Wednesday 7 October 2015

New Season of Expectancy


As we enter the final quarter of 2015, there is such an air of expectancy being reported from all round the world – and it is replicated in CLG. The Cell Groups have started afresh with a new passion within individuals to grow as disciples of Jesus, and finding new heart to share the love of God into the communities we represent.

A testimony of God’s goodness and answers to prayer on many different facets came with the marriage of Claire Scudamore and Steve Battershill, and we share in the joy set before them – they are mightily blessed. On the same day, Samuel Benjamin Grist literally bounded into the  world, his torn umbilical cord being sealed by the Father who loves every one of His creation. A miracle baby indeed.

So a day of double joy.

The Father Heart Course begun in September was privileged with a talk from Barry Adams, author of the ‘Father’s Love Letter’ and Founder of Fatherheart.tv at the end of September, which opened up so much of the Father’s love for us, epitomised and represented completely by Jesus Christ our Lord.  And there is so much more to come.

Instituting a regular Healing Service out of a passion to see more people healed of sickness and disease, despair and hopelessness, carries our hope for more of the Father’s love to be poured out on visitors coming with purpose. Recognising the impact of so many healing testimonies in CLG, every healing demonstrating the truth of Jesus sacrifice, and every testimony of Jesus being the spirit of prophecy, is the springboard for more.

We praise God for His eternal goodness to us.

Thursday 14 August 2014

Challenging Times

So much happening, trying to keep up to date is a matter of taking time out!
But this month is one to remember. The European  Leaders Advance Conference in Harrogate was inspiring in many ways, not least from the attendance from all over Europe and parts of the Middle East. To witness the healing of a broken leg, dyslexia, mental defects, blindness, spinal injuries - to name but a few that were demonstrated - added powerful truth of the testimony of Jesus. And hearing the testimony in the church of Derek Wall, who was diagnosed last year with terminal oesophageal cancer, received prayer, began with healing in his legs so he could walk without sticks at his first Alpha Holy Spirit encounter, was last Wednesday week signed off from the hospital as being completely clear of cancer! All praise to Almighty God.

Building the foundations for cell groups is well under way, and congratulations to all who have made such a great commitment towards the growth of this discipleship energy. The next steps in growing are nearly upon us - growing pains are necessary - we all go through them - but the results are all the more worth while.

While we are growing, we need to keep even more aware of what is happening in the region, the country and the nations. Corruption and violence is on the increase, but so is the revival of the Holy Spirit working throughout the world in power and love. The church has a major role to play in prayer, and we will find fulfilment and promise as we see prayer answered. The one thing that people who do not know Jesus need in the first instance is hope. When they find that in us, they will find truth and hope in Jesus.

May August be a great month for developing new relationships, and helping the community.

Tuesday 29 April 2014

Times and Seasons


 

 There are many events in the news in this season, but four stand out in the broad view to my mind. The increasing antipathy towards Israel, the four blood moons, the impending vote for Scottish independence from Great Britain – and the affirmation and oppositions to this United Kingdom being a Christian Nation. They may seem separate, but I see connections

Britain, a tiny land, once held great influence over much of the globe. She vigorously defended her territories, and was lauded for her success. Israel, a tiny land, has influenced with great success medical treatments and appliance innovations that have benefitted the whole globe, and instituted successful financial systems that prospered the world. She defended herself from constant attack, and was and is vilified. A strange hypocrisy. Why is Israel so important?

The four blood moons are rare, but what makes the current time unique is that each blood moon falls on a specific Judaic/Christian date – Passover ( Apr 14,  Apr 15) and Feast of Tabernacles, celebrated to honour he time when God said He was coming to dwell with His  people (Sep 14, Sep 15). God’s promises in Scripture would be confounded if they were found not to be true, and Israel figures large in these promises.

Today’s true Christianity, which seeks to show love, honour, kindness and strong moral leadership through Jesus Christ seems to engender as much aggravation in opponents as Israel does to much of the world .  As a Scot with a long Scottish heritage, proud to be British and Christian, I am saddened by violent Scottish Nationalism, and regret Scots outside Scotland are not allowed a vote. In unity, in being united, we are strong together as a Nation. In the Church, when we are one in Christ we are strong together, and in Community, whether family or cell group, when we are united in looking out for one another, we are strong together. There is much to look forward to, but it is in the love of God that we can accomplish great things, in love, peace and freedom. Like it or not, believe it or not, there is a spiritual conflict raging. When the good are silent, evil can triumph. So take the opportunity to speak out for the benefit of all – we do not want anyone we know to be lost.

