Yet for this reason I found Mercy

1 Timothy 1:15-16

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁵ It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. ¹⁶ Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those ^[a]who would believe in Him for eternal life.

When I was growing up, one of my favourite hymns, was “At Calvary” which goes like this

Years I spent in vanity and pride,
caring not my Lord was crucified,
knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary.

Refrain

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
there my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

By God’s Word at last my sin I learned;
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary.

Now I’ve given to Jesus everything,
now I gladly own Him as my King,
Now my raptured soul can only sing of Calvary!

Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!

The chorus goes Mercy there was great, and grace was free; Pardon there was multiplied to me; there my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

Last week we looked at the phrase, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, this week we follow on from the looking at the phrase, yet for this reason I received mercy, We have received Mercy because Jesus came and died for our sins, he died in our place and because he died and rose from the dead, we have been given God’s gift of Salvation, now us look at Mercy

In the New Testament, the word Mercy is often used of Christ’s gracious faithfulness and proof of His benevolence. Mercy is not merely a passive emotion, but an active desire to remove the cause of distress in others.

Now let us look at some scriptures that speak of Mercy,

1)   Ephesians 2:1-10 v4 -7 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead [f]in our transgressions, made us alive together [g]with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

2)   Titus 3:3-7 v5 – 6  5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

3)   Romans 9:14-24  v 22- 23 ^22 [n]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? ²³ And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory

4)   1 Peter 1:3-9 v 3-5 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time

5)   1 Peter 2:1-12 v 9-10 ⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellences of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; 
¹⁰ for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
 

 we will look at 1 Tim 1:16 yet for this reason, I received Mercy, where we will look at Scriptures in regards to the Justification & Sanctification of us the Believer.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,

1 Tim 1:15-16

 ¹⁵ It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. ¹⁶ Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those ^[l]who would believe in Him for eternal life. 

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me wrote the former slave ship captain, a person we now recognise has the Anglican Vicar and Hymn Writer John Newton.

Some 2,000 years ago, a man was lead to his death by an occupying army to die a death that was both humiliating and agonising, both the political and religious authorities had conspired to end the live of this one man because they felt threated by his message and popularity his friends had run away from him and where now in hiding, one of his friends had betrayed him and one of his closest friends had denied him, he was beaten and bloodied, and was led to certain death by public execution, of all the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands who shared his fate or will share his fate including some of his latter disciples, this one death out of thousands of similar deaths of those who had been crucified on a cross of wood, this one death was and is of eternal significance, this death bought God’s Gift of Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, The Redemption of Mankind.

When our Lord Jesus came, He had one mission in mind, he voluntary laid aside his divine attributes and was born by a woman, he lived a normal life in seeming obscurity, he launched his mission by these words The Spirit of the Lord is upon me see Luke 4:18-19, he had been tempted to sin by the deceiver and accuser Satan, yet had not sinned, indeed there was no sin found in Him, his mission then and now is to save sinners. John the Baptist said these words when Jesus came to him to be baptised in Water, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and see John 1:28-30.

What do we mean by the Word, sin?

Sin means missing the mark, failure, offense, taking the wrong course, sin, guilt, it’s also used in the New Testament in a generic sense of concrete wrongdoing, a principle and quality of action, and as a sinful deed this includes acts/desires/passions. Sin separates us from God the father because of sin we are unable to have a relationship with Him, Man has tried to find a way to have a relationship with God, and because of our sinful nature we have failed, yet God has provided us the way to Him , see John 14:6.

Let us look now, how Sin came into a perfect World, we all know that when Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were deceived by satan, see Romans 5:6-21 that because of the fall, sin entered a perfect world, we have inherited sin because we come from Adam & Eve and because of this we have a sinful nature and the desire and inclination to sin, see Romans 3:21-26.

