THOUGHT - Pray for the people of Libya

I have watched events in Tunisia and then Egypt with great interest, and more recently events in Yemen, Bahrain, Morocco and particularly Libya. What is happening in Libya is of an altogether worse kind. All followers of Isa (Jesus) should be praying for those suffering people.

I considered writing earlier to congratulate the people of Tunisia and then Egypt. They have brought about change in their lands and done it with remarkably little loss of life. They now stand a good chance of going forward into better times, influencing the nature of their own government.

But now Libya is in the news and some appalling things seem to be going on. It is likely that the Libyan air force has been ordered to carry out strikes on civilians, Apache helicopter gunships have already been used, as have army units with heavy weapons such as machine guns, mortar bombs, and missiles.

It's difficult to know how to respond; if the reports are correct it's savagery of the worst kind, usually limited to all out war.

I'm praying for the people in Libya right now and I urge everyone else to do the same. Men, women and children are dying in Libya tonight. They are guilty of nothing more than trying to replace a corrupt and brutal government that has been in power for decades.

Pray that these terrible times will be cut short. Pray that many who might otherwise die will be somehow protected and kept safe, even in the middle of the violence. Pray for the armed forces and the security and police forces, that many of them will disobey orders to fire on civilians. And yes, pray for those clinging to power including Mr Gaddafi and his family, that they will quickly see the folly of continuing as they are. Pray that many will be surprised by Isa himself appearing to them in their time of need, speaking comfort and peace and life into their hearts. And if you doubt that such a thing is possible, read this earlier post and then pray.

Little Paxton - Hearing and doing

We talked for quite some time this evening, mostly wrestling with practical questions of what to do. Then we prayed and found that the Lord had much more to say to us than we had said to one another!

Jim is troubled that there is so much need in Britain, society is almost entirely worldly and the church is not standing up for good moral standards; nor are we helping those in need in body, mind and spirit. He told us that he believes the church needs to be active if we are to turn this situation around.

I asked provocative questions mostly around the issue of motivation. I feel we need to do more than help people, we need to hear what Yahweh is saying to us and do that.

Sean said little at first, but after listening for a long time he made the point that we can effectively do nothing because everything depends utterly on the Lord. The only thing we need, and the one thing we cannot do without, is to get to know him better. Sean is absolutely right.

As Floyd McClung puts it, if we love him we will worship him, if we love one another we will care for one another, if we love the lost we will reach out to them with the good news.

We spent some time in prayer and received several visions and words from the Spirit. Here are some of the highlights.

I had a prophecy, 'There are not just three of you here, there is a fourth person right here with you. Your desire to be with me is not as strong as my desire to be with you. I love you so much, I will show you what to do. Listen and you will hear, look and you will see.'

He told us that we need to be still. Only when we stop being busy and active can we hear his soft voice speaking into our hearts.

Jim mentioned how Jesus had told the disciples to throw the net out on the other side of the boat and they caught a huge quantity of fish. These were seasoned and skilled fishermen, they knew their business well but because he told them to do it, they did it. And the result was overwhelming. We are just like them. We know how to plan and carry out the work of church ministry and mission. But Jesus shows us a better way, a way not of skill and planning and wasted effort, but a way of simple obedience.

Jim had a picture of an amazingly aromatic shrub, it represents the aroma of Jesus. I was struck by the thought that if we stay close to him we will always be aware of his aroma, it speaks of the essence of his nature - loving, kind, knowledgeable, wise, powerful yet humble.

Sean described a picture of a massive lake, it was crystal clear in the shallows and he could see the fish swimming nearby. But it was completely dark further out in the middle and he could see nothing there. Sean felt he was waiting to see what would happen. He looked at the fish but he didn't want to look up because it was so very dark.

Jim almost immediately commented that we should fish where we can see, beyond is the darkness where we can see nothing. We need to know where the fish are, they are where we are!

ANNOUNCEMENT - Moggerhanger Celebration

It's such a long time since we met in larger numbers to spend some time rejoicing in Jesus' presence, giving him all the glory, and listening to what he will tell us. High time to meet again.

We've picked Sunday 10th April as the date and booked some space at Moggerhanger Park between Bedford and Sandy. We plan to meet after lunch, take an afternoon stroll in the grounds if the weather's fine (or chat over a coffee if it's wet). Then we'll share a meal together and spend the evening in open praise, worship, and sharing. There will be no prepared music and no invited speaker; we'll just meet in a circle (Jesus at the centre) and wait to see what he will do amongst us. We can be sure he will surprise us and delight us just as he always does.

Make a note in your diary for the afternoon and evening of 10th April. There'll be another announcement here on 'All About Jesus' as soon as the details are finalised and I'll circulate the details by email to everyone who expressed an interest at previous meetings.

You may find notes on these earlier meetings useful, particularly if you haven't experienced one of these celebrations before. The notes include announcements sent out and a report on each meeting.

• Hinchingbrooke - June 2010
• Moggerhanger - February 2010
• Moggerhanger - November 2008

NEWS - Some items worth more than a glance

This brief article is a round up of some significant contributions from other people. All of them are worth some attention.

• The Jesus Virus - Ross Rohde shares some thoughts on servant leadership. Is it a paradox or an oxymoron?
  
• Harvest Now - Steve and Marilyn Hill report on events in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The church is growing in exciting ways, but there are also huge problems. Read about the situation and pray for the people involved.
  
