Home is where the Heart is.

I find because of my job in Liverpool, I get up early in the morning,  so I can have that extra cup of coffee,  pray and have a quiet time and wait on the Lord,  to keep my brain active at 5.30 am I’ve started to write my blog now rather than later in the day.

I now live in Southport, Merseyside having moved here just over 2 years ago from Neath, South Wales I’ve settled here and for the last two years Southport has been my home,  and I’ve committed myself to staying here until I die or until the Lord returns.   I have wandered previously and made a mess of thinks, but thanks be to God who has settled me here in Southport, my heart is here because this is now my home.

I remember visiting here just over 2 years ago,  and being in a mess and my good friend Dave Gregg (one of our Elders) was speaking on a Sunday morning at my church (now) The Community Church, Southport and he quoted at the end of his message he quoted

Numbers 10:29

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

29 Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us and we will do you good, for the Lord has promised good concerning Israel.”

When I returned back to Neath, while I was praying whether or not to stay there or move here, the Lord bought my attention to some scriptures and because I had moved from pillar to post and back again several times, I told the Lord I would either settle in Neath or move to and settle here in Southport, the Lord reminded me of the story of Isaac and the wells.

Genesis 26:17-25

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

17 And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and settled there.

Quarrel over the Wells

18 Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarrelled over it too, so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him the same night and said,

“I am the God of your father Abraham;

Do not fear, for I am with you.

I will bless you, and multiply your descendants,

For the sake of my servant Abraham.”

25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Deuteronomy 8

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

God’s Gracious Dealings

8 “All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers. 2 You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6 Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

Psalm 66

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

66 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;

2     sing the glory of his name;

    give to him glorious praise!

3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

    So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

4 All the earth worships you

    and sings praises to you;

    they sing praises to your name.” Selah

5 Come and see what God has done:

    he is awesome in his deeds towards the children of man.

6 He turned the sea into dry land;

    they passed through the river on foot.

There did we rejoice in him,

7     who rules by his might for ever,

whose eyes keep watch on the nations—

    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

8 Bless our God, O peoples;

    let the sound of his praise be heard,

9 who has kept our soul among the living

    and has not let our feet slip.

10 For you, O God, have tested us;

    you have tried us as silver is tried.

11 You brought us into the net;

    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;

12 you let men ride over our heads;

    we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;

    I will perform my vows to you,

14 that which my lips uttered

    and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,

    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;

I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,

    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

17 I cried to him with my mouth,

    and high praise was on my tongue.

18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

    the Lord would not have listened.

19 But truly God has listened;

    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,

    because he has not rejected my prayer

    or removed his steadfast love from me!

When I moved here, the Lord made me several promises,  and give me the following scripture verses and I had some solid advice from an amazing friend in Swansea, Ralph Bettany who advised me to stay in Southport for at least 5 years and settle down rather than wandering around as I had done previously.

Jeremiah 29:4-7 and verse 11

New Living Translation (NLT)

4 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope

I would like to say a heart full thank you to my church family,  The Community Church,  Southport and my many dear friends there, thank you for welcoming me and making part of your church family, I love you all, and I wouldn’t be who I’m today without you, I would like to thank especially Geoff and Pam Grice, Dave and Su Gregg, Steve and Miriam Smith,  David and Gwen Raynor and John and Julia Sutton-Smith for your love, friendship, sound advice and your prayers.