Because no man is born without sin, and we have  sinful desires and inclinations, it is impossible for a man to die in our place for our sins,  God sent his Son Jesus, who voluntary died in our place for our sins, He died as our substitute he took the place we deserve, paid the price that we should really pay, he surrendered his life that we may live, he laid aside his relationship to his father, so that through him and his sacrifice we can enter into a relationship with His Father, and our Father see 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Next for this reason I found Mercy

        

7 Habits of Effective Men

7 Habits of Effective Men

To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !

To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !

When I was growing up, my parents and grandparents would take me and my two sisters on holidays to Ifracombe on the North Devon Coast, and more often or not we would go by the MV Balmoral, which would sail between Swansea and Ilfracombe in the Summer months, and while there go for boat trips that would sail from Ilfracombe harbour, I have  many happy memories of going there as child and early teenager, because of these memories I enjoy spending time by the Coast and now live in a Seaside Resort, although I have not been on a boat trip for a while, I'm fascinated both by boats and the Sea.

I remember a few years ago, while on holidays in Porthleven, Cornwall, spending time in the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth and had an interesting and enjoyable time there, although one thing I noticed more than others that the boats on display, none of them were in their original context , it was fascinating looking at these boats and reading all about them, but all them weren't doing the job they were designed and build for, yes, being on the water. Porthleven is a lovely, fishing village situated near Helston, and has a very picturesque harbour and I noticed that all the boats were doing the purpose they were designed and build for. Like other seaside holiday destinations, Porthleven has several shops selling goods to tourists, some of these shops sell model ships, they look exactly like the originals, but they could never do, the same job as the original ! they were just for display

For centuries Great Britain has been a maritime nation, and many of our national heroes have been sailors, from the historic figures like Sir Francis Drake, Horatio Nelson, Captain James Cook, to the fictional heroes such as Horatio Hornblower, many of our wars and the battles that we fought have involved fighting on Sea, from fighting the Spanish Armada, The Battle from Trafalgar, The Battle Of Jutland, The Battle of the River Plate. Most of our imports and exports travel by sea, the sea has important part to play into our history, present and future as Great Britain. The sea routes used today both for business and pleasure had to be discovered, and the ships that travel those routes use sea-charts to show them where they are going and how to get there, from the smallest cabin cruiser to the mighty container ship. Yet someone had to go out and navigate the sea in order for these sea-charts to be produced. Many of these men, such as Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook, stand tall throughout our history.

We see in our Bibles, countless references to sailing and to sea, from Noah's Voyage, to Jonah and we know that the Lord's Disciples Peter, Andrew, James and John were fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, and many of the early missionaries such as Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Mark, Timothy and Luke often travelled by sea to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation to the people of the known world. In Ephesians 4:12, one of the meanings of the Greek Word we translate as equip is prepare a ship for voyage (one of the other meanings, is to set a broken bone).

In the 19th and 20th centuries many people left these shores and other shores to travel the world, to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation, following the example of men like William Carey, John Wesley and George Whitfield, I remember growing up in small Pentecostal Church in the South Wales Valley's, and hearing about many men and women who went forth as missionaries, and being inspired by the reports that came back from our missionaries in places like Nigeria and India, I had the privilege not only of having a retired missionary as one of my Sunday School Teachers, and having two former missionary couples as my Pastor and his wife , but also being related to one of the earliest Pentecostal Pioneers from the United Kingdom to Nigeria, who in his later years inspired me to seek and serve God. While a student in Bible School, several of my lecturers had been missionaries, and I know how much they inspired me and my fellow students.

In the early part of the 21st Century, many of us may not have the same opportunities to travel to other lands following in the footsteps of our brothers and sisters who went before us, there are still opportunities we can take, perhaps in short-term mission trips, we have advancements in technology they didn't have anything  like the Internet, I remember being in School in the 1980's and never thought then I could not talk to people in places like America and Australia via a computer and a phone-line but to count them as friends as well. On the other hand we don't have to travel to other lands to be a missionary, we can be missionaries in our villages, towns, suburbs, cities but most importantly in our communities. I know that in the coming days, the Lord will inspire many of us to become missionaries on other towns, cities and regions throughout our own lands but other lands as well.

