In my last post I was looking forward to the weekend in Ganaway with the young people from our youthclub, somewhat apprehensive as I prepared talks last minute, and racked my brain thinking through the things I had probably forgotten to do. But looking back in reflection now 3 words spring to mind : "God Is Good". The weekend was awesome, what can I say : memorable, fun, action-packed, life-changing, challenging, relationship-strengthening, bridge-building, barrier-breaking; all these terms don't really come close to describing the experiences of this weekend. And theres one reason why : Gods presence. In safety, in conversations, in the weather, in providing for the things we had overlooked, in the challenges from his word, in the fun, in the laughter, in the silence God was present in it all.
In that environment it really was great to see our young people letting their hair down and enjoying the gift of life that God has blessed us with, having the freedom to do so in their own way. Everyone i'm sure will have been challenged as we considered Running the Race, I know I was, considering who or what we are running our lives for, how we can face the hurdles and struggles of life, how we can run this race with passion giving it our all, and how we are representing Christ as His ambassadors here on earth. There was certainly some food for thought, and I trust and pray that God by his spirit will nourish and grow the seeds planted through the weekend, bearing fruit in the lives of the young people he cares so passionately about.

Now my thoughts turn to the year ahead, as the organisations start back, and as we look to move on with the momentum built through the weekend, and carry this through the year ahead. We must seek to nurture and develop the relationships over the weekend throughout our programmes in the year ahead, and indeed seek to draw others from the fringes in. And to do this we must fall on our knees and cry out to our Father, seeking His guidance, strength and direction as we look forward to what He has planned for the year ahead with our young people at Trinity.

...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us

Hebrews 12 vs.1
Were taking our young people away for a weekend to Ganaway Outdoor Activity Centre, and the verses above are our theme for the weekend, looking at the analogy of running the Christian Race. As I have been thinking through this passage and pondering its implications I have been greatly challenged by it. Am I running this race with an indescribable passion, am I 100% focussed on the prize, am I looking only to Jesus : the author and perfector of our faith, am I casting aside the sin that so easily entangles ????
And with the olympics now over, and having witnessed the singleminded sacrifice, dedication and perseverance of these athletes who wholeheartedly pursue the goal of olympic gold. As you watch the inexpressible joy, pride and elation of the victorious athlete who finally achieves what they have strived toward all their life. These emotions and feelings are what the New Testament writers are getting at when they use this analogy.
Am I running with this passion, dedication and single mindedness; am I persevering through lifes hurdles by focussing on eternal rewards; am I actively removing the sin that entangles and weighs me down in this race; am I giving it my all in the same manner as our mentor and role model Christ did ???????
Certainly alot of things to mull over, challenge and inspire in these passages.
1 Corinthians 9 vs. 24-27, Hebrews 12 vs. 1-3

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