Finding Joy

I just wanted to share some encouragement from chapter six of 'Finding Joy', by Marcus Honeysett.
Let's take heart in the fact our faith is better than anything out there. Better than any of this words standards, better, as Paul points out in Phillipians 3:4-9, than anything the world has to offer.
Also, as Romans 8:35 points out, our faith is totally secure, we were chosen by God, and He will not let us go! Rejoice! Right now, this very moment as you sit looking at your screen you are justified in the courts of Christ because of your faith. Rejoice!

Buy the book from IVP.

He is risen...He is not here

You'd think wouldn't you, that following the tragic death of Mark Philo, that'd be enough people taken from the wycombe wanderers family for one season. But no.

Thank God that He is risen, that He defeated death for us. That Christians can say with confidence that the enemies biggest weapon has been turned into our biggest joy. I long and wait for that time where death is defeated for good with much anticipation. We must let this be seared into our conscious, especially in our evangelism. If the worst thing the enemy can do to us is gain, then what are we afraid of? God is so powerful, so much bigger than i can even begin to comprehend. And yet He hurts when we hurt, mourns when we mourn. What an awesome God, what an amazing hope we have for the future.

Blogtastic

Bish (amongst others) has started a new blog...check it out. I'm really enjoying it at the moment. Conversational blogging is the future.

Smiling at strangers on trains

After the evening talk on friday dave, anna, matt and i went to mojos to watch the end of the count for the new RUSU president. After three recounts current President Dave Lewis was re-elected by four votes! An incredible night really, especially after three people were saved during the evening...woo! I really think that this result is as much part of Hope 2006 as anything else thats happened during the week. Very pleased for him, and i just pray that his close relationship with RUCU would continue.
Read about it here.

September never stays this cold

Man, i'm loving my dissertation right now. I was able to quote verse from Hebrews today talking about Jesus as our perfect High Priest, who has been through everything we have. How exciting, that we have someone who has gone through everything we have, has come out the otherside perfect, and is now our perfect mediator between ourselves and God. Hooray! Our high priest is like this: holy, innocent, unstained, seperated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. (7:26) And yet He pleades for us in God's courts! Isn't that great. So, lets draw close to the throne of glory with confidence, knowing that we'll find mercy and recieved grace. All because of Jesus...the priest of a better covenant. Its been a bit funny reading the bible almost as a textbook, referring to it in an essay. So often in history you're taught to never, on any account, trust your sources. And yet my source is the bible. It's God breathed and infallible. My diss is certainly more theology than history at the moment, but we'll get there. The best thing about the story told in the Bible is that its true!
And i'll tell you what else about the Bible as well...anyone who says it's not practical or useful today obviously just needs to read it a bit more. How can anyone look at Matthew 18:15-17 and say it's not practical?! So yeh, i'm loving the Bible at the moment!
Also interviewed a perspective cell leader this morning. Good times. I remember my interview, it does not seem like two ago dave thomas was sitting in my room at whiteknights and interviewed me. I remember it cos it the first time anyone had prayed for me as a 'man', it was great. The LORD sure blessed me and dave with a tremendous friendship...hopefully He'll do the same for me and Matt. It was really good to spend about an hour with someone so fired up about the amazing nature of the Gospel, or what the truth says about our relationship with Him, of how amazing it is to have a relationship with our creator. He gave up His only Son for us...Its amazing, and Matt and i were very excited about it. It was great. We've got some top guys in the new crop of cell leaders...i'm very excited for them!

'We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever in the order of Melchzidek' (Heb 6:19-20)

In the sun that sets the wind that blows the rain that soaks me to the bone

So. No live blogging then!? To be honest sleeping has seemed like a waste of time this week, (although, a great one) let alone blogging with Joe around and mission to be done.
So i'll try and share some of the best/funniest/most God glorying things that's happened this week.
Every morning would start with prayer clusters at 830 in each halls. The last two days me and joe have walked to these in snow which was not so much fun, although memorable at least. These were cool times, AMs and students coming together to share encouragements and pray with one another. Then, off to Mondial for lattes and muffins (hooray), by 0945 the whole coffee bar was full of Christians ready to get on with their day. It was cool, but kind of funny it some ways. Then upstairs in 360 for a whole team meeting, speakers, AMs and students all together, looking at Galatians 3 and 4 together, giving thanks for what'd happened the day before, praying for what we'll be doing that day and for people who we've met and talked to. Then flyering. I'd never really appreciated that cold could pretty much burn you instead of freeze you. Phil leant me some gloves on thursday (deffo the coldest day) and that may well have saved me from frostbite.
Man, its been so good. SO GOOD! God is amazing! The people who we've seen come to faith this week, who we've spoken to, who He's brought to the meetings. I think for me the personal best/scariest time was talking to a muslim named Issa for half an hour after world view surveys on wednesday afternoon (we did those every day and they're proper good!). Hopefully he's coming along tonight to hear about 'The Hope of the Party'. That'd be good. He was lovely, and really knew his stuff. I was some feet out of my depth! The apologetic lunch bars were really good, and we probably had around 30-70 people to each, with maybe 50-100 at the evening talks. Maybe more, sometimes deffo more. We had to add three extra rows of chairs in the Blue Rooms last night, which is brilliant news!
I'm struggling to really describe the week. It was great, God has moved in the lives of so many people. SO many people, we've had so many of great conversations. Praise the Lord. He is real, the gospel is true. It's good news!
It's been great having the CIS guys involved around. The guys on the team are such MEN, its been really great to spend time with them. And with all the AMs really, its been great to hang out with them, talk to them and glean their advice. We're really going to miss them...i'm really going to miss them...
So its been a great week. Great times. We worship a great, great GREAT God...He is awesome and in His grace and mercy chooses to use us for His glory. It's been great. Pete and Greg have been traning the first XV rugby this week, which has been amazing, because thats an area we've had really no contact with for years. And the afternoon sports (football, touch rubgy, rounders and ultimate firsbee) have been really well attended. The name of Jesus is definately more known than it was a week ago. I'm looking forward to not getting up at 0730 tomorrow, looking forward to sleeping in my bed rather than on my floor tonight...But, in some ways, i really don't want it to end, it's been great. Wake up...talk to people about Jesus, eat some food...talk to people about Jesus...have a kip...talk to people about Jesus. It's great! What a week, what a God!
Its been top!

