Tonight is the night that we can consign the year 2012 to history.
At midnight, time will sweep us into a new year.
2013.
I'm writing this at 20.15 on the last night of 2012.
Personally it's been a really good year on the whole.
My best year in ministry.
And the hardest.
Dawn and I are city people.
We have lived for the last five years in a small village.
For Dawn and I that has been the hardest thing.
We both long to live and work back in a big city.
And yet?
In the face of that yearning?
We have experienced a totally extraordinary year, seeing Sanctuary 21 develop after five years of pouring our hearts and souls into developing S21 from scratch, spending hours building relationships, building a team, building a prayer rhythm, opening our arms totally to those who are struggling. We've thrown everything we have at it in the name of Jesus.
But this year.
2012?
We've seen some astonishing development in the very young life of S21.
We have seen God at work. We have seen him in the brokenness of the many people who come to S21 who are living out lives of true hardship, including the injustices of homelessness and marginalization. We've seen lives restored, we've seen breath-taking transformations. We've seen a community develop before our very eyes, glued together by love. We've seen tears, we've seen laughter, we've seen, to be frank, miracles taking place.
I have learned so much about God and about myself in 2012.
I've learned to be more patient, I've learned to be way more steely-eyed in leadership. I've learned to be utterly strong.
2012 has been a tough year, but when I look back at it tonight, I feel like some necessary work has been done in my life.
So at midnight I step over into a new year.
I believe God has new things in store for Dawn and I in 2013.
I feel deep inside it is going to be a pivotal year in our ministry. I really can't qualify that statement or give you a reason why, lets just say there is an anticipation there. However God gave me a scripture to share with you guys tonight.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."(Joshua 1:9)
For those who are maybe unsure about what 2013 will bring, be strong and courageous for God is with you.
For those who maybe have had a tough 2012 and aren't looking forward to 2013 be strong and courageous for God is with you.
For those who know exciting things are coming in 2013 be strong and courageous for God is with you.
For those who just cannot see a way forward out of the mess you are in be strong and courageous for God is with you.
Take the treasure out of 2012, you know those things which have helped shape you, but consign the last year to your history.
A fresh start is there for you.
Fresh starts needs courage and strength and a desire to go forward.
Well tonight, hear the command of God, yeah, the command, it's not a suggestion, "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
So step into 2013 with that command ringing in our ears.
I pray such enormous favour on your life this coming year. I pray that God will continue to change everything for us.
Thank you for reading The Gary Lacey Files this year, the statistics for readership of my blog has been beyond anything I dare imagine. What started out as just a blog for a few family and friends to read has seen fantastic growth. I really appreciate all the responses via Facebook, Twitter, and Google plus as well as the email readership. I hope to open it up for comments direct to the blog this year, although you can do that now, it's very limited.
I wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR wherever you are, and I pray that you will truly be touched by the Spirit of God as you embark on a new phase in the journey of your life.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Wisdomatic! (Gary's Christmas blogpost)
Christmas.
I don't know why I love this month, December, but I just do.
On a freezing cold sub zero morning I am sitting with my wife Dawn and a gingerbread latte looking out of a coffee shop window onto the City street.
We were chatting and reflecting on the fact that over recent weeks I'd felt a bit of darkness hovering over me, and it felt a bit heavy and unsettling.
Dawn gave me a scripture.
I reflected on it.
God spoke and the darkness lifted.
He had me thinking about the Magi.
You know.
The wise men?
Portrayed as three kings in the Christmas furore, although how many of them there actually were isn't really mentioned in scripture.
But God used this to speak to me.
So here's the story. I wasn't going to blog this but felt a bit of a holy prompt!
So Ill call it My little Christmas blog message if you like.
This word "magi" from the Greek word Magos.
Every Royal household had the Magi. (No its not some kind of epidemic!)
Magi were astronomer priests who usually provided the king with information they had supposedly read from the stars.
Over time occult groups got a hold of this concept of reading the stars and that's where the English word Magic has stemmed from.
Here we see these early ancient astronomer priests featured in this scripture.
I know we sing songs like "We three Kings", and kids dress up as Kings to represent these guys in their school nativities. Some scholars think this could be due to knowledge of scriptures such as Psalm 72: 11, that says, "May all Kings bow down to him."
But whatever, the Magi were often key members of Royal regimes.
Cue Herod,
King Herod, the guy who had been officially titled the King of the Jews by the Roman government of the day, getting well upset by the visit of a group of these Magi, star reader guys, who had come from the East and started saying we have seen a star and then were asking people "Where is the one born King of the Jews, we saw his star and have come to worship him?"