 

Monday 27 January 2014

2014 Year of Prophecy. Get ready!

This first blog for a very long time is like a geyser that has been building up under pressure, and is ready to burst forth!!
2013 ended with prayer times that praised God for the battles fought and victories gained - and with great expectation for 2014 as all the prophetic words were for God doing a new thing. They confirmed past words and strengthened our hope for this year. mostly it has been that this is the year the Holy spirit will pour down on all who are willing to receive, here in CLG, in Westbury, in the regions, and in the nations. Greet this year with excitement and expectation!

These first three weeks have been amazing! The year began quietly with answered prayers in many small petitions - then a call that resulted in the salvation of a long time acquaintance, and subsequent attendance at Alpha. Without fanfare, but with much prayer, the Alpha course and Youth Alpha course have begun, and with guests thirsty for understanding.
Last Sunday, at fellowship lunch, with no salad, Fatimah's small salad bowl was put into a very large pot and prayed over. All who wanted salad had more than enough, and several had two helpings!
Most exciting of all has been the healing of a 17 month old baby boy diagnosed with leukaemia, with a platelet count at 12. After several blood transfusions taking the count only up to 13, with considerable persevering prayer taking it to 34, then trust, with fasting also, the count overnight went up to 205, and the doctors checking the blood could not find any leukaemia cells, and they pronounced it could only be a miracle. Praise God - He is so good!

Those who are following Catch the Fire 20th Anniversary - Revival Alliance in Toronto will be aware, but for those who are not - take note. The move of the Holy Spirit in 1994 that has now covered the  globe was the first 'gentle' wave to prepare the Church for the coming mighty wave that will go to the streets. For us at CLG the year has started with indicators of so much more to come.

We truly have an awesome God. If ever there was a time to prepare our hearts, to hunger and thirst for God's presence, to seek holiness and righteousness in our daily life - now is the time. The wave is coming! Get ready!

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Life in the Christ Lane



 Two scriptures to encourage and epitomise who we should develop to be.

Romans 6:4-7  4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,  6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.

1 Corinthians 6:17-19  17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 

It’s really from this place that it becomes possible to recognize more of who we are, or who we are able to develop to become – as we really ponder and meditate on this verse. We may not be Christ-like – in fact much of the time we certainly are not, but we are called and enabled to grow in Christ-likeness, because of our new DNA in the spirit.

A new born baby, especially one that has perhaps had a difficult birth, may look nothing like either parent except to the most doting of mothers – I remember seeing one of our family household just after birth, when the skull was still soft, and looked like the Mekon for those old enough to remember Dan Dare in the Eagle, or perhaps like Megamind for those in the modern cartoon media….whatever. The fact is the head was out of shape, and the baby looked like a car-wreck to anyone unfamiliar with the birthing process. But it did not take long for things to settle, and indeed as the baby became a child and then a teenager, parental likeness became more and more apparent. So it is a natural process, that we, as children of God, might be a total mess when we are born again, but as we grow and learn how to mature, the parental likeness will happen – if we choose to apply ourselves to the task.

The first effort is of course learning obedience. Much as a baby’s first word after the odd gurgle, dribble and Mummy, will probably be ‘no!’, new born Christians also struggle a little with obedience. And as we grow in spirit, just as in natural world growth, if we do not learn obedience, we remain immature and fail to fulfill our various destinies.
And in the opening scripture from  Romans 6, it is in truly understanding what Jesus did for us on the cross, and in His resurrection, that we become His harvest, carrying His presence throughout the world.

When we achieve that in ourselves, and even just in the process, we have much to offer those in the world who do not have that strength through Christ. We have a precious gift to give. The question is – how do we release the gift, who to, and when?

The way to know is to seek God, inquire of Him – He has the wisdom. That is why we are all doing the Hearing God Course, is it not? The key to success is to hear God's heart, and align ourselves to Him and His way, rather than presenting our own agenda for Him to comply with!

As you also heard over the last couple of Sundays, the road to the Promised Land has two main elements – obedience towards God, and the provision of God. He does not ask us to do anything without giving us the ability and the authority and the power in Him to accomplish it. In fact, when you recall the story of how the Gibeonites fooled the Israelites, and so caused them to disobey God, they are also told that they made the mistake because they did not inquire of the Lord, which they had been required to do. One disobedience sets off consequences of disobedience. It is just the same today. It might start with judgment, or gossip, and ends up with antagonisms, splits, loss of ministry, soured relationships – just what satan loves to achieve, especially amongst God’s people. 

John 15:9-15  9 " As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.  12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  14 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  15 "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

He calls us friends. Friendship invokes trust – trust is a two-way street, and it needs to be earned. But also and often trust has to be given first and honoured. When we are entrusted with someone’s life, hurts, personal embarrassments, whatever – we are being trusted to behave with honour, and not rush out and write an exposee for the front page of the Sun!!!

