More than you realise … It’s long, but you are going to love this. It’s a challenge, an encouragement and something of a call, all wrapped in a “God wants you to step up” gift-wrapper. Our starting point is one that draws on your deepest empathy. You read it, grimace, and then press on. But not today. The… Read More »
One digit that can change and transform your life Word on the street is that God is doing a new thing; apparently, there is what has been termed “a silent revival” underway, with people (mostly young men, it seems) coming spontaneously to church and becoming Christians. I think it’s true; I’ve heard it first-hand from a church plant… Read More »
What are you saying? Becoming a Christian in 1979, in an evangelistic fervour where signs and wonders, healings and miracles were prevalent, accompanied frequently by tongues, either in prayer or in public settings with interpretation, as I did, meant that you inherited a high value of the things of the Spirit. I think we are missing something, especially… Read More »
What happened to it?! How good is your memory? Some things are too precious to forget, like car keys, renewing our passport, where we left the baby — and yet we do. At Bible college I sat through a couple of lectures on the Union with Christ. They were moving, stirring and provoked a time of worship at… Read More »
Don’t read if you are squeamish. Every now and then, I feel a little grouchy. The filters come down, and I mention the elephant in the room — or at least, the one I think I can see. Call it what it is: lack of self-control. But even so, there’s something here that needs to be said. Something… Read More »
It’s time to change your ride? I’m sorry – it’s a long one, but it’s worth it – especially for you. In Gladiator, when Maximus removes his helmet and reveals who he truly is, there’s a pause. A hush. The sort of silence that hangs in the air when truth walks into the room. “Father to a murdered… Read More »
Informing you above and beyond “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.” — 1 Corinthians 12:1 Paul kicks us off here in a brilliant way, politely telling the Corinthians that he doesn’t want them uninformed! Do you consider yourself well informed or uninformed when it comes to the gifts of the Spirit?… Read More »
Don’t interfere … Mark’s Gospel is punchy – always carrying drama and more binge-worthy than any Netflix series. As you read it, there are signs and wonders, amazement, and more ‘suddenly’s’ than a schoolchild could ever expect to get away with in their story writing. But here, for our purposes, where we pick our encounter up, the mood… Read More »
and raise your heads … “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” — Luke 21:28 Last night, I dreamed something unusual — no flying this time, or running with pails of fire, being tugged back by invisible hands. This time I stepped through the canvas… Read More »
You were summoned personally. Called. Handpicked by grace.. Five Superb Things You Should Know Now You’re a Follower of Jesus This sounds like the beginning of a Bond film — I want to address my friend ‘M’ (they know who they are), but it’s also for you if you are a follower of Jesus… So, you’ve said yes… Read More »
A look at what on Earth is happening. I’m one of a growing number that have decided to make Catalyst’s Emmanuel Church in Sheffield, home. It’s growing, thriving and full of life, so you might understand my contempt for the media that says the church is in decline and irrelevant. It’s as if Jesus had made a Trumpian… Read More »
For everyone – what about ‘them’? You’ve heard about ‘the baptism’ at the Jordan River… There’s water—a river full and flowing—and then there’s the voice of heaven breaking through it. When Jesus came up out of the Jordan, dripping wet, filled with the Spirit, marked by the approval of the Father, something shifted. Not just the landscape. The… Read More »
an alternative “Word & Spirit” approach… John 16:13 – “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” There comes a moment in every generation when the people of God must stop surveying and admiring the landscape and start walking the path. Spectating or participating… Jonathan Edwards once said, “The task of every… Read More »
Or are you a follower of Christ? This is a question we’ve all heard or answered for ourselves… At some point in the distant past, somewhere along the way, “ask Jesus into your heart” became the Christian buzz phrase. It’s short. It’s simple. It fits neatly into a tweet, but the gospel was never set out to be… Read More »
Or are you a follower of Christ? This is a question we’ve all heard or answered for ourselves… At some point in the distant past, somewhere along the way, “ask Jesus into your heart” became the Christian buzz phrase. It’s short. It’s simple. It fits neatly into a tweet, but the gospel was never set out to be… Read More »
we are fragile and we break easily — too easily. You’ve already probably encountered this – there are moments in life when the night feels long. The noise quietens down, the world turns its back, and we’re left with nothing but the sound of our own thoughts, and even WhatsApp has no new notifications. In that hollow silence,… Read More »
Just a reminder … “You will receive power…” (Acts 1:8) — that’s how Jesus framed it. Not a suggestion, not an optional high-speed 64GB RAM upgrade for the hyper-spiritual, but a promise — and a necessity. Power. Not of human origin, not mustered up through effort or intellect, but breathed into us by the Spirit of the living… Read More »
but may not be what you think … I was one of those who, as a young Christian, believed that once God gifted or called you—whether in the gifts of the Spirit or an anointing for ministry—you had it forever. Much like Samson, who sinned but still tore down the Philistine temple, I thought that if God had… Read More »
A life-style posture A good friend of mine was reading Mark’s gospel and became captivated by Chapter 5, having spotted three ‘kneelers’. They take a posture that always gets Jesus’ attention—they are the ones who get the most out of Jesus. They’re not timid and don’t come polished; it’s a posture they adopt willingly, not under duress. They… Read More »
Who’s laying the table? Here’s a brilliant bit of drama—it’s a short interlude in Jesus’ awesome God-come-to-save-us narrative in Luke’s Good News book, but it does take a fair few words to bring the best of it to your attention. Make yourself a nice hot drink and settle down for an eight minute read. Brace yourself; the scene… Read More »