MCC BLOG

Did you see it on the news last night? It was appalling what was said about this wonderful project, who have been helping children in muslim countries for years. They said that they were racist and targeting children and trying to drag them away from their parents faith. Sorry but only God can do that no man can drag someone to a relationship with God and a faith in Christ, it’s a supernatural thing only God can draw people to himself. It was yet another attack on Christians, and especially on the great job that operation Christmas Child is doing, supplying all these hundreds even thousands of Christmas presents to children who they wouldn’t normally get. The idea came from a great man Billy Graham and has an amazing project, working with schools and many other groups all over the world, and giving them a chance to give to people or children less fortunate than themselves. Why are the people who complained about it so threatened by it I wonder? Be encouraged operation Christmas child and keep up this wonderful act of love andthe wonderful hard work, it’s amazing. Remember love covers a multitude of wrongs and no man can stop that.

Tracy

Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more I consider everything a loss, compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.

Such a great way of putting it. Be found in Him. Be found in my saviour. Remain in Him.

Jesus is not just the icing on the cake. The one to turn to when I am lonely. The one to cry on when there is no other shoulder around. The one to ask for help when no one else can. He is everything. Compared to knowing him, everything else is – rubbish.

Reminds me of: What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?

Taking the very nature of a servant
The creator God becomes a servant.
What an amazing God I serve. One, who being in very nature God, didn’t consider equality with God as something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.

He was by no means equal to me. First important lesson to learn: God is God, and I am not. Yet, and this must be the most amazing thing ever: he chose to become equal. More so, he chose be take the very nature of a servant. God becomes a servant. Talk about love or what? I know of no other religion where their God or Gods chose to become servants. Their Gods are all up there somewhere in the transcendent realm, waiting to be appeased, worshipped and get angry when they don’t get it.

Now God was angry when sin became between him and man, he created. But his love won. His love made him in person become part of the rescue plan. God chooses to solve our problem, by making himself nothing, and taking the very nature of a servant. What an amazing God I serve.

And what a servant he became. Not just for show. There was no ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ clause. No comfy caravan when the public eye wasn’t on him. This was for real. The time out he took, was to spend time alone with his father, in prayer. Just the same stuff, that is available to me today, everyday.

Lord, you gave up your right to be God, in a way. That is and was who you are, but yet you didn’t cling on to it, but made yourself nothing.

I don’t think I have appreciated that in the full extent yet. You have given up everything, and made yourself nothing. Became like one of us.

This world is all about upward mobility; your life here on earth was all about downward mobility. I am always trying to get more and climb higher, and you, being everything, made yourself nothing – for our sake. Thank you so much. The God of the universe, creator of all things, timeless and majestic, made himself nothing, so that he could get close to me. Thank you. Thank you, that you didn’t draw a line, that you didn’t ‘stick to your guns’, that you didn’t say this goes too far. Thank you, that your love for me and mankind, made you leave heaven and walk this earth.

I wonder if any of you have heard of Kid’s work programme called ALF.

I have just had the pleasure of working on this programme with some others and i just want to tell you the results are astounding.

 I used to stand in kid’s work trying to enthuse children and i felt like banging my head on a brick wall

Twelve weeks on these SAME children are fired up about the gospel and they get it

We had a five year old boy on sunday busting himself with excitment to answer questions and these kid’s are so different

we had an unbelievable service on sunday instead of people growning at the kids service adults and kids worshipped god together in harmony and the whole church recommitted or committed to god and serving him

wake up church this is what it is all about!

I hold my hand up i underestimated what could be achieved!!!

Just to let everyone know that we haven’t fallen of the face of the earth, we have just been off line for about a month due to technical difficulties. Our internet provider changed hands and couldn’t get the bottom of our techi problem for weeks. Isn’t weird how once you get used to have access to the net, you can’t live without it. It wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t even know what surfing the net was and now we just can’t live without it. Time just goes so fast. I really missed blogging so just to let you know that we are back. It didn’t seem to make any difference to visits to our website though we get more and more each - it’s great!!!

Talk soon

Tracy

It’s the love which needs to abound in knowledge and depth of insight.

Interesting that Paul is talking about the love that needs to abound. Because knowledge and insight sound more on the intellectual side. But: Faith is never just an intellectual exercise, it’s about a relationship. I understand that when my relationship with the Father grows and my love for him grows, my knowledge and depth of insight will grow as well. Not in an academic kind of way but in a relational kind of way.

My close relationship with the father will then keep my pure and help me discern what is best.

What a perspective Paul has here. He is in chains and yet he sees the positive of it, namely that the gospel is being advanced by it. I guess I would have other ideas. I would say that yes maybe the gospel is still being advanced, but if I was out, how much more could I be doing.

Guess that is what I am thinking about a lot of things right now really.

If only I had more time, money, workers etc. how much more could I be doing for God and Morecambe.

God help me to just be content and confident that you know what you are doing with me. You know the plans you have for me and your church. I know that you want to do good things. Help me to be faithful and fruitful at this time, to the best of my ability. I can’t change certain things, I just have to work with them (or without them rather).

I want to learn to rejoice in it, just like Paul in verse 18 and 19.

…whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Easier said than done, I suppose. Resisting the temptation of fighting this world with its own weapons.

Easy to bend the truth, when everyone around you handles it loosely. Easy to have a quick flirt on the side, if someone’s up for it. Easy to join in with gossip when it’s some much fun.

But conducting myself worthy of the gospel is maybe more than just not doing anything wrong. It is living this life with a joy and peace that surpasses all knowledge. It is experiencing life to the full. It is not worrying cause the Father looks after me. It is being encouraged by being united with Christ. It is finding comfort in His Love, fellowship with the Spirit. Do I experience this? Do you?