MISSION - The Kingdom

This evening we watched the DVD of Wolfgang Simson speaking to the House2House Conference in September 2008. His theme was the Kingdom of Heaven, and how we can't live in the Kingdom without obeying the King.

We discussed what this means to us. The Kingdom stuff surely can't be ignored - are we going to live as people under the King's command or are we going to do our own thing? Only obedience brings blessing!

We thought that next week we should spend our time in prayer and listening.

Offord - Chosen and loved

We met at Roger's again this week, but ate lunch indoors this time as it was too cold in the garden. We met before lunch, and then Ruth joined us for the meal.

We all shared CO2 first, this is a really good way to get the ball rolling. It quickly brings us up-to-date with one another's heart feelings and significant events in life, and it's good to share what we each feel the Lord has been saying to us.

As we continued in worship and prayer, Paul had a word for us, 'God says he doesn't need us, but he wants us.' I prayed for more labourers for the harvest, both in the Offords and in connection with Paul's youth work. Paul prayed that we'd hear Jesus and accept the changes that we find hard. He also mentioned the need to forgive people who may hurt us sometimes.

I had a picture of someone watering a pot plant, but to my surprise I quickly saw that they were pouring out hot, sticky tar - not cool, fresh water! It wouldn't work, of course. The plant would die. And I understood that we need to give people the rivers of living water that come from Yahshua. If we give them something other than living water they will be unable to grow.

Roger read Ephesians 6:10-13, how we need to stand and live fully in the light! And finally Paul read Ephesians 3:14-19 about the width, length, height and depth of God's love over us. We can be filled, not according to our way of measuring full, but according to his measurement of full (far, far exceeding our own)!

Eaton Ford - Salt and light

We chatted over tea and coffee for a while until Jim took us right into spiritual matters with the question, 'What does it mean to be salt and light?' (Matthew 5:13-16) It's clear that these terms refer to making a difference, but Jim wanted to go deeper.

Acts 1:8 shows us that the Holy Spirit comes so that we can be witnesses. Are we really witnessing with 'fire in our bellies' as we should?

Sean had been thinking about the fruit of the Spirit and realised that these fruits are like food for people. We all agreed, it's not about mission fields or saying particular things to particular people - it's about the fruit, grace in our daily lives, joy, kindness etc.

I sensed that in order to be victorious in this spiritual Kngdom we must first be utterly defeated. To succeed we must first fail. Unless our human weaknesses are overcome, we will be unable to be living witnesses of the kind we need to be.

Sean prayed for the fire to burn up everything worthless, but he's afraid there'll be nothing left, nothing will remain. I had a word from the Lord about this, 'A seed will remain, and it's a seed that will grow.' Although we will lose ourselves, we will also begin to gain our real selves in the process. And it will be the beginning of real growth.

MISSION - Wisdom

Sean explained that he'd been reading Proverbs 24 which is about wisdom. Verses 11-12 particularly stood out and spoke to him about mission. It's what we're here for! Salvation for those in peril! I agree with him about this.

As we were talking about it I mentioned that it is 'the Prime Directive', and Sean suggested instead that the prime directive for us is loving God and everything flows from that. This makes sense to me.

Like Moses, who didn't enter into the promised land, we will continue on our journey to the end of this life. But Moses was there on the mountain talking with Jesus and Elijah. One day we will be with him too.

The Moggerhanger meeting in February and the Newforms meeting in April were mountaintop experiences for both of us, they were so exciting, so encouraging. But we're not meant to be there all the time. Sean pointed out that if we were able to choose our mountaintops, we'd most likely be there for the experience, not simply for the Lord's sake.

I had a picture of colour spinners, the sort children used to make from a disc of card with two holes and a piece of string. Colouring them with segments of the primary colours red, yellow and blue and then spinning them by pulling the string, there was a magical effect. The coloured segments would vanish and be replaced by a neutral, dull grey. When we spin our colour discs we make a dirty grey, but when the Lord spins his colour wheel it makes a glorious, brilliant white too bright to look at at. I thought that this is how he takes our different abilities and natures and somehow creates something wonderful out of our ordinaryness.

