Friday, 16 February 2018 | Blog, Catching the Wave
Wow! I am the child of the King.
I once saw a little girl with a t-shirt that said on the back “do you know who my Dad is?”
On the front it said “I am a King’s Kid!”
I loved her confidence and the reality is that we all can know this confidence today, if we will only accept Jesus into our heart as Lord and Saviour.
What a privilege to have God lavish (rich, abundant, overflowing) love on us so that we might become His Children.
There’s still time to get involved in catching the wave, it’s not too late to get started. If you want a book there’s still some available from Fulwood Free Methodist Church. There’s also an option to get the daily prayer thoughts delivered to your email via our friends at trypraying via this link. Enter your name and email address and you’ll be subscribed to the list once you’ve verified who you are by clicking on a link in the email they send you.
These 40 days of prayer are part of our Focus on 40 as we look forward to celebrating our 40th Anniversary as a community nearer the end of February 2018. We don’t want to just be looking back on the 40 years that have already been, we want to be looking forward to the next generation and all that God has planned.
Thursday, 15 February 2018 | Blog, Catching the Wave
I recently saw the re-entry capsule that astronaut Tim Peake returned to earth in. And I also experienced it as a virtual reality journey. All the wonders of space and then the fearful wonder of returning home to planet earth. Journeys can be like this.
I love the idea of space being a place. Not outer space. Inner space. When we ‘come near to God’ we are deliberately making space a place. Our space in our time to be in a place where we have time, make time for God. And again and again, it is making and taking time which defines our friendship with Him.
Place in prayer is a privilege. I love the idea of Hebrews 10:19-22 where the writer sees us coming into God’s presence with holy boldness. We don’t come cringing, but he does see us coming somehow through the cross as he combines the picture of the temple veil being torn in two with the broken, torn body of Jesus. We come through these right into the VERY presence of God.
The Hebrews writer says it’s a new and living way. If I could add anything, I would simply say that this is an awesome privilege, a grace, a space; in His presence. If I miss it, I miss out. If I don’t make the space, I won’t find the place – of His very presence.
Andrew Gardner
Thursday, 15 February 2018 | Blog, Catching the Wave
Starting a journey can be exciting, but it’s continuing the journey that gets us to our destination. Today we take our second step on our catching the wave journey and take a step closer to our destination.
Where do you catch the wave? Do you have a special place where you always go? You may even have a specific time when you stop? It may depend upon the day of the week, your weekly routine or whether you work shifts? I have a specific seat at home that I like to sit in, but sometimes my routine, or for another reason, I find myself somewhere else. Today it was in the car park at work, in my car. It doesn’t matter to God where we are, what matters is that we stop and we take time, God can meet us anywhere.
Our thoughts today focus on returning to God our Father, moving closer to Him. I was particularly struck by this though coming out of Jesus’ parable that we know as The Prodigal Son in Luke 15:
“So we are invited to make a move, to return. If we fail in this then we live uncomfortably with distance – and like the prodigal – we’re deprived of the good that God would do. Drawing close to God is what we do as Christians.”
There’s an invitation out there for each of us; like all invitations we need to accept it, we need to RSVP which is what these 40 days are all about.
Let’s continue to ask God for our “three friends”, our “big issue” and for “a new wave of revival”.
There’s still time to get involved in catching the wave, it’s not to late to get started. If you want a book there’s still some available from Fulwood Free Methodist Church. There’s also an option to get the daily prayer thoughts delivered to your email via our friends at trypraying via this link. Enter your name and email address and you’ll be subscribed to the list once you’ve verified who you are by clicking on a link in the email they send you.
These 40 days of prayer are part of our Focus on 40 as we look forward to celebrating our 40th Anniversary as a community nearer the end of February 2018. We don’t want to just be looking back on the 40 years that have already been, we want to be looking forward to the next generation and all that God has planned.
Wednesday, 14 February 2018 | Blog, Catching the Wave, Church Life
Today we set out on a journey of prayer through 40 days and through Lent using the catching the wave, 40 day prayer guide from trypraying.
Beginnings can be exciting, sometimes they come with anticipation, at other times they come with dread or even intrigue. However you viewed the opening of the first page of catching the wave today I pray that as we progress along this journey your emotions will be turned to amazement and wonder as you see what God is doing as you pray.
We start our journey by thinking about three things:
- My three friends – praying for people to become Christians.
- My big issue – that situation, person or trial into which you want to ask God to intervene.
- Catching the wave – praying for revival for “communities saturated with the presence of God.”
If you are new to prayer, or even if you aren’t, those might seem like strange things for you to pray. The reality is, these are all things that God cares about. He cares about you three friends more than you do. He cares about your big issue and knows about it. He cares about the people in your area.
How does He care? He cares as a Father, and that’s where we are starting our journey, thinking about God as “Our Father”. Here on the very first day we are thinking about God as a protecting father; a father who is looking out for us and a father who wants good things for us. Our Bible reading for today are some words of Jesus:
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:9-11
There’s a promise for you in those words: “how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” I’m not sure I need to say anymore.
There’s still time to get involved in catching the wave, it’s not to late to get started. If you want a book there’s still some available from Fulwood Free Methodist Church. There’s also an option to get the daily prayer thoughts delivered to your email via our friends at trypraying via this link. Enter your name and email address and you’ll be subscribed to the list once you’ve verified who you are by clicking on a link in the email they send you.
These 40 days of prayer are part of our Focus on 40 as we look forward to celebrating our 40th Anniversary as a community nearer the end of this month We don’t want to just be looking back on the 40 years that have already been, we want to be looking forward to the next generation and all that God has planned. Let’s continue to ask God for our “three friends”, our “big issue” and for “a new wave of revival”:
