Spoke to Charles Mugisha in Rwanda yesterday. This in prep for taking a team of 14 young adults (well OK with couple of older folks!) to Rwanda from June 16 to 26. Very cool stuff as we look to revisit a refugee camp which Freespirit supporters have helped enormously. Around £13,000 has been sent , initially to provide food and more recently, working with the local government we have built a factory to make roof tiles. This will employ young men from 3 separate Refugee camps consisting of around 6000 people. Its pretty awesome visiting these amazing people and we will be back there holding a celebration with the local Mayor very soon!
The team will also be working with children from a school of about 800, visiting the rural poor with gifts of mercy and working with some 250-300 street kids at the Dream Centre
More to come! Martin
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Snakes, mattresses and Street Children
I have recently returned from Rwanda, and am wondering how I am going to convey the experience which was one of very real highs and lows.
For the end of the trip , Don Egan had organized a Safari, which meant 6 hours in what was more like an off road rally! Part way through a Black Mamba snake crossed our path, and unable to stop, we drove over where it had crossed. I was about to leap out to get close and photograph it when both Don and our Rwandan guide prevented me from leaving the jeep.
I later learnt Black Mambas are just about the deadliest snake in the world and they have been known to get caught under the axles of four-wheel drives and bite the occupiers as soon as the door is opened. Hmmm.... I learnt a lot about Black Mamba snakes quite quickly!
Another snake is described by Jesus as "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy"; I have never encountered anything so devilish as the events and consequences of the genocide in Rwanda.
Just over a week ago I went around the genocide memorial in Kigali city. In 1994 nearly 1,000,000 people were killed in 100 days. The picture of evil was far greater than I had ever imagined from afar. Here is a place where truly death and destruction have reigned.
yet in the midst of that I found this:
The RSVP programme that feeds 80 - 100 street children twice a week, every week. The worker is Patricia, whose Rwandan name means JOY....and she is full of just that! Building relationships, sharing life skills, and dealing with very disturbed children. One by one they are volunteering to come off the streets into a home and the promise of a new life.
In the next room, women are being trained in a skill to help lift them from the poverty trap as some have been left destitute when their husbands have died from AIDS, or were killed in the genocide or are in prison.
Despite being moved twice already from other premises, the ministry continues to grow. I discovered that the Rwandans who partner with RSVP really know how to overcome impossible odds!
Later we went to the school RSVP helped to build. What a miracle. In 2001 Don agreed to buy a piece of land. Just four years later, we were shown around a school with 505 children all in uniform.
300 of these children are sponsored through RSVP, without which they would have no chance of escaping the poverty trap. Many would otherwise be joining the kind of children I saw at 6:30am carrying sticks and water down the roads, with no shoes on and bellies inflated by ringworm. Day in, day out, with no hope of change.
Not surprisingly therefore, when interviewed, the sponsored children all said how they had prayed for a sponsor because they had seen a brother/ sister or friend and wanted what they had. I interviewed Alfred the head teacher who told me that the Rwanda television company, who covered the building of the school in a programme, referred to the school as a 'miracle'.
Charles Mugisha and Fred Katagwa, who head up the ministry talk about taking the "gun of education to kill poverty, ignorance, and disease". Here is a powerful partnership between outside organisations like RSVP and local Rwandan Christian ministry, truly transforming the society.
One of the hardest moments for me was visiting some of the very poor. Rebecca is employed as a Christian social worker and she took us on her rounds. The first lady we visited had nothing. She sat on small pile of sticks, in front of some recently peeled banana skins. It seems her husband and sons had all been killed in the genocide. We were led into her so-called bedroom. It was an empty room with an uneven earth floor that she lay down on each night. She was probably in her 70's. I have never seen such poverty. I found it deeply disturbing.
That night I could not sleep on my mattress and planned to give it to her the next day. In the morning we visited homes again and distrubuted matresses and food, paid for by RSVP's Gifts of Hope scheme. Rebecca was close to tears and immediately said this was indeed an answer to prayer. At about £10.00 a mattress it was not difficult to make a huge difference! Don left £1,000 for Gifts of Hope. These will be distributed by Rebecca and her team.
