January 26-27 - Bolt from the blue

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” - 2 Timothy 4:7

Usain Bolt will have to hand back one of his nine Olympic gold medals after Jamaican team-mate Nesta Carter tested positive for a banned substance. So reports BBC Sports Athletics.

Usain Bolt ended his Olympic career by claiming an unprecedented 'triple triple' and his ninth gold as Jamaica won the 4x100m relay final in Rio. Bolt, 29, had won the 100m and 200m in Rio and is the only man to win all three sprint events at three Games.

Carter, a teammate of Bolts was part of the Jamaican quartet that won the 4x100m in Beijing in 2008, and his was one of 454 selected doping samples retested by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year, and found to contain the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine.

Carter, 31, was also part of the squad that won the event in London five years ago and helped Jamaica win at the World Championships in 2011, 2013 and 2015. He ran the first leg for Jamaica's 4x100m relay team in Beijing, which also included Michael Frater, Asafa Powell and Bolt.

Carter's lawyer has confirmed that the sprinter will lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the damage to athletics, and Bolt's well deserved achievements in particular, has been done. Roger Black, on BBC's Radio 5 live said “It will be really frustrating for him (Bolt). You can only account for yourself, you cannot account for your team-mates.”

An untarnished career ended by being tarnished by association – association with a trusted friend, colleague, and teammate.

What about us in our personal lives, family lives. our work, careers, and spiritual walk? Can we be found guilty of behaving in certain ways that are no credit to us – that tarnish the lives and achievements of our loved ones, friends and colleagues? OK, I'm not talking about taking illegal substances – simply the moral code we profess to live by. Sometimes it takes only a look, facial expression, tone of voice or careless word to undermine someone and make them feel worthless.

I had a friend who had an air of tough, arrogant confidence. Educationally and careerwise, he'd achieved his goal – he deserved his accolades, he'd worked hard and earned them. He had literally pulled himself up by the shoe strings from a background upbringing of a family on the bread-line. Yet, I was to witness this same man buckle under the sarcastic remarks made to him. He was destroyed. The tough, arrogant front he sported for all to see, was just that....a front. Self-esteem destroyed, his career soon followed the same course. Ended as the result of the actions of a trusted friend, colleague, and teammate.

There's little wonder that we are told in Proverbs 18:21 that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”

We must accept the responsibility on each of us, and take every care that we don't do as Carter has and tarnish the lifetime goals and achievements of another individual. The ultimate goal we all have our eyes fixed upon is not the “triple-triple” and ninth gold medal, it's far more precious than that. We are running the race to the Kingdom and a crown of gold. See you at the award ceremony!

My choice of music today is “My Life is in Your Hands” - Kirk Franklin. Click on the picture of Bplt crossing the finishing line to listen.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Unless you have been asleep for the past 6 months you will be aware that the only real super power left, that is the United States of America, is being run by a self made billionaire who has no political or government experience.  In some ways it could be likened to… no, let’s not go there. And here is the reason why.

Political analysts and journalists alike are printing column inches in all the papers every time President Trump sneezes. Every time he sends a twitter, social media goes into melt down and it becomes a leading news story. In the next few days he is meeting the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, to discuss trade deals and it is billed as a meeting of significance for a blue print of things to come.

Amidst this political fervour, I have noticed something which has crept into my own thinking. It is an attitude of dismissiveness.  What I mean by that is, because my understanding of prophesy foretold the Trump administration and even some things which are yet to unfold, I have not really been too excited by these topical happenings. Nevertheless, and this is the real crunch question, what will be my role in all of this?

Donald Trump clearly did not run for the presidency to become rich, it is about power. But power to do what? No man is mortal and he cannot last for ever, but the first thing he has set about doing is to destroy the legacy of his predecessor.

So what is my role, our role in the things which are going to pan out over the next couple of years? Are we going to leave a legacy or are we just going keep our heads down and hope no one finds out what or who we stand for? The time is coming friends when we will have to prove what we believe – that will be our legacy.

The Oak Ridge Boys sing ‘God will take care of you.’ Click here to listen.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

I almost got into a fight. I was 11 years of age at the time and I made an off hand comment about a football team I didn’t like who were my local 1^st division rivals.

