Deliverance ... For what?

Luke gives us some answers to the bigger questions in life - like 'why are we here?' and 'why are we saved?'. There might be many answers to this question, but viewing it from man's perspective Luke wrote: '... that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days' (1:74)

The reality of finding complete fulfilment in being a servant is in stark contrast to the idea of seeing how we can fit Jesus into an otherwise unchanged life. In the former He is enthroned as Lord, in the latter I remain enthroned as Lord of 'My life'.

Where does His will fit in our list of priorities?

Are we sure that what we are doing today is what the Lord has asked us to do? Have we ever asked?

Jesus food was to do the will of His Father, so too it is our food ... In other words we will be malnourished if we simply go on our own way, giving no heed to His leading, or never even stopping to ask in the first place!

We have not simply been 'set free' ... But 'set free to serve' - the expression of the claims of Christ over all we are, have and do.

When we consider the challenge of proclaiming the gospel to the remaining unreached people's of the world it raises the question 'who will go?' ... Only those who recognise that He is Lord of all and that they are servants, for Christ's sake. Only those who ask 'Lord, what do you want me to do?'

He will then send some, others will hear the affirmation to stay where they are - either way they will know they are 'about their Father's business'.

Being set free to serve ... What a blessing!
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Who are you? I have never been a great fan of labels when it comes to describing members of the body of Christ. eg. he is anglican, she is Baptist, they are Charismatic, etc. etc. I remember once causing a man to become increasingly hot under the collar when he asked me who I was? To which I replied I was a disciple (follower) of Jesus. He was meaning which Church did I attend (presumably so he could classify me and decide whether I was bona fide or not) and my answer did not bring him peace, but I refused to go any further. Why? Because, as I said, I am not a great fan of labels, but also because for me there is a very important distinction between primarily identifying myself with Jesus and identifying myself with Church. Of course, I recognise that by becoming a follower of Jesus I become part of the body of Christ, but that can be very distinct from being a member of a Church. To me this is the crucial difference between vibrant faith and dusty religion. ...

Homes I have lived in #3

This year I am celebrating my silver wedding anniversary ... Just for something to do I have begun to sketch all the houses we have lived in during that time. So here is house number #3 On our return to the UK we were faced with the question that faces all people in transition, what next? For us, we were encouraged by our friends to investigate further training and opted to spend a year with Kerygma ministries. We joined with a group of some 20 other people from various different cultures and backgrounds to join the ministry led by Dr Bob Gordon, based at Drayton Hall near Norwich. We spent one year here, between September 1993 and July 1994. Significant events that took place here included: Suffered reverse culture shock, as I grappled with the transition from life in a mudhut in Africa to life in the UK in a Manor House! (Struggled with the amount of money being spent on a sign that was being placed outside ...

Helpful read ...

Sacred Pathways: Discover your Soul's Path to God - Gary Thomas When you became a christian did you look around other people's lives and seek to model some of their spiritual disciplines? Did you find that somehow they didn't work for you in quite the same way as they seemed to work for them? Did this lead you to a place of discouragement? Did you think that, somehow, the things that bring such life to other people but don't bring life to you must mean that there is something wrong with you? Or that maybe God doesn't love you as much as He loved those people whom you sought to emulate? These are very real questions that all c hristians probably grapple with at some point. As we grow and mature in Christ we eventually reach a place of liberty where we realise that we are unique and therefore we shouldn't be surprised when our Father deals uniquely with us - and the way we most easily 'connect' to Him is also unique. Or perhaps we find over time th...

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