In the midst of seeing all the work of the partnership between RSVP with Africa New Life Ministries, we preached at a 3 day conference attended by about 500 people a day.
This brought together some 13 churches, at a level of unity that left one pastor in tears - at the end and he hugged us! ...only God can do this.
Something is happening that is the opposite of what I started with. In fact it looks and sounds something like the words of Jesus in John 10;10
Following on from : 'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; Jesus said: I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full!'
We live in a global village and God commands us not to forget the poor. We know it in our bones that it is better to give than receive, and it was clear to me that the integrity of the work, which is a partnership with indigenous people in Rwanda, will be a blessing in both directions!
Wells Church Belfast
St Patrick’s weekend….there could not be a better time to visit N. Ireland!
With a team of Martin Garner, Diego Campos, Kelvin Jellyman, and Steve Plumb. (Don Egan who had planned to join us was ill). We headed of early on Saturday morning 18th March.
We were hosted for the weekend by infectious missionaries Adrian and Janice McCartney. Adrian is of N Ireland’s true pioneers having started Streetreach 4 years ago.
This summer Streetreach will take up to 1,500 young people onto the streets of some of the toughest communities (both catholic and protestants) of Belfast - one of the most troubled cities in Europe over the last 50 years.
Like similar ventures Streetreach has had a huge impact, winning awards for crime reduction at one of the most sensitive times of year, beside bring tons of the light and love of Jesus into these areas.
Martin brought a team over leaders from Sheffield to help with the first year of Streetreach and people have been joining in ever since.
Saturday we visited a 24/7 prayer room in the city centre built around St Patrick.
In the afternoon we visited to Hill hall estate in Lisburn where Martin and Sharon lived 5 years earlier, and had been involved in pioneering mission.
It was great to see what was happening.
Lisburn cathedral, under the leadership of Rev. Sam Wright have continued to encourage the ministry.
One of the key players is Billy Moore, a wonderful man whose ministry was recognized by the wider church when in 2005 he was commissioned by the local Bishop as 'lay minister in the Church of Ireland'. Billy leads a church that meets in the local pub.
During our visit Martin took time to visit people in the community and share Christ with them. One lady decided it was time for her to come back to Jesus and so she turned up at the pub church the next morning.
One of the special highlights, was spending time with the local para-military leader.
Martin had the chance to apologise to him for the way that the message of Christ had been miss-represented to him and his community.
It was a chance to agree that we put people in boxes and end up judging them!
Martin also spoke about the fact that people have often real experience of God, but they were rarely talked about. He said that God belonged to these people and was not the God of the ‘religious people’ but was THEIR GOD!
It was great to talk with Wendy who had joined the outreach in the area. Wendy’s family all come from the area and even though she had moved away, God had called her back. She already knew she was making a difference!
We left with the hope to return and make a DVD which could be distributed to every house in the community, with stories of changed lives, and a clear message about God and Jesus (but without some of the unhelpful religious language that is so often a barrier).
On Sunday morning Steve Plumb preached at Wells, Church in Moneyreagh (which was to feature in the next couple of weeks on GMTV in the Sunday morning slot!).
Then in the evening, Martin lead a meeting mostly for men at Wells church.
He talked the tough subject of 'temptations that men face', and the open doors that can be found when we understand that God already speaks to people.
With a team of Martin Garner, Diego Campos, Kelvin Jellyman, and Steve Plumb. (Don Egan who had planned to join us was ill). We headed of early on Saturday morning 18th March.
We were hosted for the weekend by infectious missionaries Adrian and Janice McCartney. Adrian is of N Ireland’s true pioneers having started Streetreach 4 years ago.
This summer Streetreach will take up to 1,500 young people onto the streets of some of the toughest communities (both catholic and protestants) of Belfast - one of the most troubled cities in Europe over the last 50 years.