“Right! You Christie! Behind the huts at the end of the day!”

I won’t tell you which team as I might lose some of my audience. But needless to say, I was mortified especially when I found out that the boy who had threatened me to a fight was a training three times a week at the local boxing gym. He had an annoying face and to be honest I really wanted to punch him out, if I could get near him, but I knew that was not the Christian thing to do.

My face must have looked a sorry state as my friend Mahmood took me to one side.

“Ok, Rich this is what you need to do. He is left handed so if he tries to go for an upper cut, feint to the other direction and knock him out. However, he might just try to grab and grapple with you, in that case use you knees and try to wind him. Then again last time I saw him fight he waited for the other person to throw the fist punch, feinted to other way then clattered them. It was brutal. Oh yeah, if he tries to set you up with his jab…” And so continued my friend’s advice, as if he was trying to help me to visualise and anticipate each action and my possible reaction.

After school, I pretended to forget my bag in the classroom and after returning to collect it, I ran all the way home. My thinking was, he might be a great boxer but he’d have to catch me first and I knew he couldn’t run. For the next few days I ran from that fight until he finally collared me in language class, but by then all the fight had gone out of him and he just slapped me on the back on my head on the way to his seat.

You see, there is always a way out. I knew that I could out run my foe wannabe even though my friends thought I should stand and fight. All the visualising and trying to anticipate what might have been is of no avail, because people are unpredictable and that is not what God requires of us as Christians.

So today or this week, if you find yourself in a situation that you would rather not be in, remember, there is always another way.

Don Moen sings ‘God will make a way.’ Click on the picture to listen.

Never too young

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other” (>Romans 12:9-10 NLT, second edition).

Due to a back condition I have been unable to attend church for some weeks and that makes life feel right out of kilter! Sabbath is the marker that defines the week – puts everything into perspective and provides nourishment to take me through another week ahead. I miss the message, Word, the Speaker brings, and I miss socialising over a potluck. In other words, I miss the love that Sabbath brings.

Love is the only thing that can change the unchangeable. If we want lasting change in our lives, we must fill our lives with love. Love invigorates. Love revitalizes. Love renews. Love refreshes. Love is the most powerful force in the universe, because God is love. It doesn’t say he has love; it says he is love. Love heals what cannot otherwise be healed. Love uplifts. Love strengthens. Love energizes. Genuine love empowers as we “Take delight in honouring each other.”.

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other” (Romans 12:9-10 NLT, second edition).

There are many ways this love can be expressed. One way is by teaching our children from an early age to care for others – learning the impoand the joy it brings. It's never too young to start.

Last weekend I was visited at home by a delightful young lady, all of five years old, with her father. She was in early 'training' for future community work by begining in a safe environment to show love and care for others. She had a busy afternoon – three visits in all, two in family homes, and one to a Care Home. Was she daunted? No way! Her face glowed with joy and happiness as she chattered and entertained – all the better where she was concerned because she was doing all of this alone with her daddy. That kind of love is unchangeable. Yes, it renews, and heals.

Here’s the amazing thing: God, our 'Daddy' has wired the universe so that when we help other people, God takes care of our problems. God is looking down on us not to say, “Are you helping yourself?” but “Are you helping others?” Do you want help with your goals? Start helping other people with their goals. Give yourself away.

There is healing in giving back. Not just so other people can help you, but so you can help them. So you can pray for those people, and then God can help you. Give yourself away in love, and then watch God work in your life.

(Acknowledgements Rick Warren)

Today's music is Kenny and Dolly -“Love Lifted Me.” Clichttps://www.youtube.com/watch? on the picture to listen.

January 18 - Time and Touch

“Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people.

When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them,

because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of

God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands  on each of them, and

blessed them” - (Mark 10:13-1-6)

Some years ago I knew a young man who was the youngest of six boys. His birth came at a time when his parents were mourning the death of his grandmother, and their second eldest son. All of this young man's life he wished he had been higher on his parent's priority list. As a child he was somewhat of a handful, if there was mischief to get into, he was there in the middle of it. As a result, his parents who were going through the grieving process, resorted to discipline and toleration, misunderstanding the cause of his behaviour....how he longed for the same time, love, hugs and attention from his parents he saw his brother's getting. When he became 'of age' he was expected 'to be a man' without having been taught how.

