restoration

AMOS – GOD’S MESSENGER

(May  26, 2023) Brian Bell shares  from his heart… 

‘This message was given to Amos…’ These are the opening words of Amos 1:1NLT.

Possibly not one of the most frequently read books of scripture, here in my homeland of Northern Ireland the words in Amos 4:12 ‘… prepare to meet your God…’ have often been used as the basis for ‘evangelistic sermons.’

 Like other men God had chosen to speak His word, Amos had a very humble background. A shepherd, not what was regarded as an illustrious occupation, he came from a little town called Tekoa, some 12 miles (19k) south of Jerusalem.

God’s choices
Yet when it comes to choosing men to speak for Him, God is not primarily interested in their occupation, its status or lack of it, or their physical location. Remember how God called Noah to build the Ark and later Abraham from Ur to found the nation of Israel.

Move into the New Testament scriptures and we find Jesus chose a mixed bag of men, mostly fishermen but also a former tax collector, that have been described in scripture as ‘ignorant and unlearned men’ – a rather disparaging reference to the fact that they had not been tutored in the Rabbinical schools of the day!

God does the choosing and gives His word to those He chooses, so really all other factors are of secondary importance. Encouraging for you and me is that the Lord may enable any of us to speak on His behalf when the Holy Spirit enlightens our understanding to His word.

(more…)

IN THE GARDEN

(April 02, 2023) Richard Winter reflects…

It’s often said that in the olden days things were different. Some will remember in those olden days that we had a garden at the back of our home… we grew most of our vegetables, some flowers and some fruit trees.

Everybody loves a garden. Whether you like to work in a garden, whether you plant it, or just like walking through one that somebody else has done all the work in, there is beauty in a garden.

The Holy Bible has a lot to say about either gardening or planting, or sowing and harvesting. Gardens feature in scripture from the beginning of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation. All of them are important to God’s plan… three on this earth, one not.

The three earthly ones were places of sadness, although the third became a place to rejoice over! And the fourth? Well let’s look at these four pivotal biblical places that have changed the way God’s people live… and can live.

The first garden was creation…

(more…)

LEANING INTO LENT

(March 09, 2023) Dr Jim McClure shares… 

We are very familiar with the festivals of Christmas, Good Friday and Easter that are commemorated each year.  In fact they are so popular that the secular and commercial world has largely taken over Christmas and Easter as holidays rather than ‘holy days.’

Even so, as Christians, we do try to focus on the profound spiritual significance and meaning of those events. 

Lent
We are in the midst of festival of ‘Lent’ that is celebrated each year by millions of Christians throughout the world. It is a 6-week event that began this year on Wednesday, February 22, and will end on Saturday April 8, 2023 – the day before Easter Day. While many churches worldwide observe Lent, some denominations – and Christians – pay little attention to it.

What is Lent and why did it become part of Christian practice?  Almost 1900 years ago one of the leaders of the church, Irenaeus, mentioned a time of prayer and fasting for 40 days before Easter.    A couple of hundred years later it was generally practised by Christians worldwide. Its purpose was focusing on God, developing a closer relationship with Him and reflecting on the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ rose triumphantly from the tomb.

I am not suggesting that Lent should become part of the  calendar of every church and every Christian.  I wholly agree with the comment, ‘You could observe 1,000 Lents and it won’t ever accomplish in your life what the cross of Jesus has.’ That is absolutely true. 

Nevertheless, I believe that that our relationship with God can be greatly deepened and strengthened whenever we seriously set aside time in prayer and think deeply about what it truly means to be a Christian.

(more…)

MY ‘HEART’ MAY FAIL… BUT GOD IS MY STRENGTH!

(August 6, 2022) Brian Bell reflects on the ‘heart’ …

My thoughts turned recently to Asaph’s Psalm 73:26 which says, ‘My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart…’ 

Just as we also may do today, the psalmist was struggling with what we might call apparent ‘injustices’ of life.

My flesh
‘Fail’ seems to be in the sense ‘to falter in weakness’ and this suggests to me not simply a failing as in a sudden moment of pressure, or by reason of sustained pressure – think of an elastic band – but a weakness which is a tendency, having always been there and always will be.

‘Flesh’ in its literal sense refers to our physical bodies. I’ve known many people familiar with weaknesses of their physical body to a greater or lesser degree; some who were born with or acquired a disability, and more recently those with cancers which have destroyed their formerly healthy bodies.

Even those of us who may not presently be affected by a specific disability or illness and are fortunate to enjoy general good health, realise the experience of others is a sufficient testimony to the fact that our physical bodies can falter in weakness!

(more…)

DARE TO BELIEVE!

(April 23, 2019) Mike Shreve encourages us believe we are more than conquerors because of Jesus’ resurrection.

It matters little if you have had great failures or problems in your life! You are an heir of resurrection life – and that means coming back from the dead.