RUCU Mission Day One

Up at seven thirty, and off to whiteknights/childs/windsor prayer cluster at 830. Great to be reminded of the power of the cross for salvation for all, the glory of God and how amazing that is.
The into town to pick up Joe from the train station...so good to see him again. The the team prayer meeting at 10. Great to meet inside the union, more lovely prayer, some great foundational stuff from Galatians...and then, then the fun starts.

I love flyering. Even though today as freezing, even though my hands felt they were about to drop off at some points in the morning, such a great way to talk to people and get God's message out there. Really good times, really cool. There're lots of people flyering for the SU elections at the moment, like, 15 people outside the library and loads outside 360, but i don't think thats a bad thing...our message is so much more important.
Man, there's so much going on, like Gregg and Pete training the rugby squad, thats really opened up a door that was firmyl shut before hand. YES!
Then did some world view surveying, which was great. Spoke to four or five people about the gospel and grace and who and what Jesus was. Really cool times.
The best part? God's word being faithfully preached twice today, once by Tom and lunch time, and then again by Graham in the evening. I'll share more at the week goes on, and when it's not nearly 2am, but there's so much going on at the moment here, so mnay things across campus and all the halls. Its great. Jesus is awesome, and the Gospel is glorious and so so true. Its an honour and pleasure to be doing this. God has redeemed us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light...YES!

So that was day one. So so much better and more exciting than these stupid words can justify, my brain switched off long ago, but i know God is working in people's hearts, and thats enough right now, as i set my alarm for six hours time! God is awesome! Praise the Lord.

January 1979/February 2006

Much, MUCH more coming later about today (probably), but i just wanted to share two things before heading out again...

1) The more i hear it and tell it, the more convinced i am of the utter, absolute, earth shattering truth of the Gospel, and the intrinsic beauty therein. It's an honour and a pleasure to be part of it.

2) I am also moved, and affected by the state my generation have got ourselves into. The apathy, the searching, the lack of meaning, it horrible. But challenging, and just confirms that all i really want to do is tell people the good news of Jesus Christ.

Hola!

Just back from Sherfield Hall where some of us met the Spanish CUGs who have come to help out with Hope 2006. Good times. I'm so excited about mission week now.
And the CEx day away today was really blessed too. Great to spend a day with people talking about God, and speaking the truth...roll on tomorrow, and the official start of Hope 2006...tomorrow!

What can wash away our sins?

Man, thank God for Jesus. What a complete mess we're in, what a horrendous eternity we face without him. Romans 3:10 tells us that no one is righteous, not even one. No matter how good we think we are, how close to the Lord we feel, none of us is righteous. None of us meet the standard that God demands for us to enter into communion with Him. Jesus talks of Hell as a place where 'the worm does not die, and the fire does not go out.' In his famous sermon 'Sinners in the hands of an angry God', Jonathan Edwards puts it like this:

'God holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider...abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath towards you burns like the fire, He thinks you worthy of nothing else but that to be cast into the fire, He is of purer eyes than to bear have you in His sight, you are ten thousand times more abominable in His eyes than the vilest serpent is in ours. Nothing else but His hand stops you falling into the fire this very moment. There is no reason other than the very great mercy of God that stopped you falling into Hell since you closed your eyes so sleep last night, since you awoke this morning...you hang by a slender thread, flames flashing around you, ready every moment to singe and burn, and yet you have no interest in a mediator'

Heavy stuff. True stuff. As difficult as it is to read and hear and accept, we must accept that this is the truth of our position before God. But, and it's possibly the biggest but there could be, but because of God's love, mercy and passion for His own glory, there is a mediator. There is a way we can be rescued from this unimaginably horrible eternity. Jesus Christ. His blood that washes away our sins, that sets us free, that fulfills the law, that lets us enter into a relationship with the Father. Faith in Jesus is the only way out of this mess we have got ourselves into. In years to come people may well be arrested for saying that, but it doesn't make it any less true. Thats what the cross achieved, thats the power of the cross. That Jesus has overcome our sin, and washed us clean. That no longer do we live under the judgement of the law, but under the freedom of grace. The grace that brings us joy, that makes us deeply happy in our hearts. And this is the reason for our joy. That Jesus died and rose again that we might be rescued from this horror. And this is our motivation for evangelism. That people we know and love will soon fall under this judgement. That two of my housemates are walking across Hell's firey pit right this second on a rotten covering.

Praise Jesus for what He achieved on the cross. Thank the Father that His love for us, and concern for the glory of His name was so great that He sent Jesus to die in our place. That sort of response, when faced with this truth, is the only appropriate one.

Sinners in the hands of an angry God
The works of Jonathan Edwards