Sean explained that when they were young, his children could draw, but not nearly as well as he could. They were always amazed at the things he could draw that they could not. He felt that we are like that. He can do so much better than we can, he can spin a colour wheel to produce true white light, our attempts are rather poor by comparison. And we are amazed!

Offord - Lunch in the garden

Paul and I travelled to meet in Offord d'Arcy today as Roger had an injury and was unable to drive.

We sat in the garden for a salad lunch, it was delightful to be able to do that so early in the year. James (the cat) sat with us and enjoyed small pieces of cocktail sausage and sultanas from the fruit cake.

We shared CO2 together and prayed for some of the people who were on our hearts today. We just enjoyed conversation centred on the Lord and I returned home feeling refreshed and encouraged.

Little Paxton - Salvation and reward

Jim read Matthew 5:8, 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God'. He asked us to consider what it might mean to 'see God'.

On the face of it this is a very simple question, but Sean and I were both unsure how to answer, Jim certainly got us thinking! If you're reading this you might like to consider the question for yourself. What does it mean to 'see' the Almighty?

We decided there is certainly a need for humility.

Moving on, we also wondered what it really means to be a disciple. We know that once we understand that Yahshua truly is the Son of the Most High and that he is the Lamb, the one and only sacrifice necessary for our sin to be forgiven, when we accept him and depend on him, we begin living a new life. I thought that this in itself doesn't make us a disciple because we need to move from new life to actually following Yahshua daily, finding out what he wants and doing it. In other words it may be possible to make it into eternal life but without any reward or crown. (See 1 Cor 3:11-15)

Jim referred to Luke 6:23, our response to being rejected because of Christ is to jump for joy! And I thought of Matthew 5:23-24. The gift at the altar was the offering. But Christ himself is our offering, our sacrifice. In a very real sense Yahshua is our gift. There was nothing sufficient that we could supply, but he supplied our need. We cannot really offer Christ as our sacrifice without first putting things right with our brother.

Eaton Ford (day) - Healing a mother-in-law

Roger and Julian were unable to come this week so Paul and I went ahead without them. We began by running through CO2. As part of that I explained that the Lord had been showing me that I should be like a little child, they are innocent, straightforward and trusting.

Paul pointed out that once they reach five or six-years-old they are already capable of cheating and telling lies, so when Jesus tells us we should be like little children, he really does mean 'little'. But Paul also mentioned that we can ask anything of Jesus at any time, he never turns us away. What a wonderful truth!

I said that Yahshua has a plan for each one of us and he is working it out day by day and even moment by moment. I had a picture in which I was standing on the top of a hill with  the Lord. I could see a brilliantly lit cloudscape below, it must have been a grey, foggy day down in the valley. Up here everything was bright sunshine and glorious. But Yahshua said, 'I have X-ray eyes, you don't. I can see the road we are following together as it winds down the hill and across the valley. And I can see everything you'll see along the way when you are there - but you can't see them yet, not from here, not under the clouds.'

'Walk with me each day. I know where we're going. You don't.'

We spent some time in prayer and then we returned to Mark 1 which we've been working through from time to time. We read from Mark 1:21-28 about the casting out of an evil (unclean) spirit. Paul noticed that we're used to doctors who can sometimes cure physical ailments, but to the people of his day it must have been astonishing to see Jesus cast out an evil spirit instantly like this.

Reading of the healing of Simon's mother-in-law in verses 29-34 we thought how amazed we are when we see similar things. A good example of this was the way Paul was able to be so active physically during last year's X-treme Camp and was relatively free of pain. It was unasked for, unexpected, but so, so encouraging. We are asking for the same again this year!

I shared a bit about why Yahshua wouldn't allow the demons to speak. Very often when we intend to spread the good news about him, we begin by telling people who he is. But this was not the way Yahshua did it, he didn't want people to know who he was. He began by simply loving people and caring for them, meeting their needs, and then he told them about his Father and challenged them to come in line with heavenly standards, not earthly ones. People started to ask, 'Who is this man, even the demons obey him?' We should learn from him, we are doing it all back to front! People first need to know that he is good, then they will want to know more about him.

Verses 35-39 show the Son wanting to hear the Father. When they told him, 'Everyone is looking for you!' he said, 'Let's go somewhere else.' Is this what we would do? Probably not! He was always full of surprises, the disciples must have been puzzled on many occasions.

