Stand and Look

 

Imagine yourself standing in your favourite place. Look out towards and front and slowly turn around. As you move throughout the 360 degrees take in the view and come back to your original standing position. Now read through this scripture and then re-do, the same exercise.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, 
“who is, 
and who was, 
and who is to come, 
the Almighty.” - Revelation 1:8

No matter where you turn, remember that Christ is present. Jesus was present in the beginning of time and he will be present at the end of the age. And of course, Jesus is present with us TODAY.

Hold onto that promise.

Living in Grace
D3LM3 

Beginning and End

God is with us in the beginning of this year, as much as He was with us at the end of 2016. God holds all time and space together in the palm of his hands, and so He promises to look after us in all things. God is in the business of creating (Alpha) and completing (Omega) - and so for those of us who are caught in between these two events we need to drink from the springs of God's grace, trusting that all will be well.



⁵ And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. ⁷ All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.” – Revelation 21:5-7

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Alpha 2013

We launched our 2013 Alpha Course last nght and we had such an amazing time - it was a real blessing to be part of this great ministry. If you have never experienced a Alpha course then sign up at your local Church next time they run it - you won't regret it.

The content of the course gives you a wonderful chance to ask questions about life, faith and anything else. The intention of Alpha is not to 'convert' you to a particular denomination, but rather to get people speaking about Christianity. The thing that this course does well is allow space for people to speak about faith, in a relaxed environment. Sharing in a meal is the perfect way to put people at ease and to converse. These are things that we can't always do in a 'usual' church service and that's perhaps why many folk love Alpha.

Perhaps the most debate with Alpha comes later in the course, during the sessions on the Holy Spirt. Although this is hardly controversial - it just gets people to speak about the most neglected person of the Trinity (the Spirit) in a focussed way. In my opinion, we need to understand the person and work of the Spirit more and more - afterall it is the role of the Spirit to change our lives, to bring life and to guide us into all truth.

Anyway, just wanted to give you a little update on the course - God bless you this week.
Know that God loves you and that He has your back!

 “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” - C.S. Lewis

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Bear Gryllis on Christianity

Bear Gryllis is known for his television series, Man versus Wild (Born Survivor) and has written a number of books, detailing his hectic adventure stories (Mud, Sweat and Tears is a great read by the way). What some people don't know is that he is also a committed Christian and is often used as a spokesperson for the Alpha Course.

This is what he has to say about his faith:

"This really is the heart of what I found as a young teenager: Christ comes to make us free, to bring us life in all its fullness. He is there to forgive us where we have messed up (and who hasn’t), and to be the backbone in our being. Faith in Christ has been the great empowering presence in my life, helping me walk strong when so often I feel so weak."

May Christ be an empowering presence in your life today and always.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Alpha Course

We are starting the Alpha Course tonight at Church and we pray that many of us will be able to deepen our faith and that many others will be able to ask some tough questions about Christianity.

I love meeting together with other believers to 'sharpen' our faith and to be honest about our questions. I feel that we grow the most, when we meet in true fellowship.

Talking about 'questions', I have one for you:
"How is your relationship with Jesus today?"

"Those who deserve love the least need it the most." - Unknown

May you know God's overwhelming love and grace, despite your answer to the above question.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3