Monday, February 21, 2005

Some stats worth thinking about :
  • The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of the world's countries) is less than the wealth of the world's three richest people combined.
  • 20% of the population in the developed nations, consume 86% of the worlds goods.

Just a couple of stats that struck home with me, for more check out this link.

How do we as Christians react to these injustices in the world, what is our response : do we even care as we sit in the luxuries of western civilisation?

Monday, February 07, 2005

Working through Frustrations

This past week has been an interesting one, lots on as always, but a week where I found myself really struggling with issues regarding church, and as a result struggling to connect with God. Church are always interesting places, and this past week has been fun from what i've heard from a number of people. It all stems from the realm of worship, more specifically how we do it on a practical level ( church choir, organist etc. etc.). I wasn't at the meeting myself because I don't see worship as my role in the church, but it seems to be adversely affecting the work we are doing with the youth. This is my main point of struggle : how do we overcome the obstacles and barriers placed in our way in engaging our youth within the formal body we call church. All-age, inter-generational, corporate family based worship : how does that look and work.
I feel sometimes that no matter what we do with the youth, engaging with them on a relational basis, sharing the love of Christ with them in a practical and relevant format : if we cannot bridge the divide that brings them into the corporate body we call church, then where does that leave us.........
As I have struggled through things in my head, chatting through it with friends and family, I find myself coming to the only place I know will be of help, and thats to my knees crying out to my Heavenly Father who knows exactly how these issues that seem like obstacles to me can be smoothed out and overcome.
Resourced Out
Well in my last post I was heading off to the Christian resources exhibition at the Kings Hall, and overall I would say it was a beneficial experience. Came home from it laden down with information and sample resources from a number of organisations involved in a wide range of fields. Some people doing really cool stuff, some of it not my thing, but amazing to see how God is working through so many people and reaching so many lives in a number of different ways.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

A few things that have been catching my eye lately while surfing around the web :

The Make Poverty History campaign http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/home.html is a great opportunity to highlight poverty and trade justice issues on a global level, seeking to influence governments to act now on world poverty. As christians we should be concerned deeply about the world we live in, and the many injustices that exist in it, why? Because God cares, so we should also. We are to be his voice, his hands, his feet into all the world, so let's start being that!!

A number of sites have further info on all this stuff including :
http://www.guardian.co.uk/hearafrica05/
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/
http://www.tearfund.org/Campaigning/
http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/campaign/mph/index.htm

Tonight i'm heading to the following event: http://www.creonline.co.uk/frameset.asp?show=northernireland, i'm sure i'll write about it after


And yet again I find another month has passed, and the intention of journaling on a regular basis has fallen by the wayside. Have thought about updating this on a number of occasions over the last month, but never really got round to it until now. So why now....... Well I guess i've come to realise it's importance in my spiritual journey, it's a means of recording what God's been placing on my heart since this journey began, so I guess i'm coming back afresh with the intention to journal more regularly once again. I'm sure it'll fall by the wayside again as different things eat into my time, but my intention now is to keep it regular.
So whats been happening in life recently, well pretty much the same stuff as always that has been the routine of life recently. Work, youthwork at church in its various forms, spending time with Helen and football(training and matches). On the spiritual side it's been abit of a rollercoaster-ride recently, some high's, some low's and plenty of bumps along the way. It's when you get close to God that Satan attacks you with the same temptations he knows you'll give in to, and brings you right down again, wedging the gulf between you and God with some form of sin.
So where do I go from here, well there's only one place I know, and thats back to the throne of grace to plead forgiveness, prayerfully crying out to God to empower me to resist the Devils temptations, and grow ever closer to Him.
On the youthwork front i've still a burning desire to reach out to the young people in our community and tell them of the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ, especially those on the fringes and outside of the body of the church. So often all I can see are barrier's and obstacles along the way, but that's because i'm looking at things from down here. It's only when I see things from God's perspective, the almighty creator of heaven and earth, that the obstacles and barriers fall into insignificance, and his perfect plan is revealed.
So my prayer is that I would feel the very heartbeat of God, that I would be directed along the path that He has laid out before me, that He would be my strength in times of weakness, placing Him at the centre of everything I do.