In the last 12-18 months, I have been greatly inspired by the writings of people like Alan J Roxburgh, Alan Hirsch, Neil Cole, Martin Robinson and Floyd McClung, especially when it comes to being Missional and being challenged by the concept of mission dei or God's Mission. I may not have the opportunities to travel to other lands to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation, but it doesn't mean that there are no opportunities here in the United Kingdom. I've just read something that David Cameron, the Prime Minister here in the UK, said about Broken Britain and Social Recession. (If you would like to read more about Missional, I strongly recommend (Introducing the Missional Church by Alan J Roxburgh). Both my prayer and desire is to see God raise up His People here in the UK and other lands to see the spiritual needs in our own lands, and be willing to follow His direction either to pray, support or go, hopefully to do all, some of us He will send to our neighbours, some of us He will send to our streets, some to our towns and cities, but all He asks are we willing to go to those He will send us ?

Some of us in coming days, He will ask to be Pioneers, and to go where no-one has gone before or for some time, to break into new territory or to go and re-claim territory. I'm now going to share some Scriptures with you, and my Prayer is that God will use these Scriptures to challenge you for the first time or to challenge for you for the thousandth time, and follow his direction, which will not only impact your own live, but impact the lives of others, those who is sending you to.

If you're wondering if my title sounds familiar, it's from Star Trek, the days ahead will be days of challenge, courage and grace but most importantly of opportunity, and I pray that we take the courage and the grace, to take the opportunities those challenges will present to us.

Isa 6:8-9a TNIv

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

       And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 9 He said, "Go and tell this people

Matt 28:19-20 NIv

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in [a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Romans 10:14015a NCV

 14 But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them;15 and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent.

Yours by His Grace

Blair Humphreys 

I was wondering about being ready by Vicky Walker

Are you there yet? Completed the non-negotiable, God-breathed decree of all that must be achieved before you are Ready For Marriage™? Contents vary by individual but these spiritually-infallible checklists often include… Reaching a particular age, and a certain point in your education or career, probably earning a certain amount; undertaking travel / obscure mission trips while still responsibility-free; being ready to ‘settle down’ and become a parent at a designated future point (or NOW depending on biological clock); drawing up a list of stringent requirements for your future partner (because, y’know, desires of your heart and all that) and submitting said list to God while reminding him of it on a weekly / daily / hourly basis (no comment). All done? You, my friend, are the finished article, materially, spiritually and emotionally. You’re READY. Bring on Mr / Miss Godly Spouse. It’s time to crack open Song of Songs.

Small note of caution though. If you’re not RFM yet don’t really get to know someone. Date, maybe, but don’t get serious. Why bother? Hold back emotions and commitment until the readiness process is complete and can be verified by angels (yes, I've checked – that’s what happens). Except… what if that’s not how it unfolds? What if you don’t get the dream career or it pays buttons or takes up every waking minute? What if the idea of being – or needing – ‘the provider’ is unrealistic? What if the pieces don’t fit together? Or what if you get to that mystical point in the future when everything you’d planned is in place and you don’t feel ‘ready’ after all? I mean, what does ready even feel like?

We might start telling ourselves (and prospective partners) we’re terrible at relationships. We might say we don’t know how to be with someone or we just haven’t met the one yet and that’s why we can’t commit. We wait for a magical encounter when we’ll cross paths and just know. Years can roll by while we hold back, repeatedly exiting promising scenarios because the time isn't right and we’re not there yet, or avoid relationships altogether. There is, of course, genuinely ‘not ready’. A difficult past, hurt from broken relationships, emotional issues that can keep us from being good for anyone. That’s the kind of ‘not ready’ to spend time putting right so we don’t sabotage our futures, but it’s not a place to stay. God heals so we don’t have to live hurt and hurt others. What we need to watch out for is the not ready that keeps us making excuses, suppressing feelings, avoiding intimacy. That’s the ‘not ready’ with no time limit.