Mark 1:40-45 is very significant. Yahshua heals a Jew of leprosy. This is the first of the so-called Messianic miracles, the religious authorities believed and taught that only the Messiah would be able to perform such a healing. It was not unusual for people to be healed or demons cast out by prayer, but some things had never happened before and this was one of them. Naaman had been healed of leprosy by Elisha, but he was not a Jew, he was an Aramean.

This is why the healing was so significant and why it caused such an uproar. Now people were starting to seriously wonder if this Yahshua from Nazareth might be the Messiah. The religious leaders would start to take a major interest in what he was doing. The healed man was supposed to make the prescribed offering but not tell the priest (or anyone else) who had healed him.

St Neots - X-treme Bowling

This evening was a reunion for the young people and their parents. We had arranged a bowling night with pizza and chips, and we had about thirty people there on the night. It was great fun, I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

There are several more photos online, if you were there perhaps you can find yourself in one of them!

During the evening Jim described the background to X-treme Camps in Eynesbury and I announced the dates for this summer's X-treme Camp, Friday 23rd July to Sunday 25th July 2010. Don't miss it! More details from me, Chris, by email.

Great Doddington - Hard to find the way

Sean was away so Jim and I decided to visit Great Doddington this evening. We chatted over hot drinks and shared news until Jody encouraged us to focus more intentionally on the Lord.

I had a picture of a large sheet of paper rolled up tightly. It was a map, but instead of being rolled with the map on the inside, it was rolled so that part of the map showed on the outside. The Spirit said, 'This is a picture of the plan I have for your lives, it is hard to unroll and mostly you can only see a small strip of the map. However, the plan is complete even though you don't yet see it all.

Jody pictured a winding and twisty path and was walking with a hole in her shoe. She realised that sometimes we need a rest on the journey. When we're not sure of the way he picks us up or he lets us take his hand. Sometimes it's misty, sometimes the way forward is unclear, like the rolled-up map. We need to hear from him, he knows the way even when we don't.

Jim read Luke 12:22-34 and then spoke about the importance of wearing the right kind of shoes. What we have on our feet when we walk is rather important. he also mentioned the disappointments we face in life, like a failed house sale. But verse 31 tells us that we must seek the Kingdom first and everything else will be OK, even when it's not what we wanted. We aim to arrive at the mountain top, but sometimes we just end up in a valley of despair.

I pointed out that our treasure is the thing above all that we're not prepared to lose. It might be money, it might be Yahshua, it might be anything, but where our treasure is, there our heart will be too.

Jim added a story he'd heard about a vicar and a taxi driver who arrived together at the gates of Heaven. The taxi driver was put in a seat at the front, much to the surprise of the vicar. Then the vicar was given a seat at the back and felt he had to complain, or at least ask for an explanation. Peter said, 'Well, it's like this. You bored people with your sermons and instead of being saved they simply dozed off. But the taxi driver frightened people so much by his driving that many of them prayed fervently.'

Jody shared a prophecy, that people are like embers. If they are glowing you can be certain that they're hot and still on fire. If they're grey and dusty it's hard to tell, but you may still feel some warmth. I added a few thoughts about faith, hope and love. Love is the source of faith because the Almighty is love! If we think faith is the most important thing we're badly mistaken. Paul compares them and tells us that love is greater than both faith and hope.

Peter read Hebrews 12:1-13 (especially verse 12) and reminded us that we really need to help one another. It's often a simple thing to encourage and lift one another up, we should always do this.

Looking back we all agreed that this was an exceptional meeting in which there had been a very clear and sustained thread. Yahshua had been present and had guided us by his Spirit. We all felt uplifted, strengthened, and encouraged.

Colworth (CU) - Punk Monk

David had offered to lead today's Christian Union meeting. He based it on a section from the book 'Punk Monk'. David told the remarkable story of a young girl in Malaysia healed through prayer after a serious accident involving a van.

The section from the book was entitled 'The ancient art of breathing' and was written by Pete Greig, the head of 24/7. He described the 'hongi', the touching of noses and foreheads by Maoris after which a person is no longer considered a visitor, but a person who belongs in the land and shares the hopes and goals of the people.