Not surprisingly he signed himself into the army, giving a false age, just to get away from home asap. But even there he was a misfit – he just didn't know how to handle, or make, relationships. In time he married a woman who came from a dysfunctional family– the marriage was doomed to disaster, and had three children, two boys and a girl.

They say that history repeats itself and in this case it did. Unable to handle fathership, the youngest boy was disciplined, tolerated, and misunderstood – I can't recall a single time that the boy's father hugged his son or spent one-to-one time together. As a result he grew into an identikit of his father. Both developed a front of conceit and arrogance to cover their feelings of inferiority. The father went from relationship to relationship, while the son became a homeless drop-out, moving from town to town.

How sad that two lives with potential were ruined because the opportunity to make an investment in time in a growing child was not made so that in adulthood he or she might someday be whole and healthy, secure and mature. Granted, in the above cases it was a tough job, relentless and thankless..

Charles R. Swindoll, in The Finishing Touch: Becoming God's Masterpiece (Nashville: Word, 1994), expresses the need for time and touch in the following words:

“There is every temptation to escape from the responsibilities that are yours and yours alone. But nobody is better qualified to shape the thinking, to answer the questions, to assist during the struggles, to calm the fears, to administer the discipline, to know the innermost heart, or to love and affirm the life of your offspring than you.

When it comes to "training up the child in the way he should go," you've got the inside lane, Mom and Dad. No teacher or coach, neighbor or friend, no grandparent or sibling, counselor or minister will have the influence on your kid that you are having. So — take it easy! Remember (as Anne Ortlund puts it) "children are wet cement." They take the shape of your mould. They're learning even when you don't think they're watching. And those little guys and gals are plenty smart. They hear tone as well as terms. They read looks as well as books. They figure out motives, even those you think you can hide. They are not fooled, not in the long haul.

The two most important tools of parenting are time and touch. Believe me, both are essential. If you and I hope to release from our nest fairly capable and relatively stable people who can soar and make it on their own, we'll need to pay the price of saying no to many of our own wants and needs in order to interact with our young...and we'll have to keep breaking down the distance that only naturally forms as our little people grow up.

Time and touch. nothing new, I realize, yet both remain irreducible minimums when it comes to good parenting. Take it easy! Listen to your boy or girl, look them in the eye, put your arms around them, hug them close, tell them how valuable they are. Don't hold back. Take the time to do it. Reach. Touch.

Don't stand alongside your son or daughter like statues, unable to say what you feel, uncomfortable and distant. Take time to feel, to listen, to hold your child close.

When you are tempted to get involved in some energy-draining, time-consuming opportunity that will only increase the distance between you and yours, stop and think of the unspoken message it will convey. Ask yourself hard questions like, "Could my time be better spent at home?" and "Won't there be similar opportunities in the years to come?" Then turn your attention to your boy or girl.”

Today's music is “I Then Shall Live” the Gaither Vocal Band, Ernie Haase and the Signature Sound. Click on the picture to listen.

‘And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Listening to comments of President Elect Trump, to me, is like listening to an unfiltered reality TV show. I am probably not alone in wincing when I have read the some of his purported comments, or worse still listened to them on the radio. But this is the wold that we are living in today, a world where either the loudest voice gets heard or the one with the most ‘followers’ or social media.

That word followers is apparently a new phenomenon. It means those people who follow your conversations or picture on social media. At the birth of platforms like Facebook it was how many friends you had that meant you had some sort of ‘virtual’ social status, but this was quickly overtaken with the amount of followers. The comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has 64.7 million followers on the social media platform Twitter. I thought that was a lot until I realised that she was a mere 8^th in the list behind Katy Perry (94.902,798), Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Barack Obama, Rihanna, YouTube and Lady Gaga. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of all or any of them, apart from the outgoing President of the USA the rest are popular music artistes between the ages of 20-40.