Herod calls all his big boys together including these Magi Guys, and asks them where this other king of the Jews was to be born?
They reply, "in Bethlehem."
They went on to explain that they got their info from a prophecy from was known that says, "But you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means last among the rulers of Judah. For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel." (Micah 5: 2-4)
Then Herod calls the Magi secretly and they tell him exactly when the star appeared. He then sends them to Bethlehem with the mission to tell him exactly where this King was being born.
So the Magi do their thing and follow the star.
This star stops directly over Bethlehem.
When they see this star they were overcome with joy.
They find Jesus born in a stable.
They bow down in recognition of a king.
They give him gifts expensive stuff.
They then having been warned in a dream, go back to the East, making sure they avoid all contact with Herod who had an evil plan to kill this so called King, Obviously because he was King and didn't want anyone taking that away from him.
No wonder we refer to these Magi guys as the wise men.
They displayed a wisdom that doesn't come from earth.
As I said at the top of this post I went through some unexplainable darkness recently.
Dawn gave me a scripture. Like she does so often.
After reflecting on it the darkness lifted.
I got to work on taking heed of the words I read.
James 3: 13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
I saw in my spirit a real comparison in this scripture with the character of the wise men.
In James, the question is asked to the twelve tribes, in other words Gods people, so that includes us, who is wise and understanding among you among you?
Then he goes on to give us a key to allow us to demonstrate wisdom.
"Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom."
Then he lets us know that if we harbour envy or selfish ambition in our hearts then don't boast or try to cover it up.
Then he says that that kind of wisdom is not from Heaven. It's from the earth, it is unspiritual and even demonic.
Because where we have envy or selfish ambition in our hearts, then you will have disorder and practice all kinds of evil.
But then this beautiful description of heavenly wisdom, wisdom that comes from God, is outlined.
And a set of values are used to describe the marks of a wise person who's wisdom is heavenly.
A person who is wise will display pureness, will be peace-loving, will be considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Then this beautiful passage finishes with the declaration that "those who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."
Back to the wise men.
They displayed all of these things.
Their actions were pure. They craved peace and avoided conflict with Herod, they were considerate by even just walking into an old stable, that wasn't the surroundings they were used to. They were submissive as they recognise this child to be Jesus, the messiah and king of all, they bowed down to him a total act of worship. They were full of mercy and good fruit. Their act of worship really changed the course of history, if they hadn't followed the star or recognised Jesus as a king, then Herod would have got to him. Their wise actions allowed countless lives throughout the ages to be freed by the salvation story that unfolded with the birth life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They were impartial they laid down their allegiance to King Herod, and they showed the ultimate sincerity.
So their wisdom came from heaven not from earth and they displayed nothing of envy or selfish ambition (the same couldn't be said about Herod).
Their wise actions kept the plan of Salvation alive and available to future generations.
That was a far greater gift than the Gold, frankincense and myrrh that they presented Jesus.
So guys what about us?
Heavenly wisdom gives us an opportunity.
An opportunity to change.
Change our lives and even change the course of history.
It seems to me heavenly wisdom calls us to change our attitudes, our ways, even our lifestyles.
Do we harbour selfish ambition? I'm alright Jack, it's all about me attitude. As long as I am alright then forget anyone else?
Do we harbour envy? Looking at others and wishing we were them, or have what they have? And maybe stop at nothing to get what they have?
The crucial thing is here that if we do have selfish ambition or envy then we are mini Herod's really.
His massive ego and pride amounted to selfish ambition and envy.
Selfish ambition and envy could have deprived the world of a saviour.
The wise mens pure actions helped to usher in the gift of Jesus Christ to this world.
That same responsibility is on us.
Yes us.
If we can see selfish ambition or envy in our hearts then all we will bring to this world is disorder and all kinds of evil things. That kind of wisdom is earthly, unspiritual and demonic.
If we are pure peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere, then that is heavenly wisdom and will lead to salvation and freedom for ourselves and others.
The wise men were wise.
The wisdom they displayed had massive consequences for this world.
So it seems we can choose between two kinds of wisdom. And choosing heavenly wisdom? Well, it seems to me that we have the opportunity to continue to change the course of this world.
I know which kind I would rather choose.
Do you?
Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the encouragement this year about my blog. May I take this opportunity to wish you a really amazing blessing smothered Christmas this year.
I don't know why I love this month, December, but I just do.
On a freezing cold sub zero morning I am sitting with my wife Dawn and a gingerbread latte looking out of a coffee shop window onto the City street.