• The Nomad Podcast - Tim interviews Neil Cole on the topic of church multiplication. Neil talks generally about lowering the bar on how we do church and raising the bar on how we disciple. He explains about the Life Transformation Group (LTG) idea and how it can spark growth in small groups.
  
• Simply Church - Felicity Dale asks whether we believe in leadership. The article is a brief precursor to a series on this topic, but already there are some interesting comments. Remember to scroll down to read them, and maybe leave a comment of your own.
  

RESPONSE - Making Links

Someone is disappointed and upset, the local paper gets hold of the story, and before you know it the front pages of the national newspapers have jumped onto what is becoming a rapidly growing bandwagon. What am I referring to? The developing furore over a small group of women called 'Making Links'.

I'll say straight away that I am not a member of and do not represent 'Making Links', St Neots Town Council, or the Open Door Church.

It's easy to understand how frustrating it is to be told that a particular organisation is not for you. And it would be very helpful for the people involved to be able to talk about the issues in a friendly way over a nice cup of coffee. But the heat and anger now being expressed in print using heavily loaded words like 'banned' and 'racist' is making gentle dialogue almost impossible. It may sell more newspapers, but it doesn't help anyone understand the situation. And it's a great way of polarising opinion, stoking up anger, and setting people against one another.

I'm disappointed that some news organisations should promote dissension over understanding. Selling extra copies of a paper is held to be more important than fostering cooperation and harmony. Using loaded words trumps explaining the facts.

What are the facts? Despite the angry headlines we don't really know! The reports tell us that two British mums were turned away from a group created to help foreign women. It seems the group is funded by a government department, the local authority, a local church, and several businesses. There's a little more detail, some comments from the mums involved, from the group's administrator, and from someone at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. It's not much to go on.

As a result of the news coverage the local MP and some of the funding bodies have already expressed opinions and are considering closing the group down (again, according to press reports).

Meanwhile it must be very difficult for 'Making Links'. What are they to do? The money was granted for them to help foreign women, they would certainly have been criticised for spending it on local residents who are not from overseas! It might be helpful to have a few British mums involved, but where would they stop and how would they decide who to accept and who to turn away?

There are no easy answers. But talk of closing the group without knowing more is surely over reacting and premature. What is needed first (and soon) is for the group organisers, the funding bodies, the local MP, and the offended mums to sit down together over that cup of coffee and find out what happened, why it happened, and what might have been done better.

But hey, don't pay too much attention to the strong, divisive, angry words in those newspapers. (This Google search will provide links to the story as it develops.)

As a non-involved resident of St Neots and a follower of Jesus I am praying about this situation. I am asking for cool heads, for hearts filled with love and grace, and for wise decisions based on information about what happened. I'm confident that this will happen.

Father, please bless the two mums who were turned away, their children, the foreign women in the group, the organisers and volunteers who run 'Making Links', and the people who fund the group.

RESPONSE - Permaculture

Peter Farmer posted a video and a link to Permaculture. I'm repeating them here along with the comment I left on his website 'Pioneering change' and some additional information.

Here are the links...
Permaculture is an idea that's been developed over many years. You can visit the UK Permaculture Website, but there are other sites for other parts of the world and wherever you live it's worth checking out the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.

Wikipedia provides a really good overview

There are many other websites out there, but remember that permaculture is primarily an idea. The websites have a variety of slants and approaches, some you may like while others may contain elements you dislike. But what they have in common is that they all relate in some way to the basic idea of permaculture.

Here's the video...


And here's my comment...
Permaculture is a very old idea, but also a very good one. Before the industrial revolution most communities depended on methods of this kind. Although the underlying principles were not understood, societies were rich with handed-down methods that worked with the natural world.

But with technology we became free to work against nature and exert our independence. And now, in Western society, we hardly know what the natural world is! We have forgotten the valuable handed-down methods.

Permaculture can help put us back in touch with reality. It can help us take small steps back towards living with our environment instead of fighting against it.

We need to be whole in EVERY way – body, mind and spirit – individually and communally – but also in relation to the natural world.

Thanks for drawing our attention to this, Peter. Great stuff!

Additional thoughts
All my life I've been powerfully impacted by the idea that everything is rooted and grounded in love.

• There is firstly the Father's love for us in sending his Son, Yahshua.
• Then the Son's love in revealing the truth about his Father's nature.
• Their great deposit of love in embracing all of us who would hear and receive them by pouring their love-essence, the Holy Spirit, into our hearts.
• The way he (the Spirit) changes our hearts from selfishness to love.
• The simple truth that we are to love one another (even our enemies).
• And finally the duty we were given to care (lovingly) for this world that sustains us. In the beginning we were given the power to rule over everything in the natural world, but we were always expected to rule with the care and benevolence of love.

Permaculture is a practical outworking of this duty. Many of its proponents have not yet encountered the love that is there for them in Christ, but they have understood that the human race desperately needs to show that care and benevolence towards the natural world. We are not independent overlords, we breathe the air, drink the water, and eat the food that the physical world provides. We have been very foolish in mistreating it.

We need to become much, much wiser. The ideas espoused in permaculture can help us. We should all read and understand and ask ourselves, 'What is wisdom in this regard? What is our duty? What will a caring heart take from this? What practical steps am I called take?'

It might be as little as a few radishes in a window box, or it might involve a lifetime's work on a farm, there's a wide spectrum of opportunity between the two!

There are opportunities in every town and village, every garden, every public space, every school, park, hospital. Look for the opportunities and see what you can make of them.