20 years on

Today marks the anniversary of my Ordination (20th August 2006). I am grateful for God's grace that has sustained us over the years of ministry. The journey began many years before Ordination, as I candidated for the Ordained ministry in 1999, while serving as a Youth Pastor (1995-1999) and then served as a Probationer minister from 2002-2006. 

These years of ministry have taken us into amazing communities, and we have met some incredible people over this time. I would be lying if I said that all has gone smoothly, but I am convinced that God has guided us and given us the strength to serve Him. I am also indebted to the love and support from Kim and my boys, as well as my wider family. Ministry is not something that I could do alone and they have all encouraged me so much.

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

The future lies in God's hands, and I pray that I may still stay faithful to Christ and serve him in whatever capacity I can. Thank you for your support in this small part of my ministry too. 

Soli Deo Gloria.

Living in Grace

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Faithful

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." - Deuteronomy 7:9 

God is faithful. 

God keeps his promises. 

God shows up, when all else looks grim and bleak.

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again." - John 3:16-18 (The Message)

Living in Grace

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Do what you can

In looking at the many wise words found in the book of Proverbs we see that there are practical instructions on how to live with others. If you read through Proverbs 3:27-31 you will notice that Solomon uses the phrase ... "Do not" quite a few times. I would like to change the emphasis of this slightly and show how we CAN make a difference.

• Do good to those who need your help.
• Help your neighbour today and not later.
• Do no harm to others.
• Be quick to live in peace with others.
• Be content with what you have.
• Be happy with your Godly ways.

I am not sure if I have done justice to the point of Solomon's instructions, but it was helpful to try and read them with a different viewpoint.

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
    when it is in your power to act.
²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor,
    “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
    when you already have it with you.
²⁹ Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
    who lives trustfully near you.
³⁰ Do not accuse anyone for no reason—
    when they have done you no harm.

³¹ Do not envy the violent
    or choose any of their ways."

Theodore Roosevelt - "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Living in Grace
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Faithful God

As I bring the last month's reflections on Micah to an end, let us use his words as a starting point for our fresh start to 2020. They are a wonderful reminder of God's mercy, compassion and FAITHFULNESS.

"Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy.
¹⁹ You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will be faithful to Jacob,
    and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors    in days long ago." - Micah 7:18-20

Our God is Faithful.

Living in Grace
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Wood from a vine - Ezekiel 15

Oh my goodness, Ezekiel is not letting up at all today. Chapter 15 is only 8 verses long, but it is packed with hard words and a strong message for those who are unfaithful to the Lord. He records this message in the form of a parable, which is quite similar to the way Jesus spoke to people in his time.

A Parable about a Vine

The Lord spoke to me. ² “Mortal man,” he said, “how does a vine compare with a tree? What good is a branch of a grapevine compared with the trees of the forest? ³ Can you use it to make anything? Can you even make a peg out of it to hang things on? ⁴ It is only good for building a fire. And when the ends are burned up and the middle is charred, can you make anything out of it? ⁵ It was useless even before it was burned. Now that the fire has burned it and charred it, it is even more useless.”

⁶ Now this is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: “Just as a vine is taken from the forest and burned, so I will take the people who live in Jerusalem ⁷ and will punish them. They have escaped one fire, but now fire will burn them up. When I punish them, you will know that I am the Lord. ⁸ They have been unfaithful to me, and so I will make the country a wilderness.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

As I read through this I thought of Jesus' parable about the vine and the branches. Jesus' parable seems to be a little more uplifting although the message is still the same. We need to stay connected to God (the Vine) in order to ensure that we are growing and producing fruit. In an interesting aside, these following words of John are also recorded in a chapter 15:

“I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit. ³ You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you. ⁴ Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me." - John 15

What does this mean for you today?

Living in Grace
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Loyalty

 

 

At some point David felt as if there were no LOYAL people left in the world around him. He lamented: 

"Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race." (Psalm 12:1)

Of course, there were still many faithful and loyal people in his community - he just needed to be made aware of who they were. I think the same applies in our time. There are many good people out there and God is still calling each one of us to remain Faithful and Loyal to the Gospel and to each other. The following quote speaks volumes: 
 

"Don’t' waste your time waiting and longing for large opportunities which may never come. But faithfully handle the little things that are always claiming your attention." - F.B. Meyer

Look for opportunities to show your faithfulness today.

Living in Grace
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Keep a firm grip

"Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word." - Hebrews 10:23
 
" Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (NIV)

 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

No matter what version you read of this verse, it conveys the same message - sometimes we just need to keep a firm grip on to the promises of God. Whatever you are facing today, hold onto the important promises of God. He is faithful to keep up his end of the bargain.

Living in Grace
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When others fail you

There is nothing new about my next statement, yet it still gets under our skin:
"People will let you down. They will fail you."

We hope that everyone in our "circles of influence" will be near perfect, but that is such an unreasonable thing to hope for. People are flawed and we will fail each other from time to time.

In light of this, it is always best to remember that God is always FAITHFUL. Even when things don't work out in the way we expect, this does not mean that God is no longer faithful. God is still faithful.

2 Timothy 2:13 - if we are faithless,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot disown himself.

 Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 

Living in Grace
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Song for the New Year

The words of a lovely hymn, inspires us into the new year. In just two verses Joseph Hart manages to sum up the essence of our walk with Jesus. If you know the tune then sing the next two paragraphs - if not, then just enjoy the message that comes from this words.

"This, this is the God we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend,
Whose love is as great as His power,
And knows neither measure nor end.
 
'Tis Jesus, the First and the Last,
Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home,
We'll praise Him for all that is past!
And trust Him for all that's to come"

It is so wonderful to note these immense truths:

God is faithful
God is a friend
God is unchangeable
God is powerful
God is loving
God can't be contained
God is the first and the last
God will guide us safely home
God can be trusted with our future


Psalm 36:5 - "Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies."

Living in Grace
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His Love never Quits

God's love never Quits! God pours out the abundance of his love for us every day. When all kinds of things around us stop working and quit on us, God's love never does. Advent is not a time when we welcome the love of God and then wave goodbye to that love - No ways. God's FAITHFUL love endures forever.

^1-3 Thank God! He deserves your thanks.
    His love never quits.
Thank the God of all gods,
    His love never quits.
Thank the Lord of all lords.
    His love never quits.

^4-22 Thank the miracle-working God,
    His love never quits.
The God whose skill formed the cosmos,
    His love never quits.
The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations,
    His love never quits.
The God who filled the skies with light,
    His love never quits.
The sun to watch over the day,
    His love never quits.
Moon and stars as guardians of the night,
    His love never quits.

Living in Grace

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Faithful - Advent thoughts

"Stay the course.
Keep believing.
You may be tired,
discouraged and frustrated,
but don't give up on your future,
Our God is FAITHFUL." - Anon

Advent is always a reminder to us that God remained faithful to us, even despite our disobedience. We are not just waiting the birth of the Christ-child, but the God who will forever be FAITHFUL. Let us rejoice that our God is good and that his patience out lasts our betrayal.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 - "But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one."

Living in Grace
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