I suspect love’s great adventure doesn't start with conditions. I’m intrigued by couples who set out without the pieces in place. Who don’t rush in without thinking, but also don’t allow hypothetical standards to determine the future. Who allow themselves to feel and risk and be open to possibility and to seeing it through together. I wonder if they are the ones who are actually ready because they commit, mature as they go, grow into love, and become the husbands and wives God intended them to be, through vulnerability, trial and error, prayer and perseverance, falling down and getting up again.

When you ask yourself if you’re ready, don’t aim for some distant spot in the future when everything will be perfect. Instead ask yourself if you’re ready to make time and space while you’re still a work in progress. Because that’s as ready as we get to be.

Marriage – What Would Jesus Do?

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Marriage – What Would Jesus Do? Watch this video message from Andrea (1m 52s). Play it in your church this Sunday to encourage people to pray! Download an A4 poster to take to church this Sunday > In just a few days time, the House of Commons will vote on what is certainly the most significant issue to come before it in this Parliamentary session. The Commons is on the verge of initiating a huge social re-engineering project and wrecking lasting damage on the vital institution of marriage.  MPs are threatening to move our nation away from God’s pattern for marriage as the union of one man and one woman for life. God gives that pattern not to oppress or restrict but because He loves us and delights to see humanity flourish. As our Creator, He knows and wants what is best for us individually and collectively. What would Jesus do? Built into creation and throughout the Scriptures, this is God’s pattern for marriage – a pattern that ultimately speaks of His own relationship and love for His people. And when Jesus Christ, the most compassionate person ever to have walked on earth, was asked about divorce, He went out of His way to uphold God’s pattern for marriage. We read in chapter 19 of Matthew’s gospel:  “Haven’t you read,” [Jesus] replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?" Jesus cared too much to have any place for the redefinition of marriage. He took people back to God’s original good pattern. He didn’t duck the issue. He spoke clearly – because He cared.  What will we do? The question for us in these critical days is whether we too will speak up for God’s good pattern for marriage, whatever the cost? Those pushing for this change want us to think it's inevitable. But now is not the time to lose confidence and seek compromise -  it's time to pray and speak! We need to see these proposed changes for what they are. ‘Redefinition’ is really erosion and destruction.  Eroding marriage in this way will bring greater hurt, pain and brokenness in our society and make it harder to address these issues. Eroding marriage will lead to greater exclusion of churches from public life and make it harder for people to hear the Gospel truth and experience Gospel love. Eroding marriage represents a rejection of God’s pattern and a further move away from Him, the giver of life and reconciliation. Eroding marriage will affect children and future generations even more than us, leading to even greater confusion about identity, purpose and meaning. As we face these critical days, we need to ask: “Do we care enough? Do we care as much as Jesus cares?”  If so, we must be prepared to speak. Yes, with compassion, gentleness and kindness. Yes, with awareness of the reality and struggle of same-sex attraction that some experience. But with confidence that God’s pattern for marriage is good and that its erosion will only bring damage and hurt.   We need to ask: “Are we ashamed of Jesus and His words? Are we ashamed of marriage?” Join us... May God give us grace and strength to stand together in these crucial days, crying out to Him in prayer and speaking of His gift of marriage to our society. We plan to do just that at the prayer gathering outside Parliament next Monday (20 May) and Tuesday (21 May) at 12-2pm and 5-7pm on both days. Please come along if you can. If you can't make it to London next week, why not organise a prayer gathering at your local church? Finally, thank you for all that you are doing to pray and stand for marriage.

Can a Christian Be Gay? (Part 1)

Can a Christian Be Gay? (Part 1)

Shavuot and the Christian significance of Jewish holidays

Shavuot and the Christian significance of Jewish holidays is the Christian faith part of the Jewish Faith ?