Like the hongi, prayer is a reciprocal activity. We need to be unconditionally attentive, like Mary at Jesus' feet.

There is the 'hongi of community' (1 John 4:20). We can reciprocate in community, community is messy in a way that teams are not. Community is free-form in nature, teams are not.

There's a 'hongi of hospitality' in which we reach out and offer a welcome. Christian communities are a 'welcome waiting to happen'.

Eaton Ford (day) - On the shore of Galilee

Roger, Paul and I began by running through CO2 together. We shared hopes and fears, successes and difficulties, and some of the events and issues in our own lives as well as those of some of our friends. We spent some time praying through these things.

We shared a simple lunch afterwards, sausage, chips and onion rings from the local chippie. Roger needed to get home promptly so he left after we'd eaten but Paul and I read Mark 1:9-20, discussing it as we went along.

We noticed how Jesus was baptised and the Father spoke confirming and encouraging words to him in a short time, perhaps just a matter of seconds or minutes. Then, immediately afterwards, the Spirit sent him into the desert for a far longer period of time (40 days) during which the enemy speaks words of distraction and temptation to him.

In verses 14 and 15 we see Jesus beginning his work before the first disciples are called. It's interesting how he called them. He followed the same procedure as other Jewish rabbis saying, 'Come, follow me'. These words would normally be used as an invitation to the best students to come and follow a particular rabbi. Young men who didn't come up to scratch were rejected and sent home to follow their father's trade.

But Jesus invites the rejected men to follow him! He calls fishermen. They were fishermen because no rabbi had thought them worth calling, but Jesus does! No wonder they followed him, it was an amazing offer, too good to be true, better grab it now before it's withdrawn again!

Little Paxton - Neighbours and community

Jim and I met at his home, just the two of us as Sean is on holiday. As we talked about life and work and following Jesus it became clear that both of us have been feeling the need to be more focussed on Christ and on him alone. Everything else (work, interests, home) must take its place at some lower level in our thinking and particularly in our hearts. What we are and what we do must come from relationship with Jesus first.

Jim read a section from 'Permission Evangelism', a book he's been finding encouraging and challenging.

We need such a deep vision of Jesus and his love for his people and for the lost. We need to learn to touch people, build them up, and encourage them. It's not primarily about how we meet (in small groups, in the home, in a hired hall, or a purpose built auditorium). What really matters is the foundation that we are resting upon. If that foundation is Christ we will do well. Everything we are and do, all we stand for, our reaction to circumstances, our response to our neighbours and our community, all of it springs from the Life of Christ within us.

Eaton Ford (day) - In the library

We began as we usually do these days by checking in for CO2. We were interrupted when the BT engineer arrived to investigate a fault with Paul's broadband connection. After he'd gone we finished CO2, ate lunch and then prayed for some of the issues that had been shared.

Roger read Psalm 62 and picked out verses one to two and five to seven as particularly relevant. This was especially so considering recent events and situations in the lives of some of our friends and contacts. We prayed for some of them, read a letter from one, and then talked about society's offendedness on behalf of others.

Examples of this abound in Britain, it's not acceptable to say this or do that because someone might be offended. Roger told us about a situation in a local library where someone was refused permission to put up a notice for the Women's World Day of Prayer because 'it might offend Muslims and people of other faiths'. The library management only changed their mind when the local Imam complained about the lack of permission and explained that it was not offensive. Such overreaction is not uncommon among government and public bodies, it happens over and over again.

We also shared some simple stories of how we first began to follow Jesus.

Roger had heard a radio programme about Job and because of his interest in poetry, began to read it for himself. Then he found the Psalms to his taste as well, and this led him to faith.

I was broadly atheist in my views when I was young, but started reading the Bible because I wanted to find out why so many people seemed to find it true. Clearly it wouldn't take long to work out why so many were misled by reading it. I began in Genesis and worked systematically until I got bored in Leviticus or Deuteronomy and turned to the gospels. Then I moved on to Acts and gradually came to see that there was amazing truth in the Bible's pages.

Paul knew the basic facts from Sunday School. But it didn't begin to mean much to him until his army days. When he suffered an illness and almost died he began to read Matthew and was convinced that Jesus is the one and only way to the Father.