You may have gone through tough times spiritually, to the point where you almost felt dead mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. But remember the bold statement Jesus made at the gravesite of Lazarus: ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live’ (John 11:25). 

So, dare to believe! No matter what you have been through, reflect on what we’ve just celebrated over Easter and dare to say, ‘I believe…

  • In the cross;
  • In the blood;
  • The price that was paid;
  • That the stone rolled away by the power of God;
  • That Jesus arose victorious;
  • That he conquered death – and because he did…
  • I can be “more than a conqueror” by claiming the present-tense benefits of the One who arose victoriously for me.’

Grasp these present-day benefits of Jesus’ resurrection
Most believers view the resurrection of the Lord Jesus either through a historical or a prophetical lens!

They tend to look backward to Jesus’ victory over the grave or look forward to the resurrection of believers at the conclusion of this age.

But seldom do believers grasp present tense benefits that have come to us as a result of this spiritual conquest… here are some powerful ones: (more…)

EIGHT PRESENT-TENSE BENEFITS OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST

(March 30, 2018) Mike Shreve reminds readers of eight great truths in respect of Jesus’ resurrection …

Most believers view the resurrection of the Lord Jesus either through a historical or a prophetical lens! They tend to either look backward to Jesus’ victory over the grave or look forward to the resurrection of believers at the conclusion of this age.

But seldom do believers grasp the present tense benefits that have come to us as a result of this spiritual conquest.

Here are eight powerful ones:

1. Deliverance from spiritual death
‘But God . . . because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ’ (Ephesians 2:4-5).

When Adam fell, he died spiritually and began dying physically. But when Jesus came out of the grave, believers were delivered from spiritual death right then When we received the resurrected Saviour in our hearts, the resurrection process began.So those who repent and turn to Jesus are first resurrected spiritually on their way to complete physical resurrection at the coming of the Lord. We are given a ‘new spirit’ (Ezekiel 36:26). (more…)

SO – BE QUIET!

(August  6, 2017) Tim Edwards brings a timely word based on 2 Kings 2: 1-8…

Sometimes life is tough. Sometimes in all our lives there are moments, days, weeks or even lengthy seasons where we struggle to understand what is going on, what to do about it.

As a pastor I have many conversations every week with a variety of people (and not only from my own church) – guess what I am seeing at the moment? Some tough times. I’m very aware that there are large numbers of people who are currently walking through difficult times.

Yes, life can be tough!
The reality is that that life can be tough, is tough, even for great Christians! And I am more and more convinced every day that we as humans, on our own and in our own limited capacity, have no answers at all to help us through the messiness of life.

Our search for purpose, meaning, security, stability, relationships and love is just not found in the things we as humans tend to value and count and attempt to accumulate – money, possessions, power, position, politics, business or anything else for that matter. None of it helps. (more…)

THE SECOND STEP IN RESTORATION

tim-edwards(March 6, 2017) Tim Edwards brings a timely, challenging kingdom word…

Church – and the kingdom – is not about me; it’s about God and all of us together. 2017 is the beginning of a new season, a new chapter, a new day and I personally can’t wait to see where God takes us all on the journey.

Every Christian shares a clear purpose that is given to all who love and obey God. As Christians who who are aiming to live a Christ-like life, we all have the same purpose as recorded in Matthew 22 and 28…

  • The great commandment – asking us to ‘love God and love one another’
  • The great commission – asking us to ‘go’, to take that love out to the people, into life, and offer everyone the opportunity to connect to God
  • Loving God, people and life summarises our shared purpose as Christians.

(more…)

DARE TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE…

Dr Robert & Maureen (2)(March 6, 2017) Robert and Maureen McQuillan reminisce and share a challenge to dare …

An article in a magazine about movies/TV shows/comic characters grabbed our attention last week –taking us back to the fifties, yet speaking about a real need today!

In a day when some serious-minded Christians, including church leaders, are saying that we need a fresh revival, here was an article by the delighted editor about another revival, that of the renowned 1950s British comic book hero – Dan Dare.

encouragement-03-17a

 

First Eagle, April 14, 1950

Okay… many, especially our younger generation and non-Brits will wonder who’s he? Who was Dan Dare? This editor (not an aged senior, by the  way!) stated it simply – ‘Before there was the science fiction Quartermass, before Doctor Who, before … there was Colonel Dan Dare – Pilot of the Future.

Boldly going places
We can easily add that decades before Star Trek and the Klingons or Star Wars and Dark Vader, there was Dan Dare and his arch-nemesis, the evil reptile-looking Mekon of Mekonta, ruler of the Treens! Decades before James T Kirk ever declared the Enterprise’s mission to ‘boldly go where no man has gone before’ we who were kids in the fifties can reflect and boldly declare that Dan Dare has been there, done that! (more…)