Revival 2010 ?

On Sunday the preacher was talking about why we can choose to have revival in 2010. Many would find that surprising or arrogant, that is, that we can choose to have revival and that it is therefore not a 'sovereign' choice of the Holy Spirit. I happen to think that he is correct, we can choose to have revival.

What do I mean by 'revival'? Revival is when positive change happens in the Church and therefore in the community that the Church serves. People find faith in Christ, healing happens in bodies, minds and relationships, the community recognises that the Church and faith in Jesus is producing a positive effect. Crime and immorality reduce significantly whilst personal spirituality and Church community events increase.

Revival happens when Christians start believing that God has provided all we need for all he has asked us to do, nothing is missing. He has already made available all the resources of heaven, all the power of the Holy Spirit and all the authority of Jesus Christ, not 'for the asking' but within the Spirit-filled believer at all times. The believing I mean is not mental assent to a truth but the putting into action of that truth. Revival 'tarries' not because God has not yet decided to act or because we have not prayed enough, but because we have not decided to act.

Why not make 2010 the year in which YOU decide to make revival happen in your life. Make that decision to pray, study, witness (without fear of man), heal the sick (until they do start getting healed), operate in the gifts of the Spirit, both within the Church and in the world. It has been said, and is probably true, that most people don't see healings because they don't 'pray for' enough people! Many drugs used in medicine are only effective in a minority of cases but that minority is sufficient to make the use of the drug worthwhile. If you command healing in a thousand people this year and only 10% get healed then 100 people would be healed because you chose to operate in the authority that Jesus gave to you

Happy Christmas

I am sitting in the 'office' of a beautiful old farmhouse to the south of Cannock surrounded by icy fields and woods. The four cats we are 'looking after' are roaming the meadows and hedges persecuting the wildlife and then returning to demand food. The Lord of the Manor is in his home behind the barn (yes he really is a Lord) and the farmer up the lane is no doubt feeding his cattle on the hay he cut this summer. Catharine is in the oak-beamed kitchen cooking mince pies and sipping sherry. Quite an idyllic Christmas setting!

We will not be watching continuous TV this Christmas, we stopped doing that a few years ago. For some reason we no longer get excited by who is winning talent shows or dancing competitions. A quick glance at Strictly Come Dancing will make you realise that what it is about is women cavorting in the minimum of clothing for the 'entertainment' of the masses. Or am I just a highbrow and a blue-stocking?

On the radio this morning, Radio 4 of course, they were talking about a listener who had complained that a carol at his child's Christmas concert had been 'gender neutralised' so I thought it might be fun to have a go myself at 'politically correcting' a Christmas song.

Original words followed by politically correct words line by line.

Good Christian men rejoice

All folk of faith rejoice

With heart and soul and voice!

With personality and anyway you are able

Give ye heed to what we say

Give ye heed to what we say (audibly and by signing).

News! News!

News! News!

Jesus Christ is born today!

Jesus (one of the avatars of the 'special one') is born today!

Ox and ass before Him bow

He/She bows before the ox and ass

And He is in the manger now

And they are in the hotel now

Christ is born today!

The Avatar is born today!

Christ is born today!

The Avatar is born today!

Have a happy Christmas/Holiday/Winterval

Autumn Term Review

That went quickly! When I look at my stack of notes it is hard to believe how much work we have covered since September 4th. I now have an overfilled lever arch file of handouts and notes. Much of the work has been, for Catharine and I, a review of teaching we received back in the 1970's in Bible studies under the ministry of David Petts at Basingstoke Pentecostal Church. At college, as you might expect, we go into rather more depth, but not much more at least not in the first year. Some of the students have never had any significant Bible teaching so it has been interesting to see their reactions to truth. Sometimes they suddenly realise that God really does love them and really has forgiven them although that is exactly what has been taught from day one. It is strange how the most basic truth can take weeks to blossom into realisation. But perhaps it isn't, after all the word is the seed, and the heart is the ground, and growing into fruit takes time!

For the first time in our lives we are 'children free'. It is a bit like bereavement at first but we are getting used to it and finding other things to fill our time when not at college. Christopher jr leaving home gave me the excuse I needed to buy a nice new laptop. My old Sony Vaio was approaching 9 years old so it has done amazingly well but was getting to be rather too slow for all the video content of the internet these days and it's DVD drive was on it's last legs. Anyhow Christopher has inherited it until he can afford to buy his own and I have a new 17.5 inch Compaq Presario!! BBC I-Player works brilliantly now, who needs a TV license!

Getting back to college, most of the first year students, and a good few of the others don't seem to have much idea of 'being a Berean' (Acts 17:10-11) thinking that if it's taught in college it must be right. They will learn eventually. Even some of the lecturers say 'don't just believe me check it out for yourselves', good advice. There seems to be quite a move towards the concept of 'Open Church' amongst some of the students. This view of church organisation or mode of operation is advocated by people such as James Rutz http://www.jimrutz.com/ . The grace message, as advocated by Charis Bible College and Andrew Wommack does not get a welcome in many 'ordinary' churches so there is something of a tendency to start afresh rather than to try to work within an existing local church.

Enough for now, perhaps I will get back to Open Church in a subsequent blog.