Interference.

Interference messes with the signal.
STORMS, PEOPLE, THINGS – they can all have an effect on your signal with God. With your ability to hear from God. To recognise His voice.

All are legitimate.
All happen to everyone.
All are normal in doing life.

But here’s the thing. We don’t know what interference people are dealing with, so never assume that just because people look okay that everything is okay. Never assume that they are NOT at Church because they are on holiday…maybe there is some interference. Maybe a STORM is hitting them hard, maybe PEOPLE are pulling them in all kinds of directions, maybe THINGS are becoming a distraction for them and filling their life.

If we don’t learn to recognise the interference for what it is then we will get knocked off course. We will find ourselves somewhere and wonder how we got there. Interference undealt with can see an individual end up in a DEAD ZONE and eventually SWITCHED OFF to God completely. Mature Christians should have enough about them to cope with interference. To hold on to their faith. To stand on a strong foundation, using the Word, moving forward, staying close to God. Younger Christians may struggle.

So here’s the challenge:
Watch out for others. Make a call. Send a text. Notice that people are missing. Never assume that someone else will contact them…YOU DO IT!! Help people travel on the journey. This is the responsibility of those further on in the faith. You may not be leading many to the Lord but you can help those who have made that great decision to stay on course. Think of someone who you haven’t seen for a while in Church and give them a ring.

I think if we do this the stories of people’s lives made stronger in God will demonstrate the power of such a simple act of connection. I wonder what the knock on effect to the local church might be…share your experience here.

Stood in the worship last Sunday morning at Xcel Darlington and a thought dropped in my spirit. As I looked at the flat-screen tv – instead of seeing the words of the songs I saw two small words, jumping about. NO SIGNAL. And it was almost like a nudge from God…that’s the issue with too many Christians, I’m trying to get a word to them but there is NO SIGNAL.

3 reasons why your signal can be low?
INTERFERENCE
DEAD ZONES
SWITCHED OFF

Here’s a thought: there is nothing wrong with the phone. It has everything it needs to fulfil its function. The problem is US, we are in the wrong place, or just not paying enough attention to our surroundings. Move into the right area and suddenly your phone is going crazy receiving texts & emails.

Maybe the same could be said of God. It’s not that He is not working, not listening, not there. God has not moved. It’s NOT God…it’s US!! Going to unpack this on Sunday. There is a challenge in here for each one of us as Christians…to make sure that we keep the signal strong.

I have just finished reading through the Bible in 6 months, something which I have done for the last 5 or 6 years. It was a discipline I put in place because I wasn’t reading my Bible enough, if at all, although I was devouring other books easily.

Now I look forward to the start of the New Year and commencing to read through again. I have been asked if I have a plan – not particularly. I just start in Genesis and read through, aiming to complete around 7 Chapters each day. Some days I read more, other days I read less and do you know what – some years it’s taken until September to complete the read through, it’s not a ‘must-do’ thing but a desire.

Why read the Bible through?
Not to prove my worth.
Not to tick a box either.

I read it to get to know more about my God. The closer I get to Him, the more I want to read. The more I read, the closer I get to Him, the more I learn about how God views life, the more I learn about how God wants me to live my life.

I do study. I like to dig into the scripture too. I ‘bookmark’ verses (especially easy with the Bible on my phone now) and during the 2nd half of the year I will journey through some of them and dig a little deeper into them. I may even preach out of some of them. I definitely want to learn more, discover more, get some revelation.

It’s great to read how other Pastors view this too. Mark Batterson is reading the Bible through the year. Here are some thoughts he recently shared. What are your thoughts? I commented that some may view this as ‘religious’, especially the J I Packer quote which I put on my twitter – his reply is great and makes the point so much better than I can…

If it comes across as legalistic I think it can be a turn-off. So I totally understand the reaction. But it might be because it’s convicting too…

Mark

Spoke to the youth leaders tonight. Discussed a new thought with them from a verse that jumped out at me this year while I was completed my read through of the Bible. Check out 1 Cor 9:24: In a race – all the runners run – but only one gets the prize. RUN IN SUCH A WAY AS TO GET THE PRIZE.

This begs the question: are you running to win? Starting to think about this so these are just some intial thoughts…

1. It’s not the taking part that counts
- it’s not about being on the team
- it’s not about being at church every week
- it’s not about doing your bit
It’s about WINNING Winning is what matters!! Then you get the prize

So here’s the next Question: What does winning look like for you?
- if you don’t know what the prize looks like how do you know you are running the right race
- you need to be specific about what winning looks like for you so that you know you are winning

Is it to see salvations?
Is it to know that God is changing lives?
Is it about seeing people getting connected?

You can only be ready to win if you know what you are aiming for.

2. You’ve got to WANT it
If you have to want to win, otherwise what you are saying is that you don’t care. If you don’t care then when things get tough you will give up instead of digging in. That attitude is what makes a champion. You need to do everything you can to give yourself every chance of winning.