We were chatting and reflecting on the fact that over recent weeks I'd felt a bit of darkness hovering over me, and it felt a bit heavy and unsettling.
Dawn gave me a scripture.
I reflected on it.
God spoke and the darkness lifted.
He had me thinking about the Magi.
You know.
The wise men?
Portrayed as three kings in the Christmas furore, although how many of them there actually were isn't really mentioned in scripture.
But God used this to speak to me.
So here's the story. I wasn't going to blog this but felt a bit of a holy prompt!
So Ill call it My little Christmas blog message if you like.
This word "magi" from the Greek word Magos.
Every Royal household had the Magi. (No its not some kind of epidemic!)
Magi were astronomer priests who usually provided the king with information they had supposedly read from the stars.
Over time occult groups got a hold of this concept of reading the stars and that's where the English word Magic has stemmed from.
Here we see these early ancient astronomer priests featured in this scripture.
I know we sing songs like "We three Kings", and kids dress up as Kings to represent these guys in their school nativities. Some scholars think this could be due to knowledge of scriptures such as Psalm 72: 11, that says, "May all Kings bow down to him."
But whatever, the Magi were often key members of Royal regimes.
Cue Herod,
King Herod, the guy who had been officially titled the King of the Jews by the Roman government of the day, getting well upset by the visit of a group of these Magi, star reader guys, who had come from the East and started saying we have seen a star and then were asking people "Where is the one born King of the Jews, we saw his star and have come to worship him?"
Herod calls all his big boys together including these Magi Guys, and asks them where this other king of the Jews was to be born?
They reply, "in Bethlehem."
They went on to explain that they got their info from a prophecy from was known that says, "But you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means last among the rulers of Judah. For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel." (Micah 5: 2-4)
Then Herod calls the Magi secretly and they tell him exactly when the star appeared. He then sends them to Bethlehem with the mission to tell him exactly where this King was being born.
So the Magi do their thing and follow the star.
This star stops directly over Bethlehem.
When they see this star they were overcome with joy.
They find Jesus born in a stable.
They bow down in recognition of a king.
They give him gifts expensive stuff.
They then having been warned in a dream, go back to the East, making sure they avoid all contact with Herod who had an evil plan to kill this so called King, Obviously because he was King and didn't want anyone taking that away from him.
No wonder we refer to these Magi guys as the wise men.
They displayed a wisdom that doesn't come from earth.
As I said at the top of this post I went through some unexplainable darkness recently.
Dawn gave me a scripture. Like she does so often.
After reflecting on it the darkness lifted.
I got to work on taking heed of the words I read.
James 3: 13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
I saw in my spirit a real comparison in this scripture with the character of the wise men.
In James, the question is asked to the twelve tribes, in other words Gods people, so that includes us, who is wise and understanding among you among you?
Then he goes on to give us a key to allow us to demonstrate wisdom.
"Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom."
Then he lets us know that if we harbour envy or selfish ambition in our hearts then don't boast or try to cover it up.
Then he says that that kind of wisdom is not from Heaven. It's from the earth, it is unspiritual and even demonic.
Because where we have envy or selfish ambition in our hearts, then you will have disorder and practice all kinds of evil.
But then this beautiful description of heavenly wisdom, wisdom that comes from God, is outlined.
And a set of values are used to describe the marks of a wise person who's wisdom is heavenly.
A person who is wise will display pureness, will be peace-loving, will be considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Then this beautiful passage finishes with the declaration that "those who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."
Back to the wise men.
They displayed all of these things.
Their actions were pure. They craved peace and avoided conflict with Herod, they were considerate by even just walking into an old stable, that wasn't the surroundings they were used to. They were submissive as they recognise this child to be Jesus, the messiah and king of all, they bowed down to him a total act of worship. They were full of mercy and good fruit. Their act of worship really changed the course of history, if they hadn't followed the star or recognised Jesus as a king, then Herod would have got to him. Their wise actions allowed countless lives throughout the ages to be freed by the salvation story that unfolded with the birth life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They were impartial they laid down their allegiance to King Herod, and they showed the ultimate sincerity.
So their wisdom came from heaven not from earth and they displayed nothing of envy or selfish ambition (the same couldn't be said about Herod).
Their wise actions kept the plan of Salvation alive and available to future generations.
That was a far greater gift than the Gold, frankincense and myrrh that they presented Jesus.
So guys what about us?
Heavenly wisdom gives us an opportunity.
An opportunity to change.
Change our lives and even change the course of history.
It seems to me heavenly wisdom calls us to change our attitudes, our ways, even our lifestyles.
