that I have been a Christian there have been many times of frustration and anger when my progress has been hampered, Saturday night as we tried to get home I felt like a prisoner.

Paul writes in Ephesians 4:1-2 Therefore I the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.

Blessings
Ray

Come on England!!

2010-06-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon I sat in a friends house watching football, England v Germany, I do not want to make much of our disappointment, despair and failure of Our Team, or the lack of passion that was delivered by them. For many years I have watched England playing football and have gotten used to the disappointment which following your team often brings.

However, I saw great passion as the teams walked out of the tunnel onto the pitch, the air was thick with anticipation not just within the stadium but also in my friends house where we were hoping for a great victory for England, sadly it was not to be.

At the end of the game my friend John, and I sat in his lounge, now just the two of us realising we had perhaps set our expectations a little too high.

The questions I ask is what about next time when England play in the European Qualifiers, or in four years time for the World Cup, will the memory of this disappointment affect our hope and expectation of the England team and the winning of the competition?

This is my first post so I thought I would use the scripture in the title header. One of my favorites.

Philippians 3:12-14 'I press on, so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.'

This post is about football! but perhaps it is about something that is a lot more important than that; this is a matter of the heart and your mind, how will I respond the next time things don't work out as I had hoped? Will I have the same attitude which God has shown in the above text?

Blessings

Ray