So here’s another Question: What does it take to put yourself in a winning position?

Choose your race and commit to be the best at it
Train for the race. Get yourself a coach, put your disciplines in place and stick to them.
Have the right pre-race regime. Don’t come in cold, you would lose a race like that. Pray up, come ready.
Get a Race Strategy. Know what you are aiming to achieve and work towards it.
Performance Analysis – did you win?

Anyway – its just the start of a thought at the moment but I want to make sure that I put myself in the best position to win and not run aimlessly. What do you think?

Some books come across your path at just the right timer and this is definitely one of those books. As someone who holds the role of Service Pastor for Xcel Darlington, how to connect, create growth and love people has taken on a new level of meaning. This book then was very challenging and thought-provoking.

Occasionally you read statements and the simplicity of what you are reading is like ‘WOW’. Taking on board the real-life stories just adds the right dimension, proving a convincing point.

Challenging thoughts: My focus needs to change!
‘Our responsibility is not to make people grow or change. Our task (as Church leaders) is to create the right soil, a rich healthy environment, in which people can grow up in faith…’ ‘God is responsible for the growth, for changed hearts, but the soil is the responsibilty of the leader and Christ-followers who make up the Church.’

To give someone the chance to grow spiritually, they must be given the right food. That’s one of the roles of being their Pastor. That’s a continuous challenge.

To be honest I enjoyed the journey that John Burke took me on through this book – helping to build a picture of what it takes to reach the emerging generation. Building trust, answering the right questions, creating an environment of acceptance and a culture of growth. The chapter on creating a culture of family was read at just the right time, reminding me that life in Church is about people, not about programmes. Being part of the family can help change someones life.

Difficult to express how this book impacted me, except to say ‘Thanks’ to the author for putting pen to paper and being ready to share honestly what it takes to grow a life-changing, hope bringing church in the 21st Century. I would recommend this to Pastors and Church leaders. Get your copy here

It’s been great to read the Gospel of Matthew – especially knowing that many others were reading the same scriptures, at the same time. Seemed to bring an extra dimension to the whole thing – great discussions along the way.

My final thoughts:
Matthew 26: Don’t follow Jesus at a distance.
That’s what Peter did. When you follow at a distance it makes it easier to deny.
Sticking closer to Jesus means there should be less danger of anything getting in between you & your Saviour.

Matthew 28: Go…
It’s a simple mandate really. 4 things that we can all be involved in – at any level…
GO
MAKE DISCIPLES
BAPTISE THEM
TEACH THEM

So…
what did you enjoy the most reading through Matthew?
what challenged you the most when reading Matthew?
have you changed anything as a result of reading Matthew?

Jesus was not one for wasteful words.

If Jesus spoke – you better be listening. Maybe people don’t read the Bible because they consider ignorance as a reasonable excuse. It’s not.

‘For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted’

Easy to ‘big up’ yourself.
Staying humble is a discipline.
It brings rewards of its own kind.

If Jesus said it, then it must be right. All we have to do is live it – easy, right?

This is a great scenario.

Two blind men sat by the roadside. They hear that Jesus is going by. They start shouting, to get his attention. The crowd tell them to shut up. They shout even louder. Jesus stops (but you have to remember that they do not not see any of this unfolding).

I reckon the crowd went quiet. They must have wondered what was going on. I don’t think they ever thought that Jesus would actually stop or even more than that talk to them. Then comes what could be consider a moment of sarcasm by Jesus. Isn’t this the MOST OBVIOUS QUESTION EVER!!

Stood in from of two blind men Jesus asks them:
‘WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?’

But here’s the thing. Maybe Jesus asks that question of us but we are too busy ‘doing life’ that we miss it. These guys did not. They answered, straight back, no hesitation, they were not about to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime ‘WE WANT OUR SIGHT.’

How do you think you would answer a question like that?

I love that Jesus says that to be called great in the kingdom of heaven you must humble yourself like a child. Up to a certain age a child has great innocence, a simplicity of faith, a complete trust in those closest to them. Only when we grow up do we become argumentative, challenging, moody, small in faith, ask why rather than why not and generally lose sight of what it takes be truly great.

Maybe that’s a generalisation.

I love that Jesus lets us in on a kingdom principle. Whatever we bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. This is an incredible statement. Dare I say an under-estimated statement.

Come on – do we forget the authority we have?
If two of us agree about anything we ask for, it will be done for us! Amazing.

Top read posts from reading the Gospel of Matthew Matthew 1, Matthew 6, Matthew 5

‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’

Enough said!

If we actually did this on a consistent basis – what a difference that could make?
As I follow – I must remember to keep putting MY stuff down so that I can pick up what GOD needs me to hold.

How’s your walk?