Shoutlouder

sunday revisited

// April 6th, 2009 // No Comments » // Sunday

So the best thing about Sunday – to be really honest – was the dedication of my little girl Ania. I know… I love church and we saw some people make decisions to follow Christ – which is REALLY REALLY AWESOME – but I have to say my real highlight was the dedication and a chance to place my little girl’s future into the hands of her amazing God.

Some people might think a dedication is just a nice ceremony that people do when they have kids – for some it might be a christening… but I believe EVERYTHING we do in the sight of God is significant. Whether you’re stood in an altar call, reading out marriage vows, going under the water in Baptism and the other many ceremonial practices we have around church… you can either take them as just something you do – or you can see that behind the natural there is a supernatural world at work and what we do and declare over our lives are not just words but powerful statements that resound across eternity! That might sound deep… but it’s the truth….. tha’s what Paul was trying to get across to the Ephesians when he said:

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

We get so lost in the imaginary world of movies and fiction that we forget that there is a very real, SUPERreal world at work around us and what we say, do, believe is a key to seeing the power of God at work in our lives. I fully believe that what took place over Ania’s life on Sunday morning was a powerful declaration of intent and has set her life on a collision course with the plans and purposes God has for.

Exciting stuff…!

passionate sundays

// November 17th, 2008 // No Comments » // Inspiration, Sunday

We had a great morning in our Leeds congregation yesterday. There’s just something absolutely brilliant about our meetings at the moment. It seems that everyone is so passionate about pursuing God that it fills the place with a great sense of praise, faith and expectation for God to move!

It makes such a difference when the church comes together in this kind of unity – for God responds to those who chase after him, who choose to stand on his promises and grasp hold of the inheritance he has for them.

And it’s not stopping on Sunday as I’m hearing more and more of the God-stories that are taking place during the week. The group who are so excited about the Word of God that they are now meeting together regularly to study the Bible more; the new Christian who found himself in a difficult situation at work and having found a place to cry out to God in prayer saw the whole thing turn around for good; the new opportunities for people to speak to their friends about God; new people in church every week and more importantly more people making decisions to follow Jesus than ever before!

Right now I’m doing a series from Paul’s letter to the EPHESIANS. I’m really loving just spending time in one book, slowly picking through the banquet of goodness that God has provided in his word. I could spend literally years on EPHESIANS – (I won’t – so if you’re in our Leeds congregation you don’t need to worry) – but I love how much it says about WHO WE ARE in Christ and WHAT HE HAS GIVEN us through Christ.

The greatest thing you can do in life is to discover WHO God created you to be. What has he done for you and what does that mean for you today? To discover you are created by God’s hands himself and not off some production line, to find out that you’ve been adopted to be one of his children, given the same inheritance rights as Jesus himself, seated in heavenly places, called a co-heir with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords… to know the FULL extent of God’s grace, mercy and redemption… I could go on…. but every piece of the puzzle starts to build an incredible picture of God’s love for each one of us and the incredible power and blessing he has put on our lives.

So why not try living today as the person God has created and saved you to be… start living as his child today. Imagine what you would do if you’re Dad had all the resources of heaven available at your disposal? Just imagine… then go and do!