Do we harbour selfish ambition? I'm alright Jack, it's all about me attitude. As long as I am alright then forget anyone else?
Do we harbour envy? Looking at others and wishing we were them, or have what they have? And maybe stop at nothing to get what they have?
The crucial thing is here that if we do have selfish ambition or envy then we are mini Herod's really.
His massive ego and pride amounted to selfish ambition and envy.
Selfish ambition and envy could have deprived the world of a saviour.
The wise mens pure actions helped to usher in the gift of Jesus Christ to this world.
That same responsibility is on us.
Yes us.
If we can see selfish ambition or envy in our hearts then all we will bring to this world is disorder and all kinds of evil things. That kind of wisdom is earthly, unspiritual and demonic.
If we are pure peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere, then that is heavenly wisdom and will lead to salvation and freedom for ourselves and others.
The wise men were wise.
The wisdom they displayed had massive consequences for this world.
So it seems we can choose between two kinds of wisdom. And choosing heavenly wisdom? Well, it seems to me that we have the opportunity to continue to change the course of this world.
I know which kind I would rather choose.
Do you?
Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the encouragement this year about my blog. May I take this opportunity to wish you a really amazing blessing smothered Christmas this year.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The stuff of real Salvation
About 14 years ago I was sitting with my then 9 year old daughter on a couch at home watching TV.
My daughter was not feeling well.
She did not look good.
She began to speak.
"Dad, I'm going to be-----"
Then she kind of pebble dashed my clothes!
Listen, I hate sick.
It can make me pass out if I see it!
Because it was one of my precious girls, it was kind of OK.
I just wanted to help her.
I wanted her to be OK.
I love her so much that the sick didn't matter.
Why am I saying this? ( Oh and sorry Bailey if your reading this. I guess I've embarrassed you yet again!)
So this morning I'm sitting having my soup with Barry, a very lonely guy who lives on his own, and has virtually nothing. He doesn't keep clean and his clothes are a little dishevelled.
He wanted to thank us for sorting a food parcel out for him last Friday.
As I was talking to him I could see through our window at S21, straight into the posh hairdressers that occupy the shop directly opposite us. I saw a beautiful blonde girl having her hair done. The hairdresser was paying meticulous attention to her gorgeous hair, creating a no doubt stunning look for this girl.
I felt the gap.
The gap between her life and Barry's was to me obviously massive.
She was beautiful, clean and could afford the no doubt expensive price of her hair do.
Here was Barry. Dirty, dishevelled and virtually penniless. Having to eat a bowl of soup in a Salvation Army Hall with me, otherwise he may not have had any food.
I really felt the gaping wideness of the gap.
The gap weirdly felt a bit Godless.
Cue God.
He dropped the flashback of Bailey being sick on me into my thoughts.
He dropped it right into the gap I was feeling.
(Thanks God!)
He sent that flashback to remind me of something simple yet eternally stunning.
He completely loves us.
Totally and unconditionally.
Whoever we are.
Whatever we do.
It's the stuff of real salvation.
I thought to myself how come I cannot bear to see someone be sick, but when it was my daughter I didn't care?
Easy.
I love her so much.
So whatever she does including throwing up on me really doesn't change that.
How much more does God our father think of us?
God accepts us totally.
And I mean totally.
He stepped into my self created gap that I built in my head between Barry and the girl I saw in the hairdressers.
And reminded me.
In his eyes there is no gap.
There is no gap in how he sees everyone.
Yes.
Everyone.
He sees Barry the same as he sees the girl.
He sees me exactly the same way.
Which brings me to why I've churned out this blog post.
He sees you the same.
Yeah.
You.
You, the person who is reading this and feels so far from God the gap seems unbridgeable?
You, the person who has been hurt by the gap that you think stands between you and some seemingly high and mighty person. (And its driving you mad)
You the person who feels so unworthy you feel you can't possibly approach God.
Listen up.
There is no gap.
God loves us equally, totally and absolutely nothing can change that.
I was there that night for my sick daughter.
God is there totally for us.
No matter what.
I pray this helps someone tonight.
My daughter was not feeling well.
She did not look good.
She began to speak.
"Dad, I'm going to be-----"
Then she kind of pebble dashed my clothes!
Listen, I hate sick.
It can make me pass out if I see it!
Because it was one of my precious girls, it was kind of OK.
I just wanted to help her.
I wanted her to be OK.
I love her so much that the sick didn't matter.
Why am I saying this? ( Oh and sorry Bailey if your reading this. I guess I've embarrassed you yet again!)