When trust is honoured, more trust ensues. We have learned to trust God, because when we have applied His word to basic truths, He has honoured us with His word – and we did not try to run before we could walk – we simply saw the scripture which said ‘Heal the sick’ – so we did – and God did! Once we learned to trust God, He was then able to teach us about the challenges we would face; that when people were not healed when we prayed, it was not a problem at God’s end – He already had our trust. So we were able to learn how to look for other hindrances and obstacles instead.

Now some of you may not have seen answers that you expected or wanted from prayer. However, I do not think we now have anyone in the church who has not witnessed at first hand an answered prayer for healing, whoever it was that prayed. And everyone has heard testimony after testimony of the goodness of God, and all that he is doing and has done all over the world at this current time. So there is great opportunity to trust God.

Now consider the community we meet on a daily basis. What do we do in our daily encounters that cause trust to grow? If you haven’t thought about it before, start today. In your daily activity, make a conscious effort to develop relationship and trust towards yourself amongst members of the community. Those who respond are the first ones to cultivate to the point where they will trust you when you offer to pray, or you invite them to a function. Without trust, it is only by a seriously strong word and unction from the Lord that would develop a path to salvation for someone who is otherwise a stranger – and that does happen, and will happen – but only if you have developed the ability to hear God clearly and shown yourself trustworthy to be put in charge of His most valuable jewel – someone ready for salvation.

For trust to be developed, people need to know you are safe, a port in the storm of life, as it were. They also have to have the confidence to see the Christ Spirit in you, even if they do not know what it is they are seeing. Whatever the circumstances, we are all going to coming up against challenges that are beyond our ability to help – but never beyond God’s. Recognise what God is doing, and also what God is not doing, and seek His heart. And in all things, give thanks to God.
 
We are in the Christ lane, it is privileged, carries responsibilities, and needs attention. But it is a journey of joy, if we will keep it so.   

Friday 2 November 2012

New Day Fresh Start

A New Day and a Fresh Start.
That is one of the joys of walking with the Lord. Every morning we can review how we have grown (or not) and take a fresh step forward. Mark Virkler has opened many hearts to the process of hearing God - the simple process of being still, setting vision, spontaneous flow and journaling - and this has brought a new dynamic to all those who have a passion to draw closer to God, and seek Him with all diligence.
Every time I step out in faith to do something that entails trusting in God's word, taking the risk of getting adverse reactions from people, and seeing the goodness of god rise up, I just get reignited and excited again and again. For those who want to experience that joy, the Healing Room on the 4th Saturday of the month is a great way to take part. And every Sunday there are constant encouragements from the Lord's presence - whether it's from the worship, or the answered prayers and testimonies. We live in exciting times, and even though apathy and unbelief may be found everywhere, we can carry a passion that will set fire to every place, if we keep our flame hot.
How to do that? Take God at His word - He authorised His followers to command healing, to bring the Good News of the Kingdom, to disciple the nations. So let us be doers of the Word of God.
Each week, I hope to bring a post of the Sunday talk, or the testimony of God's goodness and love, and His power. So keep watching!
Bless you all.

Friday 10 June 2011

A Great Start to June

June 2011 is proving to be an amazing month for fresh revelation of Joy and Hope.
Those who were privileged to be at Salisbury Vineyard on 1 June with Steve and Wendy Backlund were blessed with the insights imparted on living life with joy and laughter, and allowing hope to lift our emotions to new heights of confidence. As science has belatedly demonstrated that which the Scriptures have promoted from the beginning, a merry heart is good medicine, and laughter encourages health in all ways in the body. Any words spoken that do not line up with the word of God are lies that we should laugh at, rather than believe. And we did a lot of laughing. Check www.ignitedhope.com for more of Steve Backlund.
The following Monday, we joined revivalist leaders from different streams converging on Bath for a Global Legacy Regional Gathering, with Paul and Sue Manwaring. The growing emphasis amongst revivalist churches to focus on relationship rather than doctrine, apostleships rather than pastorates, means a greater heart for unity than ever before. Where there are differences, relationships do not break apart in the way that doctrinal groupings can do and have done. We are beginning to fulfil Jesus' greatest prayer, that we would love one another, and be one, even as the Father and He are one. And it is such joy to be family together. Any church leader who reads this blog, and does not know Global Legacy Network of Churches, check it out at www.igloballegacy.org
We enjoy sending out small prophetic teams to help and enable other church groups and fellowships to move in the prophetic, and to practise their sense in hearing God. And we have been privileged this week to be in the presence of God with a wonderful group in Broad Chalke, Salisbury - pure joy.
Finally we had a small team joining with  other leaders at Winchester Vineyard, where we were again ministered to by Steve and Wendy Backlund and their team, together with Hugh and Ginny Cryer. The one-liners of great wisdom, instruction, revelation and transformation came so fast, and I believe no-one came away from that meeting unchanged, but all rteaching for new heights in their relationship with our wonderful God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
There is so much more coming - it is really time to get ready...get ready.....get ready!!!!