SLOW TO LEARN

How many times do we have to make the same mistakes, fall into the same traps, give into the same old temptations before we learn and move on. Its easy to live for God when we are in a nice christian environment and take the time to spend with God. But when we are stuck in the middle of the whirlwind paced everyday life, when our quiet times with God are merely a fleeting glance, these are the times when the Devil will attack us, and when we stand in our own strength we'll fall.

Thats why we've got to rely on the strength God gives us by the Holy Spirit and strive to make God the priority in our lives : not our jobs, not our families, not our loved ones or friends, not ourselves but God. Praise God for His grace, love and mercy that He gives a fallen sinner one last chance. But lets not abuse this grace, but rather let it inspire and enthuse us to live everyday with God at the centre

Having returned from the final evening celebration at the Get a Life conference I suppose these are a few notes on reflection

• First and foremost, what a priviledge it was to be a delegate at this event, to receive the expert teaching, experience the uplifting worship and partake in the group discussions
• What a breath of fresh air and time of excitement when our Church at Presbytery level is indeed considering such issues and seeking guidance from Gods word in doing so
• The thing that has come through most is that God must be central. Its only in the strangth and vision of His Holy Spirit that we can even attempt to reach out in Christian love to the communities in which we are placed.
• The big question is where do we go from here. How do we get others onboard and release this vision and desire for change in our home congregations. What are the practical issues, considerations, outworkings and implications of all this?

• At the conference today we were looking at "Meaningful Worship". Don Carson walked us through John 4 looking at how we should worship in Spirit and truth, taking the example of Jesus encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well as our focus. We looked at how Jesus broke down the barriers of division to address her spiritual needs. The main emphasis was on how God seeks TRUE WORSHIPPERS NOT WORSHIP.
• God centered, authentic and focussed worship is what we must seek to develop. Its who we are worshiping and our attitude, not how we worship and in what form.
• The evening session by Martin Allen looked as the parallels between the Church in Revelation and todays church (Revelation 4+5). Our necessary vision must be the throne of God. The central truth of the bible is that "The Lord Reigns". Therefore we are to worship in reverance and awe, because when we worship we enter into the very presence of the most Holy God.
• Christian worship should be an echo of whats going on in heaven

GET A LIFE CONFERENCE

• Usual mixed emotions experienced before this evening began : apprehension, un-certainty, excitement, anticipation
• Reflecting on it now my feelings are that of joy and excitrment. Joy in that I am fortionate to be at the event and in this position as the church considers its future. Excitement about how God will use this conference to revive a fresh urgency and passion in His church. And on a personal note, excitement and joy for the teaching and experience I will gain from it.
• The main points from this evenings teaching (Exodus 33 vs.12-22) was the revelation of Gods glory in a time of social and moral decay when Moses relentlessly intercedes before God. The challenge for today being the need for intercessors before God.
• Gods glory should be our central focus, not what we do of how we are doing it.
• Gods presence must be what we long for in our lives, not the temporal things that consume so much of our time and energy. Our desire should be to experience His glory more and more

GET A LIFE - God : real and relevant

You may remember I posted about this event that I will be attending a few months back
http://colinforeman.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_colinforeman_archive.html.

Well the event begins next monday night, and having just received the conference material at church yesterday, I can now say I am quite excited about the prospect of what this could become. The conference, run by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, is an attempt to look at meaningful worship, authentic fellowship and effective witness in the society we live in today. In realising that church attendances are falling lower, and people are becoming largely apathetic to church life, this conference seeks to address these issues, and bring about fresh revival for church communities throughout this land.
Further details are available on the PCI website http://www.presbyterianireland.org/getalife/index.html.
I pray that God will use this event to spearhead a fresh revival on these shores again, giving fresh insight and inspiration to those who seek to further His Kingdom through the work of the local churches throughout Ireland.