So this morning I'm sitting having my soup with Barry, a very lonely guy who lives on his own, and has virtually nothing. He doesn't keep clean and his clothes are a little dishevelled.
He wanted to thank us for sorting a food parcel out for him last Friday.
As I was talking to him I could see through our window at S21, straight into the posh hairdressers that occupy the shop directly opposite us. I saw a beautiful blonde girl having her hair done. The hairdresser was paying meticulous attention to her gorgeous hair, creating a no doubt stunning look for this girl.
I felt the gap.
The gap between her life and Barry's was to me obviously massive.
She was beautiful, clean and could afford the no doubt expensive price of her hair do.
Here was Barry. Dirty, dishevelled and virtually penniless. Having to eat a bowl of soup in a Salvation Army Hall with me, otherwise he may not have had any food.
I really felt the gaping wideness of the gap.
The gap weirdly felt a bit Godless.
Cue God.
He dropped the flashback of Bailey being sick on me into my thoughts.
He dropped it right into the gap I was feeling.
(Thanks God!)
He sent that flashback to remind me of something simple yet eternally stunning.
He completely loves us.
Totally and unconditionally.
Whoever we are.
Whatever we do.
It's the stuff of real salvation.
I thought to myself how come I cannot bear to see someone be sick, but when it was my daughter I didn't care?
Easy.
I love her so much.
So whatever she does including throwing up on me really doesn't change that.
How much more does God our father think of us?
God accepts us totally.
And I mean totally.
He stepped into my self created gap that I built in my head between Barry and the girl I saw in the hairdressers.
And reminded me.
In his eyes there is no gap.
There is no gap in how he sees everyone.
Yes.
Everyone.
He sees Barry the same as he sees the girl.
He sees me exactly the same way.
Which brings me to why I've churned out this blog post.
He sees you the same.
Yeah.
You.
You, the person who is reading this and feels so far from God the gap seems unbridgeable?
You, the person who has been hurt by the gap that you think stands between you and some seemingly high and mighty person. (And its driving you mad)
You the person who feels so unworthy you feel you can't possibly approach God.
Listen up.
There is no gap.
God loves us equally, totally and absolutely nothing can change that.
I was there that night for my sick daughter.
God is there totally for us.
No matter what.
I pray this helps someone tonight.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Humbled by the need re-run (A call to the church)
From time to time I feel prompted to republish a past post.
As it happens I was undoubtedly prompted tonight.
I felt it was actually imperative and urgent.
I have no clue why.
So the following rehashed post from early 2011, I guess becomes a kind of prophetic call tonight.
So here goes.
A mix of sun and torrential rain invaded my walk on the streets around my Neighbourhood this morning. The rain though, felt strangely nice as it bounced on my face relentlessly.
Most days I take a walk around the streets.
As I walked today I really noticed the shabbiness that adorns some of the streets of this former mining community, a community that has seen more prosperous days when the local coal mine was up and running.
I saw weeds, lots of weeds, growing out of walls and pavements. I saw litter, lots of it strewn around the streets. I saw the barrenness left by a recent demolition project right in the centre of the place. A few odd walls were still standing looking out of place and almost lonely. I walked amongst the sparse scattering of shops on the main street and watched as people went about their daily routines. The rain clouds above were almost black and this cast a bleak glaze over the whole of the place.
On one of the odd walls sat a teenage girl, she couldn't have been more than 16 years old and she was pregnant and already had one other child with her. I saw a guy struggling up the hill towards the doctors surgery with two walking sticks to help him he looked extremely pale and withdrawn.
As I walked down one of the streets a couple of guys now in their twenties, who I have talked to on these streets before shouted, "alright Gaz," then proceeded to take the michael out of me by mimicking a priest walking with his hands together.
I laughed to myself!
But didn't laugh for long.
As I walked in and out of the streets today I felt like crying.
I didn't know why.
I began to pray over the houses, the businesses, a couple of Church buildings, the community centre, the streets.
I prayed the Aaronic blessing, The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace.
I prayed it over houses with barbed wire over their fences, I prayed it over overgrown gardens and back alleys. I prayed it down streets lined with houses.
I began to imagine the different needs that probably lay behind those doors.
You don't really need to waste time doing fancy questionnaires to find out what the needs are in your community.
Your eyes will show you.
Your heart will show you.
The Spirit of God will show you.
I began to weep. Not much, but enough to ask God what is going on here Lord?
I heard six words drop into my thoughts.
"You are humbled by the need."
Humbled by the need?
I understood that sentence straight away.
Yeah.
Humbled by the need.
Being effective out on the mission field requires it.