A living sacrifice

Romans 12:1-2

New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

A living sacrifice

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

I’ve had a few difficult and challenging months recently, and I have had a lot of questions that to be honest if I’ve not been able to find answers for. Having spent a lot of time praying,  reading and writing but I’ve also spend many hours thinking about things, and if I’m honest over-thinking things.

I have great friends here in Southport and other places, and I know a lot of friends have been and are praying for me.

All of us have been influenced in the way we think or act by the way our parents and grandparents thought and we have developed learned behaviour patterns from both our family backgrounds and our culture or society. I grew up in the South Wales valleys which is predominantly white and working class. I remember going to a Youth Camp in the 1980’s and meeting people from an Afro-Caribbean background and spending time with them and making friends with them,  but it was something of a culture shock and again in the late 1990’s living in Leicester and working alongside people from an Indian Subcontinent background in many ways both were culture shocks for me  and I learned valuable lessons it was strange for me  coming from a predominantly white background being somewhere that was more of cultural melting point.

I love living in England, and I’m Welsh please don’t think that is an oxymoron, it was a cultural shift coming from the Welsh Valleys to live in the East Midlands, later living in West Yorkshire and now living in Merseyside.  The English were something like us but not entirely like us and we enjoyed beating them at Rugby, which is ironic for me because at least on the maternal side of my family, 100 plus years ago,  3 out of 4 of my great grandparents moved to Wales from Devon and Somerset!

I said earlier that we have developed learned behaviour patterns from our parents and grandparents, as children we observed the way our parents and other relatives dealt with certain situations and circumstances,  for example my granddad would gradually change the time on clocks, watches etc., but would leave one clock on watch on the right time until he went to bed when the clocks either went forward or back an hour, this year I noticed that I do exactly the same.

I was raised in a Christian Family so in many ways, a lot of things that happen in Church I understand and accept,  such as tithing,  male leadership,  breaking of bread or communion, although in many ways these come from learned behaviour I came to accept these for myself.

Today, we face many challenges and difficulties because culture and society try to break free of the Christian heritage that for hundreds of years have been the guiding light for society in the western world,  for example many believe that gay people have the right to marry other gay people, personally speaking I’m opposed to such views because they go against what the Bible teaches about Marriage,  I’m not anti-gay or homophobic, firstly I can’t be anyone’s auntie because I’m a man and it would be physically impossible for me to be an auntie, sorry some humour there.  Because of the fall of adam, sin entered the world

Romans 5:12ff

¹² Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— ¹³ for ^[h]until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a ^[i]type of Him who was to come¹⁵ But ^[j]the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. ¹⁶ The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression ^[k]resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions ^[l]resulting in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ So then as through one transgression ^[m]there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness ^[n]there resulted justification of life to all men. ¹⁹ For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. ^20 [o]The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A Renewed Thinking

A Renewed Thinking

Romans 12 The Message ^1-2   So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 The Voice Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. ² Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete.

Romans12:1-2 Niv Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary Romans 12:2

The mind must be renewed for him. This is pressed (Rom. 12:2): “Be you transformed by the renewing of your mind; see to it that there be a saving change wrought in you, and that it be carried on.” Conversion and sanctification are the renewing of the mind, a change not of the substance, but of the qualities of the soul. It is the same with making a new heart and a new spirit—new dispositions and inclinations, new sympathies and antipathies; the understanding enlightened, the conscience softened, the thoughts rectified; the will bowed to the will of God, and the affections made spiritual and heavenly: so that the man is not what he was—old things are passed away, all things are become new; he acts from new principles, by new rules, with new designs. The mind is the acting ruling part of us; so that the renewing of the mind is the renewing of the whole man, for out of it are the issues of life, Prov. 4:23. The progress of sanctification, dying to sin more and more and living to righteousness more and more, is the carrying on of this renewing work, till it be perfected in glory. This is called the transforming of us; it is like putting on a new shape and figure.

