Month: October 2013

Pierce the Halloween darkness

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halloweenHalloween: Harmless treat, or trick with darkness at its heart?

Its estimated that 59 per cent of Brits and over 77 per cent of 18-24 year-olds celebrate Halloween. That’s a lot of people buying into the ‘fun’ of halloween. I think we who walk in the light should be proactive tonight and pierce the darkness with light!

While for most people there is no intention to enter pagan worship or occultist activity, you don’t have to look far to see darker elements to this celebration…like the sale of bottled blood! Continue reading →

Take the handbrake off!

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artcars-shuttlecar2-galleryWhen I read ‘there are accidental parents, but no accidental children’, in the 40 Days guide ‘What on earth am I here for ?’, my spirit soared.

My mum had me when she was a teenager, but it was no accident.

God wanted me here with some of her DNA to do a particular job. What a sense of responsibility this puts on me to make sure I keep focused on doing what He planned for me to do …every day. There’s can be no passion for life without a clearly defined purpose for life. And I’ve got a clearly defined purpose as this book is spelling out day after day.

And not just for me.

I’ve just heard of another 40 Day group springing up in a London hospital as someone doing the 40 Days Journey with us got asked by colleagues ‘What are you doing with that book and key ring?’ One became six! They are meeting up three lunchtimes a week to share how they are getting on.

Another friend we met in Romania has started doing it. He is an ex professional footballer and is praying everyday for 40 top sports people he knows in Romania to become Christians.

Tonight in Clapham a group of twelve 20/30’s are getting together to share and pray.  I am so encouraged by how this thing is running away, because its only in God we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny.What a difference this is going to make to so many people going through life now with the handbrake on – even oldies like me!

The Power of Focus

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stay focusedJust come back from an inspirational service when Mark, my nephew was inducted as youth minister in the church up here in Frinton. He and the church are totally focused on reaching todays youth generation and have bought a high street shop as a hang out / drop in place for them, which is used during the day for those who’ve dropped out of school and are drifting.

I’ve also just received three boxes of books and materials for doing the Purpose Driven Life course with a bunch of people wanting to sharpen their life’s focus. its exciting being around focused people. Its the one Continue reading →

The Worst Place to be BORN ON THE PLANET?

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DR Congo childDon’t miss Dan Snow’s History Of Congo at 9pm, Wednesday October 9 on BBC2

“It’s one of the most tragic yet important countries on the planet,” he assures us. “[We can] learn about us as humans. Congo’s anarchy is happening now, but the same has happened in Europe, even in Britain, albeit centuries ago. One day, if we make bad choices, it might happen again.”

To create this powerful documentary, Snow’s team built bridges over streams, flew into bush airstrips, and took dugout canoes down the Congo River, crossing no-mans-land between rebel and government forces. “We wanted to explore the history that has made this country what it is,” he says as he explores how colonialism, slavery and corruption have torn apart this verdant country.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the size of Western Europe, blessed with resources that ought to make its 70 million inhabitants very wealthy.

Yet it sits at the very bottom of the UN Human Development Index and for a generation has reliably been the worst country on earth in which to be born.

It’s the rape capital of the world, as tragically women and girls daily experience the barbarism of rape used as a weapon of war

The Congolese people he meets are utterly pessimistic about their nation’s future. They tell a joke about evil men in hell being allowed a phone call by the devil. Saddam Hussein and Hitler pay a lot of money to call Iraq and Germany, but Mobutu is allowed to phone the Congo for hours at little cost. Why? “We’re in hell. Congo is a local call.”

Thank God for this brave film; pray its going out will have a great impact and inspire more to get involved in praying and working for regime change and the healing of Africa’s broken heart. We can’t keep blanking out this blot on our planet