Various ‘movers and shakers’ have tried to grab the bragging right for coming up with the term followers, when in fact a certain Jesus Christ first said it in Matthew 4:19,

‘And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Who are you following?

Matthew Lombart sings ‘I will follow thee’. Click on the picture to listen.

January 12 - Riding the waves

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” - Luke 6:45.

Are you, and I, riding only on the surface waves of life? A surf boarder is trained to skim the water and that's right for them because the whole idea is to ride on top as long as they can; all the way in to the beach if possible. But is it a good idea for us to treat our lives that same way, especially our spiritual lives?

We were meant by God to traverse the deep waters. Psalm 92:5 says; "O Lord, how great are your works! Your thoughts are very deep." Staying up on the surface of life may be pleasant but it's shallow and in the end our lives will feel meaningless.

How can we get down deeper? One way is to examine our priorities. What is most important to you, to me? The way you can tell that is by observing two things: what you talk about and what you spend time on. The Bible says that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. (See Luke 6:45) Therefore what we talk about is what we really care about the most. And it will follow that those things we care about are the things in which we will invest the most time.

After you spend a few days mentally logging your talk and time habits you can ask yourself how you ended up. Shallow? Deep? Superficial? Substantial? At the end of your life will you be satisfied with the time you invested in those things?

If you find yourself skimming the surface of life's waters, jump off your surfboard. Dive into the deepest waters you can find. Cold, deep, clear, pure - yes; but it is in that place where you will connect with the deep thoughts of God.

(Acknowledgements Hannahs Cupboard)

Music today is sung by Don Moen - "Take me Deeper".  Click on the picture to listen.

16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:16-18

Recently I did some work at two very different school. See if you can spot the differences.

The first school was in what you would term as a socially deprived neighbourhood. A high percentage of the children could not afford school uniform and were on school meals. The parents were supportive of the school, and wanted more for their children than it looked they had managed to achieve for themselves. On the outside the building looked like it had seen better days but on the inside was a hive of activity. In general, the children were well mannered and hungry to learn and improve themselves. Sure, there were challenges but the working environment was fresh and happy.

The second school sits in a ‘good’ leafy suburb, well sort after area to live in. On route I couldn’t help but notice the abundance of shinning new German 4x4 cars, coupled with well dressed parents and children happily making their way. The building, whilst not new, had benefitted from an extensive refurbishment. Inside, however was another story. I found the children to be rude, constantly pushing boundaries and the teachers stressed to the hilt from the demands of parents who vocalised that their offspring could ‘do no wrong’.

Where is your church situated? Is it in the ‘right’ area at the ‘right’ end of town? Or is it situated downtown next to a council estate? Is your church board full of listeners or dictators? Is it more important to you the way your church looks on the inside than how the church can serve the people on the outside?

As people we are naturally judgement, in fact we usually make up our minds based upon what our eyes see before we know any of the facts. Let us all endeavour to use concentrate on what is on the inside, our hearts, so that we can show the world that we love them as Jesus did. Take a moment to take a look inside your own heart.

Todays music, chosen by Bryn, is by Cece Winans, ‘Holy Spirit come and fill this place’. Click on the picture to listen.

'You will work hard for your food...' Genesis 3:19 first part

One of the hardest jobs in the world is being a chef in a restaurant. Not only do you have to buy and prepare the food, but you also have to work in high temperatures because of all of the cookers and ovens that industrial kitchens have. The best food to prepare and eat is fresh food. I would hardly call a chip shop a restaurant but I know that fresh potatoes make better chips! All food, in the Western world at least, has a sell by date; tins, packet foods and fresh fruit and veg. There is nothing worst than reaching for say an apple or a bag of crisps, selecting one then realising that it is stale, limp and tasteless. Now, I don’t have to be a scientist to tell you why this happens or even know about packaging and the ability to seal contents so that air cannot seep into it, simply put, it is down to timing. Even with a sell by date, if you have brought it yourself, you know when it is supposed to be consumed by right? Granted, packaged goods are a little trickier but usually a bag of peanuts or crisps won’t last until the sell by date because apparently they disappear from cupboards up and down the country all by themselves! Fruit and veg, on the other hand, tell you by there appearance when they are going or have gone off. I am no chef, but even I know when an apple or orange is not fit for consumption. There is a natural sheen that isn’t there anymore, the skin wrinkles and dark patches become evident.