Like similar ventures Streetreach has had a huge impact, winning awards for crime reduction at one of the most sensitive times of year, beside bring tons of the light and love of Jesus into these areas.
Martin brought a team over leaders from Sheffield to help with the first year of Streetreach and people have been joining in ever since.
Saturday we visited a 24/7 prayer room in the city centre built around St Patrick.
In the afternoon we visited to Hill hall estate in Lisburn where Martin and Sharon lived 5 years earlier, and had been involved in pioneering mission.
It was great to see what was happening.
Lisburn cathedral, under the leadership of Rev. Sam Wright have continued to encourage the ministry.
One of the key players is Billy Moore, a wonderful man whose ministry was recognized by the wider church when in 2005 he was commissioned by the local Bishop as 'lay minister in the Church of Ireland'. Billy leads a church that meets in the local pub.
During our visit Martin took time to visit people in the community and share Christ with them. One lady decided it was time for her to come back to Jesus and so she turned up at the pub church the next morning.
One of the special highlights, was spending time with the local para-military leader.
Martin had the chance to apologise to him for the way that the message of Christ had been miss-represented to him and his community.
It was a chance to agree that we put people in boxes and end up judging them!
Martin also spoke about the fact that people have often real experience of God, but they were rarely talked about. He said that God belonged to these people and was not the God of the ‘religious people’ but was THEIR GOD!
It was great to talk with Wendy who had joined the outreach in the area. Wendy’s family all come from the area and even though she had moved away, God had called her back. She already knew she was making a difference!
We left with the hope to return and make a DVD which could be distributed to every house in the community, with stories of changed lives, and a clear message about God and Jesus (but without some of the unhelpful religious language that is so often a barrier).
On Sunday morning Steve Plumb preached at Wells, Church in Moneyreagh (which was to feature in the next couple of weeks on GMTV in the Sunday morning slot!).
Then in the evening, Martin lead a meeting mostly for men at Wells church.
He talked the tough subject of 'temptations that men face', and the open doors that can be found when we understand that God already speaks to people.
"An incredible time. It was very exciting to see what God is doing amongst the para-military in that particular area of Northern Ireland. The rhythm and the movement in which God led us was very unexpected.
I can only speak for myself, but I must say that what I learnt during those three days by being with Martin will be always remembered."
Diego Campos
"It was inspirational to see the enthusiasm, committment and creativity of the Christians in Hill Hall and Moneyragh as they are 'Getting the message out'. The whole Street reach Project is awesome and I with others from Sheffield hope to be on the team for summer 06."
Steve Plumb
Water for Life
Not long after moving to Sheffield four years ago, I was driving past Ladybower Reservoir. I felt a nudge from God to pull over, and as I did so, I noticed a sign, designed to speak of the stunning reservoir beyond it. The bold words read:
"Water for Life"
The caption went on to explain how every home in the city received water from this reservoir. In that moment an inner voice spoke:
How about the message of Jesus being available like tap water to every home in the city?
Let’s get talking….about God and Jesus!
“Always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you”…..writes Peter, who of course famously went and denied Jesus 3 times in succession when he had been arrested!
Actually we all have opportunities probably every day to have conversations that can change the direction of people’s lives….for good! So here are some ideas in the hope that you know the fun and excitement of being a difference-maker.
1) Love people. Its not meant to be soppy! "Jesus looked at him and loved him”.
When you look at someone as you talk to them, remember they are hugely loved by God…just as they are.
STOP thinking about what you are going to say next…..you will just end up getting self absorbed and nervous.
The big idea in the New Testament is that we are ‘IN CHRIST’, so that means chill out and let him live through you.
Let him show you how he feels about this person. I talk to God as I look at someone and pray: “show me lord, help me feel and think about this person the way you do.”
2) Listen first. Don’t go rabbiting on.
Start by being REALLY interested in them. Ask simple questions about life. THEIR LIFE. Given half a chance people love to talk about themselves.
