Border Country

Walking along the border of Malawi and Mozambique is a unique experience considering that we started the pastors training looking at the New covenant ministry of Jesus and that we need to be on his side of the battle when the lines are drawn.

We truly need to be ministers of the New Covenant and understand what this means.

Prayer hill

A short walk to the local prayer hill, a place to get away from the busy village life and hussle. Walking away from the village and mission centre means that the view of Mulanje mountain is broadened... Is this not the purpose of prayer to broaden our hearts before the Lord?

Fresh Soil: You reap what you sow!

Freshly turned soil was a sight all around when arriving in Malawi at such a time of year the many fields have been prepared for the soon to come rains. The weather has turned for the change of the seasons... From the dry season to the rainy. Many fields weeded and turned , some covered in mulch from last year's crop. So much work has been done, early mornings before the heat of the day, hours of labouring, we passed by those having seen rain clouds on the horizon and a cooling of the weather are out with the little ones preparing as much ground as possible. 

Are we ready for the rain? To sow the seeds and have them sown in us also, the scripture tells us that we reap what we sow, so lets sow well and prepare the ground of our hearts.  A time of planting and a harvest awaits.

Vista Living

Living in such a place that has such a dramatic view surrounding ones' daily living should remind us of the bigger and grander story in which our lives are unfolding. We must remember to look up beyond the mountain to a God who is faithful.

On the Way

Well I am on the way to Malawi, I am considering the cost of mission and following the call of God in our lives. It is real.

Spirit led and heart clear...Trust is a big word that leads us into Living Faith. The roads that start with familiarity extend into pathways of hope and expectation.

Directional Living

 

In preparing to go to Malawi to the One Way Mission centre this week I am reminded that there is a deep challenge to keep true to the call of God in our lives, living out the purposes of god with 'directional living'.

Jesus said 'I am the Way the Truth and the Life.'

Jesus must be the destination of mission and ministry, our direction must be toward Him, in Him and for Him.

 



Immune to Mission!

Today I had to go and get some vaccination's for a trip to Malawi, I had the thought of whether I am immune to mission?

Is my daily life so embedded in today's world and societal living that the call to Christian mission and gospel telling (however much has been done over the years) might reach a point in my own self consciousness where I think "I have done enough!" An immunity to mission in the heart is tantamount to taking our eyes off the call; a taking ones hands off the plough... seemingly freed from the responsibility to fight the good fight. Neither previous involvement, experience or age gives us immunity to the call of mission.

We instead need to be re-activated to the message of the gospel, rather than becoming desensitised to the truth.

Jesus Power, Super Power (John 4:46-5:47)

When I have travelled around Africa, I used to hear a song called 'Jesus Power, Super Power' it was sung with real enthusiasm and claimed the power of Jesus over evil and whatever the singers would throw in for good measure, it was a lot of good fun but also with it a side of truth with warning.

Last week at church I spoke on the authority of Jesus with regards to healing, looking at John's gospel chapters 4 and 5, I was struck by the tremendous authority which the Bible tells us is residing with Jesus, not only to heal the sick, but also to give life. On one hand He challenges our fickleness to desire signs rather than Himself; to read the bible but not seek His presence ...but never in the confrontation of our human frailties does He dispense with words of faith that bring life to hopeless situations.

This is not meant to be an in depth study of this passage but a desire to get to the heart of it, the integral truth's which must arrest our hearts to awake us from a spiritual malaise.

The most revealing point is that Jesus shall call all of humanity from the grave to a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous, life from the dead only to be faced with the Judgement of God...sobering stuff indeed.  Would we not rather He ask us now 'Do you want to be made well?'

Jesus is willing to be involved in our lives to restore us in our relationship with God, friends and others. The man who had sat at the pool awaiting a spiritual awakening, waiting in hope of a restoration that was never coming is an example which we should take heed of. He was reliant on a special moment to come to find God, this is a dangerous place to be as the years can go by. Life being lost to just a memory, losing hope as life passes you by, friends disappearing and pragmatism taking hold  to the point of a self realisation that 'I am never going to change!' This is not true and certainly not spiritual to be awaiting that special moment, when the wind is right! It is a certain route to despair.

If we are to learn anything from these chapters of John's gospel we should learn to look to Jesus for our help today, He has all the power to restore us no matter how we have been broken, or by whom. He is the one who will look in on our situations to bring us out of a life awaiting an awakening; to call our hearts to arise with His presence and words of challenge and integrity.  He is true to His own power to change us and our own need to have a willingness to follow his word. 'Get up...take up your bed and walk.'

'Jesus Power' is truly 'Super Power' but it is His alone and ours to follow with obedience.

Bone Deep Living (And poem)

One of my favourite words from Malawi was 'Ungwiro' from the Chichewa language, it has the sense of integrity.  Integrity should be to borrow a phrase 'bone deep', we need this to the core, living for Jesus with all that we are through and through (Hebrews 4:12-13).

We must allow His word to do its work on our hearts, reaching the intention of our actions. His Spirit seeing and seeking truth in us to the core.

To our Lord we must give account, yet we are not alone in this pursuit, we have the help of the Spirit, examples from the past to learn from and Jesus who has gone ahead of us... our direction in life should be hand in hand with His direction, purpose and people.  Allowing our lives to be lived on the surface, is superficial and insubstantial. Truly this would be a life half lived, a heart not beating to the rhythm of a higher call.

 Straight to the heart

Go the words of the Man

Who is living and breathing

Sword piercing

Spirit seeking

 

Enter the REST with

Truth to the core

Trinity living

Through and Through

 

No Superficial Suburbia

Now deep to the core

 Known by Him

  Know Him 

Now

 

 



Condensing the call: poem (Anonymous)

 

 

Integral, call and core

Truth, cross and Jesus

Do we need more?

 

Breaking and making

Lives that as grass 

A purpose for living

Or time just to pass?

 

Words in blog

Or the beat of a heart

The passing of days

Or the hint of a start?

 

Questions, no answers 

A life still to live

Trusting in Jesus

To all do we give?

Mobile mission

Street evangelism... reaching out to those we have no prior knowledge of is a world of risk in an age where we are planned, precise and pre-cautious. I write this prior to going out on a church outreach to international students...is my heart open to "whosoever will may come"? I hope so.

We should not plan interaction out of the day; we are relational and the world is crying out for real relationships... In reaching out our lives must also reach out also, a willingness to meet the suffering of others without fancy answers but simply love unconditional, steeped in the integral grace of the gospel of Jesus.

Ready or not here I go!

Condensing the call

There is a call for the people of Jesus to live with something integral, at the core; living in the truth...the cross of Jesus making and breaking us; centering us in the life and death of Jesus; the pivot of our choices in today's society.

Working out a life that has Jesus as the most integral part of it...giving meaning and purpose from the absoluteness of His Being when our lives and flesh are but as grass.