MISSION - A picture of a toddler

Sean and I met again to discuss mission. We talked about the importance of the fruit of the Spirit. If we are to touch people's lives in ways that are remotely useful, if we are going to be a blessing to people rather than being irrelevant at best and perhaps even a curse at worst, we are going to need plenty of spiritual fruit in our lives.

Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatians. If we are growing spiritually we should be increasing in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. He points out that there's no law against things like these!

Sean had a picture of a toddler. He mentioned how amazing it is as a parent to see your child walking for the very first time. It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling! And he understood that this same sense of excitement is what our Father feels. He really gets very excited about seeing our growth and development. He's thinking, 'Wow! My child has just pulled himself up by holding onto the couch!'

Brampton - A bare table

We began with a cup of coffee and a chat about the idea of mission growing from hearing. Jim has been reading the book 'Permission Evangelism' and is finding it very good. He shared with us how security is important to people. Some find it in property or possessions, owning a home, or having money in the bank. But real security is spiritual, in the heart. He reminded us of the parable about the man who wanted to build one more barn to store even more harvest so he could take life easy. But he died! There is no security in physical things.

I played the the third Nomad podcast and we all listened to the first section together. Mission comes from seeing (noticing opportunities) and hearing (direction from the Lord).

Jim read Acts 27:33-38 about Paul on the ship during the storm. Paul encouraged 276 people and told them they'd be safe. We are constantly on a journey. Our mission is partly to encourage one another. When it became clear the ship would sink Paul didn't say, 'I told you so'. Instead he said, 'We're tired. Eat and be encouraged, we're going to make it!'

Jim also shared some exciting news about plans for a new church facility in St Neots. It's in the early stages but probably will go ahead.

I had a picture of people sitting at a table. They had empty plates and cups, the table was otherwise bare. As I watched, Yahshua came in through the door and opened a large, walk-in cupboard. It was full of good things to eat and drink! The people were huungry and would have starved to death, yet there in the same room and within easy reach was more than enough for all of them.

Jim said that Jesus is the best grocer in the world! And he can come in and sit with us even without a door! His abundance is complete. He said it's as if we've lost the key to the cupboard. We needed to pray to be shown the key and how to use it to open the cupboard.

Sean asked an unusual question, 'What does a mercy fruit look like?' We didn't find an answer, but the question lingers in our minds.

Colworth (CU) - Mission

I had volunteered to bring a topic to Christian Union this week, and as mission has been very much on my heart recently, I decided to open a conversation around that.

I shared some points that I felt are important as background for mission, things that perhaps need to be in place in our lives to prepare us for looking outwards more. These include involvement at a heart level with one or two other people; involvement in at least one local expression of church on a larger scale; and involvement in a group of others interested in the practicalities of mission. This third group would normally be drawn from a slightly wider area. And finally, I explained that it's necessary to notice opportunities to reach people who do not already believe. I also mentioned the idea of looking for a house of peace and suggesting such people should bring their friends and family together to learn about Yahshua.

David said that it's important to put the nets out in the right place. He referred to passages like Luke 5:4-11 and John 21:2-6. This is absolutely right! If we are going to be 'fishers of men' and catch people we need to hear Yahshua's instructions and follow them. We need to put the nets out in the right place. We need to listen more and our closeness to him will increase. It's our job to listen, he will make sure that we hear.

I read Luke 10:1-12 and we talked about it for a while. Some of the things we noticed are

• That the disciples were sent out in pairs.
• That we should ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers.
• That we are commanded to go, and that we are like lambs among wolves.
• That we shouldn't take what we need with us.
• We are not to greet people on the way.
• When we go into a house we are to speak peace over it.
• We are to stay in the house, eating and drinking what we are given.
• We are not to go from house to house.
• We should heal the sick.
• The Kingdom of the Almighty is near for those that welcome us and also for those that do not.

Finally we ended in prayer for one another, for reaching our work colleagues, our neighbours, for more labourers to be sent. and for our ears and eyes to be open.

MISSION - Sheep and goats

We met at Sean's, just Sean and me. We began with an informal chat about anything that seemed useful.