Ask and listen…
3) Life. When you do speak, talk about real life.
Remember this: YOUR story IS their Story. It is the human story.
I often get out photos of my children, of Sharon my wife. I talk about what I am struggling with, what my hopes are.
Resist attempts to make your life sound ‘all sorted’.
4) Say what you see. O.K. You’re loving, you’re listening, you’re asking questions and showing genuine interest in them, and in their life story.
Now …Christ is in you… what do you see? I mean what dreams, hopes do you see?
Where do you see integrity, love…good things? Remember all good things come from God.
Be courageous and affirm who they are as a person and what their potential is. What does Father God want to say to one of his prodigal children?
5) Simple answers. When young children ask questions about life, the deal is not to give long, complicated and clever sounding answers. Same here.
Short simple answers to simple questions. If you don’t know, say so!
6) Sorry. For example: I am sorry for the times I have failed to communicate the real message of Christ to you.
Or: I am sorry for the way the church that I am a supposed to be part of has failed you and people like you and stopped you from seeing the true message.
Fact is, this is often true (unless you and the church have been a 100% reflection of Jesus that is!?).
7) Spiritual stuff. Assume that this person is spiritual. Because they are. Not only that, but they have probably had an experience of God and not talked about it or recognized it as such.
I often say, (once we are in a trusting place) something like: “ Can I ask a question about you?
It fascinates me that I often find people have had interesting ‘spiritual experiences’, or odd things happen that make them think about God, but don’t talk about it.
Has anything like that ever happened to you?” (e.g. answer to prayer, aware of God in nature, dream or vision, aware of evil presence etc).
8) Story. Here’s a different way to explain the faith thing. When you are born you have this amazing life potential before you.
Your story.
As your story unfolds people often find life does not work out as they had hoped. I am ‘disappointed with my life’ is a common feeling.
The deal with the God stuff is you have a choice about which version of your story you are in. You can have the one you have now.
You just hope for the best as you work life out by yourself.…..or you begin to recognize that God has the version of your story as it was meant to be. Full of his dreams, hopes and resources for you. This is what it was like for people who met Jesus then. This is what the Spirit of Jesus is doing today. It’s the ‘Dream of God’ (that’s another way of saying ‘The Kingdom’).
The big themes are grace, faith, and action; identity, forgiveness (not sinfulness), human potential, building life on solid ground, love, life and light.
Develop your own favourite ways of re-telling Christ’s message.
9) Be expectant. You have been chosen by God to be fruitful. Say to God each day, “ I am available today.” Christ wants to live his life through you to touch others. Opportunity abounds if only we have eyes to see.
Actually we all have opportunities probably every day to have conversations that can change the direction of people’s lives….for good! So here are some ideas in the hope that you know the fun and excitement of being a difference-maker.
1) Love people. Its not meant to be soppy! "Jesus looked at him and loved him”.
When you look at someone as you talk to them, remember they are hugely loved by God…just as they are.
STOP thinking about what you are going to say next…..you will just end up getting self absorbed and nervous.
The big idea in the New Testament is that we are ‘IN CHRIST’, so that means chill out and let him live through you.
Let him show you how he feels about this person. I talk to God as I look at someone and pray: “show me lord, help me feel and think about this person the way you do.”
2) Listen first. Don’t go rabbiting on.
Start by being REALLY interested in them. Ask simple questions about life. THEIR LIFE. Given half a chance people love to talk about themselves.
Ask and listen…
3) Life. When you do speak, talk about real life.
Remember this: YOUR story IS their Story. It is the human story.
I often get out photos of my children, of Sharon my wife. I talk about what I am struggling with, what my hopes are.
Resist attempts to make your life sound ‘all sorted’.
4) Say what you see. O.K. You’re loving, you’re listening, you’re asking questions and showing genuine interest in them, and in their life story.
Now …Christ is in you… what do you see? I mean what dreams, hopes do you see?