Becoming humbled by the need.
Not in some attempt to become humble or practice getting good at doing humbleness, or carry out a way of being humble that I've read in some book somewhere.
But by becoming humbled by seeing and sensing the things that God is so humbled by.
I guess God is longing for the Church to rediscover humility.
What it means to be humble.
If we aren't humbled by the need in our communities, in our cities, our families, our circles of friends, our workplaces, our streets, then how can we reach out to the need?
My mind hit on a scene from the bible.
Just before Jesus made an amazing miracle happen that saw a crowd of around 5000 hungry, needy, people fed from a few loaves of bread and a few fish, the scriptures give us a glimpse of the motivating factor behind this miracle.
Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
As soon as Jesus saw the need. He was humbled by it.
It fired up a compassion in him that led him to do something about the needs these people had.
He was humbled by the need.
He didn't need to try to be humble.
He just was.
For me it makes so much sense. We can go out into the world to make a difference. We can create mission plans, We can do need surveys, we can do the intentional thing.
But are we humbled by the need?
Do we feel it deep inside?
Do we have a compassion that comes from the heart of Christ himself.
A compassion that spurs us into action. That catapults us into feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, slaking the thirst of the thirsty?
God is relentlessly calling his church to be humbled by the need.
I think all great revivals were birthed in prayer that's for sure. But before the prayers, those prayers came from people who were humbled by the need that surrounded them. By the needs of a nation. It was always the motivating factor.
People moved with compassion.
Is God calling the church to be like a Jeremiah who would weep over a nation?
I think so.
The time is now.
To get into the heartlands of our communities, our circles, our mission fields, and look around. To allow God to show us the need. To allow the compassion of Jesus to touch the nations through us.
To be humbled by the need.
As it happens I was undoubtedly prompted tonight.
I felt it was actually imperative and urgent.
I have no clue why.
So the following rehashed post from early 2011, I guess becomes a kind of prophetic call tonight.
So here goes.
A mix of sun and torrential rain invaded my walk on the streets around my Neighbourhood this morning. The rain though, felt strangely nice as it bounced on my face relentlessly.
Most days I take a walk around the streets.
As I walked today I really noticed the shabbiness that adorns some of the streets of this former mining community, a community that has seen more prosperous days when the local coal mine was up and running.
I saw weeds, lots of weeds, growing out of walls and pavements. I saw litter, lots of it strewn around the streets. I saw the barrenness left by a recent demolition project right in the centre of the place. A few odd walls were still standing looking out of place and almost lonely. I walked amongst the sparse scattering of shops on the main street and watched as people went about their daily routines. The rain clouds above were almost black and this cast a bleak glaze over the whole of the place.
On one of the odd walls sat a teenage girl, she couldn't have been more than 16 years old and she was pregnant and already had one other child with her. I saw a guy struggling up the hill towards the doctors surgery with two walking sticks to help him he looked extremely pale and withdrawn.
As I walked down one of the streets a couple of guys now in their twenties, who I have talked to on these streets before shouted, "alright Gaz," then proceeded to take the michael out of me by mimicking a priest walking with his hands together.
I laughed to myself!
But didn't laugh for long.
As I walked in and out of the streets today I felt like crying.
I didn't know why.
I began to pray over the houses, the businesses, a couple of Church buildings, the community centre, the streets.
I prayed the Aaronic blessing, The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace.
I prayed it over houses with barbed wire over their fences, I prayed it over overgrown gardens and back alleys. I prayed it down streets lined with houses.
I began to imagine the different needs that probably lay behind those doors.
You don't really need to waste time doing fancy questionnaires to find out what the needs are in your community.
Your eyes will show you.
Your heart will show you.
The Spirit of God will show you.
I began to weep. Not much, but enough to ask God what is going on here Lord?
I heard six words drop into my thoughts.
"You are humbled by the need."
Humbled by the need?
I understood that sentence straight away.
Yeah.
Humbled by the need.
Being effective out on the mission field requires it.
Becoming humbled by the need.
Not in some attempt to become humble or practice getting good at doing humbleness, or carry out a way of being humble that I've read in some book somewhere.
But by becoming humbled by seeing and sensing the things that God is so humbled by.
I guess God is longing for the Church to rediscover humility.
What it means to be humble.
If we aren't humbled by the need in our communities, in our cities, our families, our circles of friends, our workplaces, our streets, then how can we reach out to the need?
My mind hit on a scene from the bible.
Just before Jesus made an amazing miracle happen that saw a crowd of around 5000 hungry, needy, people fed from a few loaves of bread and a few fish, the scriptures give us a glimpse of the motivating factor behind this miracle.
Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
As soon as Jesus saw the need. He was humbled by it.
It fired up a compassion in him that led him to do something about the needs these people had.
He was humbled by the need.
He didn't need to try to be humble.
He just was.
For me it makes so much sense. We can go out into the world to make a difference. We can create mission plans, We can do need surveys, we can do the intentional thing.
But are we humbled by the need?
Do we feel it deep inside?
Do we have a compassion that comes from the heart of Christ himself.
A compassion that spurs us into action. That catapults us into feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, slaking the thirst of the thirsty?
God is relentlessly calling his church to be humbled by the need.
I think all great revivals were birthed in prayer that's for sure. But before the prayers, those prayers came from people who were humbled by the need that surrounded them. By the needs of a nation. It was always the motivating factor.
People moved with compassion.
Is God calling the church to be like a Jeremiah who would weep over a nation?
I think so.
The time is now.
To get into the heartlands of our communities, our circles, our mission fields, and look around. To allow God to show us the need. To allow the compassion of Jesus to touch the nations through us.
To be humbled by the need.
Humbled by the need re-run (A call to the church)
From time to time I feel prompted to republish a past post.
As it happens I was undoubtedly prompted tonight.
I felt it was actually imperative and urgent.
I have no clue why.
So the following rehashed post from early 2011, I guess becomes a kind of prophetic call tonight.
So here goes.
A mix of sun and torrential rain invaded my walk on the streets around my Neighbourhood this morning. The rain though, felt strangely nice as it bounced on my face relentlessly.
Most days I take a walk around the streets.
As I walked today I really noticed the shabbiness that adorns some of the streets of this former mining community, a community that has seen more prosperous days when the local coal mine was up and running.
I saw weeds, lots of weeds, growing out of walls and pavements. I saw litter, lots of it strewn around the streets. I saw the barrenness left by a recent demolition project right in the centre of the place. A few odd walls were still standing looking out of place and almost lonely. I walked amongst the sparse scattering of shops on the main street and watched as people went about their daily routines. The rain clouds above were almost black and this cast a bleak glaze over the whole of the place.
On one of the odd walls sat a teenage girl, she couldn't have been more than 16 years old and she was pregnant and already had one other child with her. I saw a guy struggling up the hill towards the doctors surgery with two walking sticks to help him he looked extremely pale and withdrawn.
As I walked down one of the streets a couple of guys now in their twenties, who I have talked to on these streets before shouted, "alright Gaz," then proceeded to take the michael out of me by mimicking a priest walking with his hands together.
I laughed to myself!
But didn't laugh for long.
As I walked in and out of the streets today I felt like crying.
I didn't know why.
I began to pray over the houses, the businesses, a couple of Church buildings, the community centre, the streets.
I prayed the Aaronic blessing, The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace.
I prayed it over houses with barbed wire over their fences, I prayed it over overgrown gardens and back alleys. I prayed it down streets lined with houses.
I began to imagine the different needs that probably lay behind those doors.
You don't really need to waste time doing fancy questionnaires to find out what the needs are in your community.
Your eyes will show you.
Your heart will show you.
The Spirit of God will show you.
I began to weep. Not much, but enough to ask God what is going on here Lord?
I heard six words drop into my thoughts.
"You are humbled by the need."
Humbled by the need?
I understood that sentence straight away.
Yeah.
Humbled by the need.
Being effective out on the mission field requires it.
Becoming humbled by the need.
Not in some attempt to become humble or practice getting good at doing humbleness, or carry out a way of being humble that I've read in some book somewhere.
But by becoming humbled by seeing and sensing the things that God is so humbled by.
I guess God is longing for the Church to rediscover humility.
What it means to be humble.
If we aren't humbled by the need in our communities, in our cities, our families, our circles of friends, our workplaces, our streets, then how can we reach out to the need?
My mind hit on a scene from the bible.
Just before Jesus made an amazing miracle happen that saw a crowd of around 5000 hungry, needy, people fed from a few loaves of bread and a few fish, the scriptures give us a glimpse of the motivating factor behind this miracle.
Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
As soon as Jesus saw the need. He was humbled by it.
It fired up a compassion in him that led him to do something about the needs these people had.
He was humbled by the need.
He didn't need to try to be humble.
He just was.
For me it makes so much sense. We can go out into the world to make a difference. We can create mission plans, We can do need surveys, we can do the intentional thing.
But are we humbled by the need?
Do we feel it deep inside?
Do we have a compassion that comes from the heart of Christ himself.