On  Facebook, and when we update our Status on Facebook, it asks its users the question “What’s on your mind?”

In the English Language we have one word for Mind, and that word is Mind, I’m sorry for stating the obvious, The Bible was written in two languages,  the first of these was Hebrew which the Old Testament was originally written in, although it was later translated into languages like Aramaic, Greek and so on. The second language was Greek, which the New Testament was originally written in, although it was again translated into other languages, in many ways for the Roman Empire and other Empires of that time especially in the Eastern Mediterranean area, The Greek Language was the lingua franca, we call the Greek Language used then as Koine Greek.

The users of Koine Greek would have used 3 different words that we today would read in our Bibles as the English word “Mind” these are:-

1.   Sophrono or right mind, Strong’s ref 4993 To be of sound mind, sane, self-controlled, serious, moderate, sober-minded, restrained, disciplined, able to reason. From sozo.” , to save” and phren, “ the mind”  see Mark 5:15

2.   Dianoia or a thinking through Strong’s ref 1271 Dianoia combines nous, “mind” and dia, “through” The word suggests understanding, insight, meditation, reflection, perception, the gift of apprehension, the faculty of thought. When this faculty is renewed by the Holy Spirit, the whole mind-set changes from the fearful negativism of the carnal mind to the vibrant, positive thinking of the quickened spiritual mind see Mark 12:30

3.   Sophronismos or a sound mind Strong’s ref 4995, A combination of sos “safe” and phren, “the mind” hence safe-thinking. The word denotes good judgement, disciplined thought patterns, and the ability to understand and make right decisions. It includes the qualities of self-control and self-discipline see 2 Timothy 1:7

For many of us,  our thought patterns have been influenced by what our society and culture think or indeed think of us!,  the influence or propaganda of a non-Christian world view or group think has had or indeed having an undue influence on the way we think as Christian Believers, it’s time we changed the way we think.

Colossians 3:1-3 Esv

 3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

1 Peter 1:13-15 Esv

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, [a] and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct

Ephesians 4:17-18 Niv

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Should Christians Tithe?

Should Christians Tithe?

Waiting

I wonder how many of us enjoy waiting ? I know that I rather do something else, well I’m a man, and most men, and if not a lot of women will hopefully agree with me that men aren’t particularly good at waiting!

We seem to spend so much time in the day, waiting, perhaps it’s waiting for the Bus or Train, which always seem to be running late, if you’re anything like me, you keep checking your watch and the timetable, or if you’re desperate, sending a text message to the local Bus company timetable service, who then sent you a text message for the time of the next bus!

One of the leading Supermarkets, here in the UK, Tesco some time ago launched a self checkout service rather than a check out operator scan your goods, customers can now self-scan, it’s suppose to make things easier for customers but if you like me, you spend at least twice as long self-scanning than you would do at a more conventional check-out ! Maybe it’s a man thing !.

In the so-called Western or developed world, we seem constantly rushing or hurrying, trying to get places quicker or faster, we have Instant Coffee, Express Checkouts, Online Banking, Online Shopping, which is really cool, because you don’t have to queue and it’s delivered, sometimes even the next day.

I’ve had many moments where God has either spoken into or touched my life, I remember when God moved in my life as a somewhat angry, self centred and annoying teenager, a few of you  will remember me like that! Of all the years, I’ve prayed and sought God’s face, wept, read my Bible, keep going, nearly give up dozens of times, been disappointed, hurt, felt rejection.

Throughout the years despite all that has happened, I’m still here, still have questions that I can’t answer, lost friends and family, been confused over so many things, and at least several times lost for words, failed, Yet Jesus still loves me, still cares for me, and is still by my side.

Some time ago, I went through a time of hurt and rejection, and although I didn't give up on my relationship with the Lord.  I had stopped going to Church. I was angry and confused both with myself, others and the Lord.  During this time, I had two significant dreams, in one dream one of the elders from a church I used to attend, and had left some years was praying with me in  his office, and the second dream was coming here to Southport, and both happened as in the dreams.