Where do you see integrity, love…good things? Remember all good things come from God.
Be courageous and affirm who they are as a person and what their potential is. What does Father God want to say to one of his prodigal children?
5) Simple answers. When young children ask questions about life, the deal is not to give long, complicated and clever sounding answers. Same here.
Short simple answers to simple questions. If you don’t know, say so!
6) Sorry. For example: I am sorry for the times I have failed to communicate the real message of Christ to you.
Or: I am sorry for the way the church that I am a supposed to be part of has failed you and people like you and stopped you from seeing the true message.
Fact is, this is often true (unless you and the church have been a 100% reflection of Jesus that is!?).
7) Spiritual stuff. Assume that this person is spiritual. Because they are. Not only that, but they have probably had an experience of God and not talked about it or recognized it as such.
I often say, (once we are in a trusting place) something like: “ Can I ask a question about you?
It fascinates me that I often find people have had interesting ‘spiritual experiences’, or odd things happen that make them think about God, but don’t talk about it.
Has anything like that ever happened to you?” (e.g. answer to prayer, aware of God in nature, dream or vision, aware of evil presence etc).
8) Story. Here’s a different way to explain the faith thing. When you are born you have this amazing life potential before you.
Your story.
As your story unfolds people often find life does not work out as they had hoped. I am ‘disappointed with my life’ is a common feeling.
The deal with the God stuff is you have a choice about which version of your story you are in. You can have the one you have now.
You just hope for the best as you work life out by yourself.…..or you begin to recognize that God has the version of your story as it was meant to be. Full of his dreams, hopes and resources for you. This is what it was like for people who met Jesus then. This is what the Spirit of Jesus is doing today. It’s the ‘Dream of God’ (that’s another way of saying ‘The Kingdom’).
The big themes are grace, faith, and action; identity, forgiveness (not sinfulness), human potential, building life on solid ground, love, life and light.
Develop your own favourite ways of re-telling Christ’s message.
9) Be expectant. You have been chosen by God to be fruitful. Say to God each day, “ I am available today.” Christ wants to live his life through you to touch others. Opportunity abounds if only we have eyes to see.
The Five Love Languages
Fascinating isn’t it! We are all different yet we all have the same commission. To love our neighbours as ourselves…to be THE LIGHT of the WORLD. How about the way we give and receive love?
My eldest daughter loves to give gifts to people unwell, to friends and to her family. My youngest daughter likes hugging people…and likes to receive hugs…a lot
Have you heard about the five love languages? A categorizing of the way we give and receive love (from a book by Gary Chapman).
Here are the big five:
Now then have a think about them.
Understanding how you, me and others give, and receive love can be very helpful in ALL relationships. I prefer touch (very huggy me) and words. Sharon, my wife, prefers acts of service and quality time. No matter how many times I hug her, it never quite hits the spot as much as sitting down for a good natter. Took me a long time to learn!!…. Ring any bells with you?
Now this is just an observation of the way humans behave, but we have a great commission…to love our neighbour as ourselves…every day. Taking every opportunity in our work, in our streets, and in our community.
How about that - the idea that we could improve our own service and witness to those outside of God’s Kingdom by understanding this love language stuff?
I began to notice that some people in our community love it when we serve them. Others are less bothered, but gifts open up some of these sometimes to the point of tears… Others are desperate for time and someone to listen and understand… all kinds of different people
As Christians, we often major in one language of love when it comes to reaching out… that of words, or in some contexts, just acts of service. How about if we put all five on offer, and work on maximising the people God has made us to be as we reach out to others.
For the people we are reaching, let's watch and listen, and be aware that we need different people, and new different approaches if we are to communicate to as many as possible.
Now, who do you know who is reluctant in sharing their faith and can't communicate using one of the five languages?
God wants us all (however shy) to fulfil more of their destiny, as the LIGHT of THE WORLD…
Roll on the spring!