We considered what the word 'religious' really means. Is it a helpful or unhelpful thing to be thought of as 'religious'? We agreed that we'd prefer to be thought of more straightforwardly, perhaps simply as 'followers of Jesus'.

We agreed that we need to pray for our neighbours and that the coming Passion Play is a great opportunity and that we should pray for that too.

I had a picture of the ground being rotated under us as we walked. We didn't need to know the way, we just needed to walk forwards. Father rotated the ground so that forward was always the right direction to go. Like a train on a track, there is no need to steer. This is encouraging. Our job is to walk, his job is to guide us.

Father said, 'I didn't choose you because you are great orators, because you are persuasive, or celebrities. I chose you because you are humble and will follow me and keep me fully central in your hearts and minds. Think of Moses, Isaiah, Elijah, and all the other people who were poor speakers, helpless, afraid, or unclean.

He also spoke about sheep and goats. We feel like lost sheep, but we're not, we're found sheep! We recognise the Shepherd's voice, when he calls we run to him. When we come across lost sheep they will form a flock but the goats won't (they're independent minded). When we go towards the Shepherd the lost sheep will go too. We can't separate the sheep from the goats (middle eastern sheep looked very like goats). But we don't need to, they will separate themselves!

We prayed to the Lord to send more labourers into the harvest. This is a direct command from Yahshua himself and we feel it's hugely important. We briefly discussed the basis for mission in Luke 10:2 and thought about the steps involved and some ways in which we have already been presented with things to do as part of the process.

Eaton Ford (day) - Sharing a pizza

Roger, Paul and I met at lunchtime, continuing into the afternoon. We began with an excellent pizza, accompanied by couscous with vegetables.

We spent some time sharing information about friends, and then prayed for them. We also used CO2 to focus on what the Lord has been saying to each of us and to share our feelings and emotions.

Roger shared extracts from Psalm 103:1, 9-12, but verse one in particular. He explained that we are who we are, and that includes every aspect of our lives, everything in us, even the illnesses, bad thoughts, and wrong deeds. All of it is involved. Because of Father's love for us and his grace towards us, his acceptance doesn't depend on how good or bad we have been but on whether we accept Jesus and follow him.

In addition, Roger is feeling more confident that they have been hearing correctly about the way forward in the Offords, he senses that there is some early evidence of change and there are several promising signs.

Kettering - Jeff Lucas and Saltmine

We visited the Church of Christ the King in Kettering for a Saltmine Theatre Company production with Jeff Lucas as the main speaker for the evening.

Saltmine very cleverly integrated Jeff into the production, beginning by introducing him as George Lucas and enquiring if any members of the audience were wearing Star Wars outfits in his honour. Needless to say this caused a lot of laughter!

The evening was fun though best-suited to an older audience. This was fine because there were relatively few young people there.

But the message Jeff and the team put across was clear. Although it was expressed in an entertaining way, the point was made that the church often treats outsiders in ways that make them uncomfortable and more likely to stay away than to come close enough to find out what it's all about.

We went home entertained, but thoughtful.

Colworth (CU) - Get out of jail free

At today's meeting, Dud brought some thoughts from the Evangelical Alliance's 'Friday Night Theology' series. Both the articles we heard about were well written and thought provoking.

First we looked at 'A brief theology of anger' which quoted Matthew 5:22, that anger aimed at another puts one under judgement. But in Matthew 21:12-13 we see Jesus himself showing anger at the moneychangers in the Temple. What are we to think?

The idea of good and bad anger is raised. We should never be hatefully angry, good anger is never hateful. Not only is it wrong, but this sort of response doesn't achieve anything useful. The Almighty himself displays anger, but it is always controlled (Romans 2: 5-8, Psalm 103:8-9).

I pointed out that it would be wrong not to feel angry when we see a neglected, starving child. Dud mentioned Ephesians 4:26 which teaches us that we must not let our anger lead us into sin.

Next we heard about 'Get out of jail free' which prompted us to think about the meaning and guiding principles of religion. Living our lives is the litmus test. We need to be doing what we say we believe, in other words we need to be proving that we believe. Other religions, maybe all religions, contain some good and useful moral teaching. But moral teaching isn't enough, we have to live right.