It has and will involve change on my part, but the only true option I have is to move forward, it means moving on and standing strong, It means giving my full attention to all the things God has spoken into my life and done in my life, it involves letting go of some things so that I can lay hold of other things, it’s means pain and sorrow, but also means joy and fulfilment. It means moving on from where I am to where God wants me to be.

Change is coming.

It’s taking longer than I expected, and although there seems to be a delay, these things come in God’s Timing and not ours. Yes I’m moving forward and staying focused, I don’t know the actual date I’m moving on and when God will fulfil His promise, I’ve nearly given up a few times, I don’t know how and when, or how long the journey will be, but I’m taking it one day, and one step at a time, and know in God’s timing I will arrive.

There are two scriptures that God has spoken into my life this last week. These are Habakkuk 2:3 and Hebrews 10:35-36

Habakkuk 2:3 Niv

3 For the revelation waits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it [c] will certainly come and will not delay.

Hebrews 10:35-36 Niv

35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Yours in Him

Blair Humphreys

The Church, God’s Own People Part 2 They devoted themselves to Discipleship.

The Church, God’s Own People

Part 2

They devoted themselves to Discipleship.

Acts 2:41 -47 New American Standard Bible

41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Throughout the last 2,000 years of Church History,  we have had countless models,  missions, strategies, programmes and systems that are/were supposed to make us more effective and efficient in the ways we do, be and  are the Church, some of these have been more fruitful than others, I’ve been a Christian for over 30 years and  have seen these ideas both working and failing, we have tried so many things and if we’re honest have any of them worked as we hoped, dreamed and expected?

For many years we have built man-made structures and systems that are no longer relevant to us the Church, these things have served their purpose and in many ways have outlived their purposes.

 I have thought a lot in recent days about the Mission and Vision of/for the Church is our Mission and Vision the same as the Mission of the Church and the Vision of the Church that Jesus and the early disciples had?

The first question we had to ask ourselves is what our Lord Jesus’s Mission and Vision of the Church is? For that we must examine Scripture, many have called these verses the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ^19 [a]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you ^[b]always, even to the end of the age.

Quite simply our Lord’s Mission and Vision for His Church is found in Scripture, what the Bible teaches us about the Church should be our first point of reference and  our last point of reference, indeed our only point of reference not the latest podcast, prophecy, programme, project or plan nor indeed our traditions or history,  it’s time that we no longer relied on anything that isn’t found in Scripture and see a restoration of New Testament Christianity,  not any more man made systems and strategies, it’s time to change and now is the time to change!

I’m not saying we should ignore what Godly Men & Women have written for and about the Church but we should only read books etc. that have a strong and exclusive  grounding in the Bible.

We have tried many things to increase our Churches, and see people born again, lives transformed, hope restored and renewed, but can we say with total honesty, that what we tried hasn’t worked or worked for a certain time and/or situation, yes we keep trying these trusted old and not so old methods and despite our best efforts they’ve failed or haven’t been as fruitful, the Bible speaks of old and new wineskins

 Matthew 9:17

New American Standard Bible

 ¹⁷ Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

I believe that the old wineskins speak of our old ways of doing things, and the new wineskins speaks of the Biblical ways of both doing and being the Church.

For many years our model of Church has been called Attractional Church and recent years a new model has been promoted the Incarnational church or Missional Church, I’m going to be controversial I believe the Church needs to both Attractional and Incarnational! We need to bring people in and send people out, I’, not going to promote or invent a new way of us being and doing Church, I will say it’s time we return to our roots or go back to basics, we need to a Church of Disciples, A Church were our growth strategy is based on Discipleship, our Mission is his Great Commission our Vision is His Vision.

In my next post, I will continue with Discipleship and give a Biblical example of what a Church based on Discipleship will look like?

Yours in His Grace

Blair Humphreys

Southport, Merseyside, UK