A compassion that spurs us into action. That catapults us into feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, slaking the thirst of the thirsty?
God is relentlessly calling his church to be humbled by the need.
I think all great revivals were birthed in prayer that's for sure. But before the prayers, those prayers came from people who were humbled by the need that surrounded them. By the needs of a nation. It was always the motivating factor.
People moved with compassion.
Is God calling the church to be like a Jeremiah who would weep over a nation?
I think so.
The time is now.
To get into the heartlands of our communities, our circles, our mission fields, and look around. To allow God to show us the need. To allow the compassion of Jesus to touch the nations through us.
To be humbled by the need.
As it happens I was undoubtedly prompted tonight.
I felt it was actually imperative and urgent.
I have no clue why.
So the following rehashed post from early 2011, I guess becomes a kind of prophetic call tonight.
So here goes.
A mix of sun and torrential rain invaded my walk on the streets around my Neighbourhood this morning. The rain though, felt strangely nice as it bounced on my face relentlessly.
Most days I take a walk around the streets.
As I walked today I really noticed the shabbiness that adorns some of the streets of this former mining community, a community that has seen more prosperous days when the local coal mine was up and running.
I saw weeds, lots of weeds, growing out of walls and pavements. I saw litter, lots of it strewn around the streets. I saw the barrenness left by a recent demolition project right in the centre of the place. A few odd walls were still standing looking out of place and almost lonely. I walked amongst the sparse scattering of shops on the main street and watched as people went about their daily routines. The rain clouds above were almost black and this cast a bleak glaze over the whole of the place.
On one of the odd walls sat a teenage girl, she couldn't have been more than 16 years old and she was pregnant and already had one other child with her. I saw a guy struggling up the hill towards the doctors surgery with two walking sticks to help him he looked extremely pale and withdrawn.
As I walked down one of the streets a couple of guys now in their twenties, who I have talked to on these streets before shouted, "alright Gaz," then proceeded to take the michael out of me by mimicking a priest walking with his hands together.
I laughed to myself!
But didn't laugh for long.
As I walked in and out of the streets today I felt like crying.
I didn't know why.
I began to pray over the houses, the businesses, a couple of Church buildings, the community centre, the streets.
I prayed the Aaronic blessing, The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace.
I prayed it over houses with barbed wire over their fences, I prayed it over overgrown gardens and back alleys. I prayed it down streets lined with houses.
I began to imagine the different needs that probably lay behind those doors.
You don't really need to waste time doing fancy questionnaires to find out what the needs are in your community.
Your eyes will show you.
Your heart will show you.
The Spirit of God will show you.
I began to weep. Not much, but enough to ask God what is going on here Lord?
I heard six words drop into my thoughts.
"You are humbled by the need."
Humbled by the need?
I understood that sentence straight away.
Yeah.
Humbled by the need.
Being effective out on the mission field requires it.
Becoming humbled by the need.
Not in some attempt to become humble or practice getting good at doing humbleness, or carry out a way of being humble that I've read in some book somewhere.
But by becoming humbled by seeing and sensing the things that God is so humbled by.
I guess God is longing for the Church to rediscover humility.
What it means to be humble.
If we aren't humbled by the need in our communities, in our cities, our families, our circles of friends, our workplaces, our streets, then how can we reach out to the need?
My mind hit on a scene from the bible.
Just before Jesus made an amazing miracle happen that saw a crowd of around 5000 hungry, needy, people fed from a few loaves of bread and a few fish, the scriptures give us a glimpse of the motivating factor behind this miracle.
Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
As soon as Jesus saw the need. He was humbled by it.
It fired up a compassion in him that led him to do something about the needs these people had.
He was humbled by the need.
He didn't need to try to be humble.
He just was.
For me it makes so much sense. We can go out into the world to make a difference. We can create mission plans, We can do need surveys, we can do the intentional thing.
But are we humbled by the need?
Do we feel it deep inside?
Do we have a compassion that comes from the heart of Christ himself.
A compassion that spurs us into action. That catapults us into feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, slaking the thirst of the thirsty?
God is relentlessly calling his church to be humbled by the need.
I think all great revivals were birthed in prayer that's for sure. But before the prayers, those prayers came from people who were humbled by the need that surrounded them. By the needs of a nation. It was always the motivating factor.
People moved with compassion.
Is God calling the church to be like a Jeremiah who would weep over a nation?
I think so.
The time is now.
To get into the heartlands of our communities, our circles, our mission fields, and look around. To allow God to show us the need. To allow the compassion of Jesus to touch the nations through us.
To be humbled by the need.
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