My eldest daughter loves to give gifts to people unwell, to friends and to her family. My youngest daughter likes hugging people…and likes to receive hugs…a lot
Have you heard about the five love languages? A categorizing of the way we give and receive love (from a book by Gary Chapman).
Here are the big five:
. Acts of Service
. Words of Affirmation
. Quality Time
. Gifts
. Touch
Now then have a think about them.
Understanding how you, me and others give, and receive love can be very helpful in ALL relationships. I prefer touch (very huggy me) and words. Sharon, my wife, prefers acts of service and quality time. No matter how many times I hug her, it never quite hits the spot as much as sitting down for a good natter. Took me a long time to learn!!…. Ring any bells with you?
Now this is just an observation of the way humans behave, but we have a great commission…to love our neighbour as ourselves…every day. Taking every opportunity in our work, in our streets, and in our community.
How about that - the idea that we could improve our own service and witness to those outside of God’s Kingdom by understanding this love language stuff?
I began to notice that some people in our community love it when we serve them. Others are less bothered, but gifts open up some of these sometimes to the point of tears… Others are desperate for time and someone to listen and understand… all kinds of different people
As Christians, we often major in one language of love when it comes to reaching out… that of words, or in some contexts, just acts of service. How about if we put all five on offer, and work on maximising the people God has made us to be as we reach out to others.
For the people we are reaching, let's watch and listen, and be aware that we need different people, and new different approaches if we are to communicate to as many as possible.
Now, who do you know who is reluctant in sharing their faith and can't communicate using one of the five languages?
God wants us all (however shy) to fulfil more of their destiny, as the LIGHT of THE WORLD…
Roll on the spring!
Top Tip Number - 5. Know what feeds you!
First of all let's clear some ground here.
If I was to ask an average group of Christians how to maintain their walk with Christ, the usual answers are bound to include prayer, reading the Bible, going to church, fellowship with others, journaling, fasting etc etc.
It is these very answers, and in the resulting attempts to tick all the boxes that often produces so much failure, guilt and condemnation for Christians. So let's ask a different question:
How did you begin the Christian life? By faith of course!
How do you continue in the Christian life? By faith of course!
The only issue is how to feed your faith.
I have thought long and hard about this.
How many times have we heard people say "you just need to pray more"; "you just need to read the Bible more"; "you just need to fast more; …go to church more; ....give more; ...do more...” and before you know it we have a whole new set of laws.
Paul's letter to the Galatians is all about this very issue and the inherent dangers of moving from faith to law. So let's get it straight once and for all; You cannot add to FAITH (and that includes Bible reading, fasting, praying, going to church etc!). Paul writes:
This issue is crucial because so many people walk around feeling as if they are failing in the Christian life because they can't keep some new set of laws (which by the way usually starts out as someone discovering how God feeds the faith of their particular personality and then gets peddled as the new answer to spiritual disciplines for all personalities and types of people).
Personally trying to keep a list of laws does not motivate me! Here is the key question to ask:
How does God feed me?
Now when you ask this question it is good to recall the times when you have been aware of God speaking to you, guiding you, bringing peace and the reassurance of His Presence.
So for me (and remember you are not necessarily the same personality type as me) I love long walks alone in wild places. Solitude. I love reading the bible in chunks and studying key themes.
God often speaks to me through certain types of movie. I enjoy journaling but only on a few days in the month. I love reading the adventures of the great pioneer missionaries etc.
I have never been able to keep daily disciplined quiet time (shock horror!).
I don't like fasting. But I am motivated to make sacrifices for people that I love if it brings breakthrough in their lives
Can you see the difference? I want to approach things like praying and reading the Scriptures with a sense of joy and anticipation understanding that this is how God feeds me; that this is how faith grows; how love grows, how peace rules over my heart, how I become an overcomer.
What I don't need today is a list of laws that I am bound to fail to keep.
What about you?