This is the way it has always been as we read in Genesis 3:19

You will work hard for your food,
    until your face is covered with sweat.
You will work hard until the day you die,
    and then you will become dust again.
I used dust to make you,
    and when you die, you will become dust again.

The reason food goes off is because of sin. The fancy dates on the packets are just to let us think that we has control over something. This verse clearly tells us that work wasn’t meant to be easy but you still have to do it, not just to be a responsible citizen, but because God commands it. But when all is said and done, I would rather be at work for God knowing that he is going to reward me justly. Food for thought.

Bryn has chosen the song 'You are my King' by Rachel Robinson. Click on the picture to listen. 

January 6-7 – Persistent voice...PRAY!

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” - Romans 8:26-27 NIV

“Lord, please take care of Jenny! Tell her I love her!”

It was the second week of May when Linda first felt a burden to pray for her 32-year-old daughter Jenny who had given birth to her second baby boy on May 2. There were no complications from the birth, but Linda said, “The feeling that I needed to pray for her was so intense that I wept.”

“I wasn’t myself at all that week,” Linda continued. “I had absolutely no energy. I prayed and cried before going to work and when I went home at noon. It was always the same prayer: ‘Lord, take care of Jenny.’”

On the morning of May 15, Jenny was in bed asleep. Her husband Randy had overslept by 15 minutes. Normally he was showered and out the door by that time of the morning. As he was getting ready to leave, he heard Jenny make a noise. He walked over to her and discovered she was blue and just barely breathing. He rolled her over as she took her last two breaths before she stopped breathing. He called 911 and started CPR. The police and EMTs were there in one minute and 43 seconds. They had to shock her heart to start it beating again. After they got her in the ambulance, Randy called Linda.

“You need to get to the hospital right away. Something is wrong with Jenny. Her heart stopped beating. They said they may not be able to save her.”

Linda said, “When you receive word that your daughter may be dying, the first thing you want to do is jump in the car and get to the hospital as fast as possible. But I had a special burden to get down on my knees and pray before doing anything else.”

Linda said to her husband and youngest daughter, “We can’t leave yet. We have to pray first.”

The three of them kneeled by the side of the bed while Linda prayed: “God, please be with Jenny. Don’t take her from these two little boys. Send angels to be with her. Work through the doctors’ hands. Please be with her, Lord!”

At the hospital, a cardiologist told them that Jenny was literally drowning in her own fluids. He said, “She’s very, very critical. Her organs may shut down. We don’t know how much oxygen she lost, so she could have brain damage. She’s on total life support right now. The only thing I can say is to pray and pray hard.”

“When they let us into the ICU,” said Linda, “I fell to my knees beside her bed and pleaded for her life: “Lord, she has two little boys who need her. Please don’t take her away from these little boys.”

At the end of that prayer Linda said, “A calm came over me. I knew she was going to be OK. It was in God’s hands.”

They continued praying for Jenny all day long. Her name was added to prayer chains from Indiana to Florida.

That evening the cardiologist came to them again. “I have never seen anything like this. It’s absolutely a miracle,” he said. “She has made a turn for the better—such a quick turnaround from so critical a state. It’s just a miracle.”

Jenny was diagnosed with post-partum cardiomyopathy—a rare, life-threatening condition that can occur after childbirth. She went home after two weeks with no brain or organ damage—truly a miraculous recovery.

“There were many miracles along the way,” Linda said. “Randy overslept that morning, something he never does. He had just completed a refresher course in CPR, and the ambulance arrived in less than two minutes. But the biggest miracle was that the Holy Spirit gave me a burden to pray for Jenny for an entire week before this happened.”

This confirms Paul’s teaching about the work of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” - Romans 8:26-27 NIV.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside all believers. He prompts us to pray, sometimes when we don’t understand why.

Acknowledgements Diane Pearson. CBN.com

City Harvest Church present today's music - “Come Holy Spirit.” Click on the picture to listen.