Its been a while

Well over a month has passed since I last blogged and recorded my thoughts on here. Seems strange coming back to it now after a lengthy break, but I just scanning through past entries I can see it’s use as I see what God’s been putting on my heart in recent months. Things recently have been pretty hectic, this past month more so than normal it seems, and a number of times my quiet times have suffered and I find that other commitments and pressures have squeezed God out to the periphery. But I’m off for a few days now, time to recharge the batteries, and more importantly spend quality time chilling out with God, re-connecting to the one whose will I have surrendered my life to.
Have been looking through the Make Poverty History material recently, looking through some of the issues with our youth groups. It’s opened my eyes afresh to God’s heart for social justice and equality for all, and how far mankind has fallen from this as the rich nations get richer and often attribute to rather than alleviate from the injustices and in-equalities that exist in the world today. Its amazing as you read back through Old Testament times, that no matter how far we have progressed technologically, the issues that separated man from God were the same then as they are today. And God still demands the same of his people today as he did in the days of the prophet Zechariah:

Zechariah 7 vs. 9-10
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widower or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other’

I’ve also been involved in planning for the summer, holding an event for young people in the area. Its something I’ve had a desire to do for a while now, and it was awesome to find out that it’s something God has been placing on the hearts of a number of others. After much prayer, and a couple of meetings later we now have an idea of where we feel God is directing us with it. Reach Out is gonna be a week-long mission/gathering of teenagers from our community and the surrounding area. The idea is to provide an environment where young people are presented with a faith that’s real, that reaches beyond the 4 walls of a church, and that is expressed in service and showing Christ’s love in practical ways. They will be involved in servant-hearted, community based projects, breaking down generational and social barriers as they show Christ’s love to the community in practical ways. This will be supplemented with fun activities, outings and sessions that deal with the Big Questions of Life in a culturally relevant format.