Indeed there are times when spiritual disciplines stop. It is good to ask God, what should I be doing now? The classic disciplines are there as an aid to cause our faith to grow, to help us become more like Jesus, as Paul puts it ‘until Christ is formed in you’
So please be free of the law! Be free to find the grace-filled paths where you meet with God. Let go of the expectations of others (especially religious people!). Sometimes it can be the best thing to STOP praying and reading the bible in a certain fashion especially if it’s making you law-bound. Take a break! Ask God juts to lead you in his ways in your next season. He knows you better than you know yourself.
So may I encourage you as you read this to review your walk with God. Notice the times when you felt closest to him. Notice how he feeds the unique special personality that is YOU and be motivated to pursue you those things that feed your faith every day
May you have a renewed awareness of God's grace that every aspect of your life and may your faith grow in Jesus Christ in whose sight you have already been made perfect.
(with thanks to Dave Ducker for helpful comments)
Extra verse
If I was to ask an average group of Christians how to maintain their walk with Christ, the usual answers are bound to include prayer, reading the Bible, going to church, fellowship with others, journaling, fasting etc etc.
It is these very answers, and in the resulting attempts to tick all the boxes that often produces so much failure, guilt and condemnation for Christians. So let's ask a different question:
How did you begin the Christian life? By faith of course!
How do you continue in the Christian life? By faith of course!
The only issue is how to feed your faith.
I have thought long and hard about this.
How many times have we heard people say "you just need to pray more"; "you just need to read the Bible more"; "you just need to fast more; …go to church more; ....give more; ...do more...” and before you know it we have a whole new set of laws.
Paul's letter to the Galatians is all about this very issue and the inherent dangers of moving from faith to law. So let's get it straight once and for all; You cannot add to FAITH (and that includes Bible reading, fasting, praying, going to church etc!). Paul writes:
"The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me".
Galatians 3 verse 20
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love"
Galatians 5 verse 6
This issue is crucial because so many people walk around feeling as if they are failing in the Christian life because they can't keep some new set of laws (which by the way usually starts out as someone discovering how God feeds the faith of their particular personality and then gets peddled as the new answer to spiritual disciplines for all personalities and types of people).
Personally trying to keep a list of laws does not motivate me! Here is the key question to ask:
How does God feed me?
Now when you ask this question it is good to recall the times when you have been aware of God speaking to you, guiding you, bringing peace and the reassurance of His Presence.
So for me (and remember you are not necessarily the same personality type as me) I love long walks alone in wild places. Solitude. I love reading the bible in chunks and studying key themes.
God often speaks to me through certain types of movie. I enjoy journaling but only on a few days in the month. I love reading the adventures of the great pioneer missionaries etc.
I have never been able to keep daily disciplined quiet time (shock horror!).
I don't like fasting. But I am motivated to make sacrifices for people that I love if it brings breakthrough in their lives
Can you see the difference? I want to approach things like praying and reading the Scriptures with a sense of joy and anticipation understanding that this is how God feeds me; that this is how faith grows; how love grows, how peace rules over my heart, how I become an overcomer.
What I don't need today is a list of laws that I am bound to fail to keep.
What about you?
Indeed there are times when spiritual disciplines stop. It is good to ask God, what should I be doing now? The classic disciplines are there as an aid to cause our faith to grow, to help us become more like Jesus, as Paul puts it ‘until Christ is formed in you’
So please be free of the law! Be free to find the grace-filled paths where you meet with God. Let go of the expectations of others (especially religious people!). Sometimes it can be the best thing to STOP praying and reading the bible in a certain fashion especially if it’s making you law-bound. Take a break! Ask God juts to lead you in his ways in your next season. He knows you better than you know yourself.
So may I encourage you as you read this to review your walk with God. Notice the times when you felt closest to him. Notice how he feeds the unique special personality that is YOU and be motivated to pursue you those things that feed your faith every day
May you have a renewed awareness of God's grace that every aspect of your life and may your faith grow in Jesus Christ in whose sight you have already been made perfect.
(with thanks to Dave Ducker for helpful comments)
Extra verse
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him”
Philippians 2: 13
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